Changes with Penguins: A Q&A with Harvard Guru John Kotter
June 02, 2008
Harvard guru John Kotter's penguin fable and training program teach organizations how to Lead Bold Change.
By Lorri Freifeld
 Dr. John Kotter knows a little something about change. After all, he went from writing 190-page books on change to penning a short fable complete with large print and colorful illustrations about penguins and how they solved their melting iceberg problem. And at age 54 he became the youngest professor to retire from Harvard Business School, deciding to parlay his change research into a training program, "Leading Bold Change," based on the fable and his 8 Steps to Successful Change (see sidebar at the end of this article).
The fable, "Our Iceberg Is Melting," is about an emperor penguin colony in Antarctica. One day, a curious bird discovers a potentially devastating problem threatening their home (iceberg), but no one listens to him. The characters in the story (see sidebar on p. 28) all can be found in organizations around the world. Their tale is one of resistance to change and heroic action in the face of seemingly intractable obstacles.
"Our goal in writing 'Our Iceberg Is Melting' was to draw on the incredible power of good stories to influence behavior over time—making individuals and their groups more competent in handling change and producing better results," Dr. Kotter writes at the end of the fable he coauthored with former trainer Holger Rathgeber, SVP of HR at medical technology company Becton Dickinson in Germany. "One of the beauties of a good story is that it can induce action from a broad range of people in a manner quite different from most traditional professional books."
Dr. Kotter explains further in a recent Training interview: "Change is an anxiety-producing thing. The book has a disarming quality, and it flows with people.We were getting so many e-mails around the world about the book, so I thought maybe there's something in a learning pedagogy that could be transferred to training. Then it was a matter of putting the pieces together to create the Leading Bold Change training program."
In this exclusive cover story, Training offers a Q&A with Dr. Kotter (who says he sees himself as "poor Fred" who sounded the alarm about the melting iceberg, while the character he most enjoyed inventing is tough, practical, solution-oriented Alice—"that's why I had her take over at the end"), plus case studies of three companies—MasterCard Worldwide, Black & Decker, and Kaiser Permanente—that are implementing change initiatives.
"We never cease to be amazed at the creative ways people invent to jump ahead and develop better futures for small groups, for large organizations, and for themselves personally," Dr. Kotter and Rathberger write. "Humans can (sometimes) be even more clever than penguins."
Which of the 8 Steps to Successful Change do most organizations seem to have the most difficulty implementing? Why?
 Kotter: Organizations have problems with all the steps, but most people most often get it wrong at the beginning. They think they've moved beyond the first step, which is urgency. People around them seem to have it, but two levels down, they don't. Or they see people scrambling around—frenetic activity with meetings and projects—and think they are accomplishing something. But all that activity often is driven by anxiety or anger, not urgency. In addition, people scampering around the building don't see the complacency in the organization.
When it comes to change, there are several scenarios:
• Some people just don't see the bigger forces at play because they have their noses to the ground.
• Some people listen to the change message, but don't believe it.
• Some people see the need for change but don't know what to do.
• Some people are trying to do something but are running into obstacles.
• A sliver of people are doing change well.
What type(s) of training (both in terms of delivery and content) seem to be most effective in initiating and implementing change?
 Kotter: When we were developing the Leading Bold Change program, I said to Holger [coauthor and a former trainer], "Be creative, let your mind go wild." Then I lined up Black & Decker and said, "Here are the concepts, see if you can create something." I provide the overall vision, and ISB Worldwide facilitates the program. Together, we created something that has the potential to be very powerful. It uses the 8 Step approach, but it trains not by PowerPoint but by sneaking up on you. For example, I gave a speech about change to the top 100 people at a $5 billion company. ISB Worldwide presented the Leading Bold Change program two to three hours after my talk and then the next day. While the CEO and I chatted at the back of the room, these typical executives were howling and throwing plush penguins around. They were being sucked into it and having fun with it. Then they started action planning around an event they wouldn't forget.
So, at the content level is the 8-Step process and getting them to apply it to the situations they're in. The other level is how to get them engaged and work on this, how to overcome their initial anxiety about change. For example, LBC trainers throw "fish" to people who get the right answer—this creates a middle school attitude and gets them immediately into insights about the nature of change in a goofy way that isn't scary. Then we start speaking a common language, beginning with the iceberg. Then they get into the characters. Who are you and who are the people around you? Do you have six Professors and one Buddy on your team? That's not going to wash. We learned in our "Heart of Change" research that visuals are very important, so we have pictures of penguins everywhere. The place is a visual wonderland that keeps you in the story and keeps you out of the cognitive part of the brain. Thus, each group comes in with a shared story, instead of each person with his or her individual story. Ultimately, it builds up to the serious part—the rolling up your sleeves and diving into how do I go about tackling change better.
What tips for change would you offer to global companies that are geographically dispersed and cross multiple cultures?
Kotter: In smaller companies, the more change programs can cover the whole organization—there's a direct analogy to the 250 penguins in the book. In global companies, it's rare to move 42 million people in 72 countries a step to the left. Instead, it tends to work in pieces. I just got off the phone with a person in charge of a U.S. division of a huge company, who said, "We have to get our group going, so we can provide a role model for other groups." They get something rolling and are noticed by other parts of the company. If you can get different rates of change going, the whole thing starts to move.
As for different cultures, this change model is based on human nature and cuts across cultures, sectors (public/private), and generations.
Often, employees are open to change but have concerns about their company's willingness or ability to provide the necessary resources. How does a company overcome those concerns?
Kotter: Fears hold people back. They've seen people get whacked in the past or they think, "Things are working fine now, so why change?" One way to get by this is to send someone off for three years of psychoanalysis. Another is to find a way to purposely disarm the fears. Humor is great for this. I'm a feedback guy, and I've found you can get the audience more engaged by using humor.
Some might say that finding another iceberg is not the final solution—it's just putting off a bigger problem (i.e., what to do about global warming—where do the penguins go when there are no more icebergs?). How do you respond to that?
Kotter: The point is that there is no permanent iceberg. Life is going to change, so just get used to it. It can be fun. You can train the next generation to do it better. You're going to be moving. You may end up living on something other than an iceberg, but even that may turn into an iceberg. The ultimate solution—nomadic existence in which the penguins move from iceberg to iceberg—was our analogy that what sustains you is going to change.
What is your own "iceberg" right now?
 Kotter: My iceberg now is that when you get good at something you are tempted to stay in that box forever. I want to keep creating new things that have broader reach. I'd like to help the world get 100 million people to lead organizations and their own lives better through the work we're doing. Another of my icebergs is convincing the people working with me to move forward with me. And I only realized in July as I was sitting in the audience of a Leading Bold Change session that my team was not complete. They give you sticky things with the characters' faces on them and ask you to choose the one that is most like you and stick it on your shirt. Then you have to identify the people around you and match them to characters. At that moment, I realized I didn't have all the "characters" I need around me to accomplish what I need to accomplish. I thought, "Why in the world didn't I see this before?" So, I've recently made some huge decisions to try to put the missing elements into my team.
Case Studies
MasterCard Worldwide Takes Charge of Change
MasterCard Worldwide's melting iceberg first surfaced in 2006. That's when the company went public and began encountering all the changes associated with that milestone in the company's 40-year history.
Kaiser Permanente's Healthy Approach to Change
In March 2007, Kaiser Permanente charged new Chief Information Officer Phil Fasano with driving the organization's technology agenda and leading its 5,600 IT employees.
Black & Decker: Building a Model for Change
Imagine seasoned businessmen and women clutching and stroking plush penguins during a training session. It may sound odd, but that was the scene during a Leading Bold Change (LBC) training session for Black & Decker Hardware and Home Improvement Group executives.
Editor's Note: Dr. Kotter's next book, "A Sense of Urgency" (Harvard Business School Press) focuses on the first step in his change model (creating a sense of urgency) and is due out in September 2008.
Sidebar: Cast of Characters
Fred: Unusually curious, observant, and creative; level-headed; fished less and studied the iceberg and sea more. He was the first to notice the iceberg was melting.
Louis: Top penguin and head of the Leadership Council (aka the Group of 10); patient, conservative, not easily flustered, respected by all except NoNo and the teenagers, smart (but not an intellectual heavyweight). He put together the team of himself, Fred, Alice, Buddy, and the Professor to solve the problem.
Alice: Member of the Leadership Council; tough, practical bird with a reputation of getting things done, didn't care about status, impossible to intimidate. She listened to Fred, made the case to the council, and worked to find a solution.
Jordan the Professor: Closest the Leadership Council had to an intellectual; well-read, fascinated by interesting questions. He obtained and analyzed information.
Buddy: Quiet, boyishly handsome penguin everyone liked and trusted; not ambitious, not an intellectual heavyweight. He communicated the message of change and the solution to the rest of the penguins.
NoNo: Older, heavyset bird responsible for weather forecasting. He refused to believe Fred's dire predictions about the iceberg or participate in any problem-solving activities; he also worked to sabotage possible solutions.
ISB Worldwide Corporate Learning Management provides access to top business thought leaders and best-of-breed corporate training offerings. For the last 20 years, it has assisted organizations in developing leaders at all levels through in-house workshops, trainer certification programs, and licensed programs and products in all major leadership and management disciplines. For information, call 877.258.6231 or visit www.isbworldwide.com.
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