WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING

“In my 45 years in business, I have learned, as David Zenoff illustrates so well in this book, that positive employee engagement, motivation and recognition for a job well done at all levels in any corporation, profit or not-for-profit, is the key to long term success. It’s what’s in employees’ hearts, not just their heads, that produces results. In hiring people, I don’t care how much they know until I know how much they care. The Soul of the Organization provides real-world examples and a clear blueprint for how organizations can create or fortify their “souls” to inspire employee engagement and produce superior results.”

“David Zenoff knows what makes successful organizations work. He provides a very promising new way for leaders to seek high levels of employee engagement and satisfaction, and reap the benefits of employees’ discretionary effort on behalf of their organization. His insights about successful organizations’ ‘souls’ ought to help many firms and non-profit organizations up their performance significantly.”

“David Zenoff first worked with me as a management consultant at Glaxo and later at Roche. His ability to understand complex organizations, advise leaders on how to resolve barriers to higher performance and to build high- performing organizations, where employees find great satisfaction from their work and are proud to be associated with the company, is impressive. His contribution to improve the organization was responsible for significant sales and profit improvements. I can therefore highly recommend The Soul of the Organization.”

“Dr. Zenoff’s book both inspires and instructs on how great business is done.The Soul of the Organization is an important book for the business community to read.”

“While metrics can tell us much about an organization’s performance, David Zenoff’s book captures something that is as elusive as it is critical—the organization’s soul, which transcends the individual interests of its workers and lets them believe they, together, are part of something meaningful and important. Few assets have a more enduring value, and Zenoff has skillfully analyzed it.”

“Rich in experience, Dr. Zenoff has cultivated unique and powerful insights from his 40+ years’ involvement as an advisor to both leading and evolving companies. Boards, senior leaders and managers at all levels will gain valuable professional lessons and know-how from reading this book as they seek to build and instill lasting, successful and culturally rich organizations.”

“David Zenoff offers a wise and well-reasoned argument for tapping into soul and higher meaning as the powerful and enduring motivating element of organization culture.”

“David Zenoff challenges leaders to examine carefully their organization’s “soul”, an often overlooked yet critical dimension of organizational success. By drawing on engaging case studies from his rich professional experience, Zenoff offers a compelling and accessible framework that leaders can adapt to their institutions. For anyone who cares about building an organizational culture that combines excellence and impact with engagement and care, Zenoff provides a valuable contribution to the literature.”

“At a time when corporate and government misdeeds have badly dented the world economy, and the growing demonstrations against Wall Street greed reflect deep cynicism about corporate life, David Zenoff has convincingly made the case to be hopeful. He shows that even financial firms can have a soul, genuine care for solving human problems, and matching practices to manifest their passions. Anyone who wants their hope restored for organizations should read this inspiring book, learning from his corporate and non-profit examples about what is possible and how to attain it.”

“David Zenoff combines the experience, wisdom, and insight of his career to illuminate the soul of successful organizations. A powerful gift. He inspires through affirmation and clarity in equal doses, balancing humanity and metrics adeptly. His invitation for us to see our work through a new lens gives us a generative tool for assessing and improving our schools. Thank you, David!”

“David does an outstanding job of identifying and exploring an organization’s “soul”. This approach clearly creates a more holistic lens into an organization’s mission and values. He is able to provoke thought around core beliefs and how they determine an organization’s culture and key strategies. A thoughtful and inspiring read for leaders.”

This is a really important contribution to management thinking about successful organizations. It helps to explain those organizations that have “cracked the code on how to ignite and sustain employee engagement” beyond the conventional vision, mission and values that almost all organizations now have. David’s concept of the organization’s “soul” is a very good way of understanding the very special factors in an organization that unleash employees’ passion, shared positive spirit, and hope for the collective future which can help organizations attract and retain committed workforces, build strong reputations and, ultimately, continue for long periods of time. His case studies are very powerful indeed in helping to illustrate the existence and particular qualities of an organization’s “soul”. I commend it to you as an essential read.