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A Sense of Urgency
John Kotter reveals a distinctive view of the kind of urgency needed in every organization. He also highlights the insidious nature of its nemesis - complacency - in all its guises. He explains the crucial difference between constructive, true urgency, and the frantic wheel-spinning that is so often mistaken for urgency. He provides key tactics for increasing urgency, as w...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published
August 5th 2008
by Harvard Business Review Press
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Exposition on the importance of urgency
Complacent organizations simply cannot keep pace with today's accelerating rate of change. Resting on your laurels is no longer viable. Competitors, evolving markets and technological developments will swamp organizations that try to sit things out on the sidelines. Today, organizations must adopt the "fierce urgency of now" ethos that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made famous in the 1960s. Business expert John P. Kotter explains why. Hi...more
Complacent organizations simply cannot keep pace with today's accelerating rate of change. Resting on your laurels is no longer viable. Competitors, evolving markets and technological developments will swamp organizations that try to sit things out on the sidelines. Today, organizations must adopt the "fierce urgency of now" ethos that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made famous in the 1960s. Business expert John P. Kotter explains why. Hi...more
John Kotter's "Leading Change" is an excellent read on creating change within an organization. A Sense of Urgency follows up on his seminal work by concentrating on the first necessity of change--creating a sense of urgency. I found the book motivational more than highly applicable. It is a good book worth listening to or perusing for quick insights.
The greatest insight I gained was: to create a sense of urgency we often need to look outside of our own organizations to...more
The greatest insight I gained was: to create a sense of urgency we often need to look outside of our own organizations to...more
Apparently I needed to create a sense of urgency to read Sense of Urgency! This sat on my shelf for over a year! Given we're due to teach Kotter this spring and given one of my students just read it for independent study, I thought I should get started.
The book makes helpful distinctions between complacency, false urgency and true urgency within our organizations, discussing the signs and effects of each. The author defines urgency as "the determination to win and move, now"...more
The book makes helpful distinctions between complacency, false urgency and true urgency within our organizations, discussing the signs and effects of each. The author defines urgency as "the determination to win and move, now"...more
A Sense of Urgency is my fourth and final recommendation for best business book of 2008. The other three were as follows:
What Got You Here Won't Get You There
Never Eat Alone
Launching a Leadership Revolution (Best Business Book of 2008)
One of the author's earlier efforts was the fable Our Iceberg is Melting. A Sense of Urgency provides substance to this fable.
Creating a sense of urgency is the first of eight steps that leaders in any organization n...more
What Got You Here Won't Get You There
Never Eat Alone
Launching a Leadership Revolution (Best Business Book of 2008)
One of the author's earlier efforts was the fable Our Iceberg is Melting. A Sense of Urgency provides substance to this fable.
Creating a sense of urgency is the first of eight steps that leaders in any organization n...more
An engaging look at companies that need to overcome a lack of urgency (aka "complancency")with a proactive agenda.
Kotter dissects his simple premise, using his professional experiences to examine the inner workings of real companies. His terms are clearly defined and bullet lists abound.
The assertion is convincingly made that:
urgency “is not driven by a belief that… everything is a mess but, instead, that the world contains great opportunities and great hazards...more
Kotter dissects his simple premise, using his professional experiences to examine the inner workings of real companies. His terms are clearly defined and bullet lists abound.
The assertion is convincingly made that:
urgency “is not driven by a belief that… everything is a mess but, instead, that the world contains great opportunities and great hazards...more
Un artículo alargado para llenar 200 páginas. Una idea clara con propuestas concretas que podrían haber sido resumidas en 30 páginas o 50 como mucho. Vale la pena notar la idea de capitalismo a ultranza que subyace a través de esa "urgencia continua", explicitado de manera única casi al final, cuando habla sobre "mirarse desde el punto de vista del inversionista". Hasta me dio cosita y todo.
"De auteur legt in 8 stappen hoe naar zijn mening veranderingen succesvol te organiseren en te realiseren zijn. Interessant is zijn visie wat zelfgenoegzaamheid kan doen in een organisatie en wat het verschil is tussen valse urgentie en echte urgentie. De rest van zijn boek gaat over 4 tactieken bij het realiseren van veranderingen. De simpelheid van de aanpak is aanstekelijk."
This is not Kotter's best book. It is more of a synthesis of his previous work, with a focus on explaining in greater detail his thoughts behind "My Iceberg is Melting."
That said, it is full of useful ideas/suggestions about how to build a sense of urgency in the workplace . . . something that he contends (and I agree) that is critical to surviving in this rapidly changing world.
That said, it is full of useful ideas/suggestions about how to build a sense of urgency in the workplace . . . something that he contends (and I agree) that is critical to surviving in this rapidly changing world.
This one was assigned by work for all in the leadership team to read. It talks about how the correct sense of urgency is needed to drive change. It includes examples of urgency both good and bad, how to install it and manage it. A good read along with John Kotter's other books on change.
Kotter's discussion about what it takes to drive change and progress in an organization has been very relevant to the work I'm doing right now. I struggle with his advice on the "No-Nos," but have taken a number of his points to heart and apply them daily.
Great book! Change initiatives take time and require setting a reason to change. The pain of staying with the status quo must be more than the pain required to change, if not why would people change?
Ethernight
rated it
Meh. Lots of over-generalizations, not a lot of specifics. Some good bits, but they were sparse. It was relevant to a current project, so I'm glad I read it. But I wouldn't recommend it.
I read this in conjunction with a work retreat. It's an okay book all about how to create the true sense of urgency necessary to facilitate necessary change in an organization.
Great, accessible business book. Minimum of jargon, with broader lessons from examples explicitly set out too. I plan on rereading this, though I've yet to do it.
I somehow liked the book but it was too long for what it had to say. A lot of pages about obvious stuff. But it is worth reading...
This is a very easy read about how to handle change management in the workplace. The concepts are fairly simple, but the colorful examples used to reinforce them are well done. The book is clearly targeted for mass distribution within an organization (in fact, this is how I heard about Kotter's work). I am glad I read it, but can't say there is anything earth-shattering inside it.
Excellent book about maintaining an authentic sense of urgency without exhausting yourself and your team. Highly recommend.
apakah sesuatu hal adalah hal yang urgent? apakah memang benar-benar urgent? kenalilah melalui buku ini..
This is the current "ProReading Challenge" book. Join us as we discuss leadership and a sense of urgency!
Makes you realize how much a false sense of urgency dictates most of your life's business.
Nothing too novel, but still useful for anyone trying to promote change in an organization.
How to create a sense of urgency in your organization. Good business principles.
Kotter's book "Leading Change" is a much better read.
To create change you must create a sense of urgency.
This requires a heart-engaging experience that communicate emotionally compelling needs that not only stretch goals but excite and arouse determination.
The tactics used to bring about this senses of urgency is:
1. Bring outside reality into your group.
2. The leader behaves with a sense of true urgency every single day.
3. The...more
To create change you must create a sense of urgency.
This requires a heart-engaging experience that communicate emotionally compelling needs that not only stretch goals but excite and arouse determination.
The tactics used to bring about this senses of urgency is:
1. Bring outside reality into your group.
2. The leader behaves with a sense of true urgency every single day.
3. The...more
William Teo
added it
Simple to the point ideas and tactics to action upon.
Smoot
added it
liked this one, its short, but thats what the subject needs.
Excellent book for people looking to transform an organization.
A must reading to develop companies.
Fascinating read - distinguishes between complacency, false sense of urgency (lots of activity, not a lot of focus) and a real sense of urgency (move and win, now).
The cases are very familiar to me - business situations I've seen since the 1990s in my own experience. If nothing else it's a great diagnostic tool to see where your group/firm is and how to move things in your sphere of influence in the right directions.
The cases are very familiar to me - business situations I've seen since the 1990s in my own experience. If nothing else it's a great diagnostic tool to see where your group/firm is and how to move things in your sphere of influence in the right directions.
Excelent "pop" management book. Looking back at past jobs, I could see I had been sucessiful and enjoyed my job more when following the sucessful principles outlined. Came away with specific tools and strategies that could be put in place to get things done. I'm planning on going back and reading some of his older books.
Bellamy
marked it as to-read
nice
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