RATING:
Ken Hultman has spent his entire professional life studying values. At Rutgers University his doctoral dissertation focused on how leaders’ values impacted the behavior of people in their related groups, businesses and institutions. In Values-Driven Change, Hultman has created a series of theoretical concepts and practical tools for individuals, teams and organizations to attain the right kind of values: to become proactive instead of reactive, to focus on the crucial instead of the urgent, and to emphasize forward movement over damage control.
The book acts more like a manual or workbook than a start-to-finish read on the sofa. The author has even taken out a trademark on the “Psychological Need Fulfillment Inventory,” part of his apparatus for measuring how employees’ individual desires, ambitions and ideas are incorporated into the business. There are also numerous exercises and suggestions for how to measure the state of your business’s emotional, structural and financial health with long-term success in mind. Ultimately this isn’t really a book about sustainability, but rather a management manual seeking to tie in with the skyrocketing “green”/sustainability movement through its focus on holistic business operations. “I believe if we can challenge organizations to take the high ground in their principles and practices,” Hultman writes, “we are helping to create a healthier and more sustainable world. What could be a nobler calling?” Well, volunteering for the Red Cross or an environmental group might be a start, but for those seeking to embolden and empower employees, Hultman indeed has the right set of values. Published by iUniverse Inc.
