It will not be a story, but a quick summary of 2007, which comes to an end soon...I've been working in one of the investment banks in the City, London as reporting analyst/consultant and I think I have found the right place for myself!!! Thanks to job I am doing and one person, who is my manager, (but I don't like to call her my manager, as I like to be managed by myself ;-)). We have a close personal relationship, and I am glad that I could help her understand how great she can be in her job and also how interesting personality she is and stay calm in stressful moments etc...Yes, I feel needed and appreciated, which is fine! I love to help people in all aspects of life, and it's even more challenging when dealing with managers, supervisors etc...could I be a personal coach? Yes...The book is great and very practical, which I like!!! Also would recommend "The DNA of Leadership"

— Isabel

I have been at this company for 9 years and when my manager started, she was supportive and generous with praise at all my hard work. Since she promoted an employee known to be negative, critical, and abrupt, it all changed. This person became my supervisor, and it directly affected the manager. Now I receive zero acknowledgment of my productivity, and any criticisms from this supervisor are also told to the manager, who eagerly passes on all the negative feedback. Am forced to be in constant 'problem' meetings generated by this supervisor and supported by the manager. I despise and dread going to work now, since I never know what problem or issue will be thrown at me. Am overloaded with work, meet my goals, but its NEVER acknowledged now. The new attitude is 'What you accomplish means nothing. Its only what doesn't get done or any error is what matters.' In the long run, will be their loss, since am looking for another job. They will be losing a very hard working and dedicated employee because of this negative, stressful atmosphere. The irony is that a huge department meeting was recently held by our vice president about improving employee morale. Apparently, this manager and supervisor felt they were exempt from these suggestion

— Lynda

I took a year of governmental service leave from my state job a couple of years ago to work as an AmeriCorps VISTA, desiring to give back after many years of blessings. As the head of the non-profit where I worked said when I interviewed with her, I wasn't looking for a job, I was looking for a mission. Unfortunately, that was about the last conversation I had with her when I felt like she cared about what I was doing or wanted to do. For a whole year, I worked without specific direction, without resources, and with almost no acknowledgment for the few projects I identified and completed on my own. I had been fortunate that I had never before been in a miserable job. Thanks to this experience, I learned a great deal of what NOT to do as a manager—be uninvolved, uninterested, and unhelpful.

— Lois

Just finished your book, and the whole time I was reading it, I knew it verbalized what we have done in an inner city high school for the past 18 years. So, your theory not only works in commerce, but elsewhere, which I am sure you already knew! We take at-risk, inner city kids into our Marketing Academy as sophomores and we make them feel important. We measure everything they do—attendance, grades, test scores—and we constantly reward them. We also require them to learn professional dress, manners, and customer service. We take them on field trips all over the state to see what they will never see in their 6 block barrio. On those trips we talk to them, hearing their story as well as telling our own. We don't do pencil/paper classwork, but real, relevant work. We write letters, plan fashion shows, write business plans, design ad campaigns, listen to real-world guest speakers. The kids know that what we show them is work that is done in the real world. When these kids are seniors, we make them apply to colleges as well as apply for jobs. We put them through a mock interview with real HR executives. So many people at our school (which, by the way, is a low performing school) accuse us of taking the best kids for our program. They don't start out that way, but they finish that way. And, it's all because we have been using your theory for 18 years without having a name for it! Our graduates come back and tell us about their successes. They graduate from college, they are managers, buyers, company owners. They invite us to their weddings. We use their stories to inspire today's kid sitting there in the classroom wondering what it's all about. So, this isn't a miserable job story, but rather a true life success story. Oh, and also, the teachers in the program absolutely love teaching in it because we measure everything we do, we know it's relevant, and people notice our results.

— Delaine

I spent 22 years in the Army and had the great fortune of working for some terrific leaders (and some not so terrific). Of those great ones, one Brigade-level commander (2,000 soldier unit) went out of his way to take special interest in me and to let me know how I was contributing to the unit. This CEO of our military organization (I was his S3 - COO), would start and end his work day by stopping by my office and asking me how things were going. He could have gone straight to his office, collected a morning cup of coffee, and summoned me upstairs for a command performanced, but he didn't. He came in, sat down at the table in my area, and asked me what he needed to do for me that day. The event was repeated at the end of the day and, as a result, I tried very hard not to waste those precious events. As things needing his attention would crop up during the day (and that didn't warrant an interruption), I would jot them down on a 3x5 card and toss them into the pile behind my desk. When he presented himself, I would pick up the pile and go through the notes I'd made during the day. He found me when he could sense I was a bit overwhelmed (one large simulation exercise) and told me not to worry about this, he knew I hadn't had the chance to get up to speed after joining the staff so recently and for me to follow his lead—he'd work with me through the event. The relief was immediate. The same day he was announced for promotion to General Officer and responded in the typically humble way in which he tackled everything…no one was surprised by his promotion

— Stephen

Working in management in a union enviroement on the east coast was not particulally easy. I was blessed to be working for a 100 best company at the time. I remember when I was a regional operations manager, after having two teeth extracted, the president of this 6000 employee company calling my home asking how I was making out! He made me feel worthy.

— Paul

A little more than a year ago I took the opportunity to join an executive team for a mid-size national company here in Canada. Foregoing some of the flexibility of consulting, I saw the opportunity to join a team who understood the fundamentals of job satisfaction. Even in discussions with the CEO prior to taking the role it was apparent that everyone was focused and reminded on how important they were to customer's and their families, how employees were encouraged to find new ways of doing things and measuring their success, and finally that this was a 300-person family. Company growth has been double the industry rate for many years and as one of the largest companies in the industry we were a ideal company to mimic. It also made us a target for acquisition. In June of this year we were acquired by a larger entity and are in process of merging with another sister company in the same industry. A company that manages by the traditional 'top-down' and 'don't get too personal' approach with their employees. As one leader in the company it is now disheartening to see parts of the organization floundering as cultures clash and communication degrades -- no group worse than the executive team under a new leader. Most of us take for granted what we've got until it's gone. After reading Pat's newest book I'm empassioned to share with others the theory and see if we can make a positive shift in both organizations as we come together.

— Gilles

During graduate school, I was a waitress; great job for quick money. But my manager made it more than a job. It was the kind of work that can easily become tiresome, and you can start to view people as annoyances. Almost every day, in all kinds of different ways, this restaurant manager would remind us that every one of the people that came in to our restaurant (and he ALWAYS called it "our" restaurant) were coming in tired and hungry, or excited to eat and celebrate something. He would go on to tell us that all of us had, too, come in to restaurants like that, and how could we better serve these people in those situations?

He made us think about the individual situation and life story that each customer brought in to our restaurant, and he reminded us of ways we could 'delight' them. He would inform us when we did a good job, and he thanked us. He made us all—busboys, waitresses, cooks, etc.—feel like we were all part of a team, doing a great thing. He turned a routine job into a pleasure.

— Nancy

One of my friends had a job she just loved in the nonprofit sector. After years there, she had a baby and went on maternity leave. Her direct boss didn't once ask her about her new baby during the first six months of her return. This was the biggest event in her life and she never quite recovered from her boss's lack of interest in her as a person.

— Amy

I had a boss who showed genuine interest in developing my skills, not just getting me to do a lot of work. He took me from being a Customer Service Representative and trained me into being the CFO of the company in just 5 years. The job requires hard work, but I know that my boss really cares about the people who work for him and wants them to develop into more valuable members of the company and more valuable in their future careers, as well.

— Rick

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair… Welcome to my current employment situation in healthcare. I should have realized something was up when it took them over eight weeks to hire me from the day I was given "the green light" to join the Team. My second clue was upon arrival; there was no desk, no computer, no access to the building, no acknowledgement of my newly formed position and no formal orientation. My first day consisted of waiting for my manager in a meeting room, a brief 20 min. overview and a protracted and frustrating effort to get my equipment.

Every aspect to how I was treated and on-boarded stood in stark contrast to the messages of health, balance and well-being from our company. Several of my fellow new recruits left within the first four weeks because they still did not have the proper equipment or context to do their work. More over, the connection between what we were doing on a daily basis to the mission of our company was never made. For all intents and purposes, we could be working for an auto dealership, given the amount of time spent on how we impact patient care. The Leadership was indifferent and responded by saying "Don't worry… your first six months don't really count."

As high-end performers in our own right (after all, we made the cut), this was unacceptable. In addition, no clear metrics or goals have ever been articulated. In fact, in the past 2 1/2 years I have not had a single formal performance review. This is amazing since I have been rated and given bonuses—good bonuses. It turns out that one big de-motivator is that everyone received bonuses! The exceptional, the average and the completely lame all walk out with cash. This is good for the completely lame, but the drivers begin to ask themselves: 'Why drive so hard?'

— Al