Introduction
Following in the line of the innovative management and leadership book, Who Moved My Cheese? – Dr.Spenser Johnson, the work, Our Iceberg is Melting by Harvard Business School alumni and professor, Dr. John Kotter, is indeed a new vision to lead and shows innovative strategies of team spirit and business conscience through an engaging fable about a colony of penguins in Antarctica, where one penguin realizes that they are facing a crisis situation, as their home, the iceberg is melting. There is a Leadership Council that manages all problems of their world but unfortunately, they refuse to believe the warnings of the lone and concerned penguin. Then, the characters of the story, Fred, Alice, Louis, Buddy, The Professor, and NoNo, make a team and organize themselves to heroically resist the change that is threatening their world- i.e. global warming, that is melting their home slowly but surely. There are several obstacles in their path to change the world for the better, mostly in the form of opposition and criticism from the Leadership Council, but they handle the problem with intelligence, innovation, and team spirit and succeed in solving the major crisis.
Main text
The innocent-looking fable is highly inspiring to management students as well as entrepreneurs and CEOs, who have forgotten the path to innovation and inspirational changes in the business. The book has caricatured the dominant management system of America which is going sterile and adversely affecting the management of educational institutions and the industries. One can learn from the fable about the stereotypical characteristics of ordinary people; scared of innovation; ambition or dreams; without the ability of successful leadership and unaware of their potential to change their world for the better.
Our Iceberg is Melting is unique as it propagates the Eight- step path to success for management professionals and enterprising entrepreneurs. The steps are as follows:
- Step 1: One should always act with a sense of urgency in a crisis situation. Examining the market conditions and learning the real, if grim competitive realities will help assess the situation better; will help identify the problem and with discussion, one can tide over the crisis or create better opportunities in the future.
- Step 2: Developing a good and dependable team and getting them to understand the crisis and allow them to contribute to its solution is the mark of a great leader. A leader should recognize the potential of people who can change things with a different and dedicated outlook and encourage them to work as a team.
- Step 3: Dreaming for a change or envisioning a different way of doing things makes a person great. A good leader will try to do things differently and help make strategies that will achieve that vision. A good leader dares to be innovative without being rash.
- Step 4: Communication is a very important part of bringing about the desired change. The leader should use all possible tactics and vehicles available to communicate this new vision and if needed, train and teach the new behavior or strategies to the team members. This helps bring change faster and in a more organized manner.
- Step 5: Just as there are hurdles in a race, there will be obstacles to any new idea or project but a powerful leader assesses the obstacles and tries to remove them by changing the existing structures or systems by encouraging unconventional ways of thinking, working, and planning.
- Step 6: A large vision might come true in small victories. Thus, any management guru or leader should plan for short-0 term improvements and success rates that will boost the confide3nce of the teammates as well as help in being recognized and rewarded by the organization, helping the project gain a stronger ground.
- Step 7: Failures will occur but a good leader never lets them stop the project. The project might need to be re-invented with different strategies, better communication, and a different set of themes or employees that will help the vision be successful ultimately. Changing structures, policies or systems might help in the long run.
- Step 8: Once a change is brought about, it needs to be sustained with a positive mindset and the process of attaining this vision must be shared with other employees, so as to motivate them and continue the cycle of success.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be noted that the book critiques the absolute control of the American government over all kinds of information and their autocracy in the making of laws or other legislation that might change the country for the better. They do not heed the words of individuals or even groups that talk about sensitive issues, which are subdued from the public gaze, like measures against global warming or wars to be conducted. However, the book inspires management professionals to try to work the system to their own creative dreams. This is a book that would be helpful for any management student and from a personal point of view, it is highly recommendable.