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KelDrea 08-01-02 The Dream Manager Matthew Kelly Hyperion,
2007, 156 pp., ISBN 978-1-4013-0370-9 |
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Kelly writes a
fable reminiscent of Patrick Lencioni (who wrote the Foreword) suggesting a
company can retain employees and build loyalty and productivity by helping
employees reach their dreams. It is a
utopian Cinderella story, but it serves to suggest a fresh idea. Kelly proposes that all people can be
motivated by dreams and the hopes of their dreams unlock great potential. "The cost
of losing good people is no longer limited to higher recruiting and
retraining expenses; it is a recipe for failure." (Patrick Lencioni in
the Foreword) "The future
of your organization and the potential of your employees are intertwined;
their destinies are linked. An
organization can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that
the people who drive that organization are striving to become
better-versions-of-themselves."
"The problem is, the great majority of people in the workplace
today are actively disengaged." (1) "What does
your payroll amount to? If on average
your employees are 75 percent engaged, disengagement is costing you 25
percent of your payroll every month in productivity alone." (2) The Big
Idea: "When a company forgets
that it exists to serve its customers, it quickly goes out of business. Our employees are our first customers, and
our most influential customers. A
person's purpose is to become the-best-version-of-himself or herself. Finding a way to create an environment that
helps employees become the-best-version-of-themselves, while at the same time
moving the company toward the-best-version-of-itself, may seem impossible to
many; to others, these purposes may seem diametrically opposed; but in
reality, they are astoundingly complementary." (4) "The
employees know things about our business that we don't." (11) "These
people all have dreams. We need to
find a way to connect their job today with their dreams for tomorrow."
(23) We need to "help our
employees build a bridge between their NOW and a better FUTURE. Dreams are the bridge." (23) "If you ask
people to talk about their dreams, in most cases you'll see a remarkable
increase in their passion and energy."
"Dreams drive us!" (24)
"Help them
to fulfill their dreams, [and] we'll create a loyalty and dedication that's
unmatched. And then our people will
bring the passion and energy they have for their dreams to their work."
(25) "But people
stop dreaming because they get caught up in the hustle and bustle of
surviving." (26) "If we can
make the connection between our employees' daily work and their dreams for
the future, we will unleash an energy that will transform our business."
(27) The company put
out a survey with one question: "What are your dreams?" (29) "There is a
fine line between genius and madness…." (31) "Help your
employees in the direction of their dreams and you will create the most
dynamic environment in corporate America!" (33) "There are
two things that keep people interested in a job: the sense that they are making
a difference and the sense that they are progressing or advancing." (38) The company
hired a "dream manager." The
program was so successful they hired several more. The costs were covered by reducing
turnover, higher productivity, and increase business opportunities created by
the energized employees. "Everyone
needs a Dream Manager. To a certain
extent, we can do it for ourselves.
But we all need someone who can help us articulate our dreams,
determine the priority of our dreams, pull together a plan for the
fulfillment of those dreams, and hold us accountable on a regular basis for
the actions that help us achieve our dreams or hold us back from our
dreams." (44) "Those who
don't manage their money well are no better off than those who don't have
money to manage." (49) "The truth
is, most people have never really been taught the laws of money." (50) A good
question: "What has surprised you
the most?" (58) "Just
talking about our dreams starts to move us in the direction of them."
(60) "People are
always looking for quick fixes and there are no quick fixes to situations
that involve real, living, breathing people." (71) "The
employee-employer money paradigm is a thing of the past. The modern employee is looking for things
much more abstract than a simple pay raise.
Sure, they want to be well compensated, but they are conscious of
lifestyle, work environment, and more than ever they want work that is
engaging." (72) "Appreciation
is the strongest currency in the corporate culture." (73) The real
question is not how much does this program cost. "The real question is this: How much
would you be willing to spend to crate a highly efficient, cohesive, and
enthusiastic team that cared about your business, if you knew that every
dollar you spent would come back to you threefold or sixfold or
tenfold?" (102-3) "Dreams are
the currency of the future." (103) "Assist
them in formulating a plan for the achievement of short-term, medium-term,
and long-term goals." "It ha
to be manageable and measurable, and at the same time it needs to stretch
them." (104) "Because
people spend most of their lives working, so they should enjoy it, or at the
very least know that it is moving them in the direction of their
dreams." (105) "Your
dreams tell me not only what sort of a person you are today, but also what
sort of person you aspire to be in the tomorrows of your life." (107) "CEOs have
to become as dedicated to scouting, nurturing, and acquiring talent as
football coaches are. The future of
any sporting franchise depends on the talent that takes the field. What makes you think your business is any
different?" (108) "Most
employees feel like they are being used.
But if you can genuinely convince them that you have their best
interests at heart, then you will reverse that belief, and in the process
create a spirit of teamwork and loyalty rarely unleashed in the corporate
world before now." (110) "Teamwork
and talent remain the ultimate competitive advantages." (157) |
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