Book review 'Our iceberg is melting'

Our iceberg is melting

Our Iceberg Is Melting is a fable about a colony of 268 penguins facing a dilemma. At first sight it seems a simple story, the use of cartoons enhances this feeling. After reading and re-reading you’ll explore the story under the surface. This book contains within the story and characters a powerful message about the fear of change. The latter in combination with a process how to motivate people to face the future and take action.


let’s meet the key playersThe main characters are: Fred, Alice, Louis, Buddy & NoNo. Fred loves knowledge, he a strong observer. Louis is the head of the colony, Alice is member of the leadership team & specialized in communication, Buddy is one of the young inspiring penguins; he is able to built bridges between the different groups within the colony. NoNo he is a senior member of the colony and weather forecaster. His standard reaction is: NO.
Meet the virtual actors at www.ouricebergismelting.com

The story in a nutshell
Fred experienced on an adventurous trips that the iceberg, they live on, shows certain crackers. What to do with this information?
Fred is not part of the leadership team and doubts …who & how to contact. He is convinced that the habitat of his colony is in danger. Fred decides to contact Alice and tells her about his findings. Alice informs the leadership team and invites them to join Fred on a trip to check the situation themselves. The members are not interested in this; they are too busy with their daily routine.
Alice is looking for alternatives (how to address the topic) she is successful in asking Louis, to invite Fred for their next meeting.
Fred presents his findings via a new & unexpected idea: the model of the iceberg.
Fred puts the model in place at the meeting venue, the evening before. When is arriving the next day all board members are standing around the model and talking. After Fred’s presentation there is a great silence.
NoNo ‘breaks the ice’ with his first reaction: a madly of creative options to say NO. Fred is getting insecure, Alice shows him to stay calm. Alice wants to set up a general meeting, this idea scares the other team members. Fred is offering a test idea. Fred explains his plan and get’s a go.
An exploring team is created, the first expedition can begin, experiences & insights are shared afterwards. An old cultural standard has been changed in a creative way by the children. By doing so new options are available now to find solutions for a challenging future.

Set up of the book
The fable is presented in 115 pages. Kotter invites to reflect on the story and the process. An overview follows of the most remarkable changes & a more in-depth view on the role of thinking & feeling.

The roots of the bookKotter wrote the book ‘Leading Change’ (1996) and won an award for being the best selling manager’s book. Kotter designed his famous 8 steps for change. Six years later Kotter wrote ‘a new chapter’ with Dan Cohen: The heart of change. Their most important insight where:
•people are less temped to change themselves and others based on facts & analysis, they prefer inspiring experiences;
•the speed of change is getting faster and faster & 90% of the companies have a tendency to ignore the relevance of change;
•the way of handling change becomes an important competence for more people than only the top management;
•middle and lower management had hardly no knowledge about how to react on & handle with change;
•the need of urgency should be addressed more powerful.

In that time Kotter met Rathgeber, together they designed a training model based on a penguin colony.The next step was the book: Our iceberg is melting.
The aim of this book was to change behavior, based on the power of a good story.
Good narratives can inspire big groups of different people to come into action.
In my humble opinion there is an interesting parallel between step 1 (create a sense of urgency) and the policy the authors used to promote their fable...

Online support
the book is only one tool in the Kotter change management tool box. His company also offers workshops and online tools like websites: www.ouricebergismelting.com ; www.theheartofchange.com and www.johnkotter.com
Online you can meet Mr. Kotter via a selection of video clips in which he presents his books and explains his theories.
These tools are also easy to use for the more mobile living & working members of the 21st century.



Mr. John P. Kotter …
•Emeritus at the Harvard Business School
•A graduate of MIT & Harvard
•Cofounder of Kotter International www.kotterinternational.com

The connection with my application company
I used the 8 steps guideline to reflect my active knowledge and my task at the application company.
I use the content in two ways: What is happening at my application company & what is happening in the field.
o basic: more insight information about change, the need & the process
o I created a MARS team
o communicate, communicate: I’m part if the online communication group
o empower broad based action: My task is to set up a Community of Practice
o generate short term wins: I wrote a tourism vision & I’m part of the event Day of the Dike

In general
o I think it is of great value that both individuals and groups can learn from the fable.
o Even when you are not part of an obvious change management process, the content prepares you for the future.
o The Dutch edition is easy to as a starting point for a creative session about change and/or change leaders.

Book details
Our Iceberg is Melting, Kotter, John & Rathgeber, Holger, (2005) publisher St. Martins Press, New York; translationin Dutch 2007 7th edition, publisher Business Contact www.businesscontact.nl - ISBN 978-90-470-0092-1

Give yourself a break and read this book !
Wilma Lankhorst