By guest commentator Brooke Fritz
Stomp the Elephant in the Office is a must-read for anyone who works with people…in any capacity. Its simple and practical tools are empowering and can actually be implemented immediately to improve almost all aspects of your work day—productivity, meetings, hard-to-have conversations and personal level of satisfaction with your work.
Biggest take-aways from the book:
- Everyone can make a difference. You don’t have to be a manager or a CEO to improve workplace culture. Regardless of position, each one of us is a leader. We can choose how to lead ourselves everyday and make a difference—in the workplace, in the lives of others, and for ourselves.
- Every issue at work, everything that bothers me, everything that I perpetuate by complaining about, everything that I feel helpless to change…I actually CAN improve. This book outlines simple, realistic tools that can be used immediately at work and at home to create amazing results. Without making me feel bad, the authors demonstrate clearly that none of us are victims.
Reading the book from a non-profit perspective, the point that was really driven home is that focusing on culture and improving both relationships and communication can directly affect the bottom line, which means more effective and efficient use of the donated dollar. We might be short on material resources, but this book teaches simple tools that will help everyone to leverage their greatest resource—people and culture.
This book is an amazing resource guide that works both read in pieces as topics are relevant to your current situation or read cover to cover to build upon each piece through to the end. I strongly encourage folks to go get their hands on this book and keep a copy at the office!
Brooke Fritz is currently employed as the Community Events Coordinator for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Liver Foundation (www.liverfoundation.org) and is a master’s degree candidate in the Applied Communication, Public Relations and Marketing Program at the University of Denver.
NOTE: This is the first of what we hope are many guest reviews and commentaries on books and articles of interest to the sector. If you have a book or article you would like to write about, send me an e-mail at janine@jvaconsulting.com.
To sign up for JVA 411, our free weekly announcements of funding opportunities, news you can use, training and tips, click here.
