Chapter 6. Organization Purpose and Principles

 

“Make no small plans…for they have not the power to stir men's blood.”

 
 --Niccolo Machiavelli, 1514
 

“The way I see it, leadership does not begin with power but rather with a compelling vision or goal of excellence.”

 
 --Frederick W. Smith, CEO, Federal Express

A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose; in effect, it's a “reason for being” that translates for workers into a “reason for being there.” This might seem odd when talking about for-profit enterprises—isn't the idea simply to make a buck and don't employees, in turn, understand that and simply want to be paid well? Well, in fact, no. We humans are not that simple. Not in what we ...

Get The Enthusiastic Employee: How Companies Profit by Giving Workers What They Want now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.