180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm... The "How To" Handook for Everyone [Paperback]

Barbara A. Glanz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 5, 2006 | ISBN-10: 1885228740 | ISBN-13: 978-1885228741 | Edition: 1

Happy workers will be more productive workers! In this heartwarming handbook, best-selling author, Barbara Glanz gives you 180 morale-boosting ideas to help you bring more caring, communication, respect, and appreciation to the place where you work. Whether you are an employee or a manager, you can learn to “spread your contagious enthusiasm” and make a difference every single day!

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Barbara Glanz has done it again. Read this book and you'll lift the energy of everyone around you." --Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Whale Done!: The Power of Positive Relationships

About the Author

Barbara Glanz, Certified Speaking Professional, works with organizations that want to improve morale, retention, and service and with people who want to rediscover the joy in their work and in their lives. She is the coauthor with Ken Blanchard of: The Simple Truths of Service: Inspired by Johnny the Bagger and the author of: • Handle with CARE: Motivating and Retaining Employees.
• Balancing Acts: More Than 250 Guiltfree, Creative Ideas to Blend Your Work and Your Life.
• CARE Packages for the Workplace: Dozens of Little Things You Can Do to Regenerate Spirit at Work.
• The Creative Communicator.
• Building Customer Loyalty.
• CARE Packages for the Home. As an internationally known speaker, trainer, and consultant with a Master’s degree in Adult Education, Barbara lives and breathes her personal motto: “Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm™.” She has presented on six continents and in all 50 states since 1995. You can reach her at [e-mail] or www.barbaraglanz.com. She lives on the beach in Sarasota, Florida, and delights in her grandchildren, Gavin, Kinsey, and Owen!

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: The WALK THE TALK Company; 1 edition (June 5, 2006)
• ISBN-10: 1885228740
• ISBN-13: 978-1885228741
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #217,853 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creaitng an Engaged Workforce, July 5, 2006

By 

Bud Bilanich "The Common Sense Guy" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm... The "How To" Handook for Everyone (Paperback)

If you've been paying attention to what people have been writing about leadership lately, you've undoubtedly come across the term "engagement". Engaged employees are productive employees.

Recently, I came across a Walk the Talk handbook by Barbara Glanz entitled 180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm. This little book is a must read for anyone who is interested in creating an engaged, motivated workforce.

180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm is divided into seven chapters:

1. Creative Communication
2. Atmosphere
3. Appreciation for All
4. Respect
5. Reason for Being
6. Empathy
7. Enthusiasm

The seven chapter headings reinforce Ms. Glanz's main point about building enthusiasm and engagement: leaders must CARE. She is so emphatic about this point - CARE -- that she makes each point twice.

* C Creative Communication
* A Atmosphere and Appreciation for All
* R Respect and Reason for Being
* E Empathy and Enthusiasm

Here is a sample of the advice she offers.

Creative Communication

* Spend five minutes figuring out how to communicate a decision for every ten minutes you spend deciding.
* Add a quotation, graphic, cartoon or seasonal reminder to memos and fax cover sheets. Make them fun and interesting to get people's attention.
* Hold "grapevine" meetings (informal meetings with an open agenda giving all employees a chance to set rumors straight) at least once a month to enhance communication and get worries and concerns out in the open.

Atmosphere

* A great place to work is one in which you trust the people you work for, have pride in what you do, and enjoy the people you work with.
* Take a look at your office - what does it say about your human level? Always display in your office one or two reminders of things you really love.
* Every Friday, have a "Good News Hour" for 30 minutes before the workday starts...Ask employees to share good things that have happened to them - at home, at work or in the world.

Appreciation for All

* Everyone in organizations should set as their goal to maintain or enhance the self esteem of the people with whom they interact.
* Send logo gifts to spouses and children at holiday time. Ask people to write down the best way they can think of to celebrate their birthday. Then, try to make that happen on their special day.
* Ask everyone on your work team to give five sincere compliments a day to others. Once a week, have people share how the recipients responded.

Respect

* You can tell the value of a man by the way he treats his wife, the way he treats a subordinate and the way he treats someone who can do nothing for him.
* Highlight a different employee's hobbies each month in the lobby of your building.
* Provide etiquette classes for employees. Include how to act gracefully in different cultures.

Reason for Being

* We must stop thinking of work as something imposed on us by the need to make money, and think of it as something we have chosen to participate in because of its value in our lives and the community at large.
* Add a personal signature to your work to differentiate yourself from all the others who do the same work as you.
* Allow every employee to visit one customer organization a year.
* Feature a "Customer of the Month" on your website. Include personal features, how long he or she has been a customer, and a little about the customer's business.

Empathy

* Allow employees to have one to two hours a week during company time to volunteer in the community.
* Create cross department teams, and allow them to have one afternoon off a quarter to plan something to benefit the community.
* Bring in a barber and hairdresser one day a week to help your employees easily get haircuts.

Enthusiasm

* Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life.
* Collect company legends and stories on video or audiotape. If possible, interview the employee or customer to whom they happened.
* Have people celebrate their favorite sports teams by dressing up in their colors, hats or uniforms.

If you don't like any of these ideas, there are over 150 more in 180 ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm. I think that all leaders should read this book. It is a catalyst for great ideas on creating an engaged workforce.

5.0 out of 5 stars 180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm, January 29, 2011

By 

Ann Snelling - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm... The "How To" Handook for Everyone (Paperback)

This book was my first introduction to Barbara Glanz, her books, her speaking and her own "contagious enthusiasm". Indeed she models what she writes! After reading this book, I ordered several of her other books on customer service. This book is delightfully upbeat and filled with practical ways to infuse enthusiasm into life. I highly recommend it.