The following is a short book preview contributed by the Ohio State University Leadership Center.

John P. Kotter, A Sense of Urgency. Boston: Harvard Business Press (2008)

When people have a true sense of urgency, they think that action on critical issues is needed now, not eventually, not when it fits easily into a schedule. Now means making real progress every single day. Critically important means challenges that are central to success or survival, winning or losing. A sense of urgency is not an attitude that I must have the project team meeting today, but that the meeting must accomplish something important today.

Urgent behavior is not driven by a belief that all is well or that everything is a mess, but instead, that the world contains great opportunities and great hazards. Even more so, urgent action is not created by feelings of contentment, anxiety, frustration, or anger, but by a gut-level determination to move, and win now (Kotter, p. 7-8).

A Sense of Urgency is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page.

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The OSU Leadership Center is home to a wealth of resources to help you and the people you work with improve your leadership and interpersonal skills. Please check the materials in our Lending Library (available to you for a small annual fee), Leadership Publications (absolutely free), and links to other leadership-related information.

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