Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions

Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions is a business fable about penguins who learn to work together to deal with a dangerous change to their environment, a lesson that also applies to people in the workplace and in organizations. Written by award-winning management consultant John Kotter with co-author Holger Rathgeber, the book was first published in 2006 and became a New York Times bestseller. It’s noted for its eight-step process for successful change. The ebook version of the 10th anniversary revised edition forms the basis for this study guide.

Summary

A colony of a few hundred penguins lives happily on a big iceberg that floats off the coast of Antarctica. One penguin, Fred, realizes there may be a crisis brewing deep within their home. He brings Alice, a penguin leader, underneath the iceberg to see the fissures, canals, and caves that have formed in the structure and are filling with water: When the water freezes and expands, this could crack open the iceberg.

Fred and Alice visit the Leadership Council with their concerns, but the Council balks and wants merely to start a committee to investigate. Alice points out that, if disaster strikes, many penguins will die, and their relatives won’t take kindly to leaders who explain their inaction on the grounds that they weren’t absolutely positive that there was a problem.

Fred fills a glass bottle with water and caps it; overnight, the water inside freezes and breaks the bottle. This proves his point, and the leaders resolve that something must be done. They call a general assembly, where Alice and Fred explain the situation. Most of the colony concurs. The leaders stress the urgency and encourage everyone to think up ways to solve the problem.

Head Penguin Louis calls together Alice, Fred, Buddy, and leading intellectual Jordan as his team to manage the crisis. Louis guides them in team-building exercises—hunting squid together, talking about their hopes and dreams—and within a few days they’re a tight-knit group.

Colony members propose lots of solutions, from drilling down into the iceberg to relieve the pressure to moving onto the Antarctic continent itself. Fred discovers a rare seagull on the iceberg. Buddy speaks with the bird, who says he’s a scout for his nomadic clan. Louis realizes that the penguins, too, can search for a new place to live, and he convinces most of the colony to take up that cause.

The penguins begin to prepare for the rigors of scouting, but the naysayers raise doubts and stir up fears; participation dwindles. Louis’s team responds quickly, providing counterpoint to negative speakers, encouraging adults to join the project, and inspiring children with stories of heroes who help others.

To quicken progress, the leaders dispatch a hand-picked group of scouts who search the nearby seas for places that bear further scrutiny. When they return, they’ll need food, but the colony’s penguins traditionally only feed their own families. Kindergartener Sally Ann devises a workaround: She suggests that the upcoming Hero’s Day festival charge admission of two fish per adult. Her idea works beautifully, and the returning scouts, famished from their trip, receive bounteous meals. The scouts report that one iceberg in particular should get another look.

The colony sends a second wave of scouts, including Jordan. This group thoroughly explores the candidate iceberg and pronounces it excellent. The colony promptly sets off for the new home, and everyone gets there without a single loss of life. They make it safely through the winter, and the following year, scouts discover an even better iceberg that the penguins promptly occupy. Here they thrive, and their population grows.

Not wanting the newly learned lessons to fade, the penguins develop a course in scouting and lectures on the history of the colony; they also encourage discussion groups that keep alive enthusiasm for exploration and creative problem solving. Louis retires to become an elder statesman; Alice takes over the role of Head Penguin; Jordan accepts the job of chief weather forecaster; Fred becomes Head of the Scouts; Buddy finds and recruits top candidates for important support jobs. Louis notes with satisfaction that the biggest change of all is that the colony became willing to change.

In the final chapters, the authors suggest how groups can learn from the penguin colony’s experience. Especially important is the Eight-Point Process for creating successful change: (1) generate urgency; (2) collect a guide team; (3) create a vision and strategy; (4) send out a clear, inspiring message; (5) encourage others to take action; (6) get momentum with quick wins; (7) keep moving forward; and (8) embed the new change in the group culture.

As the world modernizes, changes come harder and faster. More than ever, there’s a need for organized teams of problem solvers, continuous communication throughout organizations, and an ongoing culture of creative innovation.