Book review: Our Iceberg Is Melting
January 4, 2007 by admin
Filed under book reviews, change, communication, management
John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber have produced a really fun little book that contains a wealth of wisdom and insight. Our Iceberg Is Melting
penguin chicken!
The book is about change management and the basic storyline is that there are a bunch of penguins living on an iceberg that has the potential to break apart. The meat of the fable is in observing the different types of penguins, how they respond to the crisis and the various dynamics among them. The sparse text is richly illustrated making it fun to read. The storyline is so simple, yet so deep, that it will capture your interest and keep it. At least, it did mine.
John Kotter is an expert on leadership and change. One of his other books, Leading Change, was required reading when I was working on my MBA and it’s become a permanent feature on my bookshelf since then. He knows his stuff (wikipedia entry here) and it shows in the way he’s compacted so much wisdom into such a short story. I don’t know much about Rathgeber, the coauthor, but he’s certainly to be commended too.
Like I said, I’ve only read this once so far and I burned right through it. I plan on re-reading it and taking some notes. The stuff I liked the most was the descriptive way the authors portrayed some of the penguin personalities. Seems like they hardly left anyone out–I could imagine actual people I know in the roles of some of the penguins. It’ll be worth it for me to take the time to go back and really think through some actual scenarios that have happened in the past and consider how I might’ve acted differently, per the book. Also, it’ll be instructive as I enter into new change opportunities down the road.
All in all, an enjoyable read. Recommended for all levels, though I suspect mid to senior management may benefit the most. My guess is that consultants will also find a lot of meat here, since a lot of the storyline revolves around how to influence groups and shape opinions–work which consultants often find themselves doing. Also, frontline staff will get some good inspiration from the text since the primary protagonist isn’t a managerial type–he’s a regular penguin who just notices what’s going on and what’s going wrong, but doesn’t know how to effectively tell others, since he doesn’t have any official influence.
The jacket cover and inside blurbs are pretty hyperbolic in their praise. I liked the book, but not so much that I’d buy copies for my staff. I’m curious if any readers felt differently and actually bought mass quantities of the book…
Bren,
John Kotter’s best book is “The Heart of Change”, which is shorter and clearer than “Leading Change”. If you haven’t read it, check it out!
Mike
Thanks for the tip, Mike…haven’t read that. Adding to the list now!
Glad you liked John Kotter’s Our Iceberg Is Melting!
I think you might like it even more if you do share it with your staff. You don’t have to buy additional copies, just pass the one you have around (that’s part of the beauty of a short read that is fun). Readers who have shared it with their people say it is helpful for the very reasons you discuss–plus it gives their group a short-hand way of talking about and acting on the changes they need, all with less anxiety or denial. Better discussions, better understanding, less denial, more fun—not too bad. You can check out the stories of a few of these folks at http://www.ouricebergismelting and go to the Tips from Users page.