(BOOK REVIEW) Our Iceberg Is Melting

Our Iceberg Is Melting was co-written by John Kotter, the leadership and change guru from Harvard Business School and Holger Rathgeber, the modern global manager. They discuss about change and creatively highlight eight effective ways to bring positive change to any situation or organization in today’s world.
The book is a simple fable about performing well in an ever-changing world. The fable relates to a penguin colony in Antartica. This colony of penguins lives on an iceberg happily as they have for many years. Then one curious bird discovers a potential problem threatens their home and no one listens to him.

Fred, the main character, discovers their iceberg is melting but has no position to be heard by his colony’s Leadership Council. Knowing the fact that action need to be taken or else the whole colony will suffer, he starts of his journey of bringing change to his colony. Fred approaches Alice, one of the ten bosses in the Leadership Council that less likely to dismiss his story than other more senior penguins. After listening to Fred and studying the problem, Alice created an opportunity for Fred to explain the potential disaster to the Leadership Council. When the council is convinced, they conveyed the problem to the rest of the colony through an assembly. Next, Louis, the Head Penguin sets up a team of five birds to guide the colony through the changes. In the changing process, the team experienced frustration of having to deal with NoNo, the penguin who resisted change actively and passively. The team finally learning from the sea-gulls that migration is the best alternative. In the end, they start a new way of life through migration which is much safer to their previous one.

The characters in the story, Fred, Alice, Louis, and NoNo are similar to the people we recognize in the changing world. Fred being the young inexperienced penguin that discovers the problem; Alice, the practical and aggressive bird who has a reputation for getting things done; Louis, the Head Penguin; and NoNo, bird who resists change. 2
Our Iceberg Is Melting shows how Kotter’s Eight Steps produce needed change in any sort of group. The Eight Step Process of Successful Change is summarized as below:

1. Create a sense of urgency
2. Pull together the guiding team
3. Develop the change vision and strategy
4. Communicate for understanding and buy in
5. Empower others to act
6. Produce short-term wins
7. Don’t let up
8. Create a new culture

In reality, melting icebergs come in many ways. Change in life is inevitable and there is always a need for change. If the challenge of change is handles well, then you can prosper greatly. But if it is handles poorly, you will put yourself and other at risk