Reviewed By Rolf Crocker

The Book Report - January, 2011

2010 has passed, 2011 has arrived. I know nothing magical happens when the clock swings to midnight on December 31st, but for me, I can't help feeling excited for a new year with new opportunities. I took the morning of January 1st to review 2010, the good, the bad and the ugly (and yes, there was plenty of all three), then set three personal goals for myself in 2011. These are not resolutions, but more areas of focus on which I believe I need to improve on in order to be more successful in 2011. If you have not done that kind of exercise, I would highly recommend it. Remember - if you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time.

This month's book report comes from a suggestion by a colleague of mine. He had attended a seminar where the head of HR for Southwest Airlines was speaking and had recommended this book. The author's primary teaching device is the use of fables - fictional stories set in a real world context to teach business and leadership truths. Up until this point, I steered clear of this author, as I gravitate toward non-fiction, real life accounts. However, based on the setup by my colleague (who, up to that point, had not read the book), I decided to download a sample chapter on my Amazon Kindle (no promotional consideration given). The sample chapter had eerily mirrored my own experience in terms of location, family and position that I had to download the rest of the book. I have now completed two of his books and am working through a third (far and away his most popular). Needless to say, I have become a fan. Not only that, but the lessons taught within the framework of these fables have meaning and power. I would now recommend both the author and this approach to teaching. It'll change your life!

The Three Signs of a Miserable Job - A Fable for Managers (and their employees) by Patrick Lencioni (©2007 Jossey-Bass Publishing, Kindle Edition). How do you define a miserable job? How does that differ from a bad job? A job can be considered 'bad' for lots of reasons: long commute, horrible hours, bad conditions, etc. Lencioni defines a miserable job as something beyond the external conditions - something that eats away at the fabric of your well being, creating cynicism, fear, depression and dread, just to name a few. He also notes that misery can be found in what many believe to be the upper echelons of opportunity - executives, pro athletes, entertainers, etc. This level of misery, left unchecked, can manifest in ways that can cause significant, long-term damage, both physically and physiologically. What characteristics define true job misery, as opposed to just a bad situation? Lencioni offers these three 'signs' of job misery:

1) Anonymity - Every human being on some level needs to be 'known' - to be appreciated for their uniqueness, especially by those in authority. It may manifest in different ways, but when individuals feel ignored or invisible, it is impossible to love what you do.

2) Irrelevance - Further, Lencioni states that every human being needs to know that what they do, on some level, matters to someone. Anyone. If there is an absence of a connection of what people do to the good that it does for others, it creates a sense of hopelessness and futility. People need to know that what they do makes a difference.

3) Immesurement - This is not a real word, but one Lencioni made up to describe the opposite of Measurement. The concept here is that people need a practical, objective way to measure their progress. Too often, it's the subjective opinion of a supervisor whether you've hit or missed. The idea here is to develop some kind of empirical metrics for every job that allows individuals, in a tangible and meaningful way, to gauge whether or not they're on-target.

So - what are the causes of these three signs and, more importantly, what are the cures? For that, you'll need to read the book. One of the great things that Lencioni does is, at the end of each book, he reviews the model and gives practical, real-world advice on how to overcome job misery and move into job satisfaction. He also has additional materials available online to assist you with your efforts. If you care about creating positive change in your workplace, this is definitely a book you'll want to read. 5 Stars!

Rolf Crocker is a national Vice President with Associa and CEO of M&C Communities in Stockton, CA and he can be reached at

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