Kotter presents a compelling case about the need for a sense of urgency in competitive and high-performance organizations. In creating this sense of urgency, when it does not occur naturally, it’s critical to distinguish true urgency from complacency and false urgency. True urgency has distinguishing characteristics that make it different from complacency and false urgency. While complacency is easier to detect, false urgency and true urgency often get mixed up. The easiest way to discover false urgency is in the morale and organizational effects which are present. False urgency tends to create more negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, and fear.

Assuming you agree with the arguments for the need of a sense of urgency, steps to produce and nurture that sense are also included. The steps include: increasing external awareness, behaving with urgency, leveraging crises, and removing irrational opposition. One of the points stressed again and again is the need to affect hearts as well as minds. Indeed, Kotter recommends focusing at least as much on morale as on other intellectual considerations.

Lastly, Kotter warns of the dangers of success to maintaining urgency. Successes, especially resounding ones, naturally beget complacency. Rather than allowing this to happen, the leadership must be proactive in setting new goals and targets. The momentum that urgency creates is important to cultivate and preserve.

This book is a quick read, and is instructive for those in leadership positions (and even those who are not). It is especially useful for organizations going through or considering organizational changes, and considers organizational morale as a key aspect to change.