John Kotter in Leading Change cites eight reasons why transitions (planned change) in firms fail: 1) They allow too much complacency, 2) They fail to create a sufficiently powerful guiding coalition, 3) They underestimate the power of VISION, 4) They under-communicate the VISION by a factor of 10 (or 100 or even 1,000), 5) They permit obstacles to block the new vision, 6) They fail to create short-term wins, 7) They declare victory too soon (and quit trying), and, finally, 8) They neglect to anchor changes in the corporate culture.

I wonder which of these points you could point to as the main reason the last change plan you were involved with failed. Obviously planned change requires more from leadership than a simple mandate if it is to become a long-term reality. It is interesting that VISION is mentioned in two of the points cited by Kotter: underestimating the power of VISION and under-communicating the VISION. I suppose this makes sense when one considers that it was VISION which decided the course of the change to begin with.  Probably the one I see most often is too much complacency, or as Kotter phrases it in his book: a lack of urgency.  If there is no expressed and felt reason for change, then why do it?  Understanding and creating a sense of urgency is fundamental to the success of any change effort and part of Leadership.

So, where did you change effort fail?  Which of these reasons should you have paid more attention to?  Perhaps having your change team work through Kotter’s book before your next change initiative would be time well spent.