Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions

I read this book over a decade ago. Loved it and made a true impact in my life. This time I bought it for MNT of mine. While discussing his leadership journey, I remembered the value of this book so I purchased it for him. He loves it.

Why write a business fable about penguins to champion change management? In the author Q&A section of “Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions,” John Kotter explains:“I’ve been studying for a long time how people learn. And I think it is pretty clear that our brains are hardwired for stories. A good story is easy to absorb and remember, especially if it has emotional components.” He notes that interesting animal stories have “some basic points in them that, because they stick around in your mind, can actually change what we do.”Coauthor Holger Rathgeber adds, “The whole thing started when I was asked to spend two to three hours with a large audience of managers and executives focusing on John’s Eight Steps from his ‘Leading Change’ book. It was clear to me that a PowerPoint presentation wasn’t a good way to do this. So I created a very rough plot about a colony of penguins sitting on an iceberg that is melting.”You’ll love the humor—because you’ve likely heard similar suggestions in recent team meetings! What should the penguins do about their melting iceberg? “Another bird suggested they find a perfect iceberg. No melting, no exposed caves, no fissures, just wonderful in every way so that their children and grandchildren would never, ever have to face a crisis like this again. Perhaps if they appointed a perfect-iceberg committee?”We've served on those committees, right? (LOL!)This book prompted me to reflect on presentations, speeches, and sermons I’ve heard recently. Unfortunately, there were more PowerPoints than stories. I’m wondering if the first century’s technology had included PowerPoints, would Jesus have used that tool—or would he have continued to use parables? (I’m guessing parables.)

Starting out it seems a little too simplistic a fable to take seriously. But after a while the characters simply become stand in variables for common issues in office/business/organizational environments. It might even be a positive that it is only an analogy as demonstrating with a more applicable problem would be taken literally and unable for some to apply the principles to a variety of organizational issues.

Great book that although written and presented very simplistically, the lessons learned reach every detail and inch of your organization. Simple message that everyone can relate to.

I had to read this for a college class but it was surprisingly interesting. I really enjoyed how concise it was and how it even includes some pictures because I find it very hard to imagine concepts in my head. Overall it’s a great read on leadership but I’d also say it could apply to entrepreneurs as well.

Excellent book for facing change:I work as a psychiatrist with persons with intellectual developmental disorder(IDD) (earlier called mental handicap) and their families. The chief challenge of my work is to bring a positive approach to training efforts by the parents. As parents with a ‘special child’ parents face many challenges in bringing up and in planning for the child’s future. This responsibility is not what parents wanted, when the child was born into their family. The needs of ‘special child’ requires parents to think completely differently about a number of areas like day to day care, training the child, schooling, health care, planning for the future etc. It is these challenges that require you to take up the challenges and find new ways of succeed.The central theme of my work, is to EMPOWER YOUR CHILD AND YOUR FAMILY TO FACE THE CHALLENGES.It is in this context, that the book ‘Our iceberg is melting’ has a special meaning to you and your family.Most parents pass through life denying the ‘special’ needs of your child. From the book, parents learn to accept the situation, by accepting your child’s ‘special’ needs that they can be of greatest help to him/her.The book introduces the 8 principles of problem solving, which is useful to parents in a slightly modified form, as below.1. Recognise the special needs of your child and importance of training2. Pull together all members of your family3. Develop a vision for your child and a Strategy4. Reach out professionals for help and support5. Acquire skills to train your child6. Plan for Short-term gains7. Don't give up8. Make effort continuous and regular.

I like the book but I'm a little disappointed that the words don't go down to the bottom of the pages. It is larger than normal print so that is nice.

The book was a very quick read. The plot follows the formula used by other books in giving a story setting to business laws. The plot may have been used before but the authors do a very good job of giving context and meat to their process.The book uses the story of a penguin colony for its backdrop. One penguin discovers that their iceberg is flawed and could be destroyed. He convinces another of their doom and then they attempt to get others to change. A team is organized, the topic of changing to a nomadic lifestyle is adopted, and the penguins begin a new way of living.The book provided a framework that helped structure my experiences with creating, implementing, and accepting change into focus.