Customer Reviews

Glow: How You Can Radiate Energy, Innovation, and Success

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Several years ago, I served as a mid-level VP at a large multinational company in New Jersey. Every month I read the Harvard Business Review religiously.

Why? Not because I thought it contained much of value - indeed, as a scientist by education, if not career, the pseudo-scientific method of many of HBR's papers is somewhat offensive to me, at least when it's not so blatant as to be amusing. No, I read it religiously because it kept me one step ahead of the curve. Whenever there was a reasonably plausible, well-presented finding published in that august journal, you could be reasonably sure that some soul on the Executive Floor, perhaps bored while taking the Executive jet to Washington, will have read the paper and decided that it was exactly the cure for whatever it was that seemed to ail us at the time (which in reality was urine poor management from the same Executive Floor). But having read the HBR I knew where the idea was coming from (rarely was the original source disclosed by its champion) and how it could be deflected harmlessly until the next HBR-sourced management fad took its place.

This book is even worse than the typical HBR article. At least in those articles the authors will usually present some empirical research which is then force fitted into some model of the authors' choosing, preferably one that will support a lucrative side line in consulting or some proprietary instrument that will generate revenues.

With "Glow" the tedious necessity for presenting and justifying the author's conclusions is neatly side-stepped:

"There are no references to other people's research or theories except when I have used direct quotes........I make little reference to my own research"

Nor does she try to justify her conclusions using any argumentation, whether based on anybody's research or just old fashioned logic.

Hence my comment that "with one bound she was free" - free to present breathlessly and with gusto her stunningly original thesis that talking to people, building networks and collaborating with people may be helpful. Well, yes, sometimes it is, but it's by no means a universal panacea.

Adherents and proponents of the discipline of Positive Psychology (among whom I number myself), of which this book could be considered the bastard stepchild, are currently considering an appropriate candidate for the 25th strength to be added to the current inventory of strengths. One proposal is for Critical Thinking, and this book unwittingly makes a strong case for this.

One source of mystery to me is why a book so devoid of merit as this one can garner so much positive comment - to the extent that it makes me wonder about the recommenders. I used to quite respect Stefan Stern. Now I don't.

Don't buy this book, unless like me with HBR, you need to understand the mind of the enemy.

This is one of those little books that profess to teach you how to get along better in the workplace. It contains little that is new and exciting, little that reflects on breakthrough research findings. Instead, it discusses the basics of working together: talking to people, building networks and collaborating with others. These are not breakthrough concepts. Indeed they are concepts that should be recognized by anyone.

So why read it.

Several reasons:

While the concepts may not be new, they are none the less true and worth reviewing.

Her manner of expressing these concepts in practical and useful terms is quite good.

She recants several examples and personal stories that just may apply to your own situation.

It makes you want to review your present situation including profession, company, fellow workers and all the rest.

London Business School Professor Lynda Gratton has written a book that Deepak Chopra, Consciousness Guru, thinks is "marvellous!" This shows that Lynda is breaking new ground, sharing key insights from her research in a style and form that is relevant to improving your life, not just your work. The material is based on her groundbreaking and extensive research. The book is full of questions and diagnostics to help you focus on how to make improvements to your life and connect with your passion. Lynda places emphasis on three elements: the importance of "co-operation as a mindset", the excitement of entering new worlds through "boundary spanning" and the need to create a sense of "igniting purpose" to attract and inspire others.

Reading the book and completing the exercises helped me to rethink the way I connect my contacts - and this simple act has already helped me make changes - if I experience a sameold-sameold-groundhog conversation I take this as a signal to switch networks or invite someone else along next time. This is just one example of a book packed with insights.

The other point worth mentioning is the importance of creating an "igniting purpose" and how the habit of joining or creating causes with a purpose worth following again in itself makes life more interesting for ourselves and those around us.

Although Lynda is attempting a "Heineken" by taking her work to the places other business school professors just don't reach (for anyone old enough to remember the ads) I think her plan works really well. She has held true to her high standards of research and communication - for example when she talks about Homer, it is still the classical brainiac and not the Springfield hero.

I would recommend this to all people who are serious about making life stimulating, fun and worthwhile for themselves and those around them.

GLOW: HOW YOU CAN RADIATE ENERGY, INNOVATION AND SUCCESS comes from a management school professor and offers accounts of teams and bosses that radiate enthusiasm and positive energy even under adversarial circumstances. It shows how to create and support empowering relationships and uses years of original research to identify three principles that lead to 'glow' and glowing results. From asking questions that spark energy and creativity to 'jumping across worlds', this provides an exceptional survey of how to capture 'glow' in a business effort, and is a pick for any business library.

I downloaded a free chapter of Glow and have just finished reading it - and can't wait to read the full book. Lynda's concepts about how to be inspired at work are just the things we need to invigorate the office environment. Work should still be fun, and Lynda gives masses of practical examples as well as checklists and tools to help improve our work lives.