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Book Review
In today episode, Val Lewis and I take on the topic of change management by reviewing the book “Our Iceberg is Melting” by John Kotter. The book is quick and easy read and incredibility insightful. If you need to make a change in your business, department, non-profit organization or you are interested in becoming a more effective manager, then this episode is for you. In a fun and lively manner, we focus on the first three steps of John Kotter’s Eight Step Process of Successful Change.
The fable is about a penguin colony in Antarctica. A group of beautiful emperor penguins live as they have for many years. Then one curious bird discovers a potentially devastating problem threatening their home—and pretty much no one listens to him.
The characters in the story, Fred, Alice, Louis, Buddy, the Professor, and NoNo, are like people we recognize—even ourselves. Their tale is one of resistance to change and heroic action, seemingly intractable obstacles and the most clever tactics for dealing with those obstacles. It’s a story that is occurring in different forms all around us today—but the penguins handle the very real challenges a great deal better than most of us.
During this episode, Val and I bring our real-life experiences to the bear on the John Kotter’s “Our Iceberg is Melting.” We discuss the first three steps of the Eight Step Process of Successful Change which are:
Set the Stage
1. Create a Sense of Urgency.
Help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately.
2. Pull Together the Guiding Team.
Make sure there is a powerful group guiding the change-one with leadership skills, credibility, communications ability, authority, analytical skills and a sense of urgency.
Decide What to Do
3. Develop the Change Vision and Strategy.
Clarify how the future will be different from the past, and how you can make that future a reality.
This is the first of a two-part podcast. The conclusion to this podcast will be MOB 5b. If you want to be a better leader, you should definitely read this book. You can buy the book here.