Love and Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life by Marcus Buckingham
Marcus Buckingham has written several bestselling business books, he co-created the StrengthFinders tool at Gallup, and currently leads the People + Performance practice at the ADP Research Institute. His most recent book Love and Work (April, 2022) addresses the old adage, ‘love what you do’, and challenges conventional wisdom. For example, we are often told to be ‘purpose-driven’ and to find our ‘true purpose’. ‘If we excel at our job, we will never have to work again’. The author argues there is no research that supports this way of thinking. Instead, the key to a satisfying career is to focus on the small parts of the job that give you energy and do more of them. He calls these ‘red threads’. These are the tasks, activities, and moments that create ‘flow’ - when you lose track of time, had to be pulled away from what you were doing, and you wanted the activity to never end. The author found that people who spend 20% of their time on red threads love their work. Unfortunately, school, work and society don’t encourage us to think this way and the book addresses these forces (‘seven devils’). The author challenges several myths based on research conducted at ADP:
MYTH: The organization’s most valuable asset is its people. TRUTH: The organization’s most valuable asset is its trust. MYTH: Your organization’s culture comes from the top. TRUTH: Your organization’s culture comes from the teams. MYTH: The team leader should set goals at the beginning of the year. TRUTH: The team leader should check in with each team member for fifteen minutes every week.
This book is packed with practical, research-based findings. |