Companies are failing to create the sense of urgency needed to successfully change with the times, a leading Harvard Business School professor said. Leadership and change expert John Kotter urged delegates at the SHRM conference not to presume that the economic crisis would create the sense of urgency that is critical to make large-scale changes in their organisations. “True urgency is this determination to get up every single day and to grab opportunities, avoid problems and win. There’s a lot less urgency out there than we need,” he said.