Book review The answer to how is yes - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog

Book review The answer to how is yes - The Chief Happiness Officer Blog The title of Peter Blocks latest book reads a little strange at first: The answer to how is yes, but in it he makes a very important point, one that every decision maker, project worker, consultant, change agent or just plain anybody who works for anything that matters should know: That sometimes how? isnt the important question, and that asking How? can actually be a defense against getting an effort started, a defense against change. What every important project needs is less focus on How? and more focus on Yes!, on the affirmation that this (whatever this is) is a worthwhile pursuit. That affirmation strengthens the will to do it, whereas continually asking how? saps your strength. Saying yes focuses on the goal you want to achieve, asking how focuses on all the obstacles. Its not that asking how is necessarily wrong, its just that overfocusing on questions like How long will it take, How much will it cost and How will we do it can foster a state of mind in which no change is possible. Among other things, these questions assume that no project can be started unless we know the answers in advance. But in reality most worthwhile ventures are a leap of faith. You must say Yes, this is what we want and get started. Well make up the How? as we go along. This is how we work in the happiness at work project. We no our goal (making millions of people happy at work) and were trying many different ways to get there. Some will work, some wont. Do we know each and every step that will take us to our goal? No way! But we believe its possible and we know its worthwhile. Wed rather try it and fail than not try it. This book is a somewhat challenging read, but most certainly worth it. It shines a light on what is to my mind the most important succes factor in any change initiative, namely commitment. And commitment comes from Yes not from How?. Read it! Thanks for visiting my blog. If you're new here, you should check out this list of my 10 most popular articles. And if you want more great tips and ideas you should check out our newsletter about happiness at work. It's great and it's free :-)Share this:LinkedInFacebookTwitterRedditPinterest Related