The Why of Work: How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win by Dave Ulrich, Wendy Ulrich

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. Editorial Reviews From Booklist The authors, a consultant and a psychologist, set out to help leaders (within and outside organizations) understand the meaning and purpose of work. We learn that as employees find meaning in their efforts, they contribute to creating value for customers, investors, and communities; hence, finding meaning is good for business. The Ulrichs offer seven disciplines, each with a unique perspective, that leaders can use to build meaning in their organizations or personally, identifying these disciplines with extensive interviews of a wide range of individuals, through training programs for numerous executives and human resource professionals, and by researching academic sources on meaning and living well. These seven disciplines include positive psychology, social responsibility, and employee engagement. This book is an infomercial and handbook for the authors' teaching/consulting efforts and they emphatically conclude that meaning matters for good business, but also for the hearts and souls of millions of people who get up and go to work every day. --Mary Whaley From the Publisher About the Authors Dave Ulrich's work passion has been how to build organization capabilities (systems, processes, cultures) that create value to multiple stakeholders, then to help leaders build intangible value in organizations. Working with over half of the Fortune 200 and with companies throughout the world, he provides seminars, writes books, and coaches leaders to build sustainable organizations by turning customer and investor expectations into personal and organizational actions. He helps leaders move beyond employee engagement to helping employees find real meaning from work. He is a professor of business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and co-founder of The RBL Group. He has written 15 books covering topics in HR and Leadership; is currently on the Board of Directors for Herman Miller; is a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources; and is on the Board of Trustees of Southern Virginia University. Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D., has been a psychologist in private practice in Michigan for over twenty years. She is founder of Sixteen Stones Center for Growth in Utah, offering seminar-retreats on abundance. Their work with organizations and individuals intersects at helping people find meaning at work. Dave works to rethink and redefine how organizations work and Wendy works to help individuals rethink and redefine their own lives. At the same time, they are committed to the importance of the organization's responsibility to shareholders and investors as they respond to external conditions. From the Back Cover Before you ask, Why aren't my employees working harder? . . . ask yourself, Why are my employees working? 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 Breaks new ground. . . . Going beyond competence and commitment to create abundance at work could be the next frontier for leaders. -- Paul Humphries, EVP Human Resources, Flextronics 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, Invensys 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 find 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. Dave Ulrich, PH.D., is a professor of business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, and cofounder of The RBL Group. He has written 23 books that cover topics in HR, leadership, and organization; he serves on the Board of Directors for Herman Miller and the Board of Trustees of Southern Virginia University; and he is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources. Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D., M.B.A., has been a practicing psychologist for over 20 years. She is the founder of Sixteen Stones Center for Growth, which offers seminar-retreats on creating abundance and meaning, and she has authored two books on personal change. About the Author About the Authors Dave Ulrich's work passion has been how to build organization capabilities (systems, processes, cultures) that create value to multiple stakeholders, then to help leaders build intangible value in organizations. Working with over half of the Fortune 200 and with companies throughout the world, he provides seminars, writes books, and coaches leaders to build sustainable organizations by turning customer and investor expectations into personal and organizational actions. He helps leaders move beyond employee engagement to helping employees find real meaning from work. He is a professor of business at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan and co-founder of The RBL Group. He has written 15 books covering topics in HR and Leadership; is currently on the Board of Directors for Herman Miller; is a Fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources; and is on the Board of Trustees of Southern Virginia University. Wendy Ulrich, Ph.D., has been a psychologist in private practice in Michigan for over twenty years. She is founder of Sixteen Stones Center for Growth in Utah, offering seminar-retreats on abundance. Their work with organizations and individuals intersects at helping people find meaning at work. Dave works to rethink and redefine how organizations work and Wendy works to help individuals rethink and redefine their own lives. At the same time, they are committed to the importance of the organization's responsibility to shareholders and investors as they respond to external conditions.