Icebergs Sink in Blue Oceans

Our iceberg has melted. But the bright side is that we have found a new home.

"Our Iceberg is Melting" is a book by the renowned Harvard Business professor John Kotter. It is a short parable about a colony of penguins living a great life until one day a concerned penguin realizes that their iceberg (home) is melting and they need to find a new one before wintertime.

A central concept of the book is about the politics of convincing leadership that a change is needed, then the general public about this dire situation and then the process of coming up with a solution to the problem, finding a new home. By the end not only do the penguins find a new home, but they also find a way of life that allows their colony (similar to a business organization) to thrive (succeed) in an ever changing environment. We have been living on a melting iceberg for many years.

You have told me yourselves this is not working or that is not working. But it took the recession for us to come to the conclusion that Fred (he is the penguin that warns of the problem) has been right and that we need a solution fast. Last November, we set about doing just that, we redefined our local management teams to be significantly more cost effective and sustainable.

We found a new iceberg to live on. However that wasn't the end.In times of rapid change (recessions, global warming, oil spills) if the organization doesn't move quicker than outside forces, it will become extinct. Think GM, Lehman Brothers, every newspaper company in the US, and many in the real estate industry.

We are not going to let that happen to our company.As I said, we made many job cuts and restructures at the local levels but it was just recently that we made very significant changes at the corporate level. These are the changes that are going to be used to catapult us into a nimble enough organization that we can operate in any economic environment.

If this iceberg doesn't work, we go to the next one, we all work together to find the right niche for our assets.What does all this penguin talk mean? Starting today managers, acquisitions specialists, regional managers and senior managers are no longer going to be babysat. Supported, guided, provided a safety net yes! Babysitting no!

We now have 110 people in our organization from a high of 150. I am very confident that all of us remaining can operate without a babysitter. You are all more than capable of doing your jobs and more. And now that we are no longer being babysat you will be able to do more. We need you to think outside the box, WOW your customers, find new opportunities, explore other icebergs. Later this week there will be a global conference call to discuss the details of Signature Community - Project New Home.

We are in for some great changes over the next year and I am looking forward to exploring with this awesome team.

Thanks for making it happen.
Nick