Book Review Of Our Iceberg Is Melting
The book was an exciting way to learn how to develop a change process; it’s not often we see a fable in the business world, much like a children’s fable. However, this book is about a penguin colony that discovers the iceberg may or may not be melting. Many outcomes could occur should the iceberg break; the main concern is a tragedy, like humans in our day-to-day issues. One distant but fascinating penguin, Fred, discovers this but is not seen as an essential person in the colony, just someone who keeps to himself. Another main character is Alice; she is somewhat quick to go from one to twelve with her emotions, though she decides that Fred has a point and that the leadership council should be made aware of the issue before it is too late to plan.
Alice was sceptical but created a sense of urgency by informing the leaders of this issue. As expected, when the information was relayed, there were many reactions. Like in the business world, one person may become livid, and one person will analyze the issue before responding. In the story, Fred becomes creative in trying to help the leaders understand that he constructs a model of the iceberg and the potential danger. Though he could not guarantee it would occur but was a chance.
The leaders decide they must inform the colony; they decide to do this in a general meeting to increase the urgency and not to “wait and see” what happens. The colony is understandably upset, distraught and a ball of emotions. Imagine the emotions that would arise if you received the news that a major disaster was about to happen to your home! A seagull visits the colony and provides a new vision per se to the penguin colony, and some develop a vision of a new home.
They pulled together a guiding team; they named them Scouts. The scouts were five penguins that went to look for a new home. Then Scouts are selected and sent out to find this new home; some find this scary because the penguins are not used to sharing or helping other families out by tradition. When change happens, one of the most challenging things to deal with is tradition. Consequently, other groups were constructed to develop this crisis’s change vision and strategy. Communication was vital to the colony, not just to say what would happen but to allow others to accept the change and get used to the new idea of a new place. They found new ways to communicate the messages, made posters, and put them all around to emphasize the advantages of a new way of life.
The kindergarten teacher, who feared she would not be needed, became vital to changing what she viewed as a minute. She talked with children having nightmares and discovered a way to start new traditions and unite the colony. The teacher and children came up with a plan to help the Scouts to be provided with food, much like payment for their services; this was a small goal or win for them. The colony agrees (mostly) to move and venture to a new place. Producing short-term wins is very encouraging in the change journey. Also, a valuable lesson or point is to celebrate the old. Often, old policies, traditions or strategies are dismissed out of hand as a new direction unfolds; this could be a major slap in the face to those who worked very hard along the way. During the change, an article by Judy Lindenberger states, “Leaders should recognize that such work happened, was important, and had meaning.”
Change is inevitably hard initially but eventually gets more accessible if we do not relinquish the task at hand. Eventually, the colony that had always done things by tradition became the nomad colony that embraced change, and if the environment started showing signs that were not suitable for living, they would seek out a new location; this became the way of life in this penguin colony. To many individuals, change can be tricky; to some, it may seem minor, but it is all in the eye of the beholder.
John Kotter is known for change; this fable wonderfully demonstrates the change process through a story. The steps include: establishing a sense of urgency, creating a guiding coalition, developing a vision and strategy, communicating the change vision, empowering employees for broad-based action, generating short-term wins, consolidating gains and producing more change, and anchoring new approaches in the culture.
In conclusion, this book may seem childish because of the nature of how the author wrote the book, but in my opinion, it was a great way of showing how change can be effective because the story of the penguin colony sticks in your mind. After all, it is not a typical business world style of writing. I enjoyed reading the book and learning how the leaders went about the change; it brought many perspectives.
Reference
Lindenberger, Judy (January 18, 2018) 8 Ways to Manage Change in the Workplace Effectively. Retrieved from URL.
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Question 
Complete and Submit Book Review and Reflection:
Our Iceberg Is Melting
Book Review Of Our Iceberg Is Melting
In your response, you must summarise and reflect from Our Iceberg Is Melting—yoReflection reference scholarly research. A minimum of “2-4” pages are required. 2-3 pages for the 3-hour student. 3-4 pages for the 5-hour student.
Note: Remember the purpose of the summary is to discuss the author’s TAP (Task=The topic of the reading; Audience=Who was the reading written for; Purpose=Why did the author write the reading?) Also, it must be clear that you have read the book upon reading your Summary and Reflections.
You may include your thoughts on the material, including areas in which you particularly relate or disagree as an “informed” opinion. The Reflection is where you may include any question reflection related to the reading (do not feel that you must include a question when you have none).
Digging deep into the reading content with reflective critical thinking and writing will increase your learning and is encouraged.
This assignment is worth up to 100 points.
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