ChangeThis

ChangeThis is our weekly series of essays, extended book excerpts, and original articles from authors, experts, and leaders.



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"Words belie the force of emotions. A dictionary defines 'passion' as 'any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling' and 'a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything.' But anyone who has felt passion knows it is more. Much more."
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Walk into any company large or small and you will see employees who are suffering. These talented people hired for their breadth, imagination and initiative are not producing to their full potential. When they leave (and they do leave), their exit interviews most often cite an over controlling boss as the main reason for their departure. Task-oriented bosses under constant pressure to achieve increasing productivity goals rely too often on the "I think—You do" managerial style. Most of us know leaders like this. More of us than want to admit it (or even know it) ARE leaders like this.
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You would have to live on another planet not to notice the plethora of business books and articles discussing the importance of developing a positive organizational culture at work. The research is clear. Positive leaders, positive work environments, and positive engaged employees produce positive results. However, if building a positive business is so important and beneficial, then we are left to wonder, "Why aren't more companies, more positive?" Why are there not more people skipping through the halls, smiling at their co-workers and loving their job? Why do more people die Monday morning at 9am than any other time? Why does negativity cost companies 300 billion dollars and sabotage teamwork, careers, morale and performance?
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Today's housing bubble and the tech stock bubble from the last decade reveal a widening gap between market speculation and how typical Americans value things. If you thought those bubbles were bad, get ready for another, even bigger one on the horizon that represents over $4 trillion dollars in S&P market capitalization. That alone makes it twice the size of the sub-prime mortgage market. But, unlike other bubbles, the assets that are at risk cannot be traded away or hedged against uncertainty. Rather, they are the fundamental drivers of competitive advantage for most companies—their brands.
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For most companies the process of creating new, innovative products and getting them out the door starts with tapping the most talented members of the R&D team. Once they have arrived at an idea and decided it is feasible, R&D moves to determining the most effective way to develop it and bring it to market. It sounds logical; but what if there was a way to reinvent the process and bring better products to market faster and at a lower cost?
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