How Change Really Works: Seven Science-Based Principles for Transforming Your Organization
Julia Dhar, Kristy Ellmer, and Philip Jameson
Harvard Business Review Press (May (2026)

How to overcome “the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom”

Years ago, I asked John Kotter, “What seems to be the greatest challenge for change agents?” He replied, “Changing how they think about change.”

Julia Dhar, Kristy Ellmer, and Philip Jameson carefully organize and present the material in  How Change Really Works within two PARTs: “Seven Principles for Successful Change,” and, “Putting the Principles to Work.” They focus on the most important WHATs (i.e., organizational transformation driven by workers’ personal growth and professional development) and the most effective HOWs (i.e., DOs and DON’Ts)

They provide an abundance of invaluable information, insights, and counsel based on their wide and deep experience in combination with extensive research. For example, to increase your perceived value, you will learn what you need to know in order to help your organization achieve these strategic objectives within its workplace culture:

o True high-impact communication/cooperation/collaboration, not “cosmetic” alignment
o Increased agency, not just “showing up” or “mailing it in”
o Professional advancement earned and deserved, not automatic
o Understanding based on genuine emotions, not instinct
o Reliance on process with rituals and traditions, not reactions or hunches
o Sustained momentum for continuous organizational improvement  at all levels and in all areas, not just at the launch

Most change initiAtives fail or fall far short of original expectations. Why? Reasons vary according to nature and extent but the aforementioned insight by Kotter is generally true, as is James O’Toole’s suggestion that the greatest resistance to change tends to be cultural in nature, the result of what he so aptly characterizes as “the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom.”

I commend Julia Dhar, Kristy Ellmer, and Philip Jameson on a brilliant achievement. I know of no other single source that provides more and better information, insights, and counsel on HOW to transform almost any organization, whatever its size and nature may be.

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Here are two suggestions while you are reading How Change Really Works: First, highlight key passages. Also,  perhaps in a lined notebook kept near-at-hand,  record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to the “In Sum” Comments that conclude Chapters 1-7 (PART ONE ) and the “Takeaways” section that concludes  Chapters 8-12 (PART TWO).

These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.