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"Our jobs," observes Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi at
the opening of Good Business, "determine to
a large extent what our lives are like."
But what shape have our lives taken in today's
working world? Consider the fact that while 80 percent of
adults claim that they would work even if they had enough
money never to have to worry, the majority of them can hardly
wait to leave their jobs and get home. Consider that the
dramatic fall of major corporations such as Enron and WorldCom
has left employees, investors, and the public at large distrustful
of business in general. Consider that most people feel that
their jobs have no clear goals, that they seldom receive
adequate feedback, that their skills are rarely matched
to available opportunities, and that they have lost any
sense of control over the work they do.
Yet our workplaces do not have to be the
source of drudgery and dissatisfaction. Under the guidance
of visionary leaders, many companies have succeeded in running
businesses that are both successful and humane -- that contribute
to the happiness and well-being of their employees. In Good
Business, the author of the groundbreaking Flow:
The Psychology of Optimal Experience reveals the values
that have served these leaders as a blueprint for doing
business that is "good" in both senses: the material
and the spiritual.
Visionary leaders have a common dedication
to three fundamental principles. The first is a Vision Beyond
the Self: a goal that benefits society as a whole and that
motivates and inspires a workforce to do its best. Second
is a Commitment to the Organization, which means gaining
the trust and respect of employees by fostering on-the-job
growth in self-knowledge, wisdom, and relationships. Finally,
they are engaged in creating a product that benefits humankind
and not just one that generates revenue.
While Good Business draws primarily
on the experiences of leaders of major corporations, the
lessons it teaches are relevant for improving one's work
life at any level -- from entry position to manager. As
such it will become a classic text for anyone who values
the contribution of individuals in the changing world of
business.
Hungarian-born Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
is the C.S. and D.J. Davidson Professor of Psychology at
the Peter F. Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate
University and the director of The Quality of Life Research
Center, a non-profit institute that studies positive psychology
in Claremont, California, where he lives.
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