Foreword

      AFTER working for twenty-five years in the communications and public affairs arena, and after spending the last twenty years looking at absolutely every dimension of public opinion imaginable, both out of curiosity and on behalf of many clients, I have learned one truth that transcends all other truths I’ve ever learned, and that is this: It’s the simplest things that are the most profound and the most likely to make a difference in whatever we’re trying to accomplish.

      Brady Wilson and his business partner, Alex Somos, have found, and implemented, some simple and central truths about the workplace. That was clear to me when I first met them and it’s even clearer to me today, now that I have read this book.

      I was very excited, a few years back, when they asked me to do some public opinion research among employees in the workplace. For lack of a better metaphor, I was “juiced” by their assignment. I instantly grasped, from their spirit and their questions, the simplicity and profundity of their approach to work and life.

      In my world you can ask 100 questions and then sit and look at data tables at least 300 pages thick and be no farther ahead than when you started. Unless, that is, you know three things: the story in the data, be it of romance and adventure or challenge and inspiration or anything else; the context, without which the data will not make sense; and concrete examples that anchor and illustrate the findings.

      Brady and Alex provided me with these three essentials. They showed me that in a world of bits and bytes of information, zipping and zapping around from e-mails and videoconferences and pod-casts and Web streaming, the most important element in the workplace and beyond had been lost: conversations between human beings.

      And when we stop to think about it, we all know that the empathy of human relationships and the ability to motivate people have been sucked out of almost every dimension of the workplace as technology has made it easier and faster for us to communicate our thoughts and information.

      Anyone who works in the workplace today can relate to this. Managers and people involved with clients in service relations can, if they choose, hide behind their computer screens, and elude the office with their BlackBerries, almost all day (and night). They can communicate without ever being heard or met – or understood. Ours has become a push-key world in which commands and ideas are pushed out and onto people, with the human touch so diminished that workers and others argue over whether or not e-mail phrasing can have a personal tone.

      The following pages are profound and incredibly energizing because they say to managers and workers alike that engaging with others in a very simple, contextual, and human way in the workplace can produce extraordinary results. This book is backed up with numerous examples and written so that once you start reading it you won’t put it down until you’re done. Through it, Brady Wilson provides the way to navigate, nurture, and necessitate the most productive relationships possible.

      If the Tom Peters maxim of “managing by wandering around” drove the workplace a step further than Peter Drucker’s views on workers and motivation, then this book signals the next leap forward in human-resource productivity, for a world that has changed inextricably with the advent of the Internet and the explosion of technology. Brady Wilson takes you back to the basics of relating to workers, gives that process context and meaning in today’s nanosecond setting, and shows how it can be made to work in any workplace environment.

      I have no doubt that this book will juice you to greater insight, creativity, and intelligent energy. Just watch what happens the next time you enter your place of work.

      JOHN WRIGHT

      Senior Vice President,

      Ipsos Reid

       Preface

      I AM fortunate to work with a passionate group of people. Our company, Juice Inc., exists for one simple purpose: to co-create cultures where it feels good to work and it’s easier to get results. That is the raison d’être of this book. After seeing our methods enhance the enjoyment and achievement of our participants, we felt that this material needed to be offered to a large audience. As you engage with me in this book, my hope is that you will experience this dynamic shift.

      I am also fortunate to have had the privilege of working with business leaders and managers from across North America. I will be introducing many of them to you throughout the book, recognizing the ways in which they have released intelligent energy in their work environments.

      I am profoundly grateful to my business partner, Alex Somos, who championed the writing of this book, in both its original and revised editions, with unflagging commitment from beginning to end. Alex’s creative ideas, practical business sense, and wise advice have shaped so much of this book. I have never met a man more thoughtful and loyal than he.

      I am also grateful to my friend and colleague Crista Renner. She is Pull Conversation personified. Her ideas and well-crafted questions brought intelligent energy to the table, boosting the book’s coherence. Crista is also a brilliant sleuth. Time after time, at the most critical junctures of the writing, she brought forth salient pieces of research.

      Loretta Rose was a key player in the formation of this book. She captured much of our initial material on tape and in interviews, channeling my thinking and doing the tough slogging of creating the first draft. Several revisions have come and gone, and most of the book has morphed into a different form, but stories transformed by Loretta from oral to written form are featured throughout. Her intelligence, passion, creativity, and storytelling flair have enriched Juice in many ways.

      Through his editorial and publishing prowess, Donald G. Bastian of BPS Books has brought immense value to this book. I am thankful for the day we met.

      My thanks also to Sue Krautkramer, Christy Pettit, Rick Boersma, and Dave Loney for helping shape this book through their candid and valuable thoughts during its conception, gestation, and birth.

      I am extremely grateful for my wife, who cheerfully gave me the space and time I needed to do this work. Maybe the next one won’t take three years, Theresa. Thanks also to Tyler, Katelyn, Mike, Rachel, Adrian, and Alison for their continued interest in the progress of Dad’s endless book project.

      Many of us are discovering the impact of spirituality on our work. Throughout this process, I have become keenly aware that I could not have completed this task without the creativity, energy, and wisdom that comes from my relationship with God. When I add this to all the friends and family I have acknowledged, I realize just how very fortunate I am.

      Think back to the accomplishments of a stunningly productive day. Your talents didn’t change from one day to the next. Your education, skills, and experience may have grown, but only incrementally. What made such a radical difference then?

      The answer is simple: your personal energy level. Not raw energy, but what I call juice: intelligent energy, the source of focus, flow, passion, and purpose that produces astonishing results.

      Think about your energy level for a moment. When you put it together with the energy levels of those you work with, it produces organizational energy. Cultures filled with this kinetic buzz of intelligent energy ignite smart behaviors: people anticipate one another’s needs, share information and resources, and leverage one another’s efforts. Sustained results are a natural byproduct.

      If you’re a leader, your job is to stimulate and guard the energy level of your organization. As you sit at your company’s dashboard, you should constantly check the organizational energy gauge. It’s even more important than the engagement and retention gauges. Why? Because an employee can be completely engaged yet become depleted in their energy if their core emotional needs are not being met. Take care of their energy scores and you will secure high engagement

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