The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win
Author: David Ulrich
Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2010-06-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 007174424X

THE NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER! ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE WHY OF WORK: "Principled, timely, and engaging, The Why of Work teaches that building a culture of abundance and common purpose is essential to organizational success." --Stephen R. Covey, bestselling author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People "Will have a major impact on how individuals shape their attitude to work, how organizations create abundant cultures, and how leaders turn personal meaning into public good." --Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan "The Why of Work shows a better, different way to build and lead organizations. It is an insightful guide to how leaders can infuse meaning into their organizations." --Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Power: Why Some People Have It—and Others Don't "This book brings the question 'why' to the place in which we spend most of our adult lives, giving us insightful tools to help make a meaningful difference in people's lives." --Don Hall, Jr., president and CEO, Hallmark Cards, Inc. "This is a must read for anyone who works, leads others at work, or works to build a supportive environment." --Beverly Kaye, founder/CEO, Career Systems International, and coauthor of Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay "The Why of Work opens the door to significant employee engagement. The alignment between company values and those of customers and communities can indeed give employees a sense of purpose while delivering great results to customers!" --Paula S. Larson, Chief HR Officer, Invesys "Blackstone has proved that finding superior leaders produces superior results. Dave Ulrich has brought this thinking to a new level at Blackstone. Every private equity investor and senior manager must read this book." --James Quella, Senior Operating Partner, The Blackstone Group According to studies, we all work for the same thing--and it's not just money. It's meaning. Through our work, we seek a sense of purpose, contribution, connection, value, and hope. Digging down to the meaning of work taps our resilience in hard times and our passion in good times. That's the simple but profound premise behind this groundbreaking book by renowned management expert Dave Ulrich and psychologist Wendy Ulrich. They've talked to thousands of people--from rank-and-file workers to clients and customers to top-level executives--and synthesized major disciplines to identify the "why" behind our most successful experiences. Using the model of the "abundant organization," they provide you with the "how" to create meaning and value in your own workplace. Learn how to: Ask the seven questions that drive abundance Understand the needs of your customers and staff Personalize the work to motivate your employees Build and grow your business in any economy By following the Ulrichs' step-by-step guidelines, you will set off a chain reaction of positive and enduring effects. Employees who fi nd meaning in their work are more competent, committed, and eager to contribute—and their contribution will result in increased customer commitment, which delivers a winning performance on the bottom line. The Why of Work includes targeted checklists, questionnaires, and other useful tools to help you turn aspirations into action. Using the proven principles of abundance, you can coordinate your needs with those of your employers, your employees, and your customers--and create a vision that resonates for years to come. When you understand why we work, you know how to succeed.

The Why of Work

The Why of Work
Author: Marshall Goldsmith
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2010
Genre: Employee motivation
ISBN:

THE NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, AND USA TODAY BESTSELLER! ADVANCE PRAISE FOR THE WHY OF WORK: "Principled, timely, and engaging, The Why of Work teaches that building a culture of abundance and common purpose is essential to organizational success."--Stephen R. Covey, bestselling author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People "Will have a major impact on how individuals shape their attitude to work, how organizations create abundant cultures, and how leaders turn personal meaning into public good." --Jigmi Y. Thinley, Prime Minister of Bhutan " The Why of Work shows a better, different way to build and lead organizations. It is an insightful guide to how leaders can infuse meaning into their organizations." --Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Business and author of Power: Why Some People Have It--and Others Don't "This book brings the question 'why' to the place in which we spend most of our adult lives, giving us insightful tools to help make a meaningful difference in people's lives." --Don Hall, Jr., president and CEO, Hallmark Cards, Inc. "This is a must read for anyone who works, leads others at work, or works to build a supportive environment." --Beverly Kaye, founder/CEO, Career Systems International, and coauthor of Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay " The Why of Work opens the door to significant employee engagement. The alignment between company values and those of customers and communities can indeed give employees a sense of purpose while delivering great results to customers!" --Paula S. Larson, Chief HR Officer, Invesys "Blackstone has proved that finding superior leaders produces superior results. Dave Ulrich has brought this thinking to a new level at Blackstone. Every private equity investor and senior manager must read this book." --James Quella, Senior Operating Partner, The Blackstone Group According to studies, we all work for the same thing--and it's not just money. It's meaning. Through our work, we seek a sense of purpose, contribution, connection, value, and hope. Digging down to the meaning of work taps our resilience in hard times and our passion in good times. That's the simple but profound premise behind this groundbreaking book by renowned management expert Dave Ulrich and psychologist Wendy Ulrich. They've talked to thousands of people--from rank-and-file workers to clients and customers to top-level executives--and synthesized major disciplines to identify the "why" b ...

Make Talent Your Business

Make Talent Your Business
Author: Wendy Axelrod
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2011-06-06
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1605099333

Despite considerable investment in resources and tools, many companies struggle to meet the demand for the talent they require. Make Talent Your Business” gets to the heart of the matter: Managers themselves are in the best position to help people learn from experience (the uncontested major source of development) and shows managers how to do it by using the five practices that work for managers who are exceptional at building talent. This set of practices goes well beyond the usual managerial coaching and performance management. It moves the focus from performance today to development of skills that truly "raise the game" of employees—skills such as in-the-moment judgment, customer relationship building and collaborative decision-making. Managers who grow talent enhance their own reputations and get better results, retain people, attract talent and make their organizations more agile and capable to deal with future challenges.

The Infinite Game

The Infinite Game
Author: Simon Sinek
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2019-10-15
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0735213526

From the New York Times bestselling author of Start With Why and Leaders Eat Last, a bold framework for leadership in today’s ever-changing world. How do we win a game that has no end? Finite games, like football or chess, have known players, fixed rules and a clear endpoint. The winners and losers are easily identified. Infinite games, games with no finish line, like business or politics, or life itself, have players who come and go. The rules of an infinite game are changeable while infinite games have no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers—only ahead and behind. The question is, how do we play to succeed in the game we’re in? In this revelatory new book, Simon Sinek offers a framework for leading with an infinite mindset. On one hand, none of us can resist the fleeting thrills of a promotion earned or a tournament won, yet these rewards fade quickly. In pursuit of a Just Cause, we will commit to a vision of a future world so appealing that we will build it week after week, month after month, year after year. Although we do not know the exact form this world will take, working toward it gives our work and our life meaning. Leaders who embrace an infinite mindset build stronger, more innovative, more inspiring organizations. Ultimately, they are the ones who lead us into the future.

The Power of Giving Away Power

The Power of Giving Away Power
Author: Matthew Barzun
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2021-06-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0525541047

“This book is a breakthrough. It’s beautifully written, perfectly timed and heralds a new way forward. I’m buying a dozen copies to share with friends and colleagues.” -Seth Godin, Founder of altMBA and author of The Practice If you let go of hierarchy, chaos will reign...or so many leaders believe. But when leaders find the courage to distribute rather than hoard power, creativity multiplies, trust deepens, and inclusivity expands... and a new kind of order emerges. A few rare leaders have learned to embrace a new organizational shape and mindset: Constellations. Organizations designed as constellations are dynamic and flexible networks of distinct yet interwoven individuals. Each member of the team feels like a singular star and is also connected to others to form something greater. That is how Visa reimagined how we pay for things, how Wikipedia beat the richest company in the world and how Barack Obama and his grassroots team revolutionized political campaigning. These leaders did what most leaders dread – they gave away power. Barzun brilliantly layers lessons across history and industries with his own experiences as an internet entrepreneur, political organizer, and US ambassador to the United Kingdom and Sweden. The Power of Giving Away Power shows how the Constellation mindset shines in some of the most impactful organizations and innovations the world has ever known. And it encourages us all to recognize, as Barzun writes, "the power we can create by seeing the power in others" — and making the leap to lead. Together.

The Thought of Work

The Thought of Work
Author: John W. Budd
Publisher: ILR Press
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2011-10-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0801462657

What is work? Is it simply a burden to be tolerated or something more meaningful to one's sense of identity and self-worth? And why does it matter? In a uniquely thought-provoking book, John W. Budd presents ten historical and contemporary views of work from across the social sciences and humanities. By uncovering the diverse ways in which we conceptualize work—such as a way to serve or care for others, a source of freedom, a source of income, a method of psychological fulfillment, or a social relation shaped by class, gender, race, and power—The Thought of Work reveals the wide-ranging nature of work and establishes its fundamental importance for the human experience. When we work, we experience our biological, psychological, economic, and social selves. Work locates us in the world, helps us and others make sense of who we are, and determines our access to material and social resources. By integrating these distinct views, Budd replaces the usual fragmentary approaches to understanding the nature and meaning of work with a comprehensive approach that promotes a deep understanding of how work is understood, experienced, and analyzed. Concepts of work affect who and what is valued, perceptions of freedom and social integration, identity construction, evaluations of worker well-being, the legitimacy and design of human resource management practices, support for labor unions and labor standards, and relationships between religious faith and work ethics. By drawing explicit attention to diverse, implicit meanings of work, The Thought of Work allows us to better understand work, to value it, and to structure it in desirable ways that reflect its profound importance.

Dying for a Paycheck

Dying for a Paycheck
Author: Jeffrey Pfeffer
Publisher: HarperBusiness
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2018
Genre: Employee health promotion
ISBN: 9780062873347

"In this timely, provocative book, Jeffrey Pfeffer contends that many modern management commonalities such as long hours, work-family conflict, and economic insecurity are toxic to employees--hurting engagement, increasing turnover, and destroying people's physical and emotional health--while also being inimical to company performance. He argues that human sustainability should be as important as environmental stewardship. You don't have to do a physically dangerous job to confront a health-destroying, possibly life-threatening workplace....In "Dying for a Paycheck", Jeffrey Pfeffer marshals a vast trove of evidence and numerous examples from all over the world to expose the infuriating truth about modern work life: even as organizations allow management practices that actually sicken and kill their employees, those policies do not enhance productivity or the bottom line, thereby creating a lose-lose situation. Exploring a range of important topics, including layoffs, health insurance, work-family conflict, work hours, job autonomy, and why people remain in toxic environments, Pfeffer offers guidance and practical solutions that all of us--employees, employers, and the government--can use to enhance workplace well-being. We must wake up to the dangers and enormous costs to today's workplace, Pfeffer argues. "Dying for a Paycheck" is a clarion call for a social movement focused on human sustainability. Pfeffer makes clear that the environment we work in is just as important as the one we live in, and with this urgent book he opens our eyes and shows how we can make our workplaces healthier and better."--jacket flaps

The ASTD Leadership Handbook

The ASTD Leadership Handbook
Author: Elaine Biech
Publisher: Association for Talent Development
Total Pages: 574
Release: 2010-10-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1607283581

A looming leadership gap faces most organizations over the next 10 years. Has your organization prepared for the imminent lack-of-leadership crisis? Do you have a pipeline of developed leaders for the future? Leadership is the most important competency for both individual and organizational success and advancement. As Cynthia D. McCauley of the Center for Creative Leadership notes in her overview, leadership is also "a tool designed to help with a particular human dilemma: how to get individuals to work together effectively to produce collective outcomes." When you need to learn more about how to drive success in your organization, where do you turn? To the experts. And The ASTD Leadership Handbook provides 48 thought leaders—the names you know and have come to trust—to enable you to learn about every facet of leadership. Here you'll find a substantial and practical collection of wisdom, philosophies, and tools from the most respected authorities on the subject. Within this impressive volume, you'll find five major sections addressing the critical aspects of the field: Leadership Competencies Leadership Development Attributes of Successful Leaders Contemporary Leadership Challenges Broadening the Leadership Discussion. In each chapter, leaders share their expertise to help you solve your most pressing leadership challenges. Get the complete table of contents here. The lineup includes leading experts from a broad range of organizations in both the public and private sectors and features a number from the Center for Creative Leadership (ranked by the Financial Times as one of the top three leadership development organizations in the world). Many of the authors also provide free tools, which you can get here. If you can invest in only one leadership book, let this be it. You'll have all the insights and applications you need to thoroughly understand and practice its principles, guided by the expertise of those who have literally written the books on leadership.

Beyond Performance 2.0

Beyond Performance 2.0
Author: Scott Keller
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2019-07-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119596688

Double your odds of leading successful, sustainable change Leaders aren’t short on access to change management advice, but the jury has long been out as to which approach is the best one to follow. With the publication of Beyond Performance 2.0, the verdict is well and truly in. By applying the approach detailed by authors, Scott Keller and Bill Schaninger, the evidence shows that leaders can more than double their odds of success—from thirty percent to almost eighty. Whereas the first edition of Beyond Performance introduced the authors’ “Five Frames of Performance and Health” approach to change management, the fully revised and updated Beyond Performance 2.0 has been transformed into a truly practical “how to” guide for leaders. Every aspect of how to lead change at scale is covered in a step-by-step manner, always accompanied by practical tools and real-life examples. Keller and Schaninger’s work is distinguished in many ways, one of which is the rigor behind the recommendations. The underpinning research is the most comprehensive of its kind—based on over 5 million data points drawn from 2,000 companies globally over a 15-year period. This data is overlaid with the authors’ combined more than 40 years of experience in helping companies successfully achieve large-scale change. As senior partners in McKinsey & Company, consistently named the world’s most prestigious management consulting firm, Keller and Schaninger also draw on the shared experience of their colleagues from offices in over 60 countries with unrivaled access to CEOs and senior teams. Beyond Performance 2.0 also dares to go against the grain—eschewing the notion of copying best practices and instead guiding leaders to make choices specific to their unique context and organization. It does this with meticulously balance of focus on short- and long-term considerations, and on fully addressing the hard technical and oft cultural elements of making change happen. Further, the approach doesn’t just focus on delivering change; it builds an organization’s muscle to continuously change, making it healthier so that it can act with increased speed and agility to stay perpetually ahead of its competition. Leaders looking for a proven approach to leading large-scale change from a trusted source have found what they are looking for in Beyond Performance 2.0.

An Existential Approach to Leadership Challenges

An Existential Approach to Leadership Challenges
Author: Monica Hanaway
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2019-09-03
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1000651975

In An Existential Approach to Leadership Challenges, Monica Hanaway progresses us forward from a brief, introductory understanding of existential thought to considering how this approach can positively address the practical leadership challenges our twenty-first century leaders face today. Hanaway presents a practical framework to tackle the greatest challenges in leadership, such as creating an inspiring and authentic vision, recruiting, retaining and developing staff and dealing with conflict. In Part I, she presents an overview of existential thought and what existentialism can bring to leadership, helping resolve issues of uncertainty, authenticity, relatedness, freedom and meaning making. In Part II, she explores how to work practically with an existential leadership approach, showing how existentialism can help communicate a vision, examining the vision statements of existing businesses as case studies and explaining the importance of this in recruiting, developing and retaining staff. Finally, she explores how the existential approach is beneficial in preventing, managing and dealing with conflict, defining what conflict is and introducing existentially informed conflict coaching and psychologically informed mediation practice. Combining philosophical and practical thinking, Hanaway has made existentialism an accessible resource for all leaders. This book will appeal to future leaders in practice and in training, and anyone in a leadership role. It will also be of interest to academics and students of coaching and coaching psychology, as well as to those interested in applied philosophy and psychology.