Rosabeth Moss Kanter Quotes

34 Sourced Quotes

Leaders talk about communicating a vision as an instrument of change, but I prefer the notion of communicating an aspiration. It's not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
You can always buy something in English, you can't always sell something in English.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Leadership is one of the most enduring, universal human responsibilities.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
I wonder whether there has been too much emphasis on teaching women to conform, to fit into the system. Certainly that suits conservative organizations in conservative times. But now... innovation and creativity are necessary.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The degree to which the opportunity to use power effectively is granted to or withheld from individuals is one operative difference between those companies which stagnate and those which innovate.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Power stems from 'rainmaking,' as law firms put it: the ability to bring resources into the company.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The way innovating companies are designed leaves ambiguities, overlaps, decision conflicts or decision vacuums in some parts of the organisation. People rail at this, curse it-and invent innovative ways to overcome it.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
People are capable of more than their organizational positions ever give them the tools or the time or the opportunity to demonstrate.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The American century—and the European half millennium—is coming to an end. The world century is beginning.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
People often resist change for reasons that make good sense to them, even if those reasons don't correspond to organizational goals. So it is crucial to recognize, reward, and celebrate accomplishments.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The architecture of change involves the design and construction of new patterns, or the reconceptualization of old ones, to make new, and hopefully more productive, actions possible.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Innovative organizations provide the freedom to act which arouses the desire to act.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The very lack of opportunity the group faces creates a self-defeating cycle and puts pressure on members to limit their aspirations.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Our future will be shaped by the assumptions we make about who we are and what we can be.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Creativity does not derive from order but from the attempt to impose order where it does not exist, to make new connections.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The most distinguished advocate and the most distinguished critic of modern captialism were in agreement on one essential point: the job makes the person. Adam Smith and Karl Marx both recognized the extent to which people's attitudes and behaviors take shape out of the experiences they have in their work.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
What being among the 'right people' entails is the possession of human capital, rather than organizational capital: an individual reputation, portable skills, and network connections. Career responsibility is squarely in the hands of individuals, a function of their knowledge and networks. Transferable knowledge is more important to a career than firm-specific knowledge.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Creativity is a lot like looking at the world through a kaleidoscope. You look at a set of elements, the same ones everyone else sees, but then reassemble those floating bits and pieces into an enticing new possibility.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Those who master change persist and persevere. They have stamina. They are flexible. They expect obstacles on the road to success and celebrate each milestone. They keep arguing for what matters.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Corporate men and women, once divided by striking differences in opportunity for career growth, have come to share career chaos.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The more closed the circle, the more difficult it is for 'outsiders' to break in. Their very difficulty in entering may be taken as a sign of incompetence, a sign that the insiders were right to close their ranks.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The importance of discretion increases with closeness to the top of a hierarchical organization.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Change can be exhilarating, refreshing—a chance to meet challenges, a chance to clean house. It means excitement when it is considered normal, when people expect it routinely, like a daily visit from the mail carrier—known—bringing a set of new messages—unknown.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Times of upheaval require not just more leadership but more leaders. People at all organizational levels, whether anointed or self-appointed, must be empowered to share leadership responsibilities.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
And so, after years of telling corporate citizens to 'trust the system,' many companies must relearn instead to trust their people — and encourage their people to use neglected creative capacities in order to tap the most potent economic stimulus of all: idea power.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Power is America's last dirty word. It is easier to talk about money — and much easier to talk about sex — than it is to talk about power.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
There are so many false starts, unexpected obstacles, and surprising turns along the path to change. Daily work often drains energy needed for change. Leaders must pick causes they won't abandon easily, remain committed despite setbacks, and communicate their big ideas over and over again in every encounter.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Problems tempt people to give up, forget it, and chase the next enticing rainbow. But stop the effort too soon, and by definition it is a failure.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
To stay ahead, always have your next idea waiting in the wings.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The positive outlook that optimists project does not come from ignoring or denying problems. Optimists simply assume that problems are temporary and can be solved, so optimists naturally want more information about problems because then they can get to work and do something. Pessimists are more likely to believe that there is nothing they can do anyway, so what's the point of even thinking about it?

Rosabeth Moss Kanter