In Leading Change, With a New Preface, Harvard Business School professor John P. Kotter presents his seminal 8-Step Process for successful organizational transformation, now updated to address contemporary challenges like digital disruption and hybrid work models. Kotter begins by analyzing why 70% of change initiatives fail, identifying critical errors such as inadequate urgency-building ("We've always done fine"), lack of cross-functional leadership alignment, and failure to institutionalize new behaviors. His research-based model provides a clear roadmap: First, leaders must diagnose threats/opportunities to shatter complacency—for example, a retailer might demonstrate how e-commerce competitors will capture 50% market share within two years. Next, assembling a "Guiding Coalition" of influential executives and grassroots change agents ensures credibility; Microsoft's cultural revival under Satya Nadella exemplified this by empowering both senior leaders and engineer taskforces. The third step involves crafting a simple, emotionally resonant vision (Kotter's "Vision Box" tool helps distill complex strategies into memorable themes), followed by aggressive communication through townhalls, digital platforms, and peer ambassadors. To enable action, organizations must dismantle barriers like bureaucratic approval layers or misaligned KPIs—a pharmaceutical company Kotter studied reduced drug development time by 30% after streamlining decision committees. Generating early wins is crucial; a bank transformation succeeded by first piloting new customer service protocols in high-visibility branches, creating measurable NPS improvements within 90 days. Kotter warns against premature victory declarations (as happened with Nokia’s post-iPhone stagnation), emphasizing the need to reinvest gains into deeper systemic shifts. Finally, anchoring change requires cultural rewiring—Promotions at Amazon now evaluate "Leadership Principles" adherence, while Unilever’s sustainability focus became embedded through revised onboarding and supplier scorecards. The new preface examines AI-era adaptations, showing how agile "networked teams" (like Bosch’s cross-functional digital hubs) can coexist with traditional hierarchies through Kotter’s "Dual Operating System." Packed with diagnostic tools—including a change readiness assessment matrix and resistance-mapping templates—this book remains indispensable for CEOs navigating disruption, HR leaders redesigning workplaces, and entrepreneurs scaling ventures.