March 05, 2007
Our Iceberg is Melting
Change is all around us:
• Virtually, with new technology and improvements that our users have come to expect
• Physically, the campus landscape is changing directly around us, and within the library building itself there are changes (walls of reference coming down, computer cluster moving to the first floor from the second, just to name a few)
• Organizationally, there are departments that are assessing workflows, processing, and the best ways to re-invent themselves in order to meet our users expectations
So I thought it would be appropriate for me to review a new book on the "eight-step process of successful change" entitled Our Iceberg is Melting. If you liked "March of the Penguins" and "Happy Feet" then this is the perfect book for you. It is the story of a colony of penguins who haven't changed for many, many generations. Then one day one of them learns that the iceberg they have lived on for hundreds of years "appears" to be melting, and worried about their future, he suggests to the head penguins that they need to move. The ensuing fable is a great way to get people thinking about change and one of the authors just happens to be John Kotter, author of the best-selling management book "Leading Change" (library copy HD 58.8 .K65 1996)
Here is the eight-step process -- the authors give it to you at the end of the book, just in case you want to "get right to the good stuff" but I highly recommend reading the book first.
The Eight-Step Process:
1.) Create a sense of urgency
2.) Pull together the guiding team
3.) Develop the change vision and strategy
4.) Communicate for understanding and buy in
5.) Empower others to act
6.) Produce short-term wins
7.) Don't let up
8.) Create a new culture
Here are some great sources (all accessed 3/5/07) on change management to get you started:
http://www.whomovedmycheese.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management
http://home.att.net/~nickols/change.htm
http://www.fastcompany.com/online/30/toolbox5.html
http://www.strategy-business.com/media/file/resilience-04-15-04.pdf
http://www.bpubs.com/Management_Science/Change_Management/
Marcy Simons