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Penguins, Fish Sticks & New Year’s Resolutions
Happy new year! The start of a new year is traditionally a great time to consider change, but the window of opportunity is often short-lived. The challenge can be to find the right resources to help the reflective process and assist in setting a new course. Two popular books on change fit the bill and each requires less than an hour to read. Unlike most of the work we review here, these books have already translated theoretical principles on organizational change into an accessible format. There is no technical jargon, no previous knowledge is required and readers are transported to worlds where they might be able to make connections to their own workplace. They are also fun – both tell fictional stories, one of a penguin colony and the other of a hospital where the inspiration is provided by the owner of a local Sushi restaurant.
Melting Icebergs & Planning Change
Our Iceberg is Melting is a tale of penguins overcoming adversity, written by Harvard Professor, John Kotter, with help from Holger Rathgeber. It is a story of one penguin identifying that its environment is changing and the formation of a team to plan and implement the movement of the colony not only to a new iceberg but to a completely nomadic existence. Kotter’s eight steps for change, identified in greater depth in Leading Change, provide the framework for the story: “setting the stage”, “deciding what to do”, “making it happen” and “making it stick”. The book does a nice job of providing an easy way for thinking about a common problem in a different light and is also likely to put a smile on your face.
Our Iceberg is Melting does have its limitations, however. The life of a penguin is a relatively simple one – no set of multiple, overlapping, conflicting change projects riddled with vested interests! The penguin story also avoids any potentially negative aspects of change: no penguins are kicked out of the colony, “NoNo the Penguin” doesn’t seek revenge, no battles with other penguin colonies for the more desirable iceberg, and all the penguins benefit equally from their new world! This seems a far cry from most organizations with which we’re familiar. Those caveats aside, though – Our Iceberg is Melting is a fun and worthwhile read!
Fish and making change stick
The focus of Fish Sticks shifts to how to keep the momentum after a change project. In this tale, Lundin, Christensen and Paul create a story about a hospital ward that successfully adopted “Fish” principles (a set of ideas seeking to engage employees in their work) but where over time the benefits of the project have seemed to fade. A successful local restaurant acts as an inspiration for the characters to address this problem for change in the hospital and they essentially develop three points.
1. Individuals need to find a way to own the vision of change in the organization – “Find IT†by translating the corporate vision into something specific, personal and meaningful to their role.
2. They also need to translate the vision into action – “Live IT†by seizing every opportunity or “vision moment†to live out the vision.
3. Finally, individuals need to be open to feedback and willing to give it themselves – “Coach IT†to ensure the vision stays “strongâ€.
The strength of this book is that it is rooted in a reasonably realistic work setting with evidence of politics and normal life events. Unfortunately, being such a quick read, the characters are not particularly developed, the dialogue is a bit too predictable, and Sushi chefs with guru-like knowledge may be more of a stretch than a Penguin with a briefcase!! However, it does tackle an important issue - how to sustain change for the long-term – and could provide an interesting springboard for discussing change in work teams.
References:
Kotter, J., & Rathgeber, H. 2005. Our iceberg is melting: Changing and succeeding under any conditions. New York: St Martins Press.
Lundin, S. C., Christensen, J., & Paul, H. 2003. Fish sticks: A remarkable way to adapt to changing times and keep your work fresh. New York: Hyperion.
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Tom Lawrence, our editor, is the Weyerhaeuser Professor of Change Management at SFU.Read Tom's Posts
Graham Dover is a Doctoral student in the Business Faculty at SFU. Read Graham's Posts
Hi Graham - I’ll try again: as you probably know Dr Short used the pengiuns and melting iceberg to illustrate and explain the need for change at Waterfront. It painted a vivid and memeorable picture that I’m sure helped people look at the issue from a different perspective. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I think illustrating matters in this way is a great way of getting a point across and starting a discussion.