learn by fun - my iceberg is melting
TRANSCRIPT
MY ICEBERG IS MELTING
LEADERSHIP & CHANGE MANAGEMENT
M R Jhalawad
Iceberg
Iceberg is a large floating mass of ice detached froma polar glacier or ice sheet and carried out to sea.
हि�मखंड हि�मशैल
INTRODUCTIONThis is a fable dealing with complicated
subject like Leadership & Change Management
Fables are powerful because they take serious, confusing, and threatening subjects.
Make them clear and approachableFables can be memorable.They can stimulate thoughts, teach
important lessons and motivate any one – old or young- to use those lessons
The fable that follow was inspired by John Kotter’s award winning research on how successful change happens.
Once upon a TimeThere was a penguins colony in the frozen
Antarctica on an iceberg268 penguins were living there for many yearsIceberg was surrounded by a sea rich in food.Fred was a cute penguin like others.Fred was unusually curious & observant.Fred fished less and studied the iceberg & sea
more.Fred was doing just what seemed right to himFred had a briefcase full of observations & ideasHe arrived at a conclusion that the iceberg is
Melting And Might Break Apart Soon.It would be a disaster for penguinsFred knew he had to do something
AliceThe colony had a leadership council known as
group of ten, lead by Head PenguinAlice was one of the ten bosses, tough & practicalShe had a reputation of getting things doneFred shared his study with Alice & told his
findingsAlice said , skeptically, “take me to the place that
most clearly shows the problemPlace was underneath & inside. Both moved
there.Below the surface Fred pointed out fissures &
other clear symptoms of deterioration caused by melting
Fred saw her perplexed look, so he explained her.
Root Cause of the ProblemDuring a cold winter, the narrow cannels filled with
water can freeze quickly trapping water inside.Because a freezing liquid dramatically expands in
volume , the iceberg can be broken into pieces.Alice was shaken, she asked question after questionShe assured Fred that she will take up the matter.Alice contacted all members, asked them to see the
place. But no one was willing, they were skeptical.Alice asked Louis, The Head of penguins to invite
Fred in next meeting to present & defend his conclusions.
As Alice persistently insisted, The Head agreed to invite Fred to meeting
Personality Traits of Council MembersTwo members loved to debate validity of statistics One member would fall asleep Another member was un comfortable with
numbersTwo other members did not like to be toldFred was to face team exhibiting above charactersFred thought to give practical demonstrationHe constructed a model of the iceberg using real
snow and iceMeeting was at the hill top. Fred moved the model to the meeting place with help from his friends previous night.
MeetingWhen Fred reached meeting place members were
looking to his model mystified and debatingLouis asked Fred to tell about his discovery.Fred told story of his discovery & tried to explain
through his model.There was silence when demonstration completedAlice informed the group of having seen the spot
herself and that this cannot be ignored.Name of one member was NoNo, responsible for
weather forecast, which invariably were wrong.NoNo asserted that iceberg was solid & strong. Melting is common during summer, in winter things
return to normal.What is guarantee that data & conclusions are
correct
Practical DemonstrationFred asked for some time and went downHe brought a glass bottle. He explained that bottle looks like ice , but it is notIt is harder than ice, it warms up but does not meltWe could fill it with water, seal the hole & place it in
cold wind.Tomorrow we can see whether it breaks by the force
of expanding water as it freezes?Louis agreed for a trial & assigned this job to BuddyNext day when bottle was brought it was clearly broken .They decided to call general body meeting of the colony
General Body meeting
Alice narrated about her journey & coming dangerThe birds were stunnedLot of arguments exchanged in favor and against.There looked to be no unanimity.There was suggestion to form a committee to
discuss and analyze problem. Important thing was that the first step –
REDUCING COMPLACENCY AND INCREASING URGENCY - was taken to save the colony.
Louis thought of the next step to be taken.Complacency
Birds Steering CommitteeLouis called Alice, Fred, Buddy, and Jordon.Jordon was called professor because of his
intellectual abilitiesLouis t0ld them that the colony need a
team of birds to guide it through this difficult period.
He believed that five of us are best team for the task
Professor asked why do you assume that five of us can succeed?
Louis asked the professor to list strengths of all the five members.
Jordan narrated as:
Strength AnalysisLouis – head penguins. Enough experience to be
wise.Alice – practical. Aggressive. Making things
happen. Does not care about status and treat everyone same
Buddy –boyishly handsome. No ambition, TrustedFred – younger. Amazingly curious and creative.
Level - headed. Insufficient data to assess his IQ. Me – logical. Fascinated by interesting questions. He said Louis, “What you said is remarkably
logical.”They were not very sure where & how to startThe Head found a way out to begin with.
Turning Five Birds Into A Close Knit TeamLouis suggested that it would help if all of us
close our eyes for a moment.All followed himLouis asked to point to East keeping eyes closed.All did so.Now open your eyes Louis asked them All pointed in different direction. The Professor indicated that Louis like to turn
the five birds into a close knit team.Within two days penguins certainly looked much
less like individuals pointing in different directionLouis succeeded in pulling together a team to
guide the needed change
Finding The Way OutAlice suggested to ask other birds to find solutionsOne bird suggested to drill a hole from surface
down to channel to let out water & pressure.The Professor pointed that if all the birds work 24
hours , it will take 5.2 yearsAnother idea came to find a perfect iceberg.Few more ideas were presented but they were not
accepted. Birds were getting disparateAn elderly bird suggested we should do what Fred
did after knowing the problemWalk around keeping our eyes & ear open. Be
curiousLouis accepted the suggestion. Let us try new
approach
A Ray of HopeThey went west. Saw surroundings & heard othersAfter an hour or so Fred said, “Up there.”Fred was looking at a seagull. Normally there is no
seagull in Antarctica, they all stared“What is it,” asked Buddy.Fred replied he does not know. But a bird cannot fly
forever. Must have a home on ground. Is seagull trying to live with them?, It could freeze as a rock in less than a week.Has Seagull lost the way? But, not looking afraid What if moving from one piece of land to another was just the way it lived………… Nomad. A wild idea came to Fred’s
mind
A New Way Of LifeAlice said, “You are not suggesting
………………..?The Head Penguin responded by saying ,
“We are thinking about possibility of a new & different way of living.” We need to think through carefully.
A New Way Of Life
Alice suggested we should know more about the
bird
They all searched the seagull and found in half
an hour.
In warm & gentle voice Buddy introduced all
members to the seagull.
Seagull listened, but kept a distance
Buddy asked seagull, “Where do you come from
& what are you looking for here?
A New Way Of LifeSeagull said, “I am a scout. I fly ahead of the clan
looking for where we might live next.In reply to The Professor’s questions seagull told
of his clan ‘s nomadic existence.He spoke about what they are, what it was like to
be scoutBy this time seagull began to turn blue and have
trouble speaking , he said good-bye and flew awayProfessor & Buddy were not convinced that what
was good for seagull, could be good for them also.We are differentThere were lot of discussions but they could not
arrive to any consensus .
Decision MakingFollowing day Louis called a meeting of the
entire colony.In response to quarries from Louis all
members agreed that they are disciplined, have sense of responsibility, stand for brotherhood.
Then Louis asked, “Are these beliefs, shared value are linked to a large piece of ice!!
Alice shouted, “Not.” She was followed by the professor, Fred & few of younger birds.
Louis said, “I would like you to listen to Buddy.”Buddy narrated the story – seagull is a scout
for his clan, he explores territory to find good place for his colony to move next .
Decision MakingThey are free! They go where ever they like to go.Penguins had many questions and were sharing with
others. Louis let the jabbering go on for a while.When noise subsided he told crowed, “This iceberg
is not who we are. It is only where we now live.” We are smarter, stronger, and more capable.So why cannot we do what they have done, & betterWe can leave it behind, let it melt, let it break We will find other place to live. When necessary we will move again. We will never have to put our families at risk.We will prevail
Impact
Impact of Louis talk can be assessed as
1. 30% were convinced
2. 30% were digesting what they heard
3. 20% were very confused
4. 10% were skeptical but not hostile
5. 10% thought the plan was completely
absurd
Ups & DownsAlice explained her latest ideas .Let us put every where slogansWe need to remind birds what they have heardWe need much more communicationCommunicating the new vision of nomadic life
for the most part was successfulA dozen birds expressed interest in being
scout.Many more birds who were enthusiastic were
becoming frosted.All sorts of information started flowing – good,
bad, encouraging, discouraging NoNo was misguiding people.
Concrete ActionsSome urgent actions were needed.Louis asked Buddy to select motivated scouts &
send them off to search for potential homes.Scouts were successful in their mission to find
new iceberg for the colonyNext morning Louis called the scouts, heard them
and selected another team to explore promising possibilities at iceberg suggested by first team.
Second team of scouts found an iceberg that look suitable for a number of reasons. A safe home.
They decided to move there on May the 12th just before the start of Antarctica's winter.
All birds were asked to get ready for this
OutcomeThey finally moved to new colonyAs time went on, the colony thrived, it grew &
grewIt became more skilled at handling new dangers
that it learned from melting adventure.So many members of the colony had grown less
afraid of changeThey learned the specific steps needed to make
adjustments to new circumstancesThey worked well together to keep leaping into a
better & better futureToday, the colony moves around like nomadsMost have accepted it. Some love it. Some never
will
Fables can be fun, but their power, as with penguins story, lies in
helping to act smarter, producing more, achievement, less confusion, lower stress, and a general sense of
being in control through understanding what is going around
you. People from all walks of life have
consciously used the Penguins story to better achieve what they want and what their organization need.
Fable’s Impact
Understanding Change ManagementAsk yourself questions such as:
This should be supplemented by Kotter’s research on successful change
Let us study Kotter’s famous elements of change management
Who are the NoNo around me?
Who are the Alices & Freds?
Who am I?
First Step - Set The Stage
Create sense of urgency
Help others to see the need for change and importance of acting immediately
Second Step – Pull Together the Guiding Team
Pull together the guiding team
Make sure that there is a powerful group guiding the change – with leadership , credibility, communication, authority, analytical skills.
Third Step – Decide What to Do
Develop the change vision & strategy.
Clarify how the future will be different from the past and how you can make that future a reality
Fourth Step – Make It Happen
Communicate for understanding & Buy In.
Make sure as many others as possible understand & accept the vision & strategy
Fifth Step – Empower Others To Act
Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do it.
Sixth Step – Produce Short - Term Wins
Create some
visible,
unambiguous
success as soon as
possible
Seventh Step – Do Not Let Up
Press harder & faster after the first success.
Be relentless with initiating change after change until vision is a reality
Eighth Step – Make It Stick
Create a new culture.
Hold on to new ways of behaving , and make sure they succeed, until they become strong enough to replace old tradition
Pay Off Of This Exercise
When you act in concert with others, Because you all have read, reflected, and discussed the same fable, the end result can be very powerful
Source:OUR ICEBERG IS MELTING
Changing & Succeeding Under Any ConditionsJOHN KOTTER
The award-Winning Author From Harvard Business School
HOLGER RATHGEBERPublisher:St. Press – New York