Showing posts with label John P Kotter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John P Kotter. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Leading Change by John P. Kotter
From getAbstract.com
- Why leaders, not managers, should implement initiatives for transformational change
- What eight mistakes people make when trying to change their companies
- How to manage the eight stages of the change process
- What traits will shape the leaders and organizations of the future
The picture on the cover of John P. Kotter’s book tells it all: a group of penguins are shuffling their feet nervously on an icy precipice, while one brave bird leaps for the water below. The question is, which penguin are you? In too many organizations, executives shy away from the precipice, while someone lower down in the pecking order jumps in to test the landing conditions. Kotter says managers and leaders are quite different. A manager, he explains, is trained to think in a linear, one-two-three, risk-limiting way. Transformational change, however, can only be attained when true leaders push forward on several fronts at once - eight of them to be exact. Every successful change initiative begins with a coalition of leaders who create a sense of urgency. Kotter’s book stems from a 1995 Harvard Business Review article titled, "Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail." It will probably sound hauntingly familiar to managers who have watched change initiatives begin in the front courtyard with a marching band and end a few months later, ushered out the back door like a diner who can’t pay the tab. If you want to know why your last change initiative fizzled, getAbstract.com says read this book. Better yet, study it to ensure that your next leap of faith is a flying success.
About the author
A graduate of MIT and Harvard, John P. Kotter joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1972 and became a full-tenured professor in 1980 at age 33. He is a frequent speaker on management and the author of six best-selling books on business, including A Force for Change, Corporate Culture and Performance and The New Rules.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Friday, October 31, 2008
Power and Influence by John P. Kotter
Power and Influence by John P. Kotter (Paperback - Oct 7, 2008)
- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Free Press (October 7, 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1439146799
- ISBN-13: 978-1439146798
Review
John R. Murphy Director, Executive and Advanced Management Education, GTE Corporation John Kotter does two remarkable things in this book. First, he puts his finger on what has been making many of us so uncomfortable with the popularized notions of excellence: It is not that we lack excellence in our organizations —what we lack is enough managers with the power to mobilize various groups and interests to allow this excellence to shine. Second, he liberates the concept of power from the traditional "anything goes" definition and lays out a brilliantly clear personal strategy for capturing the only legitimate, real power in an organization—the ability to get things done.
Adam Aron System Director—Marketing, Pan American World Airways "POWER AND INFLUENCE provides brilliant insight into the true nature of the organization. It's about time we all realize that it is people—with all their frailties and foibles—that run organizations. The movers and shakers in this world have all learned that the art of understanding people is the greatest business skill there is.
Allan Cox President, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. There is the meaning of authority, which we understand pretty well, and the meaning of influence, which we don't. But more important than either is the ability to exercise the power of influence. That's what POWER AND INFLUENCE is about. Anyone who takes to heart the lessons of this penetrating book will be sure to enrich his or her ability in this most important area.
Leslie L. Vadasz Senior Vice President, Intel Corporation I really enjoyed this book! Kotter describes complex issues clearly, but without oversimplification. I will certainly recommendPOWER AND INFLUENCE to my colleagues.
B. Lyle Shafer Vice President—Personnel Resources NCR Corporation John Kotter has isolated, defined, and articulated one of the most elusive and misunderstood aspects of management. POWER AND INFLUENCE is must reading for all staff managers.
Adam Aron System Director—Marketing, Pan American World Airways "POWER AND INFLUENCE provides brilliant insight into the true nature of the organization. It's about time we all realize that it is people—with all their frailties and foibles—that run organizations. The movers and shakers in this world have all learned that the art of understanding people is the greatest business skill there is.
Allan Cox President, Allan Cox & Associates, Inc. There is the meaning of authority, which we understand pretty well, and the meaning of influence, which we don't. But more important than either is the ability to exercise the power of influence. That's what POWER AND INFLUENCE is about. Anyone who takes to heart the lessons of this penetrating book will be sure to enrich his or her ability in this most important area.
Leslie L. Vadasz Senior Vice President, Intel Corporation I really enjoyed this book! Kotter describes complex issues clearly, but without oversimplification. I will certainly recommendPOWER AND INFLUENCE to my colleagues.
B. Lyle Shafer Vice President—Personnel Resources NCR Corporation John Kotter has isolated, defined, and articulated one of the most elusive and misunderstood aspects of management. POWER AND INFLUENCE is must reading for all staff managers.
Product Description
In today's complex work world, things no longer get done simply because someone issues an order and someone else follows it.Most of us work in socially intricate organizations where we need the help not only of subordinates but of colleagues, superiors, and outsiders to accomplish our goals. This often leaves us in a "power gap" because we must depend on people over whom we have little or no explicit control.
This is a book about how to bridge that gap: how to exercise the power and influence you need to get things done through others when your responsibilities exceed your formal authority.
Full of original ideas and expert insights about how organizations—and the people in them—function, Power and Influence goes further, demonstrating that lower-level personnel also need strong leadership skills and interpersonal know-how to perform well.
Kotter shows how you can develop sufficient resources of "unofficial" power and influence to achieve goals, steer clear of conflicts, foster creative team behavior, and gain the cooperation and support you need from subordinates, coworkers, superiors—even people outside your department or organization.
He also shows how you can avoid the twin traps of naivete and cynicism when dealing with power relationships, and how to use your power without abusing it.
Power and Influence is essential for top managers who need to overcome the infighting, foot-dragging, and politicking that can destroy both morale and profits; for middle managers who don't want their careers sidetracked by unproductive power struggles; for professionals hindered by bureaucratic obstacles and deadline delays; and for staff workers who have to "manage the boss."
This is not a book for those who want to "grab" power for their own ends. But if you'd like to create smooth, responsive working relationships and increase your personal effectiveness on the job, Kotter can show you how—and make the dynamics of power work for you instead of against you.
This is a book about how to bridge that gap: how to exercise the power and influence you need to get things done through others when your responsibilities exceed your formal authority.
Full of original ideas and expert insights about how organizations—and the people in them—function, Power and Influence goes further, demonstrating that lower-level personnel also need strong leadership skills and interpersonal know-how to perform well.
Kotter shows how you can develop sufficient resources of "unofficial" power and influence to achieve goals, steer clear of conflicts, foster creative team behavior, and gain the cooperation and support you need from subordinates, coworkers, superiors—even people outside your department or organization.
He also shows how you can avoid the twin traps of naivete and cynicism when dealing with power relationships, and how to use your power without abusing it.
Power and Influence is essential for top managers who need to overcome the infighting, foot-dragging, and politicking that can destroy both morale and profits; for middle managers who don't want their careers sidetracked by unproductive power struggles; for professionals hindered by bureaucratic obstacles and deadline delays; and for staff workers who have to "manage the boss."
This is not a book for those who want to "grab" power for their own ends. But if you'd like to create smooth, responsive working relationships and increase your personal effectiveness on the job, Kotter can show you how—and make the dynamics of power work for you instead of against you.
About the Author
John P. Kotter is Chairman of the Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Area at the Harvard Business School. He has won McKinsey awards for two Harvard Business Review articles, "Managing Your Boss" and "Power, Dependence, and Effective Management," and received the 1977 Exxon Award for innovative curriculum design for developing the Self-Assessment and Career Development program at the Harvard Business School. Kotter is author of six books, including The General Managers (also published by The Free Press).
Friday, October 20, 2006
Our Iceberg Is Melting by John P. Kotter, Holger Rathgeber, Peter Mueller & Spencer Johnson
Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions by John P. Kotter, Holger Rathgeber, Peter Mueller, and Spencer Johnson (Hardcover - Sep 5, 2006)
But this penguin parable has a pedigree in the form of Harvard Business School's John Kotter, author of Leading Change, the 1996 business guide that also sported our flat-footed, feathered friends on the cover. The Heart of Change was his 2002 follow-up.
- Hardcover: 160 pages
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1 edition (September 5, 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 031236198X
- ISBN-13: 978-0312361983
From Publishers Weekly
Harvard Business School professor Kotter, author of the bestselling Leading Change (1996), teams up with executive Rathgeber to offer his contribution to the "business fable" genre. Kotter presents his framework for an effective corporate change initiative through the tale of a colony of Antarctic penguins facing danger-inspired, perhaps, by today's real-life global warming crisis (or, perhaps, by March of the Penguins' box office). Under the leadership of one particularly astute bird, a small team of penguins with varied personalities and leadership skills implement a thoughtful plan for coaxing the other birds in their colony through a time of necessary but wrenching change. The logic of Kotter's fictional framework is wobbly at times-his characters live and act very much like real penguins except that one carries a briefcase and another ("the Professor") cites articles from scholarly journals-and the whimsical tone will not be to everyone's taste. However, this light, quick read should fulfill its intended purpose: to serve as a springboard for group discussions about corporate culture, group dynamics and the challenges of change.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Penguins illustrate how to conquer change
By Michelle Archer, for USA TODAY
At first glance, Our Iceberg Is Melting seems easy to dismiss as an attempt to fuse a few hot topics -- global warming, marching penguins -- into a Who Moved My Cheese? fable-as-business-lesson best seller.
But this penguin parable has a pedigree in the form of Harvard Business School's John Kotter, author of Leading Change, the 1996 business guide that also sported our flat-footed, feathered friends on the cover. The Heart of Change was his 2002 follow-up.
This time out, Kotter moves the penguins inside, using how a colony of them copes with a potential catastrophe -- yes, their iceberg is melting -- to illustrate his eight-step process of successful change.
Their story is short and peppered with the personalities organizations inevitably include: the naysayers and nitpickers, the innovators and agitators, the leaders and followers. The idea is that everyone in a group must play a role in navigating change.
In that vein, Kotter and co-author Holger Rathgeber write that their goal is to use a good story with visual stimuli (full-color, cartoon-like illustrations) to influence a broad range of people to better handle change and produce results. In other words, companies should buy a copy for everyone from the CEO to the stock clerk.
This approach paid off for Spencer Johnson of Who Moved My Cheese?, who writes the foreword.
Kotter's process advocates quick action to confront issues, group thinking and the buy-in of the whole organization. The goal: replace old habits with new behaviors and make them stick.
Whether you're a fan of lowest-common-denominator reading or not, there's no denying the logic behind Kotter's steps and the at-times clever way they are woven into the penguins' journey.
Product Description
Most of the denizens of the Antarctic penguin colony sneer at Fred, the quiet but observant scout who detects worrying signs that their home, an iceberg, is melting. Fred must cleverly convince and enlist key players, such as Louis, the head penguin; Alice, the number two bird; the intractable NoNo the weather expert; and a passle of school-age penguins if he is to save the colony.
Their delightfully told journey illuminates in an unforgettable way how to manage the necessary change that surrounds us all. Simple explanatory material following the fable enhances the lasting value of these lessons.
Our Iceberg Is Melting is at once charming, accessible and profound; a treat for virtually any reader.
From the Back Cover
"I came across Our ICEBERG IS MELTING in May, ordered and dsitributed 60 copies in June, evaluated its effect on our change effort, and then ordered 500 more copies in September. This is a gem."
-- Heidi King, Program Manager, Dept. of Defense
"As a result of the book and my sharing it with a few people in the organization, we have moved quickly on several fronts. We are galvanized to go ahead instead of further studying, more organizing and so on. It is making a difference for us."
-- Tom Curley, President and CEO, Associated Press
"This is the easiest to read yet most informative book I have ever seen. Setting one of management's biggest challenges, 'what problem, I don't see a problem,' in the context of a melting iceberg and a determined penguin, was a stroke of sheer genius."
-- Michael Dimelow, Director of Product Marketing, TTP Communications PLC
About the Author
JOHN KOTTER has been on the faculty at Harvard Business School since 1972. He is the author of eleven award-winning titles and frequently gives speeches and seminars at Harvard and around the world. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
HOLGER RATHGEBER spent his early professional career in Asia. He has worked in industry since the early 1990's and is now with one of the leading medical technology companies, Bectom Dickinson. Raised in Frankfurt, Germany, Rathgeber currently resides in White Plains, New York.
HOLGER RATHGEBER spent his early professional career in Asia. He has worked in industry since the early 1990's and is now with one of the leading medical technology companies, Bectom Dickinson. Raised in Frankfurt, Germany, Rathgeber currently resides in White Plains, New York.
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
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