There’s one other pattern in the eight engagement items that we haven’t explored yet. The first two
1. I am really enthusiastic about the mission of my company.
2. At work, I clearly understand what is expected of me.
address how we experience purpose, collectively and individually, at work. The next two
3. On my team, I am surrounded by people who share my values.
4. I have the chance to use my strengths every day at work.
capture how those around us help us achieve excellence, again collectively and individually. The next two
5. My teammates have my back.
6. I know I will be recognized for excellent work.
are all about support, and how we get that from our team and from the individuals around us. And the last two
7. I have great confidence in my company’s future.
8. In my work, I am always challenged to grow.
capture how those around us help us see our collective and individual future.
So we thought it only appropriate to thank all those who’ve helped us write Nine Lies About Work in these categories—as each of their contributions has helped make the two of us a stronger team.
For helping us understand more clearly our own purpose in writing this book, thanks to our wonderful editor, Jeff Kehoe, to Adi Ignatius for his calm and compelling support, and to our incomparable agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. For the hours of listening, for the questions, and for the challenges to hone our message and serve our true reader, thanks to Myshel Romans, Tina Bennett, Fran Katsoudas, and Tracy Hutton.
For pushing us to be better in every chapter, every paragraph, and every turn of phrase, and for helping us glimpse what excellence could be, thanks to Adrienne Fretz, Yosi Kossowsky, Adam Grant, Alli Walton, and Katie Flores. For sharing with us their reactions to the manuscript, thanks to Jen Waring, Ania Wieckowski, Amy Bernstein, and the entire HBR editorial and production team. For living out our shared commitment to rigorous research methodology and the definitive data-driven discoveries to which it leads, our thanks to Drs. Mary Hayes, Fran Chumney, and Corinne Wright at the ADP Research Institute and to Roxanne Bisby Davis and the Team Analytics and Research squad at Cisco. And to Lisa and Andy and Miles and many unnamed others, thank you for allowing us to share your stories of what excellence looks like and feels like in the real world of work.
For supporting us on what has been an immensely rewarding journey from idea to proposal to manuscript to book, thanks to, at Cisco, Chuck Robbins, Megan Barba, Gianpaolo Barozzi, Christine Bastian, Megan Bazan, Madison Beard, El Cavanagh-Lomas, Jen Dudeck, Shannon Fryhoff, Dan Gibbs, Leslie Gordon, Scott Herpolsheimer, Charlie Johnston, Jean Kerr, Robert Kovach, John Lagonigro, Alicia Lopez, Amy Manning, Elaine Mason, Dolores Nichols, Jason Phillips, Oliver Roll, Rachel Samitt, Shari Slate, Tschudy Smith, Gaby Thompson, Mary Williams, and Tae Yoo. All of you know how messy the real world of work can be, and by dint of your efforts, each day you’re making it better and more human.
At ADP, thanks to Carlos Rodriguez, Don Weinstein, Dermot O’Brien, Sreeni Kutam, Joe Sullivan, Charlotte Saulny, and the entire StandOut team; to Meredith Bohling for your prose and your community building, to Kevyn Horton for your web building, to Darren Raymond for your “potential,” and to Christian Gomez for the power of your persuasion.
And at HBR, thanks to our designer, Stephani Finks, and to our publicity and marketing team, Julie Devoll and Erika Heilman.
And finally, for giving us the confidence to keep hammering away at the keyboard, for challenging us to put as much of ourselves into this as we possibly could, and for pushing us to write something that might actually make the future world of work meaningfully better, thanks to our families—Chris, Jenny, Tina, William, Graeme, Jo, Jack, Lilia, Marshy, Fitz, and Mojo.
One lesson of this book is that no one fits perfectly in any category we can think up, and of course the same is true for all the wonderful people we’ve listed in the categories above—so many of you have helped us in so many ways. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.