Perhaps you yourself are working on a major change within your organisation. Or do you sometimes think ‘This needs to change’ But did you know that within organisations, 70% of all transformations fail? Despite the strategy being sound.
Change can be quite challenging and difficult, it is often not a matter of willingness, but of understanding how change truly works in people, in teams, and in the structure of an organisation. Kotter founder, Dr. John Kotter, has researched this for decades. His methodology is now one of the most widely applied change management frameworks in the world.
That is one of the reasons why Schouten & Nelissen and Kotter Training have joined forces. Through this partnership, we bring Kotter’s Science of Change (50+ years of Harvard backed research) to the European market, combined with 40+ years of leadership and organisational expertise from Schouten.
As the launch of the partnership, we are organising an exclusive, paid kickoff: On 18 and 19 June in Amsterdam, delivered by the Kotter Master Faculty. This is the moment to experience the methodology, meet the people behind the approach, and assess whether it fits what your organisation needs.
During these two days, you will attend (for the first time) two full Kotter trainings in the heart of Amsterdam: ‘Foundations of Change’ and ‘Thriving through Uncertainty’. Here you will learn the methodology that enables change in the remaining 30% of organisations to succeed.
There are only 100 spots available. After that, the event is closed. From mid-September, the regular programme will start. These can be booked via sn.nl and comptence.org.
This event is for professionals who work with or on change. Managers, leaders, HR advisors, organisational consultants, and project managers who notice that change in their organisation is slower than needed, generates more resistance than expected, or stalls halfway.
You may well recognise this: there are plenty of plans, good intentions, and solid presentations to management. And yet too little actually moves. ‘Foundations of Change’ and ‘Thriving Through Uncertainty’ give you a framework to break that pattern, based on what science shows actually works with people and organisations in change.
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Date |
Thursday 18 and Friday 19 June 2026 |
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Location |
Four Elements Hotel Amsterdam |
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Day 1 (18 June) |
First part of Foundations of Change | 11:30 to 17:30, lunch included |
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Day 2 (19 June) |
Second part of Foundations of Change and Thriving Through Uncertainty | 8:30 to 17:30, lunch included and followed by a drinks reception |
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Speakers |
Leslie Zemnick and Joni Wickline (Kotter Training) |
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Number of Spots |
Maximum 100
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Language |
English |
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Price per person (excl. VAT) |
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Launch price |
€ 1,495 (incl. lunch, drinks & materials) |
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Early bird (First week only) |
€ 1,345 (10% discount) |
Day 1: Foundations of Change and Meet & Greet (11:30 – 17:30)
We start the day with an exclusive Meet & Greet with the Kotter team, followed by the first step in change management: the first half of Foundations of Change.
The core Kotter Training in change management. In two half-day sessions, you learn to understand why change so often fails and what science shows is needed to do it differently. You work with the 4 Change Principles and the 8 Accelerators for Leading Change, and connect them directly to a current change challenge from your own organisation.
Day 2: Foundations of Change + Thriving Through Uncertainty (8:30 – 17:30)
This day picks up where the previous day left off. The second part of Foundations of Change. Once the foundation is complete, you immediately take it into a deeper phase: Thriving Through Uncertainty. This training is about leadership in uncertainty. Not about how to stay calm, but about how uncertainty affects people: what it does to behaviour, decision-making, and the willingness to act — and how you as a leader can influence that.
Upon successful completion, you also receive a verified badge via Credly for this programme. After that, there is a drinks reception to wrap up the two days.
There is room for a maximum of 100 participants. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and is confirmed upon registration and payment via Eventbrite.
Participants come from a wide range of sectors and organisations. That is intentional. Change happens everywhere, and the Kotter approach works across sectors. It also offers the opportunity to speak with people facing similar challenges but working in a very different context.
Upon completion of the training, you receive a Kotter Training badge certificate, a recognition that is highly valued in the business world for its practical applicability and proven quality. Your badge is personal via Credly and directly shareable on LinkedIn.
Interested in the further certification pathway? Foundations of Change is the starting point for Core Change Certification (Kotter Certified Change Specialist) and Advanced Change Certification (Kotter Certified Change Leader). At the event there will be an opportunity to learn more about this.
More information about the certification pathway is available at the event, or send your questions to kotter@schoutencompany.com.
Registration is via Eventbrite. There are a maximum of 100 spots available. Once capacity is reached, registration closes.
Register for the kickoff
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