Page 15 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People
P. 15
Foreword
being subsidized or protected or unless the nature of
your competition is local or regional and you’re not
really up against world-class competition, which the
global economy is bringing us to more and more.
Summarizing Thomas Kuhn’s landmark book called
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, every signifi-
cant breakthrough throughout history is a break
WITH. That is, a “break with” old ways of thinking,
old ways of doing things, old skill sets, old tool sets.
That is exactly what is happening in the world today
as we move further into the Information/Knowledge
Worker Age (which puts a premium on people, on
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their options and powers of choice, and on the kinds =
of interactions and communities they want to create).
Even Time magazine put “YOU” as the person of the
year for 2007, because of how the globalization of
markets and technology has changed the name of the
game in putting people at the center.
The real power of this marvelous book, in my judg-
ment, lies in its spirit. If you’re really open to it and
let its compelling logic “have its way with you” for a
period of time, it engages your spirit. It captures your
spirit. It inspires your spirit. You come to realize that
in the last analysis, we are “built to serve.” Our hap-
piness, our fulfillment, that which gives our life mean-