Citation (IEEE): J. P. Kotter, “Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail,” Harvard Business Review, vol. 73, no. 2, pp. 59–67, Mar. 1995.
What it argues
Based on observing many corporate transformations, Kotter argues that most fail through a small set of avoidable errors, such as insufficient urgency, a weak guiding coalition, an unclear or under-communicated vision, and declaring victory too soon. He lays out a sequence of stages that successful transformations pass through, and warns that skipping stages creates only an illusion of speed.