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Bravespace Workplace: Making Your Company Fit for Human Life
People are what make companies great. Good leaders know this, and spend time, effort, and money taking care of the people who work for them so that their business results are phenomenal. So why is it that so many people are still miserable at work. Experts around the world offer countless ideas and techniques and training for elevating the joy (and performance) of workers. And still we fail.
Things must change. Using potent examples from 35 years of working inside and outside of organizations as they strive to be people centered, bestselling author and consultant/coach Moe Carrick offers a fresh, honest, and direct roadmap for leaders everywhere who seek to make their workplace fit for human life.
Bravespace Workplace shows us the unadulterated truth of what it takes to make companies bring out the absolute best in human beings, despite our messy, imperfect, needy, demanding, and complex habits, needs and issues. The book shows how leaders need to focus on six interdependent levers of their day-to-day work (culture, leadership, team, meaning, design, and partnership with machines) to materially enliven and lift the humanity and the performance of everyone who works for them – which is a win–win for both employee and employer.
Bravespace Workplace offers a clearly imagined future for organizations in which the people who work there grow, connect, and thrive. Carrick holds a potent point of view about the unarguable aspects of actually creating a workplace for people, not machines. The book is for leaders in all organizations, at every level, as well as people development, HR, OD, coaches, and consultants who advise others about organizational culture, leadership, structures, and teams.
Things must change. Using potent examples from 35 years of working inside and outside of organizations as they strive to be people centered, bestselling author and consultant/coach Moe Carrick offers a fresh, honest, and direct roadmap for leaders everywhere who seek to make their workplace fit for human life.
Bravespace Workplace shows us the unadulterated truth of what it takes to make companies bring out the absolute best in human beings, despite our messy, imperfect, needy, demanding, and complex habits, needs and issues. The book shows how leaders need to focus on six interdependent levers of their day-to-day work (culture, leadership, team, meaning, design, and partnership with machines) to materially enliven and lift the humanity and the performance of everyone who works for them – which is a win–win for both employee and employer.
Bravespace Workplace offers a clearly imagined future for organizations in which the people who work there grow, connect, and thrive. Carrick holds a potent point of view about the unarguable aspects of actually creating a workplace for people, not machines. The book is for leaders in all organizations, at every level, as well as people development, HR, OD, coaches, and consultants who advise others about organizational culture, leadership, structures, and teams.
- GenresNonfiction
264 pages, Paperback
Published May 21, 2019
3 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Moe Carrick
4 books8 followersMom, daughter, gardener, wife, ex-wife, adventurer, entrepreneur, and consultant Moe Carrick believes that people make organizations great. Companies large and small are routinely brought to their knees by the so-called "soft stuff” of people problems–as anyone knows who has tried, this work is hard. As a facilitator, protagonist, consultant, entrepreneur, author, employer, and relentless optimist, Moe believes that people can and should thrive at work, and that when they do, organizations succeed. With over 30 years of work in organizations on issues of partnership, leadership, inclusion, strategy and culture Moe believes that rigorous self-awareness, courage, honest dialogue, active involvement, and empathy are fundamentals to building full partnerships based on trust and curiosity. As a white, US-born, heterosexual woman, Moe strives to use her privilege with grace to surface assumptions that interfere with teams and to explore systemic patterns.
Moe holds a Master’s Degree in OD, is a Certified Daring Way™/Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, a Coach, and administrator of a variety of tools in her trade. She is also a Senior Consultant with White Men as Full Diversity Partners (WMFDP,) the market leaders in including white men in the critical conversations required to sustain truly inclusive cultures.
www.moecarrick.com
www.bravespaceworkplace.com
www.fitmatters.biz
Moe holds a Master’s Degree in OD, is a Certified Daring Way™/Dare to Lead™ Facilitator, a Coach, and administrator of a variety of tools in her trade. She is also a Senior Consultant with White Men as Full Diversity Partners (WMFDP,) the market leaders in including white men in the critical conversations required to sustain truly inclusive cultures.
www.moecarrick.com
www.bravespaceworkplace.com
www.fitmatters.biz
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
June 6, 2019
This is an incredible book. I'll be referencing this for years to come. It's jam-packed with ideas for creating a great workplace at all levels--an owner, leader, and employee.
May 31, 2019
I wish this book had been around when I started my first job! Employers and leaders of both small and large organizations need to read Bravespace and adopt Moe’s strategies and wisdom as a platform to transform their companies into positive, caring and healthier workplaces for all employees.
May 31, 2019
Moe is right! This is the most important topic. People are by far the largest part of the workplace. Moe tells us how it is and how it should be with her confident tone and years of insights.
May 26, 2019
So much of the working world is churn and burn and it is taking a toll on the people inside of the systems. The systems are not built for bravery and as a result, people are not thriving at work. This book is the toolbox for how to create a brave space that creates the ecosystem for thriving workers. Anyone who works with people will benefit from this book!
May 15, 2019
Bravespace is an excellent book for business leaders and managers looking for a new thoughtful approach to leading teams, culture, and the why they are business. Actually anyone working can benefit from the advice in this book. Moe Carrick considers how technology effects your workplace and also how in this modern world we must focus on how our business will change the world in order to be relevant and to have places of business that MATTER to employees.
Some of my key takeways were about "leading with heart," "taking time to listen to the music," and "technology can replace tasks and data points but not relationships and connections." Carrick highlights leaders who have addressed and or created culture in their workplaces that allow people to thrive and not just be happy. She gives you practical steps on how to do so yourself in your place of work.
Some of my key takeways were about "leading with heart," "taking time to listen to the music," and "technology can replace tasks and data points but not relationships and connections." Carrick highlights leaders who have addressed and or created culture in their workplaces that allow people to thrive and not just be happy. She gives you practical steps on how to do so yourself in your place of work.
June 12, 2019
I have felt more concerned and confused by U.S. society and what we stand for in the past 3 years than in the previous 58. From our stance on the environment to how we treat each other and our decreasing levels of civility, it feels like we are going backward, not forward in terms of care, compassion, and awareness. Is the human experiment a failure? I have more doubt than ever before.
Along came Bravespace Workplace. The book is a fresh breeze, filling my sails with renewed hope and advise on what we organizational leaders can do to make the world of work better. Carrick articulately explains and explores how workplace cultures (brave workplaces) are about a lot more than profit or ROI. They influence society in profound ways and it serves nothing for us to pretend otherwise. The book is chocked full of stories and reflections from Carrick's 30+ years of work in corporations large and small as both an employee and then as a trusted advisor and organizational development consultant. Her observations and grounded and practical and her advise, wise and entirely doable.
Bravespace Workplace points out that the problems we face at work aren't insurmountable but they are complex and learning to manage that complexity is part of what we all need to wrap our heads around. For example, we need to really unpack and understand what needs work fulfills for people (hint: it's a lot more than just a paycheck). Next, we need to go deep (not into understanding other people but into better understanding ourselves) so we can lead with heart and create and sustain connection. Here Carrick shares new research that pokes a hole in an old paradigm by challenging Maslow and suggesting connection is every bit as powerful and important for us as food and water.
Carrick brings her diverse and extensive global and diverse experience to bear in the gems of advise and perspective she shares with us throughout the book. As an example, she talks about the challenge we people managers face having to learn to manage employees who work in and out of traditional office environments. Carrick talks clearly about how the evolving nature of where work is done, and when, is shifting in ways that are both virtuous and confounding. She suggests what we can do to ensure we keep people engaged connected no matter where they are working or what time zone they are in.
Bravespace Workplace isn't one of the books I'll read and recycle. Instead, it will become a source book for me that I will keep nearby so I can refer to it as situations present themselves. It's also a book I will share with co-workers and members of my team so they can glean from it their own gems of perspective and advise.
Well done Moe!
Along came Bravespace Workplace. The book is a fresh breeze, filling my sails with renewed hope and advise on what we organizational leaders can do to make the world of work better. Carrick articulately explains and explores how workplace cultures (brave workplaces) are about a lot more than profit or ROI. They influence society in profound ways and it serves nothing for us to pretend otherwise. The book is chocked full of stories and reflections from Carrick's 30+ years of work in corporations large and small as both an employee and then as a trusted advisor and organizational development consultant. Her observations and grounded and practical and her advise, wise and entirely doable.
Bravespace Workplace points out that the problems we face at work aren't insurmountable but they are complex and learning to manage that complexity is part of what we all need to wrap our heads around. For example, we need to really unpack and understand what needs work fulfills for people (hint: it's a lot more than just a paycheck). Next, we need to go deep (not into understanding other people but into better understanding ourselves) so we can lead with heart and create and sustain connection. Here Carrick shares new research that pokes a hole in an old paradigm by challenging Maslow and suggesting connection is every bit as powerful and important for us as food and water.
Carrick brings her diverse and extensive global and diverse experience to bear in the gems of advise and perspective she shares with us throughout the book. As an example, she talks about the challenge we people managers face having to learn to manage employees who work in and out of traditional office environments. Carrick talks clearly about how the evolving nature of where work is done, and when, is shifting in ways that are both virtuous and confounding. She suggests what we can do to ensure we keep people engaged connected no matter where they are working or what time zone they are in.
Bravespace Workplace isn't one of the books I'll read and recycle. Instead, it will become a source book for me that I will keep nearby so I can refer to it as situations present themselves. It's also a book I will share with co-workers and members of my team so they can glean from it their own gems of perspective and advise.
Well done Moe!
July 1, 2019
This is a must read for any leader! As a leader and Organizational Development Consultant for almost two decades, I’m confident in sharing Moe’s work around creating Bravespace Workplaces is the shift we need in companies right now. She provides a roadmap of how to get exactly to where today’s workforce is asking to go. This book provides practical, easy to implement tools to do right by those in your workplace. It will lead to higher levels of empowerment and satisfaction from your team when you work to partner with the tools Moe provides!
September 9, 2019
I loved this book. Brene Brown isn’t my style (sorry!), but this delivered the same kind of information in a different package that worked for me. I walked away with a better understanding of what I want from a workplace and how I can help build that (no matter my place) and a better understanding of the good that happens around me. Just beware that there are some distracting typos!
June 2, 2019
This book was Stevo's Business Book of the Week for the week of 5/12, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet. You can find me at http://forums.delphiforums.com/stevo1, on my Stevo's Novel Ideas Amazon Influencer page (https://www.amazon.com/shop/stevo4747) or search for me on Google for many more reviews and recommendations.
This book was a Best of the Best for the month of June, 2019, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet. You can find me at http://forums.delphiforums.com/stevo1, on my Stevo's Novel Ideas Amazon Influencer page (https://www.amazon.com/shop/stevo4747) or search for me on Google for many more reviews and recommendations.
This book was a Best of the Best for the month of June, 2019, as selected by Stevo's Book Reviews on the Internet. You can find me at http://forums.delphiforums.com/stevo1, on my Stevo's Novel Ideas Amazon Influencer page (https://www.amazon.com/shop/stevo4747) or search for me on Google for many more reviews and recommendations.
December 13, 2025
TLDR: Carrick’s work is probably immensely helpful to companies that have already acknowledged they have a problem and chosen to listen. However, this book overemphasizes emotional arguments, so the CEOs (and this book does seem to be written to CEOs) who need to listen to her won’t be convinced.
Although I believe many of Carrick’s ideas on workplace ethics—I can’t say all, because I started skimming partway through the book—the author delivers a lot of already widely discussed arguments as if they were facts some people simply hadn’t heard, without the backing that would convince a nonbeliever to implement her strategies. For example, she says <10% of the population makes way more money than the rest of the world combined; and people in charge of companies should compare their wages to their lowest paid employees’, ask themselves if that gap is really OK, and do the right thing. They should, but they’re already aware they’re rich and paying others minimum wage, and I don’t think they’ll be convinced by phrases like “do the right thing,“ or “people are beautiful.“ How can a leader who isn’t absolute top dog convince them to phase change in? The book didn’t really discuss things normal people can do at large companies, which makes it seem like the intended audience is a really small group that can’t be reached this way. What they need is data on how poor practices impact those who implement them.
Carrick discussed unpleasant things in non-inflammatory, plain speech, and cited many sources; but I was surprised by the lack of sources cited for some controversial bits, and lack of substantial argument in general.
The book also didn’t grab my attention, and was repetitive.
Although I believe many of Carrick’s ideas on workplace ethics—I can’t say all, because I started skimming partway through the book—the author delivers a lot of already widely discussed arguments as if they were facts some people simply hadn’t heard, without the backing that would convince a nonbeliever to implement her strategies. For example, she says <10% of the population makes way more money than the rest of the world combined; and people in charge of companies should compare their wages to their lowest paid employees’, ask themselves if that gap is really OK, and do the right thing. They should, but they’re already aware they’re rich and paying others minimum wage, and I don’t think they’ll be convinced by phrases like “do the right thing,“ or “people are beautiful.“ How can a leader who isn’t absolute top dog convince them to phase change in? The book didn’t really discuss things normal people can do at large companies, which makes it seem like the intended audience is a really small group that can’t be reached this way. What they need is data on how poor practices impact those who implement them.
Carrick discussed unpleasant things in non-inflammatory, plain speech, and cited many sources; but I was surprised by the lack of sources cited for some controversial bits, and lack of substantial argument in general.
The book also didn’t grab my attention, and was repetitive.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews