Page 24 - Make Work Great

1 You . . . as the Seed

ttend any social event, visit any tavern, have a business lunch
A in any restaurant, and you will hear the same story. It could be
called “My Problem at Work”: the superior, coworker, or employee
who is bringing down the whole group; the leadership initiative that
has everyone tied in knots; the impossible-to-please customer who
wreaks havoc with his or her disproportionate infl uence. Individual
bad apples invariably lead to a ruined bunch—and often a ruined
lunch. The fi nal conclusion of the storyteller? “My workplace is
terrible.”
It’s no surprise. Studies abound confi rming what we already know:
The turnover rate among top companies has been going up for 30
years, both stress and the absenteeism it causes are on the rise, and
the members of our workforce consistently dislike their jobs and
distrust the leadership skills among those in charge. Everyone, it
1–3
seems, is miserable, and everyone has his or her own reason. And
every reason starts with someone else. “They” are the problems that
plague all of us; “they” are the ones who make our workplaces any-
thing but great.
The most obvious solution, of course, is to quit. This is a solution
many people employ, as every company’s attrition statistics attest.

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