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Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes
(TED Books #6)
by
A powerful manifesto for CEOs and employees alike: Influential and award-winning business leader Margaret Heffernan reveals how organizations can build ideal workplace cultures and create seismic shifts by making deceptively small changes.
By implementing sweeping changes, businesses often think it’s possible to do better, to earn more, and have happier employees. So why ...more
By implementing sweeping changes, businesses often think it’s possible to do better, to earn more, and have happier employees. So why ...more
Hardcover, 128 pages
Published
May 5th 2015
by Simon Schuster/ TED
(first published March 10th 2015)
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May 17, 2015
Laila
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
genre-nonficion,
2015
Read for work, interesting although it's a bit worrying corporate people need this stuff spelled out for them ;). Like lessons in being a human for robots. Or I guess a reminder of being human in capitalism, hehe.
If I were to measure how much I like a book by how many tiny little bookmarks of torn paper I've tucked into its pages so I can easily find something again at some unforeseen point in the future, this would probably be considered a favorite.
Every few pages, there's another example of (often counter-intuitive) ways of improving an organization of people. This tiny book is just packed with real-world examples, and they're so frequent and diverse that I'd be hard-pressed to imagine a setting in ...more
Every few pages, there's another example of (often counter-intuitive) ways of improving an organization of people. This tiny book is just packed with real-world examples, and they're so frequent and diverse that I'd be hard-pressed to imagine a setting in ...more
"We measure everything at work except what counts. Numbers are comforting - income, expenditure, productivity, engagement, staff turnover - and create an illusion of control. But when you're confronted by spectacular success or failure, everyone from the CEO to the janitor points in the same direction: the culture."
There it is. There's the worst opening to a book I've ever read. It struck me as so silly and incorrect that I almost put the book down immediately, but I continued on so that I could ...more
There it is. There's the worst opening to a book I've ever read. It struck me as so silly and incorrect that I almost put the book down immediately, but I continued on so that I could ...more
Good concepts in here, but I found it hard to actually internalise this enough to remember it and therefore apply any of the concepts at work.
You want change in your organization... this books offers a lot of insights... that beyond measure...
I was recently speaking to a colleague about the different contradictions and interpretations at the workplace, for example crunch time vs. find time to gather your thoughts. It was also very interesting reading about the millions that just a coffee break with the team can make for the company! It's a book that I can see speaking to a large variety of people, regardless of industry, even though most references are software-focused.
It is really a good thought provoking book. It does not give quick fix like many other books but focuses on possible long term plan that can really help change organisation. It is really easy to read and understand.
A quick read that presented some ideas to think about.
Her style is not my thing, I guess -which is totally fine. I have read many things on this topic and I'm moving on....
NOTES
1. Creative Conflict
* we fear our own emotions and those of others, so we develop habits to avoid arguments, we obscure distinctive aspects of our personality, passions and values at work ("covering"). We spend so much time avoiding conflicts, that we fail to move ideas forward.
* a creative conflict requires a variety of personalities, backgrounds, attitudes, and thinking styles. What is stopping use from achieving a creative conflict is biases we have, e.g., similarity bias (we prefer ...more
1. Creative Conflict
* we fear our own emotions and those of others, so we develop habits to avoid arguments, we obscure distinctive aspects of our personality, passions and values at work ("covering"). We spend so much time avoiding conflicts, that we fail to move ideas forward.
* a creative conflict requires a variety of personalities, backgrounds, attitudes, and thinking styles. What is stopping use from achieving a creative conflict is biases we have, e.g., similarity bias (we prefer ...more
It's not a great book. It's just a bit too short - or too long. I am totally onboard with the idea of the small things we do everyday, changes the big things in life. So the message is solid and there are some good anecdotes. It's more a matter of the format. It reads like a stretched article - or a book, that should have had more research and effort. It's a thing around the TED books, in my experience.
It's so short, that you should just read it - or listen to it. You will find something to ...more
It's so short, that you should just read it - or listen to it. You will find something to ...more
Short anecdotal (and nice Sunday morning reflection) on the structures and functions of human groups on their impact on product success. Useful tidbits such as individual freedom through corporate structure to innovate. Interesting to reflect on what i would argue as bureaucracy (such as forced water cooler talk or hours worked) as methods of innovation. I think the book could talk about the price of different methods. It’s one thing to offer solutions when there’s funding, quite another to be
...more
A short book (less than 3 hours on audiobook) but I really enjoyed how concentrated and pithy it was. Especially loved that it was read by the author, who I have been following since listening to her TED talks earlier this year on the importance of speaking up (Dare to Disagree) and the critical nature of teamwork/collaboration ("Forget the Pecking Order at Work" - no super chickens, LOL!)
https://www.ted.com/speakers/margaret...
If you're interested in her TED videos, the link is above.
https://www.ted.com/speakers/margaret...
If you're interested in her TED videos, the link is above.
A truly wonderful book about social cohesion - the friendships and relationships in a company that enable people to get great work done. I've read this book twice and bought dozens of copies for people. My personal copy is full of notes and tape flags, there is barely a page in it that is not full of practical insight.
A really interesting, quick, listen about some small or small some large changes you can make to improve your business. What I enjoyed was that the author didn't provide one solution but sometimes even contradictory; be quiet and listen or be a leader and speak up. Seeing the two sides to each and how they work was a good comparison.
Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes (Hardcover)
by Margaret Heffernan
ordered from the library to get the reference to William Muir's work on chicken pecking
https://evolution-institute.org/when-...
by Margaret Heffernan
ordered from the library to get the reference to William Muir's work on chicken pecking
https://evolution-institute.org/when-...
Aug 23, 2018
Kandachamy Vijayakumaran
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
english-oth,
ted-books
A very interesting book drawing insights from a large number of studies and innovative practices from many successful companies. Small changes can really bring about remarkably large benefits. But how we can bring changes in government run organization built on rigid hierarchies is my predicament.
Lived experience meets systems thinking meets behavior change means organizational dynamics meets phycological safety meets atomic habits meets 80/ 20.
Practical advice. .
Principles and Processes to practice.
Purpose to grow towards.
Practical advice. .
Principles and Processes to practice.
Purpose to grow towards.
The reasons I chose to read this book were that I like TED books and the title was intriguing. However, I was disappointed on both counts. This book wasn't as good as usual TED books and the book didn't live up to its billing of talking about small changes making big impacts.
Most of it seems common-sense to me: communicate, be social, be open-minded, no hierarchies. I disagree with the pitch that anyone "from the CEO to the janitor" can implement these changes. You still need some power to put things in motion.
Highly recommend. Great summary of many of the key concepts that drive a great workplace culture.
Did not grab my attention.
I love these little TED books!
Quick and easy read to get your mind churning.
Having read a number of self help / leadership books, I do buy into the concepts the author is trying to get at. Short and concise read.
A lot of great thoughts about company culture in such small book. I was really excited when reading the book, because I'm interested in that topic, and it satisfied my expectations.
Great examples of the impacts of small changes in a variety of settings. This was a helpful reminder that the small things make a difference.
Would’ve given 4-5 stars if not for the obliviousness surrounding comments like “EVEN the janitor”
Very insightful
easy to read, made me think
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MARGARET HEFFERNAN is an entrepreneur, Chief Executive and author. She was born in Texas, raised in Holland and educated at Cambridge University. She worked in BBC Radio for five years where she wrote, directed, produced and commissioned dozens of documentaries and dramas.
As a television producer, she made documentary films for Timewatch, Arena, and Newsnight. She was one of the producers of Out ...more
As a television producer, she made documentary films for Timewatch, Arena, and Newsnight. She was one of the producers of Out ...more
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