Julie Ann Sullivan

An international best-selling author and employee engagement expert shares 37 essential elements to create the best place to work. Nearly two-thirds of American workers are disengaged at some level. The resulting loss of productivity costs companies over $500 billion every year. How much of that belongs to you? By some estimates, an increase of just 5% in productivity in a company with 50 employees could reap $150,000 more in profit. A labor shortage has already begun and will get larger. We are reaching a tipping point. Those who don't start now will not have enough workforce to deliver their company's goods and services--all the more reason to start and expand employee engagement practices. The words "employee engagement" have been so overused that some leaders have become desensitized to the concept and its benefits. Don't be numbed by the overabundance of articles, apps, and services in this space. If you're a leader who wants a successful, prosperous business with a flourishing, loyal workforce, then this book is for you: 37 concepts to put into practice, one great idea at a time. Take the challenge to Influence, Innovate, and Inspire every aspect of your organization. This book is anchored in research. Over the past decade, we've seen a plethora of studies on the correlation between happier, engaged people and their level of success in their relationships at home and in the workplace. Like it or not, happier people create better teams. Would you be interested in lower absenteeism, fewer mistakes, greater loyalty, and higher productivity? Start with one tip and build it into the fabric of your culture. You can't know if something works if you don't use it. Make your trial period long enough to really test if a new idea is working. It may take a month, six months, or a year--but it won't be tomorrow. Evaluate the results, make adjustments, and retain what works best for you and your organization. Every idea in this book can be learned and become a habit with strategic repetition and reinforcement. They are simple, but not easy. You need to make consistent, deliberate choices each day to master these elements and carry them into the future. Influence is what you have only when people are open to accepting it. The best way to influence those around you is to act how you want them to act. Your organization will Innovate when its creativity and problem solving are improved by the ideas in this book. And, the greatest gift you can give is to Inspire your people to act in a way that is beyond the potential they saw in themselves. You will also notice many of these ideas are interrelated. For example, how can you have accountability without trust? The relationships between such concepts are complex, but this book breaks them down into individual tips, where each one is attainable and can be put to work to create a culture filled with engagement and success. Remember: these are concepts, not total solutions, essences, not thorough philosophies. I could talk for hours about any of these ideas, with real-life examples to show you how they breed success. For now, I want to start the conversation by making you aware of the importance of each concept to your organizational growth. I want you to take away helpful ideas you can implement immediately. This is the first step in creating a culture of engagement. These are not all the steps that can make a positive difference in your business. For each element you master and create space for in your workplace culture, every aspect of your business will grow. This is true from the front line, to the C-Suite, to your customers. Are you up for the challenge?