Change the system, not the rituals.
John Kotter's 1995 article on why transformation efforts fail still reads like a diagnosis of most Agile rollouts. The same six patterns keep appearing.
01
Big-bang rollout
Every team at once, ready or not.
02
Rituals only
New meetings, same way of working (Day 1).
03
Leaders exempt
Teams change. Leadership habits don't.
04
Old incentives
Annual budgets and individual bonuses untouched.
05
Measuring adoption
Counting trained teams, not better outcomes.
06
Coaches leave
External help ends and nothing internal remains.
Source: Harvard Business Review: John P. Kotter, 'Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail' ↗
Change the system, not just the ceremonies.