Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions

by Holger Rathgeber, John P. Kotter, Holger Rathberger

Book Overview

Most of the denizens of the Antarctic penguin colony sneer at Fred, the quiet but observant scout who detects worrying signs that their home, an iceberg, is melting. Fred must cleverly convince and enlist key players, such as Louis, the head penguin; Alice, the number two bird; the intractable NoNo the weather expert; and a passle of school-age penguins if he is to save the colony. Their delightfully told journey illuminates in an unforgettable way...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031236198X
• ISBN13: 9780312361983
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 147 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Penguins are a force for change

John Kotter has given change agents like me a great manual to introduce the concepts of change to a board audience. As a professed change agent who has worked in the academic and public sector for over 40 years, I have found this little book and its story to be an extremely powerful teaching tool. The penguin and iceberg metaphors work and resonates with even the most sophisticated audiences. I have used this book in conjunctions with workshops on change in the area of patient safety to health care professionals and it is a powerful story. Having grown up professionally with Everett Rogers and diffusion of innovation and other planned change models, I have found this small book a very practical tool to convey the complex issues around change. Our Iceberg is Melting is a must read for change agents or anyone hoping to bring about change in their organization. Long live the Penguins James B. Battles, Ph.D. A professed change agent and proud of it

What I've been waiting for, OIIM.

John Kotter defined leadership for all of us, when he stated that "leaders cope with change". Ever since, the concept of leading change is used every day in academia and industry as if they were always linked this way. I handed out thirteen copies to my students at Pace University today. I believe that Our Iceberg Is Melting is the best place for young up and coming leaders to start their training. I wish that I had read it when I began my leadership studies over a decade ago.

This book is a gem!

This is a wonderful gem of a little book. It uses a parable about a colony of easy-to-relate-to penguins to teach us how to understand and manage successful change. It marks a departure from the data-based research John Kotter is so respected for, and takes us into the realm of everyday life. Everyone, no matter who we are or what we do in life, should read, enjoy and learn from this gem!

Making Difficult Change Fun

John Kotter's "Leading Change" and "The Heart of Change" laid out a prescription for the serious and difficult work of implementing change, in an increasingly more competitive and faster paced global marketplace. This latest work, "Our Iceberg is Melting" is, to my knowledge, a first. It is a fable, which brings ALIVE, in a very AMUSING and ENTERTAINING QUICK forty-five minute read, the widely accepted logic and concepts of an author's previous writings. It makes understanding, and discussing, difficult change FUN! Any manager/executive looking for a way to add some energy and fun to his change initiatives should make this required reading for his team/employees. Then have a non-threatening discussion, with his team/employees, comparing their situation and team to that of the group of penguins in this book. The behavioral similarities will amaze you. The insights gained will be invaluable.

Got 45 Minutes? Read This Book

Our Iceberg Is Melting takes a complex, institutional subject -- how organizations change -- and puts it into a simple and accessible form - in this case, a fable. How accessible? It's a 45-minute read, with humor and delightful illustrations. My teenagers picked it up voluntarily, liked the characters, and got the message - that changing how a group does things requires a process, or otherwise the obstacles win. Kotter and his co-author have put Kotter's 8-step change model into reach of any and all. I'm going to leave my copy on my desk at work. It's the perfect business book for those who never thought they'd read a business book.