UNLOCKING THE HIDDEN POWER OF ENERGY IN BUSINESS
Copyright © 2020 by Greg Baker. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
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Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data is Available:
ISBN 9781119638681 (Hardcover)
ISBN 9781119638728 (ePDF)
ISBN 9781119638735 (ePub)
Cover Design: Wiley
Cover Image: © PeopleImages/Getty Images
Figure 3.1 Diagnosing Problems and Conflict
Figure 3.2 Designing Shared Space
Figure 3.3 Designing New Enterprises and Functions
Figure 3.4 Implementing and Managing Change
Figure 4.1 The Flow of Energy in Work
Figure 5.1 The Collaboration Dynamic
For several years now I've recognized that those of us working in companies, government agencies, and schools typically operate on a daily basis without direct visibility or awareness of large and important parts of our businesses. We make the best of this situation, but much is obscured from our view. As a result, common occurrences often go unexplained, including why some initiatives in business fail while others succeed, why some interactions create damaging animosity while others create productive harmony, and why some companies languish in their status quo while others reinvent themselves.
Yes, there have always been people willing to explain these things, but, for me, those explanations have been incomplete and overly focused on outcomes without explaining how and why things work, or don't work. The truth is that most of the time, we really don't know the details around why substantial business endeavors succeed any more than we know how or why they fail. Either way, our vision is obscured. We haven't been playing with a full deck, and many influential cards in the game have been out of sight and largely out of our awareness.
Challenged with this realization, my first journey was to figure out where and how to look for those missing cards and then use them to positively affect the outcome of the game. I discovered that the cards are different from business to business, much like organizational fingerprints, yet it is possible to follow the energy and discover the cards in any business. This path finding reveals a whole new world beneath the surface that provides deep insight into both problems and their solutions. With these revelations in hand, my next endeavor was figuring out how to communicate to others what seemed at first to be a very intangible topic. Obviously, that has taken the form of this book, and I'm happy to say that the resulting models, methods, and tools are all quite tangible and usable.
A friend asked me, “Why do you want to just give away your secrets?” I replied that I want to start a bigger conversation. I really think the business world needs this right now. So I offer this book to you. May it help you and your business, now and into the future. As you experience The Energy Equation and manage the (previously) hidden energy of yourself and your business, I hope you find it immensely useful, take it to heart, and become part of the bigger conversation.
Greg Baker
June 6, 2019