Page 6 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

FORE WORD

Why? What is the why behind The Why of Work? Why
should you read this book? Why should you care?
In 1979, my largest leadership development client was
IBM, which was then (by a large margin) the most admired
company in the world. I was a frequent visitor to IBM corpo-
rate headquarters in Armonk, New York. On most workdays
someone could fire a cannonball down the halls of corporate
headquarters at 5:15 p.m. and hit no one. Even the profes-
sional and managerial employees worked 35 to 45 hours per
week, took time off when they had minor health problems,
and enjoyed five weeks of real vacation—with no cell phones
or personal computers. They took comfort in the belief that
they could look forward to a lifetime of guaranteed job
security.
Those days—and those jobs—seem like a distant dream.
Today the employees in that same building work 60 to 80
hours per week, keep on working through most health
problems, and take almost no real vacation. They are not
counting on any guaranteed job security.
This year I was developing an executive education semi-
nar for one of the world’s most successful banks. I asked the
coordinator of the session, “How many hours a week does
the average executive in this program work?” His very sober
answer was “Over 80!”
This book is written for leaders—and for professionals
who aspire to be leaders. For both professionals and leaders

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