The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace (Jossey Bass Business & Management Series) - Hardcover

Briskin, Alan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787902810 ISBN 13: 9780787902810

Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub, 1996

Synopsis

This is a splAndid book, grounded in deep experience with organizations and with life. Its insights could help heal our souls, our structures, and our society.
-- Parker J. Palmer, author of The Active Life and To Know as We Are Known

The qualities that come to mind when we think of soul--meaning, memory, wildness, beauty, divinity--are necessary elements for navigating today's workplace. But today's employees experience a gap between what organizations say and what they do about soul in the workplace. The Stirring of Soul in the Workplaceoffers a way to understand that gap. Evocatively written, it is an inspiring alternative to the flood of management books, suggesting ways to shift your paradigm and get you home in time for dinner. It gives people seeking to balance their personal spiritual path with job realities a unique opportunity to reflect and find encouragement on their journey.

This lyrical book offers perspective to those struggling to hear the quiet voice of the soul over the din of contemporary life. Alan Briskin shows how the modern organization has gradually increased its demands on us, beginning with our bodies, then our minds, and now our souls. Filled with memorable, moving stories of people in a wide range of occupations and their personal struggles to reclaim their souls, The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace sAnds a hopeful message that encourages individuals to keep their spiritual integrity and values alive within the pragmatic environment of the organization.

About this title

From the Back Cover

This deep, lyrical book offers perspective for those struggling to hear the quiet voice of the soul over the din of the contemporary workplace. Alan Briskin shows how the modern organization has gradually increased its demands on us?beginning with our bodies, then our minds, and now our souls. Filled with evocative, moving stories of people in a wide range of occupations?and their personal struggles to reclaim their souls?The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace sAnds a hopeful message that encourages individuals to keep their spiritual integrity and values alive within the pragmatic environment of the organization.

From the Inside Flap

In this remarkable book, consultant Alan Briskin eloquently challenges the assumption that the needs of the individual must be checked at the office door. He shows how the modern organization has gradually increased its demands on us?beginning with our bodies, then our minds, and now our souls. Filled with evocative, moving stories of people working to reclaim their individuality?and with poignant lessons from history, psychology, and management theory?The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace speaks to the growing legion of professionals who insist on keeping their spiritual integrity alive and their relationships with fellow workers humane.

Reviews

An organizational consultant who is as deeply concerned about the domain of the human soul as he is about organizational development, Briskin closes the distance between the two concepts in a way that diminishes neither and augments both. Careful not to idealize the concept of soul, Briskin warns against its use as a corporate slogan to isolate excellence and the pursuit of organizational ideals. He characterizes the soul as the union of opposites within each person and suggests that when corporate goals are sought without regard for spiritual wholeness, the darker, destructive aspects of soul life come to the fore in an organization. Briskin illustrates the dimensions of the soul's influence as he analyzes the history of the power struggle in the workplace. Recommended for public and corporate libraries.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In their search for ways to make organizations work better, theorists and managers alike have begun to look outside the business world to science and nature and inward at spiritual constructs like "heart" and "soul." Briskin is a consultant who specializes in aiding other consultants in such areas as strategic planning, change management, and retreat design. Despite this seemingly traditional managerial focus, he is also concerned with the soul and its associated qualities--meaning, memory, beauty, wildness, union, etc.--and he brings to bear earlier experiences working with disturbed adolescents and correctional inmates. He considers here the "idea of the soul," looks at how past and present organizational practices have "challenged" the soul, and shows why asking and trying to answer questions about the soul should matter in the workplace. Briskin's ultimate question turns the more conventional concern, How can we change people? into How can organizations better reflect the whole human being? This reflective, contemplative book is a refreshing attempt to answer that. David Rouse

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0787902810
• ISBN 13: 9780787902810
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288