What Success Looks Like

When we ditch the old rules and start to conduct business in a new way, what becomes obvious is that we’ve been torturing ourselves unnecessarily for decades. We’ve lived under the assumption that since work is a necessity, it must be drudgery. As you have seen in the examples throughout this book, there is a better way.

I choose to believe that people, in the main, are inherently interested in doing a good job and making a powerful and positive impact. Humans are uniquely and remarkably capable of finding meaning in almost anything; so why do we so often think it is impossible for employees to find meaning and happiness in their work?

We all have the opportunity to get this right. In the world I want to create, here’s what work looks like:

  • We all know what we’re working toward, and we each play a unique and distinct role in making that happen. We each feel important, because we are bringing our individual strengths to the table.
  • We learn to respond to our natural rhythms. When we feel run down, we take recovery time, and others jump in to help us out. When we are energized and strong, we push hard and put in everything we’ve got to get the job done.
  • Healthy individuals translate to healthy organizations. When individuals take care of themselves, the indisputable result is strong organizational performance.
  • We learn to distinguish between what matters and what doesn’t, and we get really good at challenging each other to figure this out.
  • Our sense of urgency ...

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