Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/47623
20 characteristics, and they always want their leaders to be honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent. Kouzes and Posner, both of Santa Clara University, explain that leaders can become more cred- ible by discovering themselves, appreciating constituents, affirming shared values, developing capacity, serving a purpose, and sustaining Don't Miss Storytelling is a fundamental human skill that leaders can use to win followers and that companies can employ to draw customers to their brands, says John Sadowsky in EMAIL, SOCIAL MARKETING, AND THE ART OF STORYTELLING. But Sadowsky, a professor at Grenoble Gradu- ate School of Business, points out that we're no longer gathered around campfires in caves; we're congregating on Facebook and Twitter, and both individuals and organizations need to understand the way stories get disseminated today through social media. They must "encourage cus- tomers to tell stories about their experiences with a product or service." Sadowsky explains both why and how. (Altal Editions, US$35) No matter how many ethics classes they take in business school, execu- tives will find it difficult to do the right thing at work because "organiza- tions do not always welcome their members' principled actions and may, instead, present obstacles to right action." So say Debra Comer of Hofstra University and Gina Vega of Salem State University in MORAL COUR- AGE IN ORGANIZATIONS. The authors and other contributors present 14 essays that examine the realities of ethical behavior in the workplace, from the pressures that inhibit moral behavior to the consequences that follow whistle-blowers. Comer and Vega voice an unshakeable conviction: "It is possible, it is doable, and it is critically important to act on our values consistently and deliberately." (M.E. Sharpe, US$89.95) It's not enough to have a good idea; you also have to sell it to the people who can bring it to life. In ADVOCACY, John Daly of UT Austin lays out a plan for anyone trying to convince a company to back a new product or system. While internal politics frequently block radical new ideas, Daly recommends that innovators communicate clearly, generate cred- ibility, build relationships, and follow other key steps. He asks, "How many great ideas for lifesaving drugs, world-changing technologies, and innovative business processes have fallen by the wayside simply because their proponents were unable to successfully advocate for their adoption?" (Yale University Press, US$30) hope. While the authors have updated their classic text with new material, their core messages remain the same. "It is credibility that determines whether people will volunteer a little more of their time, talent, energy, experi- ence, intelligence, creativity, and support in order to achieve sig- nificant improvement levels. … Threats, power and position do not earn commitment. They earn compliance. And compliance pro- duces adequacy—not greatness." THE PROGRESS PRINCIPLE AUTHORS: Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer PUBLISHER: Harvard Business Review Press, US$25 "THE SECRET TO amazing per- formance is empowering talented people to succeed at meaningful work," write Amabile, a Harvard professor, and Kramer, a psycholo- gist. This means enabling work- ers to develop rich and creative "inner work lives" of emotions, perceptions, and drive, because without such inner lives they will not be engaged enough to do their best. To study how employees react to work situations and how their reactions affect their productiv- ity, the authors asked more than 200 people in diverse settings to keep brief daily journals about events that occurred on the job. They uncovered fascinating details about what causes employ- ees to try harder and what makes them stop caring. According to the authors' analysis, a manager's job is straightforward: to facili- tate progress in work people care about. When that happens, they write, managers "virtually guar- antee good inner work life and strong performance." BizEd November/December 2011 83