Why?
Because seven out of eight people believe the company they work for does not care about them.
Because everybody should have the opportunity to use their gifts and talents toward a shared vision.
Because people should not be merely a means to a company’s financial success.
Because people want to be led, not managed.
Because everyone deserves the chance to return home from work each day feeling fulfilled by the work that they do.
When we launched this Truly Human Leadership blog two and a half years ago, we stated those Whys near the top of this site. We felt it was important for our readers to understand our motivation in sharing the stories of Barry-Wehmiller. Everywhere we looked we were seeing the brokenness of business: layoffs and downsizings, surveys showing abysmal employee engagement, reports of the effect of workplace stress on our health and wellbeing. As author and consultant Tony Schwartz likes to say, “The way we’re working isn’t working.”
Meanwhile, at Barry-Wehmiller, we were seeing the tremendous impact of Truly Human Leadership. Through our commitment to creating a people-first culture, we had transformed our traditional business into one in which both the business and our people were thriving.
We felt compelled to share our story outside our walls! By sharing the insights and lessons learned throughout Barry-Wehmiller’s transformation via this blog, we hoped to inspire other leaders to consider a better way to lead. In essence, we could do our part to change the world!
Today, it gives me great pleasure to introduce another exciting way we will soon be sharing our message. Our book, Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family, is scheduled for release on October 6, 2015. Filled with stories and lessons learned along Barry-Wehmiller’s journey, this book offers clear steps to transform businesses and organizations and create cultures where everybody matters.
We invite you to explore the book’s website and share it with anyone who might be interested. (To read an excerpt, click the link on the homepage.) Over the next few months, we’ll continue to share updates on the book’s progress on my blog as well as profiles of some of the people featured in Everybody Matters.
Our Whys remain the same, as does our steadfast commitment to changing the world. We hope you’ll join us on the journey.