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John Kotter

b. 1947

American economist

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About John Kotter

Born 1947. John Kotter is an American economist and university teacher.

John Paul Kotter is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School, an author, and the founder of Kotter International, a management consulting firm based in Seattle and Boston. He is a thought leader in business, leadership, and change.

Personal life Kotter lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife, Nancy Dearman. They have two children, Caroline and Jonathan.

Career John Kotter is an emeritus from Harvard Business School where he started teaching in 1972.

Kotter is also an author, speaker, and entrepreneur in the lines of business and leadership.

Short-term wins, within a 6–18 month window, are considered necessary because "[an] organization has to realize some benefits from change effort to maintain stakeholder commitment". Kotter asserts that to be useful or influential, short-term wins need to be "visible and unambiguous" as well as "closely related to the change effort". Arguing against a belief that there is a "trade-off" between wins in the short-term and wins in the long-term, Kotter argues from experience that both are achievable.

Written work Kotter is the author of 21 books, as listed below. 12 of these have been business bestsellers and two of which are overall New York Times bestsellers.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Business School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Employers
Harvard University
Also known as
John Paul Kotter, John P. Kotter

People in John Kotter's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped John Kotter's

Frequently asked questions

Who is John Kotter?

American economist (1947-)

When was John Kotter born?

John Kotter was born on 25 February 1947 in San Diego.

What is John Kotter's occupation?

John Kotter is an economist and university teacher.

What nationality is John Kotter?

John Kotter is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: John Kotter

· Wikidata: Q935152

· DBpedia: John Kotter

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). John Kotter. https://biography.guide/john-kotter/

MLA: "John Kotter." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/john-kotter/.

Chicago: "John Kotter." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/john-kotter/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-27 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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