Lessons from the Hive: The Buzz on Surviving and Thriving in an Ever-Changing Workplace (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Beverly Kaye (Foreword) "THE SOUND OF the oldies station came blaring forth the moment Dana Carswell turned the key in the ignition of her family's Subaru wagon..." (more)
Key Phrases: jeanne rasmussen, reading group discussion questions, Peter Abrams, Matt Parker, Nikki Cavanagh (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Departing from the usual inspirational-aphorisms-and-workbook-exercises approach, former Berrett-Koehler president Decker offers a fictionalist workplace minidrama, complete with family demands, blindsides and backstabs by colleagues, and pressures from above and below on the corporate ladder. Written almost completely in dialogue, the story centers on Bee Natural, a small candle company recently acquired by a corporate parent that has installed a new CEO, who is contemplating taking the company into wax-relaxed beauty products. The story features Dana, the lifer marketing director whose conduct seems to be not completely under her control; her new assistant, Nikki, an enabling veteran of Overeaters Anonymous; sales director Matt Parker, with whom Dana "shares" Nikki; and Todd Ramos, who is spearheading the new product line. A corporate reporter following the company’s transition and off-site friends and family round things out. Their charged interactions will be familiar to anyone who has worked anywhere near a cubicle, headset or corner office; if the dialogue feels aggressive and banal, it also feels true-to-life. Perhaps most compellingly, Decker never steps in to tell readers what to think of the often poor decision-making of the various characters, though he does offer an appendix of "discussion questions." If behavior modification comes from self-recognition, identifying with one or more of Decker’s nuanced stand-ins may be a first step.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Description

Going through a company merger or buy-out creates new challenges for managers and employees alike, but this unique business fable offers real-world advice for coping and even prospering. Based on the true story of a candle-making company in New England, Lessons from the Hive is actually a fictionalized look inside an organization, Bee Natural, Inc., as it deals with inevitable changes after its purchase by a consumer-products conglomerate.

Using a week-in-the-life approach, five major players in the organization are profiled, ranging from the recently installed tough CEO to a brand-new junior employee. The main character is a seasoned director of marketing who must face her own personal struggles with changes both at work and at home. Fast paced and entertaining, Decker’s story parable is populated with likable, realistic characters who portray the tribulations and eventual success of a company enduring organizational change. Readers will learn:

• More positive ways of looking at changes within an organization
• Less confrontational ways of dealing with conflicts at work
• How to deal with fears of the unknown in a changing business environment
• The importance of establishing trust in the workplace
• How to deal with conflicting interpersonal relationships in a professional manner

Well experienced in organizational development, training, and human resources management through his extensive business publishing background, Decker uses this business fable to demonstrate that trust is a stronger force than fear and that organizational change can actually result in career opportunities rather than career demise. Anyone involved in dealing with personal and professional transformation (and who isn’t?) will find comfort in this delightful tale of a company dealing with the challenge of reinventing itself.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Business (November 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0793191866
• ISBN-13: 978-0793191864
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #977,322 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be a Best Seller., November 26, 2004

By	John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I think the publishers of this book should create a new dust jacket, change a few pages at the start of the book and take a run at the best seller list with this as a novel. It's really written that well.

Meet Dana Carswell, an old timer with a twenty year old candle company, a teenaged son at home (I could say troubled relationship, but with a teenaged son that goes without saying), and starting out a Monday morning of what promises to be Hell Week. The company has just been bought out and the new president tells her they are thinking of going into the personal care business. "With beeswax," Dana answers.

Dana is just one of the five different characters as they adjust to new jobs, unfamiliar products, perceived threats and unclear loyalties and the brash new CEO who wants to forge a new path to greatness.

Every once in a while one of these little books comes along that while having a lot of fun while opening whole new trains of thought. Wonderful.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another winner, September 28, 2004

By	David Barnoski "dbarnoski" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

I loved virtually every chapter of this book. Just when you think it's going to be a "feel better" book that's totally unreflective of business realities as we know them, the author pulls a pleasant surprise. For those who think they've "got a ping" on business change, you might want to check this book out. I think everyone will find something of use here.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect gift for employees surviving change, October 14, 2004

By	Biz chick (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

When a company or industry is in major flux, sometimes, as a manager, you may find that your toughest assignment is convincing your team to embrace the new way. Even you might not be certain the change makes sense. But you've got to get the word out. Sometimes a book comes along that says it for you... and serves the role of helping others see that they can either be the barriers or the leaders of necessary change. Lessons from the Hive is that book. Never preachy, filled with realistic human conflict...and a cast of characters that reflects us at our best and worst when the inevitability of change strikes. You'll breeze through it...but the characters and examples will stick with you for a long time.