Workplace Motivation

Trampled by Unicorns: Big Tech's Empathy Problem and How to Fix It explores how technology has progressed humanity's most noble pursuits, while also grappling with the origins of the industry's destructive empathy deficit and the practical measures Big Tech can take to self-regulate and make it right again. Author Maëlle Gavet examines the tendency for many of Big Tech's stars to stray from their user-first ideals and make products that actually profoundly damage their customers and ultimately society.

John C. Maxwell thinks there's no such thing as business ethics. There's only ethics. Maxwell asserts there's one ethical standard for all behavior, and you might be surprised by what it's based on.

We've decided by consensus that consensus is good. In In Defense of Troublemakers, psychologist Charlan Nemeth argues that this principle is completely wrong: left unchallenged, the majority opinion is often biased, unoriginal, or false. It leads planes and markets to crash, causes juries to convict innocent people, and can quite literally make people think blue is green. In the name of comity, we embrace stupidity. We can make better decisions by embracing dissent. Dissent forces us to question the status quo, consider more information, and engage in creative decision-making.

The Big Moo is a simple audiobook in the tradition of Fish and Don't Sweat the Small Stuff. Instead of lecturing you, it tells stories that stick to your ribs and light your fire. It will help you to create a culture that consistently delivers remarkable innovations.

This three-part book begins with Matt's story of going from selfish to servant while on his journey from prisoner to monk to social entrepreneur. The book shows leaders the connection between superior long-term results and serving their people and community. Matt Tenney cites numerous business case studies and research that demonstrate how servant leadership results in attracting top talent, increased employee engagement, and lower turnover, as well as a more innovative culture, better customer service, and a better ROI on marketing efforts.

In Why Smart Executives Fail, Sydney Finkelstein uncovers - with startling clarity and unassailable documentation - the causes regularly responsible for major business breakdowns. Why Smart Executives Fail relates the stories of great business disasters and demonstrates that there are specific, identifiable ways in which many businesses regularly make themselves vulnerable to failure.

In the wake of economic downturn, foreign competition, spiking oil prices, and even war, American business throughout this decade has been thrust into crisis. To improve their performance, corporations everywhere have adopted a wide range of tools and techniques, yet many continue to struggle. Going Lean points to a better way.

Kindness isn’t merely about getting along with people and being nice. It’s a game changer in business, the door opener to opportunity, and the key to authenticity and confidence. It’s a superpower that can be honed through an intentional lifestyle of kindness and is especially important in these divisive times.

In Bring Your Human to Work, Erica Keswin laid down the rules and protocols of a human workplace. Now, in Rituals Roadmap, she shows us how to further employee engagement, explaining that workplace rituals foster a sense of belonging and help workers connect with one another and their work.

Leading with heart, authenticity, and purpose, Thomas Vozzo provides a clear path to a new bottom line—including 55 rules to break—bringing The Homeboy Way to life as the perfect antidote to the massive tidal currents of social injustice and inequities. By every traditional measurement of success, Vozzo was a clear winner. Then, through a series of fateful events, Vozzo landed as CEO of Homeboy Industries, the most successful gang intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the country, founded by Jesuit priest Greg Boyle.

Most companies around the globe clearly believe that people should have the opportunity to achieve as much as their initiative and native talent can justify, but too many managers still lack the wherewithal to effectively groom junior employees who have the potential to climb the corporate ladder. The support of a mentor is an integral part of any effort to maximize someone's full potential.

Organizational trauma takes many forms. It could be a pandemic that disrupts the way people work. An economic meltdown. An act of violence. A failed merger. A layoff - or continual threats of one. Whatever the scenario, events like these can traumatize leaders and employees, sending everyone into survival mode. Filled with tools and tactics, Trauma to Triumph is an organization-wide blueprint for navigating a future where we’ll likely experience one trauma or crisis after another.

The iconic Sydney to Hobart Race, a 723-mile deepwater challenge - often called the “Everest” of offshore ocean racing - is considered one of the toughest in the world. Unpredictable weather and seas make each race demanding, but in 1998, an unexpected “weather bomb” hit the fleet, creating 80-foot waves and 100-mile-per-hour winds. Many bigger, better-equipped boats tried to maneuver around the storm, but the crew of the AFR Midnight Rambler chose to head directly into its path.

Work is an important part of living, whether you wait on customers, build a business or cook for your family. As such, we all have important stories to tell about our work. From this rich treasure chest of experiences, Canfield, Hansen, and company have gathered a special collection of inspiring tales that share the daily courage, compassion, and creativity that take place in workplaces everywhere.

Catherine had just celebrated her forty-third birthday on May 20th. Her dream of owning and running a thriving company was coming true. Essentially Proximal's essential oil line was becoming a major success. As a female business owner, she was doing her best to promote positive culture at work and retain talent. Her goal was to build a diverse high-performing and inclusive leadership team, but her leadership team was struggling to put people first and live the mission and values of the company. She had to make some serious changes to ensure the future success of the company.

“You don’t have to turn into a corporate drone to kick ass in the working world,” says inspirational speaker Tania Katan. After more than ten years of smuggling creativity into the business sector, Katan is here to tell you that any task or pursuit can be a creative one. You just need to be willing to defy conformity and be ready to conjure imagination anywhere, at any time. That’s where Creative Trespassing comes in.

Your team will change whether you like it or not. People will come and go. Your company might double in size or even be acquired. In this practical book, author Heidi Helfand shares techniques for reteaming effectively. Engineering leaders will learn how to catalyze team change to reduce the risk of attrition, learning and career stagnation, and the development of knowledge silos.

Far away from Silicon Valley, in familiar, traditional, even unglamorous fields, ordinary people are unleashing extraordinary advances that amaze customers, energize employees, and create huge economic value. Their secret? They understand that the work of inventing the future doesn't belong just to geeks designing mobile apps and virtual-reality headsets or to social-media entrepreneurs hoping to launch the next Facebook. Some of today's most compelling organizations are doing brilliant things.

Nearly a quarter century ago Carter Cast seemed to have it all together: he had a first-class education, an all-American athletic career, and was a very bright and energetic rising star on the fast track at a Fortune 100 company, PepsiCo. But blissfully unaware of how negative perceptions were shaped, he was stunned when called into his boss's office, and told he was "unpromotable" because he was "obstinate", "resistant", and "insubordinate".

Fish! Sticks employs the same kind of easy-to-use story that was used in Fish! to illustrate its three main commitments for continued success: Find IT, Live IT, Coach IT, where the "IT" is each employee's own personal vision, found within the overall vision for the business. Chock full of easy-to-grasp examples, this book provides advice that is concrete and can produce immediate improvements in employee morale, customer satisfaction, and productivity, both for the short and long-term.