1. Creating the NOW Attitude “Our Iceberg is Melting” Model
Prepared by:
James J. Messina, Ph.D.

2. Handling the Unexpected
“Our Iceberg is Melting” model
Importance of sense of urgency
Ways to instill the sense of urgency
Obstacles of complacency

3. “Our Iceberg Is Melting”
A story about an iceberg colony whose future is uncertain

4. “Our Iceberg Is Melting”
Fred finds problem and needs to instill sense of urgency

5. “Our Iceberg Is Melting”
Fred needs to inform colony of potential problem and possible solutions

6. “Our Iceberg Is Melting”
Fred seeks help of others to overcome complacency of the group

7. NoNo

8. The 80-20 Principle 20 % Doers vs. 80 % Non-doers (NoNo) Doers
Responsible for the survival of life
Must always face negative criticisms of non-doers
Non-doers (NoNo)
Complacent, comfortable & stubborn
Usually the ones to point the finger of blame first – “Why me?”, “It’s not fair.” or “It won’t work.”
Need to move more people into the Doers

9. Major Obstacles of Complacency
The absence of a major crisis
Too many visible resources
Low standards of performance
Organizational structure that focuses employees on narrow functional goals
Internal measurements that focus on the wrong performance indexes

10. More Major Obstacles of Complacency
Human nature of denial
Too much happy talk from upper management
Lack of sufficient performance feedback from external sources
Kill the messenger culture

11. Instilling the Sense of Urgency
How do YOU put the wheel in motion?
How do YOU get the NOW attitude?

13. YOU MUST DISRUPT THE STATUS QUO MENTALITY

14. How to disrupt the Status Quo
Create a Crisis
Eliminate examples of excess
Set revenue, productivity & customer satisfaction so high that they can not be meet by present business practice
Increase department’s responsibility for overall business performance
Send more data about customer satisfaction to employees

15. More on: How to disrupt the Status Quo
Insist on confronting unsatisfied relationships immediately
Use consultants in manager meetings to drive honest discussions & use of more relevant data
Stop happy talk when not appropriate
Bombard people with information on future opportunities/rewards & organization’s current inability to pursue those opportunities

16. - Lawrence Miller
“The achievement of excellence can only occur if the organization promotes a culture of creative dissatisfaction.”

17. Do YOU Have What it Takes to Create the “NOW” Attitude ?

18. Eight Step Process to Successful Change by John Kotter
Set the Stage 1. Create a sense of Urgency 2. Pull together the guiding team Decide What to Do 3. Develop the change vision and strategy

19. Eight Step Process to Successful Change by John Kotter
Make it Happen 4. Communicate for Understanding and Buy in 5. Empower others to act 6. Produce short-term wins 7. Don’t let up Make it Stick 8. Create a new culture

20. Summary
Why is it important for YOU to have a sense of urgency in the face of change?
What are the obstacles that can stop YOU in the process of change?
Do YOU understand the ways to instill the sense of urgency?

21. References
John P. Kotter and Holger Rathgeber (2005). Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Suceeding Under Any Conditions. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
John P. Kotter (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
John P. Kotter and Dan S. Cohen (2002). The Heart of Change: Real-Life Stories of How People Change Their Organizations. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Our Iceberg is Melting website: