At a corporate retreat on organizational learning, the vice president of finance for a major manufacturer leads a discussion to raise the “real” issues that inhibit learning and growth. He promises to listen and asks his people to talk honestly, to “tell it like it is” instead of telling management what it wants to hear. To his surprise, nearly all the issues raised in each group —regardless of level or function — relate to work and family.
The director of a strategic business unit at a large high-tech company says, “After my heart attack at age thirty-seven, my doctor told me, ‘Get a new job or you won’t make forty.’ I knew the important things in my life were health and family, but I loved my work and I couldn’t face the prospect of giving it up. Isn’t there any way to have a life and still do what I love to do?”
The president of a financial services company muses that past routes to success seem to be dead-ends. He notes, “We’ve been tremendously successful, largely because of the hard work, energy, and commitment of our people. But I have the sense that we have pushed about as far as we can. The creative ideas and the energy to work on them seem to be coming from the top, and I know we can’t sustain... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.
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