Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment

by JEFF COX' 'WILLIAM C. BYHAM

Zapp! The Lightning Of Empowerment [Hardcover] Cox, Jeff and Byham, William C

Genres: Business, Leadership, Nonfiction, Self Help, Management, Productivity, Business Leadership

209 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Books Ring Mah Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Good Lord. See, this is why I left my job as supervisor. Well, not this book, specifically, but the higher up folk that pawn these types of books onto me, stating they were mind-blowing. More corporate feel good crap. I shared it with the team of people I worked with, and we walked around for a few months, yelling, "ZZZZZZZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPPP" really loudly at inappropriate times.
Hmmmmm. That did build our team morale.

All this stuff seems the same to me: a basic understanding of human psychology plus respect plus cheesy parable = crazy success!


ZAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!

I'm changed.

[Hanna Carrico]

I read this book because I found it on a shelf in my office and I will stop at nothing to inflate my Goodreads numbers.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun management book that is written in the form of a fable. The format is concise and easy to read,which is a bonus for busy people striving to make things better. If you are a manager or supervisor who is interested in nurturing positive working environments, increasing collaboration and collegiality and improving productivity, this book is for you.

I found that many of the factors of managerial success rely on emotional intelligence--active listening, showing empathy, providing sincere words of encouragement and building up of workers' self-esteem. These suggestions reminded me of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. After food and shelter requirements are met, people have a need for social acceptance and personal validation. While I have not finished the book yet, I have not doubt that it will continue to deliver practical advice for building community in the workplace and for helping managers learn how to give their employees a Zapp! (a sense of empowerment, autonomy and validation) vs. a Sapp (let downs, lack of control and abandonment).

[Suzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Business/management allegory. Nothing in here is a bad idea (respecting, listening to, and coaching your employees are all good ideas.) But it also is kind of also like 'when we step into this hallucinatory world we can see what's really going on' which is very, very goofy.

[nitiwat sompawong · Rating 4 out of 5]

- maintain / enhance self esteem
- listen / respond with empathy
- share thoughts, feeling, rationale
- ask for help / encourage involvement

Soul of zap: provide support without removing responsibility for action

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book I was given as part of a leadership activity for work, and although the concepts are sounds, the plot is so cheesy and often time ridiculous that I find myself being distracted from the point of the analogy, and am stuck on the stupidity of the examples.

The book is antiquated, the concepts no longer profound, and there are dozens of updated and current versions that teach the same idea.

I wish it were better, there is just so much nonsense in the story that it takes away from the core principles the author is trying to instill in the reader.

If a reader wants something allegorical, read Lencioni instead, the stories are much more realistic, and it offers the same ideas.

[Katherine Contini · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quick read but super boring. Our boss had us read this. It has great points on how to be positive and spread a good energy through out work. However, the way the author tried to get their point across by Using the 10th dimension or whatever honestly bored me and my co workers. There has to be a better book out there for bosses to use then this. Pretty sure I fell asleep reading it and had to re read what i was reading a million times.

[Ams78 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. Terrible writing that distracted me from the actual important information, although most of said information is common sense. We were encouraged to read this at my job, but I'm not sure why, since my company definitely doesn't follow these tenets. I found it to be a bit childish and over the top.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This modern day office fable is a fun, quick read. I like to reread it every couple years. It is a good reminder of how we can empower our employees so that they want to be a productive member of the group.

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Principles that can be applied to any aspect of life.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concepts were all pretty useful... but the fact that this book was written like a children's graphic novel and was targeting MBAs and other managers is kind of insulting.

[Bitė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every manager should read this at the beginning of their career.

[Pamela Aikman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This year is focused on clearing my bookshelves of the many, many books I have. Nice re-read. Four steps to ZAPP. . Maintain or enhance self-steem, Listen and respond with empathy, share thoughts, feelings, and rationale, ask for help and encourage envolvement and finally provide support without removing responsibility for action. This hits home for me. I recently had one of the best "coaching and development" sessions of my professional career. Was honest with employee on their level of expertise and contribution to a great team. This is a good read to remind yourself of why you are leader and how you develop a TEAM to hit a home run.

[Barry]

This was a really fun and easy read. I liked that it took a motivational and business-focused message and wrapped it into a story instead of feeling like a textbook. It made the ideas stick without feeling preachy.

The story flowed well and kept my attention, and I found myself thinking about my own leadership style as I went. It helped me see simple ways I could be a better leader and more intentional with the people around me.

Overall, it’s a quick read with a lot of value. If you like learning through stories and want something that actually feels enjoyable while still being useful, this one’s worth picking up.

[Alberto Pavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un excelente libro a mi parecer puesto que te dan consejos a través de una historia por lo que se hace menos aburrida al leerla y te ayuda a sentirte identificado gracias a la existencia de personajes que interactúan con el tema principal.
Es un historia con demasiada utilidad, no solo en el ámbito laboral si no en el familiar, social, educativo y demás.
Nos da un gran aprendizaje en el que todas las personas debemos de aprender a tener motivación para realizar cualquier cosa y así nos daremos cuenta que el resultado será mil veces mejor.

[Arpita sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I borrowed this one from a colleague, based on high recommendations from managers. It is a very light read, at times amusing the way hallucinations has been used to tell the tale. The book is quite gloomy though. Most part of the book told me what I already know. Lessons of empowering employees with accountability and responsibility along with passion and trust are not as zappy as they should be.

[Lorena Fabela · Rating 3 out of 5]

¿Buscas un libro para introducirte en el campo de los negocios? ¿O un libro para mejorar tu vida vida laboral y/o académica? Este libro es para tí

Leí el libro con ninguna expectativa buena pero me sorprendió gratamente, de una forma muy dinámica explican cómo es la forma ideal de trabajar en equipo y de manera individual para aumentar las metas establecidas y la motivación. Es MUY RÁPIDO de leer, toda una sorpresa de libro

[Maví Pérez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Empleando una metáfora fantasiosa, va analizando problemáticas sociales en las organizaciones laborales como crítica para la búsqueda de soluciones dinámicas para afrontar el cambio constante que la realidad impone y que requiere de competencias directivas para percibir y reorientar las metas individuales, grupales y organizacionales.
Expone una manera de comprender al Empoderamiento desde una perspectiva sistémica.

[Rafin Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's definitely one of my all time favourites.
i kind of lost this one. my happiness knew no bounds when i was looking for old paper notebooks to sell from my table and coincidentally found it.

the similes in this book make me think a lot of things. i would very much like to gift this one to my oldest uncle from my mother's side. it would make him a great boss. sad and most humorous part is he is retired now.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book back in 2004 in one of my Fashion Merchandising classes. It's cheesy but is such a simple way to present what a great manager is and does for those on their team. Its impression has stuck with me and I've often referenced it when talking to my husband. A great read for anyone who is a supervisor of at least one other human.

[Todd Coburn]

A simple little book of fun, fictitious fable-like stories that demonstrate the difference between empowering your employees, and draining their desire and output in the workplace.

Highly recommended for leaders, managers, and anyone aspiring to be one.

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is wild. All the ideas presented are great and it is a very very quick read (under 2 hours) but it is also impossible to describe.
Good I think for someone who is just starting to try to develope people management skills.

[Nathan Banks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cheesy and dated. This book did not provide any revolutionary information about empowering people but had a few good reminders. It is a very short and easy read but I believe there is better material to read about managing others.

[Mike Thelen · Rating 2 out of 5]

An early-years read. A bit eccentric, but...

[Rob Markley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I completely agree with the sentiments but compared with similar styles of management story books, this one was a little naive and simplistic

[Heather Noggle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this years ago. Good foundational book.

[Julio Valdes · Rating 5 out of 5]

ZzwgzzgZXEEAAze,,wzx twzw,eezz

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun and easy to read. The fable is silly like for middle grade reading but it illustrated the points.

It would be nice to see the principles applied at work.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent reader, humorous approach to what is normally a dry subject

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty easy to read!