literature
Best corporate culture and workplace literature to better your workplace experience. Journal's favorite stories.
A Rich Man's Confession
Dear Random Person I Shall Most Likely Never Meet but Nonetheless Have Eternally Affected, You're probably wondering what the hell this little black journal is all about, and, more importantly, where the hell this $20,000 came from, and, more mysteriously, how you, of all people, came across it. And those are questions I shall answer in due time, but I want to ask you to consider something before you read on further:
By Ben Howard5 years ago in Journal
Pictures at an Exhibition
Karl sits at a red light in driving rain. He's holding a paper cup of black coffee. Late afternoon light is gray and romantic. A perfect time, he thinks, to meet Polly at Barnes & Noble for a browse. What he wants to talk to her about is politics; she's a lefty, like him. In their small, polluted city, progressive thought is as rare as a vegan restaurant. Karl craves his fix with Polly like a cerebral lover. She wears sexy, smart girl glasses and has a slender, sinuous body. Being next to her stopped his heart, once, when the only thing between them was mutual love of books, art, and David Lynch movies (Inland Empire, Wild At Heart). Now that artistic success has become important, she's flailing at the thought of failure. Polly's an explorer, sometimes so locked in thought patterns that she becomes blocked. Then Karl gets a call— “Wanna go browse?”
By Robert Howard5 years ago in Journal
Quiet As Kept
'What am I going to tell him?' I kept thinking to myself, the very fact that this money was mine and he had not the clue? Sinking into my seat at work, my desk seemed like it was closing in on me. The walls were nonexistent, I mean really, I had a cubicle for walls and even those seemed to be wrapping their way around my neck. That's exactly what he was going to do if I didn't come up with a way to circumvent a conversation with him...telling him I didn't win the money or that he had nothing to do with it. Yea, that's what I'll do, tell him the call was placed by accident - random, like a butt dial.
By J.S. Danielle5 years ago in Journal
How three amazing writers made me who I am
I want to tell you a story about how other great writers’ words made me the person I’m today. I wouldn’t be the writer I’m if it wasn’t for three famous Danish authors: Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875), Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), and Karen Blixen (1885-1862), are my coaches, my inspirators, my partners in crime and my all-time role models.
By Lone Brinkmann5 years ago in Journal
Don't Forget Your Hyperbolic Paraboloid Snacks While You Read
Your average, unsullied Pringle is a hyperbolic paraboloid; its equation is (x²)/(a²) — (y²)/(b²) = z/c. Here’s where things get interesting, though (as if hyperbolic paraboloids weren’t interesting enough). Proctor & Gamble doesn’t just shove a bunch of Pringles in a can and call it a day. Rather, they use supercomputers to keep conditions just right to make sure the chips make it from their factory to your house unmolested. ~Source
By Lynda Coker5 years ago in Journal
The Story of Belle Reeve Book Company
Sierra Kondos leaned into the mirror and blew a red kiss at her reflection for good luck before she wiped her Fenty-red lip off and replaced half her face with a mask. She tucked the straps behind her ears before adding her specs to weigh down her ears as well. She hid the growing pain under her carefully dark-brown curled-hair and gave herself one last long-look in the mirror, her dark eyes scanning over her denim long-sleeve, Levis and Red cowboy boots, before heading back into her room to gather her weapons. She had to wear something red. It was her power color and she needed to feel confident and powerful for what she was about to do.
By Sierra Kondos5 years ago in Journal
Good Guys Never Win - A Family Business in trouble
Introduction Smithtown Ford in the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the leading sales producers in the country. They had a variety of incentive mechanisms to motivate the sales staff. Some of these incentives were recurring incentives and were expected each month. On other occasions the sales managers would create teaser one-time incentives to stir up competition. On the surface it appeared that the various sales teams were working well together, and customers were experiencing exceptional customer service as they search for their new car. Beneath the surface however the various sales teams viewed each other as stark adversaries, and the competition between the teams was met with increasingly dirty tactics. Rules that governed what was supposed to be healthy competition were consistently violated. The dirtier and craftier team usually became the victors. The old motto “good guys never win” was a popular saying amongst the rank and file sales reps. The managers were equally dirty or dirtier than their underling sales reps however they maintained a false sense of comradery with each of the other sales managers. Very rarely was there any sort of negative remarks about the other teams if two or more sales managers were within an ear shot. On the other hand, if the sales manager was by himself with his or her team he would freely insult and devise ways to gain an upper hand against the other teams. The remainder of this story will illustrate the adversarial culture and the negative consequences against the dealerships bottom line. Poor leadership or lack of leadership will be highlighted as the source of the broken company culture. Even as upper management attempted to reign in many of the overt unhealthy behaviors, they couldn’t identify some of the covert or less obvious behaviors that continued to fuel negative energy and maintain the cycle of dysfunction. Consequently, after failed in house change management initiatives designed to reduce the dysfunction, Jonathan the owner of the dealership introduced an employee and organizational development concept that was pitched to him by the founder of Leanfulness Strategies. The story will tell the tale of the radical culture transformation as a result of working with Leanfulness Strategies. A transformation that resulted in a culture of accountability, respect for people, and inspirational leadership.
By Christopher Boasso5 years ago in Journal
WTF? A Family Business in Crisis in a Family Owned Business
Introduction A family-owned Northern California company that we will call North Pacific Spas is experiencing an enormous amount of dysfunction across all divisions. The company provides luxury spas and other high-end residential comfort products such as saunas, and fireplaces. There is one main office in Berkeley, and three other show rooms which are strategically located across the San Francisco Bay Area. For more than three decades the company has been the industry leading retailer. NPS experienced its largest growth period during the first two decades of existence. Since then the company has had less than desired growth. This story will describe a snapshot of the type of problems a company like NPS experiences, the struggle to identify the problems, and the challenges companies face to mitigate these types of problems. Additionally, a new approach developed by Leanfulness Strategies to be an alternative pathway toward positive organizational change will be presented.
By Christopher Boasso5 years ago in Journal
