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Posted Feb. 13, 2009 5:00 a.m. by 800-ceo-read
The current economic climate carries with it certain unpleasant realities that we are now all too well aware of. We have felt it hit especially hard in our little corner of the world, where our sister company is closing its four bookshops, succumbing to both the economic downturn and massive shifts in the publishing industry. Regrettably, for many people, the changes in their employer's fortunes ends in job loss. Martha I. Finney's Rebound: A Proven Plan for Starting Over After Job Loss is an invaluable resource that the newly unemployed worker can use to make sense of his or her situation, confront the mixed feelings that come along with it, and understand the new rules of careers so that he or she will be well-equipped to develop a plan of action and find a new job.
Finney, a workplace consultant and expert in employee engagement and leadership communications, offers readers relevant, immediately applicable advice on how to deal with a job loss, from understanding your rights, to protecting your reputation, to determining how to talk about the loss in your next interview, and even to knowing what to tell family and friends. Each chapter ends with a three-part summary: "The best thing you can do," "The worst thing you can do," and "The first thing you should do." Readers are encouraged to take proactive steps in anticipating and managing this difficult change, such as controlling spending, using social networking to find a new job, and guarding against future unemployment.
Finney's tone is personal and sympathetic. For instance, she writes: "You've been laid off. And your career is the accordioned wreckage joining the heaps of thousands of other careers piled up at this very same wall. Your job may have come to an unexpected, abrupt halt. But your heart and mind continue to surge forward at the same rate of speed as before, and you're in for some internal damage" (4). Her words don't sugarcoat, but all is not hopeless; in fact, Finney acknowledges that her stories intentionally end on a positive note because "your own laid-off saga can also end on an up note" (xx). It is unfortunate that the times necessitate such a thing, but Rebound is an excellent companion to have during these uncertain, difficult times.
Posted Feb. 13, 2009 2:49 a.m. by 800-ceo-read
When Jeff Jarvis, founder of the well-followed blog BuzzMachine, had a problem with the customer service provided by Dell, he sparked what would become an Internet firestorm of criticism that engulfed Dell in a customer service (and public relations) nightmare. He begins What Would Google Do? with the story of what Dell did to recover from that disaster--discharging an army of technical assistants into the blogosphere to reply to any problems that might pop up in various posts there. After years of tight message control from the corporate headquarters, allowing their representatives to simply enter the conversation personally to build relationships with Dell users made all the difference. They went from becoming an example of what not to do to being an example of exactly the right thing to do in no time, simply by loosening the controls.
Although Jarvis discusses much more than Google in his book, the title can be explained by the following point on page 68:
In April 2008, just as America was diving into recession, Google announced another amazing and profitable quarter. The New York Times story was headlined, "Google defies economy." It should have read, "Google defines economy."
Jarvis is definitely a disciple (more accurately, a guru) of the paradigm shift that's taken place in the entrepreneurial thinking of new media. The section headings in this book read like the mantras of Silicon Valley and Web 2.0: "Join the open-source, gift economy;" "The post-scarcity economy;" "Free as a business model;" "The mass market is dead--long live the mass of niches." These are no longer heretical or revolutionary ideas, and Jarvis doesn't pretend that they are. What he does is explain these ideas as clearly as possible, detail some of the history that led us to this new frontier, and let you know how to adapt. The good news is that most of traits a company needs to do to be successful in the new economy are the same as what it takes to be a decent human being, including: "Make mistakes well," "Be honest," "Be transparent," "Collaborate," and "Don't be evil."
With the game changing as fast as it is, you should read at least one book a year, probably more, from a leading thinker on the Internet just to keep up. I think Jeff Jarvis has this year covered.
Posted Feb. 12, 2009 7:41 a.m. by 800-ceo-read
It is a challenging time in business, no doubt. So what can companies do now to create change and be ready to take advantage of the coming (hopefully) economic recovery? In Wired to Care, veteran business strategist and adjunct faculty member at Stanford University, Dev Patnaik, shows you how organizations of all kinds can dial into a quality most associate with individuals--empathy--and begin to connect with people, both within the company and without. Patnaik takes readers on a journey inside some of the largest companies in the world and shows you true corporate empathy in action, why empathy can make good leaders into great ones, and how empathy can help companies envision new opportunities faster than their competitors.
In the chapter "Open All Windows," Patnaik shares the story of how Jack Stack used empathy to turn around the struggling remanufacturing company, SRC, by recognizing that in order to make the necessary changes quickly, the company would need the help of every employee. The best way to elicit this help? Enable each employee to walk in another's shoes. He opened the company's books, taught everyone in the company how to read the financial statements, and with this process, was able to help a line worker, for example, see his direct impact on the bottom line. The outcome of using companywide empathy as a strategy was 40% annual growth in the first 3 years.
The lessons we can take away from the story of SRC and other stories Patnaik tells about such heavyweights as Intel, IBM and Target, is that caring contributes more to the future success of an organization than simply cutting costs and employees. Referring to the pre-Industrial age, when makers crafted items for their neighbors and family, Patnaik explains: "Empathy isn't a new phenomenon. There was a time not so long ago when there was a broad and deep connection between producers and consumers that allowed everyone to prosper."
At a time when the state of business is in flux and we are seeing jobs disappear every day, Wired to Care tells of the unexpected solutions that come when people see the world through another's eyes. This book shows that if leaders remove the disconnect that exists within their organizations and engage in an empathetic approach to their companies, as well as the world around them, the future is limitless.
