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The Soul At Work: Unleashing the Power of Complexity Science for Business Success
 
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The Soul At Work: Unleashing the Power of Complexity Science for Business Success (Hardcover)

by Roger Lewin (Author), Birute Regine (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 400 pages
  • Publisher: Texere Publishing,US (4 Dec 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0752811851
  • ISBN-13: 978-0752811857
  • Product Dimensions: 24.2 x 15.2 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 456,665 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
For businesses to succeed in the 21st century, people can't be treated like cogs in a wheel, ready to be sacrificed for profits, say authors Roger Lewin and Birute Regine in The Soul at Work. Instead, people must "become the new bottom line", they say, drawing this conclusion with the help of complexity science and their own study of companies that profit by putting people first. "In today's business environment of rapid change, a collective effort, a recognised need for others, becomes the means of survival and success", say Lewin, a science writer, and Regine, a psychologist. Businesses that follow the principles of complexity science are distinguished by fewer levels of hierarchy and more open communication, and they value people "as a way to promote adaptability and business success."

To show the principles of this new science at work, the authors profile organisations as diverse as the VeriFone division of Hewlett-Packard, DuPont, Monsanto, Babel's Paint and Decorating Stores in Massachusetts, Greenwich Village restaurants in New York and St Luke's, one of the UK's most exciting advertising agencies. And they identify three practices common to these organisations: A style of leadership that guides without being controlling, the creation of dynamic teams and the development of strong relationships among workers, customers and community. The Soul at Work is an excellent resource for businesses and individuals interested in succeeding by getting the best out of people. --Dan Ring,Amazon.com

Adam Brandenburger, Professor, Harvard Business School
The Soul at Work tells fascinating stories of people who build resilient organisations by thinking hard about the 'soft' side of business.

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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on the Business Lessons of Complexity Science, 12 April 2000
By A Customer
I have read over two dozens books on complexity science and its applications to organizations of all types. Clearly, The Soul At Work is the best of those books. If you already know something about complexity science and its business applications and want to learn more or simply want to get started on the subject, this is the book you should read. Here's why. First, the authors are very fine writers. They also seem to have had outstanding editing. The book is by far the best written of any that I have read on this subject, and is among the best written of any business books I have read as well. This quality particularly shows up in clarifying ideas that can be hard to grasp (complexity science), explaining very interesting examples, and connecting the ideas to the examples in very useful ways. Second, most of the examples are fresh, so you will learn something new by reading these cases. Most business books choose the same examples over and over (do IBM and Coca-Cola seem familiar?), and it gets a little tiring for the reader. The one example in The Soul at Work that I was familiar with was Verifone, and the authors developed lots of new material there that substantially added to my understanding. Third, the cases have a lot of variety in them (as to type of organization, size of organization, the people profiled, the cultural background of the organization, and so forth) which provides a multidimensional perspective that is very helpful. Fourth, the authors successfully contrast their ideas with the humanistic approach to management and the engineering approach, which is a useful backdrop for understanding what they have to say. Anyone who does prefer the humanistic approach will like this book, and will get many new ideas for employing that direction. Fifth, and most importantly, the central theme of the book rings very true to me based on my over 30 years of consulting experience with organizations of all kinds. Trust-based relationships are an essential element of how organizations become more effective. Improve the trust, and any organization works better. The main reason is that trust helps overcome the stalls of poor communication, procrastination, bureaucracy, tradition, disbelief, and avoiding unattractiveness. Although others have made this point, The Soul at Work makes the point better. If you think about the new electronically-connected world, you can see that its main limitation is establishing trust before we can each feel comfortable extending ourselves and our connections in new directions. If you only read one business book this year, this is my recommendation. It's the best business book I have read since The Living Company by Arie de Geus.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must for everyone that has a job and wants to enjoy it..., 4 Feb 2000
Over the last year or so, I have started to be absorbed by complexity science and its application to the work environment.

Intuitively most people feel that 'things must be able to be done differently', put the human aspect (the soul) into what we are doing and -with that!- actually achieve better results.

Read this book! The introduction, explaining complexity science in its most practical way is indeed perfect starter. The case studies that follow, ranging in diversity from St Luke's, the successful UK advertisers, to Cornelia Street (NYC) and Monsanto, the 'life-sciences' company, are told mainly in the words from the people who experienced the power (and difficulties!) from the subject matter. Very convincing. The last part of the book condenses all the lessons and creates a view on how to use them.

Everyone who is into this and may have read Roos, Oliver, Lissack and perhaps 'Rethinking the Future'(Gibson) and are looking for a guide. This is it! If you are NOT into this, and think that the 'way you do things around where you are' is OK. This is also it! You will be converted. This is a book that can help change the world. For the better.

In one word: fab (and that is an english abbreviation that I have picked up since I live in the UK...)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant - making the lessons of complexity come alive, 30 Jan 2000
By A Customer
Regine & Lewin do a stunning job in taking complexity theory into practice. With beautifully written narratives that go to the "soul" of the beliefs and behaviours which enable emergent change.

For anyone who enjoyed Zohar, Wheatley or the wonders of "the next common sense" (Lissack & Roos), this is a must read.

For those setting out on the complexity trail, this is a wonderful introduction to the practical use (sometimes unplanned) of the core ideas derived from complex adaptive systems work.

For those wanting to shake the tree of mechanistic corporations, this would be the book for the whole top team to read - if only they thought they had something to learn.

Brilliant, a "milestone" read.

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