Word Of the Week #570: Thrive
July 9, 2015 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #570: Thrive
Thrive – to do well; prosper.
Do you work for a company that is doing well? Do you feel that you play an important part? Are you respected?
This week I am featuring Mian Ridge’s article from the Financial Times of London titled, “When workers thrive, companies do too.”
He writes, “Michael Lee Stallard, a business consultant from Greenwich, Conn. and the author of ‘Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy, and Understanding at Work’ makes a strong point when he says that people are the most important part of a business. And focusing on operations and financials is not only wrong, but commercially foolish.
Companies with a ‘culture of connection’ – broadly speaking, one in which workers are able to ‘thrive for sustained periods of time’ – have a competitive advantage. Stallard spells this out, citing research that sounds plausible enough. Businesses with high ‘connection scores’ boast higher levels of profitability and productivity than those with lower scores.
The author also garners the findings of neuroscientists and endocrinologists to build his case, pointing out that ‘human connection’ has been found to reduce the levels of stress hormones in the blood, making us more likely to make rational decisions.
Stallard attempts to draw up some broad definitions. He writes that humans have six needs at work: respect, recognition, belonging, autonomy, personal growth, and meaning. He offers suggestions for how employers can meet these needs, with practical advice on topics such as hiring and communication.
His exposition of the ‘connection culture’ is best made through the anecdotes he tells about the companies that got it right. When Alan Mulally was introduced as the new chief executive of Ford in 2006 and was asked what car he drove, he replied without hesitation, ‘a Lexus… the finest car in the world.’
His generosity to a rival did not do the company any harm.” Mulally led Ford to 19 consecutive profitable quarters and, having raised eyebrows at his introduction, was given a standing ovation at his retirement.”
This week’s focus is on making your business thrive. Is your company profitable? How productive is the staff? Is everyone given recognition? Is your work meaningful?
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Word Of the Week #41: Thrive
April 21, 2009 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on Word Of the Week #41: Thrive
Thrive: to grow vigorously; to prosper outstandingly.
Are you as healthy as you’d like to be? Are you as prosperous as you’d like it to be?
Thriving Forest
If you answered no to either of those questions, then my question to you is, “If you were more healthy and/or prosperous what would that look like and feel like to you?”
Good health can be physical or mental. To be prosperous isn’t just about having money. You can have a very rich life filled with wonderful relationships.
One of the things that I think keeps us thriving is when we are doing something and/or learning something that is of interest to us. We are thriving when we are on an exercise program and we see results. We are thriving when our relationships are working and growing.
This week focus on what area of your life is thriving. If there is an area that isn’t thriving the way you would like it to, what can you do to stimulate growth?
Reader Responses
“Good health is the key to it all! If we are not 100 percent healthy, we are not any good to ourselves or are work places, co-workers, family and friends. I thank God every day for my good health and that of my wife and three-year-old daughter. We have been blessed. Someone asked me once if I wanted to be a millionaire. I told him that that was not one of my aspirations. I added that my million dollars was my health. Because with that good health I can do anything in my life. Whatever happens to accrue from that is gravy. This life is all about RELATIONSHIPS. Whether it be family, friends, co-workers. They help us grow and THRIVE in our daily lives. Material goods and contraptions tend to isolate us from people. As much as those contraptions and gadgets make our lives more convenient, they tend to keep us from getting to know others. As a result, we see fewer people actually physically writing letters or notes to people, or remembering others’ important life-affirming events. Sending a card or a letter to someone lets us and the other people know we are alive and well and doing fine. It just takes a few minutes out of our day, but it is a few minutes well spent. We are only here for a short time, so let us make the best use of it to keep those relationships alive and THRIVING!” — Joe Moran.