In this interesting article (dated but still relevant as I’ve seen this happen in organisations over the years!), John P. Kotter explains why transformation efforts fail. 

#1: Not Establishing a Great Enough Sense of Urgency (< 75% of a company’s management is convinced that business-as-usual is totally unacceptable)

#2: Not Creating a Powerful Enough Guiding Coalition (3-5 in small companies and 20-50 in large companies)

#3: Lacking a Vision (something that clarifies the direction in which an organization needs to move)

#4: Under communicating the Vision by a Factor of Ten ( need to incorporate messages into their hour-by-hour activities)

#5: Not Removing Obstacles to the New Vision

#6: Not Systematically Planning For and Creating Short-Term Wins

#7: Declaring Victory Too Soon

#8: Not Anchoring Changes in the Corporation’s Culture (change sticks when it becomes “the way we do things around here,”)

What are the hurdles that you’ve seen from making transformations successful?

Source: Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail