"I believe we can change the world if we start talking to one another again." With this simple declaration, Margaret Wheatley proposes that people band together with their colleagues and friends to create the solutions for real social change, both locally and globally, that are so badly needed. Such change will not come from governments or corporations, she argues, but from the ageless process of thinking together in conversation. Turning to One Another encourages this process. Part I explores the power of conversation and the conditions-simplicity, personal courage, real listening, and diversity-that support it. Part II contains quotes and images to encourage the reader to pause and reflect, and to prepare for the work ahead-convening truly meaningful conversations. Part III provides ten "conversation starters"-questions that in Wheatley's experience have led people to share their deepest beliefs, fears, and hopes.

• By the author of Leadership and the New Science (over 250,000 copies sold)
• Shows how the simple but long neglected act of conversation-of thoughtfully talking and listening to one another-has the power to change lives
• Offers insightful advice on how to conduct conversations that will help us to genuinely connect with each other and restore hope to our individual lives
• Provides ten "conversation starters" to provoke rich and meaningful exchanges

This classic pioneering book provides keen insight into workplace diversity. With new tips, tools, and strategies for peacocks and penguins alike, your organization will flourish and take flight!
 
Through the story of Perry the Peacock and his fine feathered friends, authors BJ Gallagher and Warren H. Schmidt bring to life the challenges of birds of different feathers who struggle to be successful in the conformity-minded Land of Penguins. Their travails illuminate the challenges of creating a pluralistic corporate culture in which the talent, energy, and commitment of all employees are fully engaged.
 
People who have new ideas that differ from business as usual are often ignored or criticized for the very thing that makes them valuable: their originality and creativity. This unique book helps organizations break out of "penguin thinking” in order to tap into and leverage the creativity of diversity. Learn how to cultivate an organizational culture in which new ideas can flourish and innovation can take flight.

The most successful organizations add a healthy dose of play into their daily or weekly routines. In fact, research has shown that when people actually enjoy their jobs they're more creative, more productive, and more committed to doing their jobs well. Companies like the Colorado Health Sciences Center and Southwest Airlines attest to the positive effect of fun at work. Both trace increased job satisfaction and decreased employee downtime to concerted efforts to make fun a part of their corporate identity. With 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work , Dave Hemsath and Leslie Yerkes offer a complete resource anyone can use to create a dynamic workplace that encourages and inspires fun-and-games camaraderie among employees. It combines thorough research with practical hands-on tools, and features hundreds of ideas real companies have used to lighten up the workplace. The authors surveyed over 1,500 individuals from organizations around the world and received enthusiastic responses that yielded a broad range of ways to spice up the work day. The suggestions in 301 Ways to Have Fun at Work include humorous training films, dress-up and dress-down days, silly job titles, awards for people who go "above and beyond the call of duty" when a coworker is on vacation, "ritual dances" at the completion of a project, a fashion show when it's time to choose a new uniform-even foam dart fights after meetings. Hemsath and Yerkes offer ideas for instilling an element of fun into various business functions-from office environment, to meetings, training, communication, hiring, recognition, team building, and "simple acts of fun." In addition to the fun ideas in these chapters, a series of side bars, called "fun facts," "fun quotes," and "fun resources" offer humorous and interesting facts and statements about the effects of fun on workplace performance and job satisfaction, and direct readers to useful sources for products and services to enhance workplace "funativity." Hemsath and Yerkes show that creating a fun atmosphere in the workplace increases productivity and morale and has a positive effect on the bottom line. Most importantly, they give readers the tools to have more fun at work, no matter where they work, or what position they're in.

• Features over 300 real-life examples of what individuals and companies are doing to create an atmosphere of fun in the workplace
• Illustrations, "fun facts," "fun quotes," and "fun resources" make this book entertaining as well as practical
• Written not just for managers, but for anyone who works in an organization
• Find out more at www.ChangeIsFun.com

Is email taking over your life? Meet Harold, an HR director so overwhelmed by email he feels like a hamster on a wheel.

Just in time, Harold meets a coach—a leading expert on email efficiency and etiquette with a simple system that helps Harold eliminate needless emails, write better messages, and file and find information in a flash. He gets immediate results—and reclaims his life.

The Hamster Revolution is chock-full of practical advice that really works. Included is a landmark case study that shows how 2,000 Capital One associates cut their email time by 23 percent while improving overall email quality by 52 percent.

Professionals waste up to a month per year on email—costing their companies billions in missed opportunities. The good news? Hope and help are here. The Hamster Revolution is the definitive book for our times.

In a wonderfully readable and fun way, SEEING SYSTEMS (over 30,000 copies sold) presents a unique and innovative theory of power dynamics that provides the reader with a new way of looking at, understanding, surviving, and prospering in the many systems of which we are part.When breakdowns occur in organizational life, the tendency is to blame them on the personalities, motivations, and abilities of the individuals involved or on the specific characteristics of one’s organization. Barry Oshry demonstrates how everyday breakdowns stem from our failure to see how human systems shape our feelings about ourselves and our relationships with other individuals and groups. He shows how we can transform “system blindness” into system sight, enabling us to live and work together in productive partnership. Based on Oshry’s 30+ years of studying human interaction in social system life, Seeing Systems is profound in its implications while being easily accessible. In addition to illustrative cases and solid systems theory, the book is populated with pinballs; talking body parts; mysterious “swimmers”; amebocytes, slugs, and earthworms; dances of blind reflex; and tunnels of limited options. The result is a unique foundation for revolutionizing our understanding of system life. This new edition is revised throughout and features an extensive new section on having the wisdom and courage to face and work with the reality of uncertainty, a hopeful antidote to today’s righteous battles of certainty versus certainty. The new epilogue describes how Oshry is currently using theater, blogs, and podcasts to extend his multipronged revolution aimed at transforming system blindness into system sight.

• New edition of a classic, revised and updated throughout, with a new section and a new epilogue

• Explains why so many efforts at creating satisfying and productive systems end in disappointment

• Offers an approach to improving organizational life that removes the personal biases that stymie so many change efforts 

Through a beautifully written and engaging story about two people struggling to create visions—both for the company where they work and for their own lives—Ken Blanchard and Jesse Lyn Stoner detail the essential elements of creating a successful vision.
 
In Full Steam Ahead! you'll learn:
• How to use the power of vision to get focused, get energized, and get great results
• How to create a vision that touches the hearts and spirits of everyone in your organization
• How to create a vision for your own life that provides meaning and direction
 
This new edition is thoroughly revised, with a new chapter on sustaining your vision, updated examples, more information on creating vision for teams, and a new section that includes a vision assessment and a game plan for creating a shared vision.

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