Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team's Passion, Creativity, and Productivity (Hardcover)

~ Michael L. Stallard (Author), Carolyn Dewing-Hommes (Contributor), Jason Pankau (Contributor)
Key Phrases: inspiring identity, developing character strengths, increased knowledge flow, The Body Shop, World War, Queen Elizabeth (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fabulous book, a must read!" -- Jack Mitchell, Chairman and CEO of Mitchells/Richards/Marshs, Author of Hug Your Customers: The Proven Way to Personalize Sales and Achieve Astounding Results

"An enthralling and impressive work. It shows how to empower people and create great societies, corporations and cultures. I'm giving it to everyone at my own firm." -- Russell Reynolds, Jr., Founder and Former CEO, Russell Reynolds Associates; Chairman, The Directorship Search Group

"In our turbulent times, leaders who are searching for ways to develop the healthy work environment that releases the energy of their people, releases the human spirit, could not find a more inspiring support than this great new resource for leaders in the corporate, government and social sectors. Fired Up or Burned Out will be the indispensable leadership guide for leaders everywhere." -- Frances Hesselbein, Chairman and Founding President, The Peter Drucker Foundation (Renamed the Leader to Leader Institute)

"Reading this book is like having a great conversation; new and interesting people join in along the way, adding their own personal and varied insights, and encouraging an increasingly smart and useful dialogue. Readers are compelled to emerge smarter, more thoughtful, and more energized and engaging with this book." -- Regina Fazio Maruca, former Senior Editor, Harvard Business Review, Coauthor Your Leadership Legacy

"Stallard's strategy gives business owners the tools to energize and strengthen their employees. Fired Up or Burned Out is a must-read for leaders who are looking for new ways to inspire spirit in the workplace." -- Shep & Ian Murray, Co-Founders and CEOs of vineyard vines

"Through fascinating stories, Fired Up or Burned Out convinced me of the power of connection, in life and in work. It helped me see what is missing in so many organizations. Just as important, I learned what to do about it." -- Marian Chapman Moore, Professor, Academic Director, Darden MBA for Executives, Darden Graduate School of Business, University of Virginia

"Pragmatic...not PollyAnnaish...The soft stuff counts and Stallard's book helps fluff the pillows...It's impossible not to find some example that will make you rethink your own approach to other people in your working life." -- Michael Fitzgerald Columnist, The New York Times (on BNet)

"This is a very big idea. While it's simple, it's not easy to do, but it's important. Hurry!" -- Seth Godin, Author, The Dip

Product Description

Now in paperback from Michael Stallard!
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson; annotated edition edition (July 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785223584
• ISBN-13: 978-0785223580
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #597,804 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Connectors, Disconnectors; Productivity, and Passion, August 18, 2007

By	Thomas M. Loarie (Danville, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Michael Stallard's "Fired Up or Burned Out" addresses organizational and personal passion, creativity, and productivity. Stallard notes in his introduction that fewer than three in ten Americans are engaged in their jobs (surviving rather than thriving), and sets about to explain why and how it can be fixed.

"Fired Up" is organized into four sections (and 15 chapters): what fires us up; the keys to connecting a team and lighting their fires; where it begins; and lessons from twenty great leaders. Each section begins with a "What you will learn guide," and each chapter ends with a "Review, Reflection, and Application" summary. The former provides the theme and the latter provides an excellent reference for future review.

What you will learn includes:

* Why a sense of emotional connection is necessary for people and organizations to thrive.

* How the oft discussed elements of vision, value, and voice are reflected in the richer concepts of inspiring identity, human value, and knowledge flow.

* Why connection depends on the right kind of people whose actions increase connection.

* The three types of people who affect connection: intentional disconnectors, unintentional disconnectors, and intentional connectors.

Stallard begins with the fundamental belief that all people want and need to feel valued and shows how the "Power of Connection" works to this end. "Connection meets basic human psychological needs for respect, recognition, belonging, autonomy, personal growth, and meaning." People with a higher degree of connection experience superior mental and physical health improving the performance of both. And the lack of connection will gradually diminish both leading to burn out.

Psychiatrists have also observed that the lack of connection leads to feelings of loneliness, isolation, confusion resulting in behaviors of distrust, disrespect, and dissatisfaction. And at a time when the public is concerned about organizational ethics, it has been noted that in cultures where large numbers of people are disconnected, unethical behavior is more likely to occur.

Stallard links connection to vision, value and voice. Many business authors have underscored the value of the first two elements but less has been written on "voice." I found the discussion of "voice" one of the most interesting and refreshing aspects of this excellent book. Stallard explains in detail how "voice" or knowledge flow increases connection and fires up people, helps people to make better decisions (the wisdom of the crowd), and increases creativity and innovation. He then suggest several strategies on how to increase knowledge flow within the organization - top to bottom, bottom to top, and across all functions.

Author Michael Stallard has had an interest in work cultures throughout his career as he wanted to understand the culture that would bring out the best in himself. His interest led to a generalized notion of what would bring out the best in all, and left Wall Street in 2002 to start a think tank, E Pluribus Partners, to assist people and organizations in achieving their potential.

The final section, "Learn from Twenty Great Leaders Over Twenty Days" provides excellent examples of Stallard's principles in practice by great leaders - Marquis de Lafayette, George Washington, John Wooden, Howard Schultz, and many others.

"Fired Up" is an excellent read for those who lead, those who want to lead, and, even, for those who do not want to lead. All can fall into the traps of life that lead to failure. "Fired Up" shows us a practical way to avoid these traps and to live a full, productive life.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Get Fired Up! A Leader's Guide - Well Written, Worth a Read or Two, December 17, 2007

By	Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)

(What's this?)

Michael Lee Stallard has put together a nice volume on management. The direct writing style and nicely sized chapters make this book digestible and practical. His emphasis on "connection culture" in business is centered on creating a place where workers feel valued. This volume is a must read for managers and aspiring leaders alike.

The book starts with an introduction that puts the topic into personal context. The author discusses his experiences in various firms and the challenges he faced professionally and personally that prompted his study of motivation.

He goes over background and supporting evidence regarding the costs of a disconnected workforce. Such studies are at best estimates, but he includes many references to allow for further research. He drives the message home with popular management tomes, from John Wooden to Starbucks, and references to history, from the American Revolution to WWII.

Part IV of the book outlines a 20 day program depicting leaders who espoused the connection culture and practical lessons that one can apply to their organization. The steps include analyzing the culture we have been unconsciously creating and communicating the value of others through action.

Pros
+ Direct writing style
+ Very well organized chapters
+ A nice compendium of management stories
+ Succinct enough to be read in one sitting
+ More understanding comes from reflecting on the text

Considerations
- The book is based on the premise that disconnected workplaces are the primary cause of "Burn-out." After careful thought, I see the author's point of view here. I initially searched for other causes of burn-out, yet they can be viewed in this context: organizations should have mechanisms to identify and help disconnected workers.
- I benefitted from re-reading Part IV before Parts I-III. This might make it easier to communicate the ROI of the steps. It is always a challenge to propose new practices.
- As for me, I'm struggling with how to nicely ask my boss to read this book :-)

The book's structure is so unique I suspect it will require much re-reading to fully grasp the complexities.

Overall, this is a very good book that should be explored.

************************************************
Edited 19 December 2007

My initial rating was really closer to 3.5 stars. I was perhaps overly critical because of my own personal distrust of qualitative studies and my own experiences. Actually, the author provides a lot of supporting references where similar texts sometimes provide none.

Please put my review in context. After re-reading the book this morning I rate it 4 stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're Fired... Up, June 14, 2008

By	K. Sampanthar "Inventor of ThinkCube" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

The Summary
According to Gallup fewer than 3 out of 10 Americans are engaged in their jobs. Gallup goes as far as to calculate the cost associated to this waste of human potential - $300 Billion! `Fired Up or Burned Out' (FUBO) lays out a framework to tackle this dilemma. It is written by the founders of E Pluribus Partners - a Think Tank dedicated to helping organizations increase their customer and employee engagement.

The Audience
This book is primarily aimed at managers that want to increase the engagement of their employees. Michael Lee Stallard has written a very motivating and practical book that should be required reading. To some this should only be a reminder of best practices, but to others it might be an eye-opener. Unfortunately, like most things in life, the managers in most need of this book will be the ones that won't recognize it's potential.

The Details
The two extremes of jobs are: 1) where employees are wildly fired up and passionate about what they do, and 2) where employees are frustrated, bored, uninspired and burned out. Most jobs fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. Most people enter a new job fired up and excited about their prospects, but over time this normally fades and leads to frustrations. How do managers create an environment where they can keep employees fired up and excited?
The approach described in this book is based on the results of a multi-year study of leaders from various organizations: some wildly successful and others less inspirational. Stallard draws from diverse fields; neuroscience, systems theory, sociology, organizational behavior etc.; to develop a solid framework to bring out the best in employees.
He discovered the secret to firing up employees in an unexpected place, a cancer treatment center, where the staff were truly excited about their jobs. He didn't realize it at the time, but it lead to the understanding that `connection' and `relationships' are the central elements to a culture where people thrive.

The book is broken into 4 parts:
- Part 1 - What fires Us Up? -- The background around why connection and relationships are important.
- Part 2 - The 3 keys to connecting with your team and lighting their fires: Vision - Value - Voice -- How to create a connection culture and fire up your teams.
- Part 3 - The fire starts with you. Become a person of character and connection to ignite the team around you -- How to become a connector.
- Part 4 - Learn from twenty great leaders over twenty days - Motivating stories of great leaders to learn from.

The Take-Aways
This is an inspirational book! It is fast and fun to read. I have to admit I read this book very quickly and didn't follow the 20 days leadership story plan - I just couldn't wait and read it all in one sitting. As a manager, I am constantly searching to find ways to fire up my teams. Over the years I have lead highly motivated teams and some that have started out strong but faded. I have always wanted to know what I could do differently to create the passionate teams again. This book crystallized a lot of ideas I had stumbled upon myself and pulled them together into a practical framework.

I highly recommend this book to managers, and even employees. Awareness of these principles can create a culture that fosters creativity, innovation and passion. Pick up this book, read it and then pass it on to everyone in your team, including your boss (if you have one!). Spread the fire!

Kes Sampanthar
Inventor of ThinkCube