The Why of Work
Book

The Why of Work

How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations that Win

Dave Ulrich and Wendy Ulrich
McGraw-Hill, 2010

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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

Dave and Wendy Ulrich’s book about abundance is itself an example of abundance. Dave, a business writer, and Wendy, a psychologist, sweep you up in a tide of leadership ideas, processes, quotations and stories that hammer home a thesis so right and true you might mistake it for common sense: Workers who care about their jobs and understand why they work will exceed your expectations and break the boundaries of their job descriptions. They will better serve customers who, in turn, will bind themselves to the thoughtful firm that produced such an enlightened staff. If this sounds like the yellow brick road, the authors cobble together ample gold paving stones to build a solid path toward fulfilling your firm’s potential. They explain how every person and organization can change for the good, while earning a profit. Along with positive psychology and happiness research, you will find useful grids, summaries and assessment tools to help you shift staid cultures and motivate stale staffers. Some of the advice is soft and general; the authors acknowledge that they skim the surface of various disciplines. Yet when the Ulrichs become specific about how to build relationships or cultivate creativity, they show you concretely how to nurture a firm where business results and human development work together. getAbstract recommends this book to executives, managers and human resources personnel who hope to serve their customers and the world through deeper service to their employees.

Summary

The Meaning of Work

Work is a way people earn money, but it’s also a potential launch pad for human development and the exploration of real meaning in life. Work takes up a good chunk of most people’s waking hours. It often defines them. This quest for definition gives leaders the opportunity to connect with their staffers and shape the underlying meaning of their jobs, so they can contribute more of who they are or want to be. However, finding meaning is also another way of finding profit. Meaningful work is inherently good for the people in your firm and it’s good for business.

In the workplace, meaning wrestles with tedium, and the outcome matters, particularly for the workers whose quality of life is at stake. Amid the mind-boggling complexity of the modern world, more people are struggling with personal and professional issues, ranging from depression to a lack of connection to their jobs to an off-putting, “me-first mindset.” As a result, “deficit thinking” – a negative sense of pervasive mistrust and self-protection – quickly and easily becomes the workplace’s prevalent mode. Staffers driven by such thinking give less effort on the job because they are filled...

About the Authors

Dave Ulrich, a professor at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and a partner at the RBL Group, has written 23 books. Psychologist Wendy Ulrich founded the Sixteen Stones Center for Growth.

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