Manager's Guide to Employee Engagement

Chapter 1The Case for Employee Engagement

Picture this. An old steam locomotive chugs and lumbers along the ravine—belching black billows of smoke from its stack. Long before the rise of the approaching mountain, the engineer bellows for the boilerman to pick up steam—increasing the train’s speed by adding fuel.

To comply, the boilerman scoops shovels of coal into the firebox. Soon, the black coal turns to red embers, and soot and ash fill the smokestack. The heat from the firebox radiates outward, and several times the boilerman has to step back to catch his breath away from the extreme temperature and the heavy, acrid smoke.

But within minutes, his efforts are rewarded. The steam pressure rises to a level sufficient for the train’s engineer ...