July Book Review
I LIKE BIG BOOKS AND I CANNOT LIE
Your cheat sheet to learning from books without having to read them.
‘Our Iceberg is Melting’ by John Kotter
You might ask yourself:
‘Why should I read a story about cute penguins?’ Because the story is just the tip of the iceberg and many new learnings and ideas lie beneath it. The only constant in life is change and we either adapt to it or stay behind. So what do the penguins teach us?
8 steps to fight the battle of change and achieve victory
Create A Sense of Urgency – Unless the change is seen as urgent and in need of attention, it will not be focused on and acted upon. Show the people around you why the change is necessary.
Assemble the Guiding Team – Put together an inspiring group to guide the change, with the right mix of leadership skills, credibility, communication ability, analytical skills and sense of urgency.
Develop The Vision and Strategy – Clarify how the future will be different from the past and the present, and how the vision can be made a reality.
Communicate For Understanding and Buy In – All relevant stakeholders need to be included and empowered to make the change real. We need to make sure that everyone knows why the change is beneficial to them and the company to assure they support and further the new initiative.
Empower Others to Act – This step is about removing barriers so that everyone can contribute to transforming the vision into reality. It is essential to identify what are the possible barriers to successfully move forward.
Create Small Wins – To keep morale and energy high, goals must be broken into stages so we can see progress and celebrate success!
Don’t Give Up – This can be highly tempting because change is never easy. We need to stay strong and know our ‘Why?’ and how everyone will benefit in the end.
Create A New Culture – Ensure that the unlearning has happened. Change is not easy and to ensure that the benefits are kept, there must also be a cultural change, otherwise the team will naturally be pulled toward the old and more comfortable way of doing and seeing things.
I hope these 8 steps will help you to not only embrace change but to win at it!
Book Review by
Salme Tran,
Operations and Customer Service Leader, Career Club DK Advisory Board Member
Connect with her on LinkedIn
