Janurary Read/4

Title: Successful Organizational Transformation: The Five Critical Elements

Authors: Washington, Marvin; Hacker, Stephen; Hacker, Marla

Call Number: 658.406 W319S 2011

Subjects: Organizational Change; Organizational effectiveness

ISBN: 9781606492116

Number of Pages: 98 pages

Book Description:

This book will walk you through the five ingredients of transformation:

• Vision: Where are you going?
• Leadership: How are you leading the effort, and do you have the skills?
• Technical Plan: How will you close the gap between the vision and your current situation?
• Social Plan: How will you enroll others that might be supportive or not supportive of your plan?
• Burning Platform: Why should you do anything?

At the end of reading this book, you will understand why change efforts fail, what ingredients are needed to ensure success, and what skills are needed at the organizational, group, and individual levels to maximize improvement efforts.( From “Abstract” in the book)

My Read:

            Though there are five elements listed in the book, one of the five truly speaks personally to me: the burning platform. It reminds me of how, why, and when I became a librarian. Contrary to the order of the lists in this book, the burning platform came first to push me away from my back then current situation, out of my comfort zone. The intensity of burning led me to paint pictures (vision) of my future. As the book states: Change can not be managed; it has to be led (p82). Once I was awake, I knew change had to be made.

           “Mentally awake means that a person is awake (consciously) to see connections between effort and outcomes, to see the possibilities to make change happen whenever and wherever.” (p31) I am a person full of curiosity and asking plenty of questions about life. So “Often highly conscious people have more questions than they do answers and it is her job to search for the answers” touches my heart as the words spoke to me as I turned the pages. Asking questions sharpens my sense of existence and paves paths toward possibilities of self-actualization and promises of happiness and a life fraught with fulfillment of meanings and purposes. The answers are not as important as questions for the later leads the way towards lands of satisfaction and joy.

            Talking about values, the following two core values discussed in the book actually are mine and guidelines of my life: who I am, what I do, and how I do it. The two are: 1) making every challenge and risk into an opportunity, 2) being a catalyst for change. Whenever a customer came to the info desk claiming she had a problem my heart raced and the excitement usually occupied me to certain degree that I could almost feel red color making up my face. I hate to waste any opportunity: crises or difficult situations are my training lessons and grounds money couldn’t buy.

            This book is helpful: I appreciate the “Key Takeaways” sessions at the end of each chapter. Those condensed points summarize the essence of the current chapter. If a reader is time-limited and in need of tips those key takeaways will serve the purpose of information delivery. In addition, the final chapter, Conclusion, serves the similar purpose. I would like to read this final chapter again to reflect upon critical elements the authors included in this book.

Reference:

The Strategic Management Collection

www.businessexpertpress.com

Collins, J. (1994). Built to last: Successful habits of visionary companies. New York, NY: Harper Business Essentials.

Kotter, J. (1996). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review 73(2), 59-67.

Kotter, J. (2012). The heart of change: Real life stories of how people change their organizations. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

How Did You Do That?

            Over the years working in the public library, I have acquired the “Don’t give up too soon” spirit. Whenever a customer came to me with a problem the challenge itself would excite me right away; my eyes would lighten up as if an unexpected prize just landed on me and my heartbeat would race and pound very hard and fast as if I was competing at certain track and field game.

            “How did you do that?” said the lady sitting beside me as I was kneeling at her right side trying hard to figure out how to copy and paste a document a fried of her sent to her. The editor was not working and the format of the document was a bit different from the system our library provides. After many times of standing up and kneeling down pondering ways to complete the task, the screen finally cleared up and, together, we found ourselves reading the document and the cursor was moving to places we would like it to go.

            The lady was excited and so was I. She leaned back and high fived with me. She then asked how I made it happen. “I don’t know. I just don’t give up too soon. That’s all.” We laughed out with excitement and delight. “You made my day.” I thanked the lady for the opportunity to exercise my curiosity and computer skills. “No, you made my day.” The lady joyfully corrected me and shook hands with me. Satisfied, I left the lady and walked back to the staff work area.

            Later, as I was manning the Cir desk, this same lady stopped by and told me she was going to share what happened today with her son telling him how a librarian helped her. “Did you send the revised copy to your email?” I reminded her as she was leaving the building. “I sure did. Thank you.” “Have a wonderful day.”

            I am glad that by not giving up too soon the lady and I found a solution at the end. In my mind a good employee is a problem solver. A customer came to us with trust and usually with certain request or problem she would like to place or seek solutions or answers. Each and every request is opportunity of training and educating. The bigger the problem the more satisfaction the reward will provide.

            At the workplace I call home is full of fun, surprise, and rewards. Every smile I got told me I did a good job and sent a customer home with a touch of happiness. Each thank-you I gained told me I made another progress.

Santa Claus does exist: the spirit of giving.

January Read/3

Title: The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People

Author(s): Chapman, Gary; White, Paul

Subjects: Employee Motivation; Personnel Management

Call Number: 658.314 C466F 2011

ISBN: 9780802461988

Number of Pages: 264 pages

Book Description:

            Dr. Chapman and Dr. White give readers practical steps to make any workplace environment more encouraging and productive. Readers will learn to speak and understand the unique languages of appreciation and feel truly valued in return.

            If you express appreciation in ways that aren’t meaningful to your coworkers, they may not feel valued at all. The problem is you’re speaking different languages. In the 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, Dr. Gary Chapman and Dr. Paul White will help you:

Express genuine appreciation to coworkers and staff-even on a tight budget.

Increase loyalty with the employees and volunteers in your organization.

Reduce cynicism and create a more positive work environment.

Improve your ability to show appreciation for difficult colleagues.

Individualize your expressions of appreciation by speaking the right language.

Convey the language of physical touch in appropriate ways.

(from the back cover of the book)

My Read:

            In addition to survival, a human being has certain need of recognition and appreciation to feed the demands of ego. Even the most self-motivated people are in need, or even starved for encouragement and appreciation for tasks or goals well done or achieved. A healthy plant would grow greener and stronger after a sudden shower of rain even though they are routinely watered and fertilized.

            The 5 Languages are: words of affirmation, tangible gifts, quality time, acts of service, and physical touch. Similarly to speaking language of a person, when communicating with the primary language of one’s the outcome would be more effective and to the point. For example, after reading the book I discovered that I am person valued teamwork and my primary appreciation language would be “acts of service.” I would feel much more appreciated if my coworkers would just pitch in and assist me to accomplish tasks without being asked. To me, a load of tasks would go lighter and easier if shared.

            If everyone would be honest to the self and able to find out which two primary appreciation languages would be theirs and which language would be the least then it would allow people around them to speak the right language to appreciate and encourage them to the fullest. A healthy communication begins with honesty and trust.

            At the very last page of the book, the authors list “top ten easiest ways to express appreciation to almost everyone.” They are:

1-Give a verbal compliment (say, “Thanks for…”, tell them, “I’m glad you are part of the team”).

2-Write an email (“I just want to let you know…”, “It is really helpful to me when you…”).

3-Stop by and see how your colleague is doing Spend a few minutes just chatting and checking on them.

4-Do something with your coworkers, like eating together.

5-Do a small task for someone spontaneously (hold open the door, offer to carry something).

6-Stop by their workspace and see if they need any help getting something done.

7-Buy them coffee, a drink, a snack, or dessert.

8-Get them a magazine related to an area of interest they have (sports, hobbies, a place they would like to visit).

9-Give them a high five when they have completed a task (especially one that has been challenging or that they have been working on awhile).

10-Greet your colleague warmly. Say something like, “It’s good to see you!” or “How is your day going?”

Reference:

www.appreciationatwork.com

It warms my heart

"There is no finer feeling than being warm inside when it's cold outside."
A touching true story caught by a picture.

The bus driver carried the 90-year-old passenger on and off his bus

January Read/2

Title: The Advantage: Why Organization Health Trumps Everything Else in Business

Author: Lencioni, Patrick

Subjects: Organizational Effectiveness; Organization; Success in Business; Well-being

Call Number: 658.4 L563A 2012

ISBN: 9780470941522

Number of Pages: 216 pages

Book Description:

            While too many leaders are still limiting their search for advantage to conventional and largely exhausted areas like marketing, strategy, and technology, Lencioni demonstrates that there is an untapped gold mine sitting right beneath them. Instead of trying to become smarter, he asserts that leaders and organizations need to shift their focus to becoming healthier, allowing them to tap into the more-than-sufficient intelligence and expertise they already have.

            Lencioni draws upon his twenty years of writing, field research, and executive consulting to some of the world’s leading organizations. He combines real-world stories and anecdotes with practical, actionable advice to create a work that is at once a great read and an invaluable, hands-on tool. The result is, without doubt, Lencioni’s most comprehensive, significant, and essential work to date. (from the inside of book jacket)

My Read:

            “A leadership team is a small group of people who are collectively responsible for achieving a common objective for their organization.” (Lencioni, p21) How small is the group? The author suggests between three and twelve people. The moment I read this definition I know I have to pay attention to what the author delivers for the messages the author sends might be of help to my workplace.

            In the book the author lists two requirements for success:

Smart: strategy, marketing, finance, and technology

Healthy: minimal politics, minimal confusion, high morale, high productivity, and low turnover. For the organization to be healthy, the first and most is trust. The author states that politics is confusion without trust. This point of view really is an eye opener to me for I have been searching answers for how to encourage and inspire people to share the enthusiasm and passion to work hard at the workplace. It just dawns upon me that if there is no trust among a group of people, then there is no team at all; the most I would get is a working group made up of people whose mindset, purpose, goals, attitude, and work ethics differ and vary, sometimes to the extremely opposite.

            The author lists six questions for leaders to answer to create clarity and build a healthy organization. The six questions are:

   1-Why do we exist?—purpose of the organization

   2-How do we behave?—core values for values define a company’s personality

   3-What do we do?—this is an organization’s business definition

   4-How will we succeed?—filter and 3 anchors for a company to be successful

   5-What is most important right now?--priorities

   6-Who must do what?—task assignment

            In addition to trust which is the basis and foundation for a healthy organization, I found the following message from the book meaningful and useful. “In fact, gratitude, recognition, increased responsibilities, and other forms of genuine appreciation are drivers. That means an employee can never really get enough of those and will always welcome more.” (Lencioni, p168) “Direct, personal feedback really is the simplest and most effective form of motivation.” (lencioni, p167)

            The true cases the author shares with readers in this good book are stories reinforcing the important points the author is trying to make. Some conversations in these stories are intriguing and got me wonder what the expressions of those people involved would look like and the atmosphere in the room the talks took place.

            Believe and trust. Once a person is able to find her values and believe in those values then a trust is possibly formed.          

Reference:

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team—Lencioni, Patrick

The Table Group: http://www.tablegroup.com/

Enrichment

            Late last night or should I say early in the morning I had a difficult time to sleep for discomfort and pain tried very hard to take over my body. When the surrounding environment was very still and silent, the quietness amplified the smallest sound made by human beings. The blunt sound from twisting and turning made by my boy could be heard from the hallway. The dim light radiating from the modem made everything in the room look monstrous and scary. The pain was winning but I allowed my mind to roam and travel far.

            Last night I had a great dinner with my library family members. As usual, I was the one most talkative and silly. No one believes I was a shy girl. I was one when I was little growing up in a small village in which most of the family carried the same last name. My world was limited to the hills, race paddies, small creeks, and the narrow alleys scattered around the village. The outside world was a stranger to me even when I commuted to another big city for my high school education. The small town in which I grew up was just a place I filled in forms telling people where I came from; I was not familiar with the streets.

            So when people don’t believe that I used to be a shy girl it just made me smile and, sometimes, I would protest with light heart. I was one, a shy tomboy.

            When sleep was far to reach, my mind was sharp and fraught with pictures, scenes, or ideas. Last night, I recalled those moments I have had with my manager, Lynette ever since she walked in the building and managed her place she called home. She and what she has done for me enrich my meager life. She is a pusher; she knew where and when to push so the stubborn part of me wouldn’t have the chance to surface or defy. A builder she has become, Lynette helped me build up my strengths, skills, and the most important thing: confidence. The methods or should I call it “art” she applied to coach me came from different perspectives and angles. There was no need for her to tell me what to do for I would ponder upon possibilities, then compose a proposal detailing the things I wanted to cover for my budding event or program. Until then all she had to do was to observe and listen to what’s coming in my mind.

            Most people felt worn out or burned out because they mentally refuse to take the opportunities coming from trivia, difficult time or any small routine. There will be no passion or enthusiasm if your heart is not at the right place or you have no heart at all. My best friend told me many times that those so called burned out people are those who don’t know about core of happiness. They are tired inside and they allow the inside tiredness to take charge of their life. They probably don’t know how it feels: there is nothing finer being warm inside when the outside is cold. The inside warmth could come from working hard, a fine teamwork, and a hand from colleagues at work.

            I noticed how beautiful Lynette is last night at the small booth we shared. She was not feeling too well; Jennifer told me she just got a flu shot days ago. But her smile is genuine telling me she indeed enjoyed our company. The picture of her looking sideway listening to her neighbor sitting at her left side stayed with me. That moment her eyes are very bright and focused and her lips, full and curvy, are the most attractive thing the whole night I was sitting there. “Who would be the lucky guy?” I was wondering as myself swallowed by her beauty. Lynette is a lady speaking of what a beauty is.

            My dear library family enriches my life to certain degree that I am willing to become a workaholic and make efforts to the place and people I love. Lynette’s determination and commitment to become a good librarian and dedicated leader truly take me to a different level in my career. In life a person might run into good people and bad people. How could a person tell if a good person or bad one is around? Your soul and spirit are your soldiers sending messages to you. When a bad influence is present, your spirit is low and you feel heavy and tired for those bad ones are emotional vampires: they suck and take away your energy. A person would feel glee and sense of joy as a good soul is around. You would find yourself smile a lot and your chest is light void of heaviness. You are receiving their positive energy and responding to the good influence.

            Water or oil? Both can’t be blended. Are you water? Find your ground to flow. Are you oil? You can’t eat up water or expect water to become oily. Water would evaporate rather than be swallowed.

            Did you find your enrichment or joy at work or in life? They are not too far if you pay attention.

January Read/1

Title: Bury My Heart at Conference Room B: the Unbeatable Impact of Truly Committed Managers

Author: Slap, Stan

Subjects: Management; Organizational Effectiveness; Success in Business

Call Number: 658.4/09

ISBN: 9781101438404

Number of Pages: 274

Book Description:

This book is about igniting the power of any manager's emotional commitment to his or her company--worth more than financial, intellectual and physical commitment combined. Sometimes companies get this from their managers in the early garage days or in times of tremendous gain, but it's almost unheard of to get it on a sustained, self-reinforced basis. Of course your company is only going to get it if you're willing to give it. Slap proves that emotional commitment comes from the ability to live your deepest personal values at work and then provides a process that allows you to use your own values to achieve success.—From Publisher Description

My Read:

            “Unconditional support,” “open and honest communication,” “listened to without judgment,” “forgiven even if you stumble” those are conditions or elements a reader would find in this e-book I just read this past week. The book promises from the beginning that after reading this book one would find the messages etched on the pages provocative and productive. I did find this promise true, at least, I want to believe what the visions the author prescribed are workable and effective at the workplace I call home.

            “You should live your values at work.” This is where the emotional commitment would come from. So while and after reading this book I checked the list of values the author and I recognized the most three values I have had in my life: accomplishment, altruism, and passion. There is no wonder why I like to work in the public library and why I have tried very hard to keep my spirit as high as possible every time I walk in the building.

            Even though this book is aimed for the management and managers I find this book inspiring, provoking, and encouraging. If you are a person of curiosity and you would like to find some answers on how to become a complete person, then the messages are for you to question and find answers of your own life. If you are a searcher looking for the meaning of life or how to enjoy being the person you have become, then the book invites you to think about, ponder over what and where to turn the rocks and discover your treasures.

            “There is no finer feeling than being warm inside when it’s cold outside.” The moment I read this sentence the warmth was brought out from my inside and I totally realized what it really means. The implication and meaning from this sentence dug up plenty of beautiful memories I have had in my life, specially those difficult moments I had had in the past. I remember a tap on my shoulder one evening I got from my supervisor when I was confused and upset. The light tap on my shoulder was heavy yet it warmed my heart and a spread of warmth, like a strike of lightning, quickly extended its temperature and intensity to my limbs. A person is able to recognize a kind heart from gestures as small as just a look or a tap on the shoulder. When it’s done at the right moment, at the right place, and from the right person the impact and influence are so deep and huge that it registers in a person’s memory as tight as a layer of skin to muscles.

            Reading this book will assist you to discover who you are and what makes you a unique and special person in others’ eyes.

Find your heart, discover the values you have owned then you know who you are.

Reference:

The following link will give you a kind of condensed version of this good book.

http://changethis.com/manifesto/74.01.ConferenceRoomB/pdf/74.01.ConferenceRoomB.pdf