Rituals for Work: 50 Ways to Create Engagement, Shared Purpose, and a Culture that Can Adapt to Change

by Kursat Ozenc, Margaret Hagan

Experience the transformative power of creative rituals in the workplace

Rituals for Work shows us how creative rituals can make our personal and business lives more meaningful and rewarding. Rituals are powerful tools: they reinforce good habits, motivate personal and professional achievement, create a common bond between co-workers and build shared values; they can transform an organization’s culture and provide a foundation to achieve common goals. Focusing on real-world examples, this book takes a practical approach to the power and benefits of workplace rituals. This insightful guide presents 50 creative rituals, from business and management to design and personal development. Specific case studies highlight the use of rituals and their positive impact to real-world organizations, while vivid visuals allow us to feel their energy and emotion.

A ritual is only effective when its purpose is clearly defined. This book goes beyond simple analysis to provide actual recipes for individual rituals designed to promote specific habits, change negative behaviors, and instill values. Each ritual can be adapted to achieve a multitude of goals and tailored to fit your organization or team’s specific needs.

●      Change behaviors, form positive habits, and assign meaning to shared goals

●      Build shared values, foster innovation, and encourage strong teamwork

●      Deal with conflicts effectively and engage others to work on resolutions

●      Learn the fundamental concepts of ritual-building and share your knowledge with your team

An informative and inspirational resource for executives, managers, team leaders, and employees of every level, Rituals for Work provides a blueprint for building a culture of engagement, innovation, and shared purpose for organizations of all sizes, across industries.

Genres: Business, Leadership, Management, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Historical Romance, How To

274 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 9, 2019

Reviews

[Nina Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping for a pattern language and instead got a lot of pithy examples, mostly from tech startups. The core concept, layout, and organization of this book are strong. The content is less inspiring.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lovely ideas in this book but also cultural appropriations without adequate context or understanding, and at least one idea that involves irresponsible waste that only a wealthy tech company might think is okay. Ideas are categorized by how they fulfill an organizational need. I don’t find advice like “create a safe space” terribly helpful without at least a couple of suggestions on how to go about it. So, there’s less practical depth than I hoped for. This is an idea reference book. There are a couple of ideas that I will try solo.

[Marcus Kazmierczak · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book about rituals and traditions at work. The book explains why rituals are important to shaping a team's effectiveness, a company's culture, and how they can be used to contribute to individual creativity and productivity.

The majority of the book is divided into 5 main areas (Creativity, Performance, Conflict, Community, and Transition) and provides 10 example rituals to try to tackle specific issues or improvements. My company is fully distributed so the rituals can't always be translate 1:1 but the gist is the more important aspect spur your thinking about what you can do similar.

I recommend getting the physical book because there are a lot of drawings and graphics which may not translate well to a digital version.

[Aaron Mikulsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun read filled with new ideas to engage teams, foster teamwork, and innovate. With our "new world" and with everyone WFH, this provides practical things we can do to "bring people together" and connect. There are also several tips for effective change management efforts. I'd encourage leaders to experiment with some of these and see what magic happens. I'm particularity fond of "Silent Disco Thursdays."

[Klaudyna Maciąg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Może nie do końca pasuje do polskich realiów, ale znalazłam tu trochę pomysłów do wykorzystania w pracy mojego zespołu :)

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost every ritual requires being in person. I would love to see more support for remote groups.

[Sebastian Gebski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the idea (of rituals at work) - I'm more than certain it does make a difference & has a real impact on people & can unite them around the common identity, shared values, unique elements of local culture, etc.

... but ...

I don't think rituals can be transplanted - the whole idea is to grow them up of current context, so they are environment-specific. Otherwise, when trying to copy someone else's rituals you can't get rid of a feeling that it's ... childish, odd, unnatural, even silly. That's why you I recommend you to treat the whole book as an inspiration & illustration of an idea, not a list of recipes or patterns.

2.5 stars.

[May-Ling · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more of a workbook or idea starter than a set of comprehensive ritual ideas. Perhaps I expected so much more, but I especially thought the majority of these suggestions would only work in certain types of environments for small groups, particularly with creative teams. You might flip through to skim areas where you seek suggestions - for me the best ideas were towards the end around community building.

At the end, expanding the section in how to design your own rituals might feel more beneficial, teaching us how to fish!

[Topherjaynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to keep on your desk if you're in a fun work environment. I've tried some of the rituals, especially the individual ones, but makes me think about other rituals I want to create. Like stopping work or starting a deep work block. Physical props, like a rock to touch or something to signify the change in thought, is really helpful!

Some are cheesy, but I think you can find your own spin on them to make them more authentic

[Philippe Bailleur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

In our society - and for sure in Western companies - we lost and forgot the habit and added value of rituals. This book will open your mind for rituals and help you with several great examples. The book will even help you to design your own company rituals. If you want to build a strong, coherent culture ... read this book.

[Ryan Barretto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read about the importance of rituals to any organization. The authors are very clear in their explanations as well as the examples they have give.

There are some interesting ideas which one could implement in one's one organization. This book will be helpful to HR professionals, HODs and Business Owners. This is one of those books we would refer to frequently.

[Yanis Mellata · Rating 2 out of 5]

The reflection around rituals is interesting, the examples not so much. If you are looking for a book that goes in-depth into how to get teams to interact better together, this is not your book. If you are looking for a light read with a few examples that you may find interesting, this may be your book.

[Cairo Cananea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ideias interessantes para trabalhar em equipe. Inspiração para aplicar em diferentes etapas nos projetos e situações que podem ocorrer no dia a dia, como o desentendimento em alguma das etapas.

No final do livro os autores apresentam o passo a passo para você desenvolver os próprios rituais para a empresa.

Valido para equipes que buscam reforçar o fator humano nas relações de trabalho.

[Katie Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has some great exercises for personal, team and organization level engagement at work. I highly recommend reading this if you are an HR professional, manager, or just interested in team building at work.

[Rick Yvanovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sure to give you some new ideas

50 examples to help both trigger some ideas and hammer home the importance of rituals as well as uncovering rituals that you may not be aware you already have.

[Jonny Stan-Chew · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Not as many practical rituals as I was hoping for. I valued the philosophy sections much more than the examples. I found perhaps 4 rituals I would tailor/apply. I will say that it got me to think about just making rituals in general.

[Brittany Neish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly such a fantastic resource! I cannot wait to implement some of these rituals with my own team. An added bonus to this fantastic book is the playful illustrations that accompany each ritual. Not only are the insights fantastic but visually, this book was so pleasing too!

[Paul Triller]

Some great ideas for ways to humanize the workplace.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars if I could. The examples are helpful for generating ideas. Some of them are cringeworthy and others make a lot of sense. I'm sure the cringe-factor varies per person and organization.

[Daniel Markwig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great inspiration when thinking about understanding and nudging behaviours in a workplace.

[Michael Wolcott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional resource of ideas! There are some amazing rituals offered in the book to be tried with any team depending on the need or context. A quick book to move through with a huge impact!

[Jesse Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Generated more good ideas - not necessarily their examples but ideas derived - than I anticipated going in.

[Luis Segura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ideas and rituals are targeted to USA culture

[Brian D. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picture book written by somebody that apparently works in an office set in imaginary land.

[Jonathan Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many excellent suggestions - a classic handbook not just for the self but for organizations.

[Daniel B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but kind of hooky. Maybe in silicon valley.

[Jessica Popp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great reference book for ideas of how to create meaningful rituals. Variety from light to serious depending on team need. Nothing mind-blowing, but 50 ideas you likely haven’t had on your own.

[Charity]

worth referring to

[Mary Beth Revesz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of fun, practical ideas and fun, engaging design!