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| A Sense of Urgency | 
 enlarge | Author: John P. Kotter
Creator: Bill Weideman
Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $14.72
You Save: $10.23 (41%)
New (21) Used (6) from $14.72
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 78607
Format: Audiobook, Cd, Unabridged
Media: Audio CD
Edition: Unabridged
Number Of Items: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 5.1 x 1.5
ISBN: 1423369351
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.406
EAN: 9781423369356
ASIN: 1423369351
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
True urgency is a gut-level determination to move and win, now.
It’s practitioners are unusually alert. They come to work each day determined to achieve something important, and they shed irrelevant activities to move faster and smarter. Those with a sense of urgency are the opposite of complacent—but they are not stressed-out and anxious, generating great activity without much productivity. Instead, they move boldly toward the future—sharply on the lookout for the hazards and the opportunities that change brings.
Bestselling author and business guru John Kotter knows about urgency. “Raising urgency” is the first step in his enormously successful eight-step framework, first articulated in Leading Change. But as Kotter illustrates, increasing urgency is the toughest of the eight steps, and the one without which even the most brilliant, high-powered initiatives will sputter and die. More importantly, as we transition to a world where change is continuous—not just episodic—he shows how urgency must become a core, sustained capability.
With vivid and powerful stories, 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 wheelspinning that is so often mistaken for urgency. He provides key tactics for increasing urgency, as well as exposing and rooting out complacency, with chapters on:
•Bringing the outside in
•Behaving with urgency every day
•Finding opportunity in crises
•Dealing with “NoNos” or naysayers
A Sense of Urgency is a powerful tool for anyone wanting to win in a turbulent world that will only continue to move faster.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Recommended for both business and personal use December 31, 2008
When I first heard about this book, I immediately was attracted by its title and even more so, the credibility of the author. Judging by the title, it should be pretty obvious to anyone what the book is about. Almost. In general, the book is geared towards anyone involved in the corporate world who are in the state of complacency. Although the focus is primarily based upon businesses and how to act/react in the ever-changing environment and competition, the message and the examples provided within are applicable to ANYBODY. The message can very much be applied to overcome complacency within our regular lives and to start looking for ways to improve ourselves.
While reading the book, I often would find scenarios that are relevant to our personal lives' regular pattern. It's true though that once we've had success in our lives, we tend to become relax with our status that we stick with the norm. We ignore external signals that constant changes are necessary to become a success. In the corporate realm where the competition is fierce, companies tend to ignore external signals (competitors gaining more market shares, consumers dislikes such and such services, etc.). The book sends out a message that companies shouldn't wait for catastrophe or crisis before proceeding with necessary changes. The time to act is now.
What I like particularly about this book are the stories, which makes the book an easy reading. A trend that I've noticed among a lot of business books these days is the use of big words, which makes it rather a difficult reading. This was not the case. Although the message can be repetitive at times, in the end, it helps instills the message's importance. I would recommend this book just about to anyone since the message can be translated into something, such as propelling a career to greater heights, or towards learning a new skill. In the end, being able to translate this business message into your personal life helps you become a better employee, corporate manager, CEO or whatever you may be. The more people that shares the same sense of urgency, the better, since this mindset can be a powerful force in the corporate world.
- Dennis
Time to Implement December 29, 2008
Very good book!! There were three ways to see what kind of urgency that your company had. Not all urgency was good and this book helps you see the good from the bad. The last part of the book gave you excellent tips on how to handle and increase urgency. I would recommend his other book first, Our Iceberg is Melting, then read this one.
Great Book for the righ time December 17, 2008
This is an excellent book talking about the lack of common sense in the industry and government alike.
I found it very true in general. However, this book is not specific on citing any research data to support
his claim. It would be helpful that he has some data to back it up.
A Sense of Urgency December 7, 2008
This is a very good book pin pointing a lot of companies having a problem of complacency yet owners, CEOs or senior executives are either not realize or decide to ignore.
Most companies having fundamental management problems. They simply keep dragging on making decisions / taking actions to rectify obvious issues the enterprise is encountering. Thus facing high risk of either losing out or eventually out of business.
I highly recommend this book to those who are serious and determined to do the right thing at the right time. Action now before it is too late. However do the right thing calls for a lot of courage and sense.
Good luck.
 Seriously...4 hours of my life I'll never get back December 2, 2008
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
OK, so it's my fault for not stopping my iPod and going back to the new Tony Hooper CD "East to West", but seriously. Every once in a while you pick up a book (or Audio book) and while you listen you keep waiting for the punch line, the little nugget that makes it all worth while. Turns out the punch line for this one came and went in the first few minutes. Kotter could have easily covered the concept that there is such a thing as a false sense of urgency and all the necessary encouragement in half the length of a normal Seth Godin tome. Pick another way to spend four hours.
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