Keep Your WITS About You (Hardcover)

by Michelle Gall (Author) "Traditional organizations are dysfunctional and don't work..." (more)
Key Phrases: Black Holes, Secret Self, Big Easy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Should be required reading for all executives and those aspiring to be executives." -- Cal Darden, Sr. Vice President, UPS

"an insightful guide that will prove especially valuable to leaders. . . -- Suzanne M. Boyle, RN

Product Description
Many workplaces are not effective because they ignore their most valuable asset: purposeful employees — change agents who guide colleagues into bigger arenas and help them feel safe.

As you remove boundaries and help others thrive, you become a purposeful employee or WITS: Wise, Innovative, Thoughtful, and Spunky.

No company can thrive without its WITS. They are a constant source of energy and perspective for others, and they have an amazing ability to recharge their own batteries.

In business, smart people do not always succeed, gifted people cannot always contribute, and even WITS can lose touch with their higher selves. Of these three —smart, gifted, and WITS — the WITS are most essential for success.

Many companies are frustrated by their inability to grow leaders. They profess a desire for inspirational change agents, but they do not know what to do with them. WITS create environments that invite change and growth; they redefine traditional notions of leadership through originality and personal connection. They speak fluent change and know that the external environment is not the enemy, just isolation and habit. Because WITS do not fear change, they leave organizations when they cannot connect in meaningful ways; and when companies lose their WITS, they not only lose their most valuable employees but also lose perspective and their most expressive voices.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 194 pages
• Publisher: Glenbridge Publishing Ltd. (January 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0944435564
• ISBN-13: 978-0944435564
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,250,823 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read with a big payoff, April 28, 2005

By	Marjorie A. Milliken - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"Keep Your WITS About You" is an enjoyable read with a big payoff. The multitude of case studies and their analyses give executives and managers the tools they need to create transformational workplaces. Author, Michelle Gall, truly puts the "human" back into H.R. and shows us how to optimize these human resources.
M.Milliken
Communications Consultant

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keen insights, humorous read, April 2, 2005

By	Consultant guy (DC USA) - See all my reviews

The author has a keen, Dilbert-like eye for the surreal aspects of working for an employer, and is acutely attuned to our strengths and weakness as employees. The book is humorous and insightful, a great airplane read. I've shared with office colleagues the tables that end each chapter where the author presents a common workplace event (e.g., negative feedback at a performance review) and contrasts what would be productive thoughts and actions (of a type of person labeled WITS), with the all-too-typical, dysfunctional response (the half-WITS). I swear every one of the dozens of examples has happened in the places I've worked, and I can name several people within a few cubicles of mine who ought to read this---and get a clue! If you've ever felt strong-armed by an employer to give to the United Way, you are going to enjoy this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Find!, June 22, 2005

By	Smitty (CT, USA) - See all my reviews

Having worked for over 30 years in the corporate world, and after having read more than my fair share of self-help books, I have to say that "Keep You Wits About You" was a great find!
Using an abundance of imaginative metaphors, obviously coming from years of experience in the trenches, this book really puts things in the proper spective. (My particular favorite is the soldfish versus the boldfish.)