Page 7 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

FOREWORD

the entire world of work has changed. Global competition,
new technology, massive economic problems, and job inse-
curity have been factors in the creation of a new world of
work. This new world of professional work is more challeng-
ing than at any time in my life.
If you are working 35 to 45 hours per week and take five
weeks of real vacation, work-life balance may not be a huge
issue. If you are working more than 50 hours per week and
get almost no real vacation, then work-life balance has a very
different meaning. For today’s professionals, if life is some-
how disconnected from work, lots of us won’t have very
meaningful lives.
This book would have been very important in 1979. This
book is critically important today. It was needed then. It is
really needed now!
In many developed countries, employee engagement is at
an all-time low. It is past time for a turn-around.
I know of no couple who can address the why of work
better than Dave and Wendy Ulrich. Dave is one of the
world’s great business thinkers. I respect his work more than
anyone in his field. Dave is an expert in understanding how
organizations are impacted by individuals. Wendy Ulrich
represents the “micro” to Dave’s “macro.” Wendy is a won-
derful psychologist who deeply understands how individuals
are impacted by organizations. Along with being great think-
ers and professionals, Dave and Wendy are great human
beings. They truly care about the organizations and people
that they touch. They are dedicated to helping leaders cre-
ated more effective organizations and helping human beings
have more fulfilling lives. They wrote this book because they
want to help you, the reader, and your organization achieve
more abundance.

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