That's not how we do it here! by John Kotter & Holger Rathgeber - Book Review

That's not how we do it here! is a fable which addresses the issue of how organisations and the individuals within them can respond to the present phenomenon of constant change. Whereas their previous fable, Our Iceberg is Melting, tackled the issue of how to lead change in a crisis situation, illustrating Kotter's eight step process for Leading Change; this book builds on Kotter's work in Accelerate XLR8. The essence of Kotter's argument here is that that established hierarchical managerial structures do not provide the agility for organisations to respond sufficiently quickly to the demands of the ever changing world of modern business. 

The fable is set in a Meerkat colony in the Kalahari Desert. 

1. Kotter first presents us with an established colony which has rigid leadership and management structures which are tried and tested and have seen the colony thrive in the past; and where innovative ideas are greeted with "That's not how we do it here!". However the colony is incapable of responding to the new challenges that a changing environment brings (drought, attacks by vultures).
2. Kotter then presents us with a "Start-up" Meerkat colony where there is shared vision and shared ownership. Meerkats are given the licence to explore new ideas and to solve problems creatively. However, this colony hits problems when it grows to a size where there is a loss of accountability and a lack of the discipline that allows larger organisations to operate.
3. Finally, Kotter presents us with his model which has features of both the established and the start-up models, thus allowing complex organisations to operate in changing environments.

At the heart of Kotter's approach is a different way of looking at the relationship between leadership and management. Organisational size and complexity demands management ; technological and other forces demand leadership. The modern era demands an approach that has the best of traditional leadership and management models. He illustrates this in the following grid:

1. Most organisations are in the bottom right quadrant: 'well run but bureaucratic and unable to change quickly'; 
2. Start up organisation are in the top left quadrant: 'Innovative, adaptive and energetic, but chaotic.
3. Kotter's model is in the top right quadrant, 'Well run and Innovative, adaptive and energetic.'

This book only touches on Kotter's theory in this respect and readers would be well advised to invest in  Accelerate XLR8 for deeper insight.

Once again this is a hugely accessible book which enables leaders to help their organisations understand why there is a need for change and paints a clear picture of what that better organisation might look like once that change has come.

Accelerate XLR8 - John Kotter - Book Review

In his latest book, Harvard Business School Professor, John Kotter, argues that established hierarchical managerial structures do not provide the agility for organisations to respond sufficiently quickly to take advantages of the narrow windows of opportunity that present themselves. Kotter's solution is that firms should re-organise themselves to be able to cope with the demands of an increasingly changing world. In particular, firms should augment their their hierarchical structures with a network comprised of volunteers drawn from a range of levels and divisions within the organisation. Thus the firm would have a dual-operating system with the hierarchical structure providing day-to-day reliable management and the network providing agile strategic leadership. Kotter believes that this structure existed in most firms at a much earlier stage of their evolution.

The following YouTube clip provides an excellent summary of the Kotter's main arguments:

At the heart of Kotter's argument is the concept of the "Big Opportunity":

A Big Opportunity is something that can potentially lead to significant outcomes if the possibility is exploited well enough and fast enough.  . . .  A Big Opportunity is not a "vision" . . .
A Big Opportunity is also not any form of "strategy" or "strategic initiative."  pp.133-36

In order to make the shift to a dual-operating system Kotter believes that it is necessary to develop and maintain "a strong sense of urgency".  (Here there is an echo of Kotter's previous work on Leading Change - see review of Our Iceberg is Melting.)

Urgency in the sense that I am using the word here, means that significant numbers of people wake up each morning and have, somewhere in their heads and hearts, a compelling desire to do something to move the organisation towards a big strategic opportunity.  p.112 

This was a very thought-provoking read and the advantages of the dual-operating structure are clear. It was easy to see what "B" looks like, but the practicalities of how to make the transition from an established hierarchical structure to a dual-operating system were less clear. Kotter endeavours to share his experiences of working with a number of firms who have successfully moved to this model; however, I found that the case studies given in the book are so generalised that I was left wanting more detail about how each organisation had managed to make what is undoubtedly a difficult step towards the new structure.

Links
http://www.kotterinternational.com/our-principles/accelerate

Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter - Book Review

Fables have a deceptive power. On the surface they read like the stories of our childhood employing simple vocabulary to describe everyday contexts to which we can all relate. Their narrative structure lulls our adult brain into a false sense of security, disabling the rational analytical faculties that usually protect our cherished world view. We uncritically play along with the story until we reach the point where the fable's inner truth is unavoidable. So it is with John Kotter's Our Iceberg is Melting.

Our Iceberg is Melting presents as a children's book: it is in large print with colourful illustrations - a six year old probably would enjoy it, if he had the patience to sit for the 45 minutes it takes to read. It is the story of an Emperor Penguin colony faced with a potentially devastating problem that is threatening their home. Fred, a low-ranking quirky penguin discovers that the iceberg on which the colony has lived for unknown generations is melting and is likely to fracture. The story charts how a small group lead the colony through the process of coming up with a solution and effecting their plan.

As well written as it is, Kotter is no children's author. A Harvard Business School professor, he is one of the world's experts and best-selling author on leadership and change. "Our Iceberg is Melting is a simple fable about doing well in an ever-changing world" and the characters that we meet in Our Iceberg is Melting are 'types' that are found in every organisation. The tale "is one of resistance to change and heroic action, seemingly intractable obstacles and the most clever tactics for dealing with those obstacles" (quotes from dust jacket).

Our Iceberg is Melting is a powerful illustration of Kotter's Eight Step Process of Successful Change outlined in his book Leading Change:

1. Create a sense of urgency. Help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately. 
2. Pull together the guiding team. Make sure there is a powerful group guiding the change - one with leadership skills, credibility, communications ability, authority, analytical skills, and a sense of urgency.
3. Develop the change, vision and strategy. Clarify how the future will be different from the past, and how you can make that future a reality. 
4. Make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision and strategy.
5. Empower others to act. Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do so. 
6. Create some visible, unambiguous successes as soon as possible. 
7. Don't let up. Press harder and faster after the first successes. Be relentless with initiating change after change until the vision is a reality. 
8. Create a new culture. Hold on to the new ways of behaving, and make sure they succeed, until they become strong enough to replace old traditions.