We like towns, cities and countries to be democratic, and companies can be, too. Boost profits. Perform to the best of your abilities. It’s not just a trick to get more productive, but it is having a healthier, better business, and you do get to discover and fulfill your deepest personal desires through work.
I wrote this book for you to apply any of these lessons to your workplace, one tip at a time. There are three kinds of tips here: strategic planning to prepare, project management to act, and psychology to evaluate what’s working, what’s not, and what to do about it. You might also call these tips: governance, operations, and leadership.
We work. If we do not work in companies, or as freelancers with companies, or running “our own” companies, we work having made a choice to work on our own. I’ve been surprised to find, from being paid to work with over 100 companies over the past 10 years and observing hundreds of other workplaces, that there are themes to our great work experiences – and these are the tips.
These experiences in planning, action, and psychology came to me as coworkers told me their suppressed desires, saying over and over again, “There has to be a better way!” I traveled in Galveston TX, Hays KS and New York NY, where I fell in love with town hall meetings, churches, and many, many, many companies. My coworkers and I had trial-and-error when as marketing director, frustrated by the assembly-line style of working, I got people in teams, we took ownership of our work, and we literally boosted yearly profits by a million dollars in a short time. Now I’m a consultant and a friend in many workplaces. I help people work together in companies, where coworkers have again and again surprised themselves and me with their heroism to rise to any situation they desire, and delight with their new work life and relationships.
Whether you work by yourself or in a big company, start with one of these tips, one that attracts you and you can fully commit to do. Ready, fire, aim! and go from there.
Alex Linsker
August 2008