Which of Kotter's steps (the bellow steps) , in your opinion, is the most important step? Justify your argument.

The eight steps to transforming your organization are as follows (Kotter, 1996; Smith, 2005):

(1) Establish a sense of urgency about the need to achieve change - people will not change if they cannot see the need to do so.

(2) Create a guiding coalition - assemble a group with power energy and influence in the organization to lead the change.

(3) Develop a vision and strategy - create vision of what the change is about, tell people why the change is needed and how it will be achieved.

(4) Communicate the change vision - tell people, in every possible way and at every opportunity, about the why, what and how of the changes.

(5) Empower broad-based action - involve people in the change effort, get people to think about the changes and how to achieve them rather than thinking about why they do not like the changes and how to stop them.

(6) Generate short-term wins - seeing the changes happening and working and recognizing the work being done by people towards achieving the change is critical.

(7) Consolidate gains and produce more change - create momentum for change by building on successes in the change, invigorate people through the changes, develop people as change agents.

(8) Anchor new approaches in the corporate culture - this is critical to long-term success and institutionalizing the changes. Failure to do so may mean that changes achieved through hard work and effort slip away with people's tendency to revert to the old and comfortable ways of doing things.