We: How to Increase Performance and Profits through Full Engagement [Hardcover]

Rudy Karsan (Author), Kevin Kruse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 25, 2011

Achieve a fully engaged workforceWhat if every single employee-every single one-worked in their dream job, utilized their best talents, worked with an inspirational leader and was fully engaged in their role?
For companies, this scenario leads to breakthroughs in productivity, customer service, profitability, and shareholder value. For individuals, it means better health, stronger relationships with family and friends, and greater happiness. We sketches the landscape of today's changing job environment and gives managers and individual employees alike a road map to full engagement.

• Anchored with specific metrics, based on studies of 10 million people, includes engagement, retention, customer loyalty, and profitability
• Scientific research and academic insights are translated into actionable steps
• Authors have extensive experience in cutting-edge human resources solutions

Achieve breakthrough results for yourself and your organization with the power of full engagement from We.

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘Karsan and Kruse make their advice actionable for immediate personal and organizational growth…This book is a must read'. (GoDubai, January 2011).

From the Author

Karsan and Kruse offer compelling research and detailed advice that will enable leaders at all levels in an organization to step up the emotional commitment they need from their team members to materially improve performance."
--Douglas Conant, CEO, Campbell Soup Company

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 236 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047076743X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470767436
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 0.9 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars If you're lucky enough to have a job, you have to read this book! January 31, 2011

By Michael Dawson

Format:Hardcover

Your job matters more than you think. In fact, it has a startling impact on all aspects of your life, including your happiness, your health, your weight, your life expectancy, your relationships - even the intimacy of your marriage and your children's behavior at school! This is because work doesn't leave us when we leave the office. Our work-related emotions 'spill over' into other areas of our lives.

'We: How to increase performance and profits through full engagement' is not your typical business book. Yes, it covers employee engagement, leadership and how to increase productivity. But what really distinguishes this from the crowd is that it's also a book for individuals on how to achieve happiness at work.

This dual purpose - of looking at engagement both from an individual's perspective and from the point of view of a manager/employer - is very much deliberate as we're told that employees and their managers have a shared responsibility to work together if they are to bring about the desired state of full engagement.

The authors - Rudy Karsan and Kevin Kruse, both leaders of fast-growing companies - claim you can tell whether employees are engaged by how often they use the word 'We' (as opposed to 'they') when describing their employer. Hence the title of the book.

The authors chart a brief history of the changes that have occurred in the job environment and attitudes to work: from the creation of 'jobs' and 'managers' to the shift to a work-life blend.

For individuals, a key message is that it's unlikely you'll be satisfied in life if you aren't satisfied and engaged at work. Want to be happy with better health and a passionate marriage? Get a job that engages you!

To be engaged, you'll need passion, purpose and pay.... The authors suggest ways to assess your strengths, find your true purpose, develop your own personal brand, grow your career, enhance your working relationships, identify your preferred culture and decide on the type of organization in which you should be working.

For leaders and managers, a key message is that your behavior has a far-reaching impact. You create the environment that enables individuals to either flourish or flounder. With a clever acronym, the authors highlight that GReAT managers focus on Growth, Recognition And Trust.

Using research from Kenexa - which conducts 10 million employee engagement/opinion surveys in over 150 countries each year - the authors reveal that there's a five-times greater difference in shareholder value between companies with the most engaged workers and those with the least. Yet they stress that engagement alone is not enough. You also need alignment to ensure everyone is heading in the same direction!

The book provides a toolkit of questions and action steps to help managers maximize engagement, align employees to the organization's goals, show recognition, make employees feel valued and enhance teamwork, communication and product/service quality, among other things.

With separate sections - and key takeaways - for individuals and managers, this is an eminently readable book that is filled with case studies, questions, actionable advice and links to exclusive online bonus content, including video interviews, audio files and activities.

Work should be enjoyable, fulfilling and engaging. If yours isn't, this book will challenge you to do something about it. But it will also support you along the way. You owe it to yourself to read this, particularly if you're a manager. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is *the* book that both employers and employees need to foster a sense of unity in the workplace ... January 30, 2011

By D. Fowler TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

In an economy where the job market is tight, both employers and employees need to restructure the way they think about the illusory belief that work and life are separate entities. Many times I've emailed people on weekends with a work related question and have been surprised when I've received an almost instantaneous response. Naturally I would think that they needed to get a life, but now realized they were fully engaged in their work as was I. There is no such thing as "entitlement" these days and instead of trying to balance our lives with work, we need to learn to blend them together. The "'We' approach is one that says stop striving for a work-life `balance,' and begin to craft a work-life `blend.'" (p. 26) Of course if you are a clock watcher and have your eyes on that second hand as it approaches five o'clock you do need to get a life ... and a new job.

Your job, on one level, defines who you are and "it should be easy to see how one's employment plays a critical part in who you are and how you experience life." (p. 36) You'll learn about the spillover and crossover effects of your job and how they impact your life and the lives of others, specifically that of your family. If you think that you "leave work at the office" you might just want to rethink that platitude after reading about the psychological effects of work satisfaction or dissatisfaction on the family dynamic. Did you know that "only 45% of workers in the United States were satisfied with their jobs?" (p. 213) Probably no big surprise there and almost everyone is aware of the divorce rate here in the United States.

As we learn to craft a work-life blend we also learn that both the employer and employee need to blend into "We" in order to become "truly engaged at work...." This book is not written for one, but for both and each will take away material that will strengthen the bond, fully engage both parties, increase performance, profits, and provide an enriching environment to thrive in. For example one statement claims that "... the factors that had a substantial effect on levels of satisfaction were the intrinsic factors, such as having autonomy, utilizing one's strengths, learning new things, and having control over how to get the job done" is one of many adages to assist both the employer and employee on their journey to becoming fully engaged on the job. (p. 49)

If you are a square peg in a round hole in your chosen profession you can still be successful, but most likely you are not engaged. You'll learn that "to get that deep feeling of engagement in your career, you need to find the intersection--the bull's-eye--of three important things." ... passion, purpose, and pay. (p. 58) Hey, no one said it was easy and in fact it's a downright tough thing to accomplish. You'll learn the value of having a BHAG (a "big hairy audacious goal") and can use it as the "North star for your path." In this book you'll also learn about how to ferret out the archetype of companies. Can I become fully engaged in this type of work? Is this person going to fit with our company?

Oftentimes people feel as if they are adrift on the high seas in a rowboat when it comes to work issues, but WE can come together as our work-life blend comes together and WE can become more fully engaged with our work. You can learn to be the CEO of your career. "The power of knowing your style and the culture of your employer is that it gives you a model to work in and language to navigate with." (p. 101) You'll learn how to create a `personal career board, how to network, you'll learn about the importance of personal research and development, and discover little vignettes like the importance of educational levels. Employers will learn about leadership, harmonic teams, how to spot an engaged employee, disengagement , what exactly employee engagement means (p. 165), the value of recognition, trust, and many other facets of engagement that can add to employee satisfaction and the bottom line.

This is *the* book that both employers and employees need to foster a sense of WE in the workplace. I must admit that most business books I read are boring and redundant, as they snatch material from other books in order to simply sell a book and not an idea. I was so fully engaged in this book I spent a couple of days reading it. There are "Bonus Material" sections on this book's website that can be accessed by passwords given in this book. I watched one and it was excellent, but I might recommend that people read the book from cover to cover and then go back to watch the videos as they absorb the material. The book is realistic, impressive, and based on solid research. This opinion-based book was formulated by experienced men who "listened" to millions of workers who answered questionnaires. In the introduction Tony Hsieh states that "Our ultimate goal is to create a culture of happy, engaged, and productive employees." Yep, I think this book has the right formula!

This book courtesy of Kevin Kruse. Read more ›

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Not another tome of inspiring workplace tales. Full of real data and tools. January 27, 2011

By Adam Bauser

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you're looking for one of those business books where every chapter starts with some thought-provoking story about how some individual or company came to some profound revelation that forever changed their career destiny or bottom line, you should probably find another book to read. While Karsan and Kruse do share more than a few useful anecdotes from their time as business leaders, they also pack this book full of worksheets, surveys, and tools that push the reader to actually apply what's being taught. Better yet, the stuff being taught didn't just fall out of their heads, it's supported with loads of data and research. Have a pencil handy while reading We: How to Increase Performance and Profits through Full Engagement, because you're going to want to take notes.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read February 3, 2011

By ms

Format:Hardcover

I read the first 2 pages and then the last 2 pages while boarding my plane, and decided it was worth reading everything in between. And by the time I landed I had read it all and thoroughly enjoyed the "you can do it" tone, the down to earth style, the genuine practicality of the approach. Looking forwarding the viewing the web-linked content. Clearly a book for those who want to be part of a successful enterprise, whether leading it or being part of it - the WE factor applies to all of us!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars WE - Dare to dream January 31, 2011

By Zahir Ladhani

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A must read. I recommend every leader to read this book. Not to get ideas on how to increase engagement, but rather how to achieve their dreams. At first blush this book looks like a business engagement book. As you read it, it becomes a step by step guide to living life to the fullest. Karsan and Kruse walk the reader through each aspect of one's life, assess it and develop strategies to achieve ones dreams. Take the time, read it, do the exercises and share them with your spouse and children