A review of a book for employees and managers to help create a positive, innovative, and creative work environment.
“The black mock turtleneck. You should be very afraid of the manager who wears a black mock turtleneck.”
Thus begins Make the Right Choice: Creating a Positive, Innovative, and Productive Work Life by Joel Zeff (John Wiley & Sons, 2007).
Make the Right Choice promises to invigorate workers in spite of their conditions; be it a mock-turtlenecked manager or a creative zombie—a “working-dead, idea-eating zombie who stalks the hallways and cubicles with his hands in the air, grunting,” often overheard saying “This is the way we have always done it.”
With short chapters that end in lists of “quick ideas” for immediate results, Make the Right Choice is an accessible and fun read, applicable in diverse environments. The word “choice” from the title is the key to Zeff’s work philosophy. By choosing to be more positive, patient, and flexible the worker takes charge of his or her environment. As a result they flourish in the workplace. Zeff aims to empower the reader to investigate their own attitudes and behaviors, rather than focusing on changing their situation.
Zeff’s work with corporations began when he took his experience with improvisational theatre and brought it to the board room. The flap jacket and press release boast of his engagements with “more than 1,000 different companies.” This experience led to a number of universal and witty observations about how to be more creative, how to have more fun, and the very nature of work itself.
The details of Zeff’s improvisational techniques in Make the Right Choice get a little repetitive, and probably aren’t nearly as effective in print form. Still, they get the point across: everyone can be energetic, passionate, and creative at work, if given the right opportunity.
This book is not meant as a solution to every possible work problem. In fact, Zeff admits there are several situations he cannot solve, including negative corporate cultures and bosses who don’t provide opportunities even when asked. But Zeff remains encouraging, reminding readers that positivity starts with them. He provides starting-off points for dealing with most work problems, and they all center on personal choice.
This book is recommended for anyone with the work blahs. It will give you a few chuckles along with some easy ideas. And when you’re done, you can slip it anonymously to the manager in the black mock turtleneck. We won't tell him it was you.
Wiley books are available at your local bookstore or by calling 1-800-225-5945.
