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Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without
 
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Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without [Hardcover]

Tom Rath (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 1, 2006
What's the quickest way to ruin a friendship? Do great friendships have anything in common? Are close friendships in the workplace such a bad thing?

These are just a few of the questions that #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Rath asked when he embarked on a massive study about the impact of friendships. Along with several leading researchers, Rath pored through the literature, conducted several experiments, and analyzed more than 8 million interviews from The Gallup Organization's worldwide database.

His team's discoveries produced Vital Friends , a book that challenges long-held assumptions people have about their relationships. And the team's landmark discovery - that people who have a "best friend at work" are seven times as likely to be engaged in their job - is sure to rattle the structure of organizations around the world.

Drawing on research and case studies from topics as diverse as management, marriage, and architecture, Vital Friends reveals what's common to all truly essential friendships: a regular focus on what each person is contributing to the friendship - rather than the all-too-common approach of expecting one person to be everything.

The book includes a unique ID code that provides access to the Vital Friends Assessment and website. This groundbreaking test reveals which friends play each of the eight vital friendship roles in your work and life.

Tom Rath's fast-paced and inviting storytelling takes a mountain of important research and makes it remarkably accessible and applicable. By the time you finish reading Vital Friends , you'll see your coworkers, family, friends, and significant other in a whole new light.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Friendship may be coming into vogue as a topic (to wit, Joseph Epstein's new book Friendship: An Exposé), but Rath (coauthor of the bestselling How Full Is Your Bucket?) takes a pragmatic rather than philosophical approach. He explores the inherent value of friendships and says that the need for friends goes beyond commonality or companionship; in particular, he devotes a section to friendship at work, which, unlike many companies and managers, Rath sees as a positive force. Rath's research shows that employees who have a best friend in the office are more productive, more likely to engage positively with customers, share new ideas and stay longer in a job. Citing illuminating cases and surveys (many conducted for the Gallup Organization), Rath shows that many people succeed or fail based on the support and involvement of their best friends. Rath posits eight vital roles friends play: some are champions for each other; some collaborate; some connect people with others; and some build each other up through encouragement and trust. Rath's bullishness on friendship is based on solid research and couched in intelligent prose. 150,000 first printing. (Aug. 1)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"A workplace without friends is an enemy."
- The Washington Post
"Friendships are good for business. Companies are coming to discover that, yet are at a loss at what to do about it. . . . what Gallup has uncovered about best friends stands out as novel."
- USA Today
"Let friendship ring. It might look like idle chatter, but when employees find friends at work, they feel connected to their jobs. Having a best friend at work is a strong predictor for being a happy and productive employee."
- TIME magazine

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 240 pages
  • Publisher: Gallup Press; 1 edition (August 1, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1595620079
  • ISBN-13: 978-1595620071
  • Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.5 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #124,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tom Rath leads Gallup's workplace consulting business worldwide and is one of the most influential authors of the last decade. His books have sold more than 4 million copies and have made more than 250 appearances on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

Tom's first book, How Full Is Your Bucket?, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. His 2007 book, StrengthsFinder 2.0, was listed as the top-selling business book worldwide by The Economist. Tom's most recent international bestsellers are Strengths Based Leadership and Wellbeing: The Five Essential Elements.

In Tom's role at Gallup, he guides the organization's practices and research on employee engagement, selection, strengths-based development, leadership, and wellbeing. He also serves as Vice-Chairman of the VHL Cancer Research Fund. Tom earned degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Ashley, and their two children, live in Arlington, Virginia.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 50 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Tom Rath stepped up to the plate for his sophomore effort at a book, and delivered a good book. Vital Friends asks you to evaluate who you have in your life that is a friend, and what kind of friend they are.

This book continues on in Gallup's use of theory that asks us all to not expect people to be what they are not, and tries to help people be who they were created to be.
If your friend is an encourager, let them encourage, but they might not be the strongest mentor that you will have in your life. Do not put your friends into roles they are not capable of fulfilling - have lots of friends - Rath makes all these good points and more in his book, "Vital Friends."

An easy read, Vital Friends explores why relationships are important to success in life, career, family and more. This book is worth reading - another good effort from the folks at Gallup, and Tom Rath.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Vital Book December 26, 2006
Format:Hardcover
Vital Friends outlines the necessity and importance of friends in your personal and professional life. Tom Rath clearly illustrates the "Eight Vital Roles" that friends play in your life: Builder, Champion, Collaborator, Companion, Connector, Energizer, Mind Opener and Navigator. He includes steps on how to strengthen and/or create these friendships. After reading Vital Friends (short read-2 ½ hours) I have a new filter that I will use to view my friendships through and will definitely spend more energy building and strengthening these relationships. The book also includes an online diagnostic that allows you to analyze specific friends and build a website around these friendships provided you have the access code included in the book.
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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Fantastic Book Group Book August 2, 2006
Format:Hardcover
Imagine reading this as a book group selection -- read it with friends! Just think of the intriguing possibilities. What kind of friends do you have in the group? This will spark such discussion. How many frineds should be in the group? The more the merrier? Each friend added adds more depth even to the friendships we already have with others since each new friend brings out more in our friends than we would have found out without them. Book groups should pick this one even if they do not think of their memebers as friends.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Adds a lot despite any imperfections
"Vital Friends" illustrates its own conclusion. Like a good friend, it can add a lot to your life despite imperfections. Read more
Published 1 month ago by ThirstyBrooks
Correct (though trivial) idea, verbose, not well written.
There's a kernel of truth in this book, and that is that people are different and as friends fulfill different functional roles in the relationship. That's about it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ghost(Ghost(M))
Friendship in long run is matter of life or death
First, I appreciate that Tom Rath was the reader for his book. While there are some top notch narrators, there is always a risk in outsourcing narration. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Citizen John
Must read for anyone trying to understand the quality of their...
Tom Rath doesnt pretend everyone can be bff's if they just try but explains why we reach out for some friends at some times and others at other times or why or why not they reach... Read more
Published 15 months ago by gr84smile
We all need friends
Friends are a vital ingredient in anyone's life.You only need a few close friends, like Jesus and his 3 close friends amongst the 12. Read more
Published 20 months ago by T. Y. Yeow
8 vital role a vital friend may fill
Even 2 years after reading this book by Tom Rath I am often recommending it to others. My pleasure was quite honestly a surprise to me. Read more
Published on May 6, 2010 by Worldwide Interfaith Assn Troxell
Strengthen yourself by strengthening your relationships
This book raises some great points that really make one think, both about friendships in general, and also their place in the workplace. Read more
Published on January 11, 2009 by Eric Kassan
Vital Friends
Vital Friends: The People You Can't Afford to Live Without

It was a little light -- I had used StrengthsFinder 2. Read more
Published on December 13, 2008 by Michael Sullivan
Interesting read, not lots of depth
In Vital Friends, Tom Rath makes two main points.

* One is that having friends at work is very beneficial to the employer. Read more
Published on August 14, 2007 by Stormy
Friends--- More Than Just a "Good Idea"
I've heard of good friends, close friends, old friends, casual friends, best friends, even "just" friends, but I had never heard the word "vital" to describe friends until this... Read more
Published on July 20, 2007 by James John Hollandsworth, M.D.
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