The Living Organization: Spirituality in the Workplace

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Summary: Spirituality: A New Paradigm for the Workplace
Review: In THE STRUCTURE OF SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS, Thomas Kuhn suggested that the evolution of science was marked more by epistemological shifts than linear developments over time that reflected unchanging truths and practices. After Kuhn's analysis, scientists would never again be able to do "business as usual." William Guillory's work represents a similar epistemological shift, and like Kuhn's REVOLUTIONS has the potential to change the way that business is envisioned and actualized, literally challenging the business of "business and usual," and introducing an element that has yet to be fully explored in the numerous works that articulate transformative business practices. The future of business, for Guillory, is defined by one idea/practice: spirituality. SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE: A GUIDE FOR ADAPTING TO THE CHAOTICALLY CHANGING WORKPLACE is William Guillory's contribution to the emerging conversation of how to effectively transform business and implement practices that will be responsive to, and inclusive of, empowerment, diversity, and organizational coherence. Guillory challenges some of our most sacred beliefs about difference and division: self and other, individuality and collectivism, and of course, spirituality and materialism. It is a book that offers a new vision of leadership, one that values intuition as much as observation, and the spiritual as much as the material. William Guillory's vision is, indeed, integrative, and reflects his own personal challenges and transformations. Guillory is the CEO and founder of Innovations Consulting International, and a highly sought after authority on facilitating organizational transformation, managing diversity, and creating contexts for individual empowerment. His work with organizational change and diversity led naturally to his own transformative self-reflections, reflections that moved him beyond the material concerns of a career to the spiritual possibilities of exploring his own deeply embedded life interests. He writes in the prologue of SPIRITUALITY of an experience in October of 1985 that changed both his life and his mind. "Words flowed through me at a rate with which I cold hardly keep pace. There were phrases and concepts I had never heard before, pouring into my consciousness." Those words and phrases, he relates, challenged one of our culture's most sacred division, the separation of the spiritual and the material. Guillory believes that this division needs to be understood, addressed, and ultimately healed if organizations are going to be able to adapt to accelerated change and potential crises. The multiple ways of addressing this division are revealed throughout the book, in both the titles and the contents of each chapter. Chapter one discusses "The Living Organization," and offers a biological metaphor for understanding organizational evolution. Chapter two "Spirituality as a source of wisdom," addresses directly the main focus of the book and offers both definitions of spirituality and examples of how it is reflected in specific business practices. Chapter three, "People--The Only Sustainable Competitive Advantage," discusses the difficulties of personal transformation within organizational contexts that privilege material over human resources, and illustrates how individuals can successfully empower themselves to become agents of change. Chapter four, "Service--An Unconditional Commitment to Others," points to the value of challenging and redefining our conception of ourselves in relation to others, and the potential that committing one's self to service can have for both individual and organizational transformation. Chapter five, "Organizational Self-Awareness--Know Thyself," explores the critical connection between communication and culture that defines the problems and possibilities of organizational change and development in an increasingly diverse and global business economy. Chapter six, Wisdom--Your Soul Connection," illustrates the importance intuition and personal self-reflection for overcoming limiting conditions and actualizing performance potential. Chapter seven, "The New Leadership--Spirituality," explores the critical need for visionary, transformative, and spiritual leadership, and how these approaches reflect both normative principles and practical outcomes. In the final chapter, "The Future--A Call for Action," Guillory challenges us to rethink the world of work and our place in it, and the impact of our personal and professional works on the world in which we live. Guillory paradigmatic shift invites us to consider what David Bohm described as the "implicate order" or reality, the many diverse and seemingly divergent principles and practices that implicate us in each other's lives and, ultimately, in the planet itself. Although the titles of Guillory's chapters suggest at first glance an exploration into the realm of the esoteric and the transcendent, the chapters themselves reveal concrete and down to earth discussions and examples of spirituality at work in the work place. The book is very accessibly written, and does an excellent job touching on many of the emerging theoretical discussions of organizational change and development without being "theory laden." The use of personal experiences and narratives also serve to make the book extremely practical in terms of presenting concrete examples of spiritual practices. Each of the chapters also offers exercises and measurement instruments for facilitating self-reflexive explorations of spirituality in the workplace and in our lives. While at first glance this may seem like a strange mixture of science and metaphysics, a kind of "lichert scale spirituality," the exercises if take seriously serve as provocative catalysts for further understanding, and recognizing the necessity of a paradigmatic shift toward the spiritual. Guillory suggests that the economics of self-interest and personal gain have placed the planet in a tenuous position, one requiring radical change and personal transformation. SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE offers an alternative paradigm for re-conceptualizing and re-creating the way we do business with each other, with the planet, and with ourselves. The articulation of a new paradigm is perhaps the most important contribution that this book makes to the literature on organization change and development. Unlike many of the texts in this genre, however, SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE forces us to delve deeper into the mechanisms of culture and consciousness that undergird our business organizations and economic institutions. This is an important and provocative book that will makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how organizational change and personal transformation will be the keys to business competitiveness and development in the 21st century.

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Summary: The Living Organization - Spirituality in the Workplace
Review: Reading Dr Guillory's book, I found myself looking at a totally new arena in the workplace. Many concepts and thoughts that can improve employees relations at any level in an organization. Much, much more then the trendy books recommended by most of corporate America today. A "must read" book for those looking for the missing connection.

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Summary: Great book
Review: Spirituality in the Workplace is a truly inspirational book that encourages individuals and organizations to incorporate their values and spirituality into their work endeavers. The powerful ideas inside this book show how we can align the spiritual, mental and physical components of our lives to become more fully functional in the workplace. Although the focus is on values and individual development, Bill also makes a strong business case for using these principles to create excellence within an organization. His real life examples and creative insights make this a interesting and motivating read.

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Summary: The Living Organization - Spirituality in the Workplace
Review: William Guillory has hit the nail squarely on the head. It is about time that someone has been able to give solid thoughts as to how one can adapt to the ever changing workplace, while maintaining and enhancing spiritual values.

With consolidation being the main focus of companies across North America, the pressures and anxiety are at extreme levels. William Guillory gives employees and executives a fresh insight into dealing with these changes.

This is a must read for anyone who is experiencing change or chaos in the workplace. It is a must read for everyone!

Rating:
Summary: The Living Organization - Spirituality in the Workplace
Review: William Guillory has hit the nail squarely on the head. It is about time that someone has been able to give solid thoughts as to how one can adapt to the ever changing workplace, while maintaining and enhancing spiritual values.

With consolidation being the main focus of companies across North America, the pressures and anxiety are at extreme levels. William Guillory gives employees and executives a fresh insight into dealing with these changes.

This is a must read for anyone who is experiencing change or chaos in the workplace. It is a must read for everyone!

Rating:
Summary: A candidate for the best of the genre
Review: With the increasing trend to introspection in Western society and inquiry into sources of personal meaning in all areas of one's life, it is not surprising that the place of spirituality in the workplace is also being examined. The past 5 years have seen a number of books appear on the subject; many of them fall into a couple of categories: they are broad and fuzzy surveys of the topic, or they try to define what spirituality SHOULD look like. This is inherently flawed because spirituality is a manifestation of personal belief and a reflection of corporate culture. Dr. Guillory's book is one of the very few I have seen to take a different, and I feel proper, approach. First, Dr. Guillory is by training a chemist and yet he tackles a nebulous topic like spirituality with ease and familiarity. He effectively applies a scientific rigor to treatment of the subject but never becomes preachy or inaccessable. The volume is clearly written, well organized, and has a VERY strong take-away for the reader, who can complete exercises in the book to the formation and manifestation of a personal belief system and apply that to a work setting. Throughout the process, Dr. Guillory seems to accompany and guide the reader through the exercises. It is as if he is writing from within a spiritual context, rather than standing on the outside looking in. This volume has a wonderful mix of information and applications, as well as illustration of schematic and thought-models, that serve as a springboard for further inquiry. I found this book stayed in my head long after I had closed the cover. The examples of how corporate leaders had developed their own corporate spirituality were inspiring and believable. In conclusion, I loved this book because it was practical, direct, entertaining, and enlightening. It is a roadmap and guidebook that others can use to navigate through a murky topic with ease.