The Organizational Sweet Spot

Employee disengagement is one of the most pressing problems plaguing managers today hampering the innovation capacities of countless organizations. According to recent polls, some 20 percent of workers report feeling disconnected from their jobs, in an environment of stagnating wages, massive layoffs, rising health care costs, and other factors that contribute to alienation, distrust, and apathy. In The Organizational Sweet Spot, Dr. Charles Ehin takes a refreshing new look at what it will take to reengage disaffected workers and boost their resolve to advance novel ideas. Applying the latest research from such fields as evolutionary psychology, social neuroscience, organizational behavior, anthropology, and social network analysis, Ehin demonstrates how employee disengagement is rooted in a fundamental misalignment between people's instinctive drive to develop their personal and group identities through informal or "emergent" relationships and the ways in which organizational goals and profit motives are executed through formal bureaucracy. The challenge for today's organizations-which operate under constantly changing conditions-is to narrow this gap, that is, to find the "sweet spot," where the formal and informal elements of the organization overlap. Ehin provides practical tools for leaders to support this "shared access domain" to improve productivity, catalyze innovation, and inspire exceptional performance. His new model is likely to reverberate throughout current management thinking as we move toward creating more vital and meaningful workplaces. "Ehin leaves no doubt that the sweet spot is where individuals from both sides voluntarily form new (emergent) groups to solve problems. The sweet spot is precisely where most of the productive work in a business takes place. It is this domain with its uncontrollable dynamics that needs our utmost attention if we are to unleash the innovative ideas of the people within ourorganizations. It is all about expanding the sweet spot." --David Ralston, Managing Partner, Ralston Consulting Group "For decades now, most corporations have been trying to bring a more entrepreneurial spirit to their work force. Ehin's book addresses this subject directly by making the case for a decentralized organization as a means of empowering the work force at all levels.  The result of that empowerment is motivation, followed by results.  In essence, Professor Ehin is making the case that corporations should align themselves with, and not fight, human nature." --James Tusty, Founder, Mountain View Group, Ltd. and Developer of WorkForce Instinct®. "In Germany various surveys confirm the basis of Dr. Ehin's book-they stipulate that between 70 - 90% of employees do not think that their day-to-day work has any impact on their future salary or career opportunities. His book shows why we have reached this crisis and he also gives practical guidance in how we can get out of this destructive predicament. Ehin's work is very timely and should be read by anyone who is interested in finding a solution to this common problem." --Mart Kivikas, Partner and CEO, Wissenskapital, Oberreichenbach Germany