I knew it was time to leave the corporate world when our vice-president, a friend who had been a truly smart woman when we first started to work together, bought 300 copies of this trendy 2006 business fable* (involving penguins and melting icebergs) for the entire division. Not entirely coincidentally, the day that the invitation to the offsite meeting for an all-day training exercise based on the book showed up on my calendar, was the day that I gave notice.I got out of there just in time. Ano...

explains change management/leading change with such simple stories. funny and refreshing

Our iceberg is melting...we are a group of penguins living on the iceberg...should we work with each other to find a solution or just do what we want to do by ourselves? Excellent book on how to manage change while not allowing change to manage us! Great read before working on a project.

A group of penguins find themselves on ice which develops cracks. When the alarm is raised that the group needs to move to a more stable piece of ice the others in the group respond in very familiar ways: denial, admitting the problem but refusing to discuss consequences, panic and fear, and those who seek a solution.The situations and reactions to the iceberg melting are clear, identifiable, and are easy to relate to the personal experiences. Kotter invites the reader to imagine how others are

A story that helps people to handle any unexpected situations in a much calmer way. A note at the end suggests reading the book as many times as possible. I agree with it. If you have not gotten an opportunity to practice the recommended framework, then reading it multiple times would help to recap. Each time you may be quicker to go through than the previous time.The fable form makes it a good choice of book for young children.

They need to stop killing trees for these kinds of books, even if they are used in 'board rooms and leadership committees'.With the rise of the jejune, it makes me wonder if people who received MBA's in grad school are those who changed degrees after they failed basket weaving classes. A note for those in US board rooms and leadership committees who initiate cruel and unusual punishment by forcing others to share in your literary high wierdness: If there are a number of elementary school level b...

It's not about global warming!What would you do if you found out the community you live in and had been lived in by your ancestors for years was suddenly going to be non-existant? How would you handle it? What if you found out that the company you worked for had to undergo a major redesign? What if you had to implode all that you have known? Could you handle it? How would you handle it? This books give you 8 simple steps to make it through this process/this journey of change by telling a fable.

A fun and interesting fable using the story of a colony of Emperor Penguins as a metaphor for how an organization can go about making a needed change.I enjoy business books in general, but among my favorites are the "story"-based books, such "The One-Minute Manager", "Who Moved My Cheese", "Inside the Magic Kingdom", "The Go-Giver", "It's Not About You", and others. These books take complex and sometimes fear-inducing subjects (like change) and present them in friendly ways to help readers under...

At first I wondered how this book was different than "Who Moved My Cheese?" The answer is that this book deals with organizational or social change, while WMMC? deals mostly with personal change.The book accurately "types" people in a creative way, and subtly offers real tips for persuading large groups of people. Sadly, some people who read this book will not be swayed by it - not because the information is untrue, but because people are unaware of what they are doing and how they are feeling.

I'm not sure what to say about this book. We were given copies of this book by our management team at work in connection with a pending divisional restructure. I think the book was intended to help us adapt to change but I don't really see a parallel between the fabricated and factually flawed fable of penguins on a melting iceberg and what we are facing at work. The author actually did a good job of covering known facts about Emperor Penguins (e.g. their diving depth, lung capacity, and relianc...

This book is not only poorly written, it is extremely condescending and sexist. Of course the one leader that is female is a nagging, self-important bitch who has no patience for anyone else. The only other female characters even present are a mentally unstable and overly emotional kindergarten teacher and a small penguin child. The authors continuously try to be cutesy or funny, but it is painfully obvious that this story was written by two middle-aged businessmen trying to be cute. The idea th...

For such a short book this was a surprisingly tedious read. I know that change is inevitable and that people are more often than not resistant to change, hence the need for change management. This little book sets out to make it a bit easier to relate to, and to highlight the importance of change and the pitfalls of change management. It also attempts to discuss the dangers of not changing in a dynamic environment.The problem is, there’s nothing really new here. As to whether this book will actu...

Forced to read this by work. Cute little fable about penguins who are facing environmental changes and how only by changing themselves they can keep their colony alive. Super quick read.

A good book about change management narrated in a very simplistic language and in the method of storytelling. The book helps businesses and communities move from old to new territories to cope with their own environment. The main theme of the book is how change can be very difficult and it should be worked out with good planning and team effort. The 8 phases of change management according to Kottler are: 1. CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCYHelp others see the need for change through a bold, aspirational...

Our iceberg is melting ✩✩✩✩I give 4 star to this book, I liked it. It was a story about a penguin colony whose iceberg was melting. All the things that they had to go through to overcome this challenge, and all the steps that they went through to succeed. This book was written as fable, so it was entertaining and at the same time you were learning. This is a book that is easy to read. I think that this book, will help me in my heros journey. This book, taught me many things that will help me dur...

Enjoyable easy read. It is hard not to like this book especially if you read only one or two books in a year. You will like this book if you are working in a corporation that believes in continuous improvement driven by the desire to be the best leader and world-class. You will take this as a work bible if you want to be part of a big change and that your contribution is being desired and valued. Why not? Change is the only thing permanent in this world. When there is a change, we need to recogn...

Good grief! This was being touted as the "go-to" book for organizational learning and dealing with change. Yes, the premise is cute and readable, and contains John Kotter's excellent business sense of operational strength and leadership. But the true brilliance of this book is that it costs $26.00 and businesses will be buying it by the bucketful and subjecting their teams to yet another interminable day or weekend long work retreat to identify their inner penguins. I suggest you go to the books...

Fables have a deceptive power. On the surface they read like the stories of our childhood employing simple vocabulary to describe everyday contexts to which we can all relate. Their narrative structure lulls our adult brain into a false sense of security, disabling the rational analytical faculties that usually protect our cherished world view. We uncritically play along with the story until we reach the point where the fable's inner truth is unavoidable. So it is with John Kotter's Our Iceberg

A simple tale, with hidden depth, outlining what is required to lead effective change. I wish I'd read this book years ago!

Review: Our Iceberg is Melting A very easy read! Even though this is a requirement for a subject that I am currently taking, I was fascinated and enthralled while reading the book