Grow Your People, Grow Your Business

Оглавление

Karen Jett. Grow Your People, Grow Your Business

Foreword

Organic Vs. Non-Organic. Values-Based Business Development

So You Want to be a Farmer!?!

Farming is More than Planting and Harvesting. Management Overview

Building up the Soil. Trust & Respect

Plan Your Field. Organizational Skills

Plant Tomatoes in January. Time Management

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomahto. Diversity

Healthy Plants Require Less Care. Power of Attitude

Scout Your Fields. Communication and Listening

Chemical Fertilizer or Natural Fertilizer? Bases of Power

Cultivating Your Field of Dreams. Leadership and Respect

Seeds or Seedlings or Plugs!?! Hiring

Plowing the Field. Training and Coaching

Stringing Up Cucumbers. Training Types, Levels, and Barriers

Hardening Off Plants. Employee Feedback

Avoiding Plant Stress. Employee Motivation

To Feed or Not to Feed? Authentic Empowerment

Praying Mantis: Friend or Foe? Conflict Resolution

Weed Elimination. When and How to Fire

What Seed Did You Plant? Confidentiality

Self-Sustaining Farming. Ethics and Management

The Year-Round Farmer. Managers’ Responsibilities – A Global View

Dancing Deer. Dare to Fail

Every Plant Comes From a Single Seed. Afterword

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Отрывок из книги

At first glance, you may think this is a lawn and garden book, but when you read beyond the chapter titles, crafted from an agricultural model, to the subtitles, you soon find out that this book is really about successfully growing people, not plants. It seems that growth cycles for plants and people are remarkably similar. In 24 concise chapters, Karen Jett uses these similarities to vividly demonstrate how you, as a leader, can successfully “grow” your people.

Agriculture has shaped the growth of our civilization for 10,000 years and it is still one of our largest, and, arguably, most important industries. Where better to find a cornucopia of growth examples, and what clearer, simpler, comparisons than these could be possible? It’s all in here: till the soil; plant healthy seeds; water generously; supplement with nutrients; provide personal support; rotate your crops; harvest thoroughly. The book’s message is simple – manage your “farm” and your people will grow.

.....

In one company, the main value was: “We do whatever it takes to amuse and line the pockets of the owner, at the expense of everything and everyone else.” Another company’s value was: “We do whatever it takes to meet the customer’s needs, remembering that we need to make a profit so that we can continue to meet the customer’s needs in the future.”

In the first company, my personal values (hard work, honesty, and doing things correctly) were much higher than the corporate values. Because I need to live with myself for the rest of my life, I substituted my own values for the organization’s. At times, that choice was challenged and ridiculed for being different. In fact, many other employees did not particularly like me. Over time, I learned to ignore this. Though they may not have liked me, every single person in that company trusted me. I was a values-based employee.

.....