The Positive Organization

Beholden to accepted assumptions about people and organizations, too many enterprises waste human potential. Robert Quinn shows how to defy convention and create organizations where people feel fully engaged and continually rewarded, where both individually and collectively they flourish and exceed expectations.

The problem is that leaders are following a negative and constraining “mental map” that insists organizations must be rigid top-down hierarchies and that the people in them are driven mainly by self-interest and fear. Quinn offers a more positive mental map and, using dozens of memorable stories, shows how leaders can facilitate the emergence of a more positive organizational culture by helping people gain a sense of purpose, engage in authentic conversations, see new possibilities, and sacrifice for the common good. The book includes the Positive Organization Generator, a tool that enables leaders to identify and implement the positive practices their organization most needs.

At its heart, Quinn's book helps leaders transform organizations by changing themselves and those around them from being comfort-centered to being results-centered, from being self-focused to being other-focused, and from being hidebound and suspicious to being eagerly welcoming of new ideas.