The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace: Amazon.ca: Alan Briskin: Books

Product Description

From Library Journal

An organizational consultant who is as deeply concerned about the domain of the human soul as he is about organizational development, Briskin closes the distance between the two concepts in a way that diminishes neither and augments both. Careful not to idealize the concept of soul, Briskin warns against its use as a corporate slogan to isolate excellence and the pursuit of organizational ideals. He characterizes the soul as the union of opposites within each person and suggests that when corporate goals are sought without regard for spiritual wholeness, the darker, destructive aspects of soul life come to the fore in an organization. Briskin illustrates the dimensions of the soul's influence as he analyzes the history of the power struggle in the workplace. Recommended for public and corporate libraries.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

In their search for ways to make organizations work better, theorists and managers alike have begun to look outside the business world to science and nature and inward at spiritual constructs like "heart" and "soul." Briskin is a consultant who specializes in aiding other consultants in such areas as strategic planning, change management, and retreat design. Despite this seemingly traditional managerial focus, he is also concerned with the soul and its associated qualities--meaning, memory, beauty, wildness, union, etc.--and he brings to bear earlier experiences working with disturbed adolescents and correctional inmates. He considers here the "idea of the soul," looks at how past and present organizational practices have "challenged" the soul, and shows why asking and trying to answer questions about the soul should matter in the workplace. Briskin's ultimate question turns the more conventional concern, How can we change people? into How can organizations better reflect the whole human being? This reflective, contemplative book is a refreshing attempt to answer that. David Rouse

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

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3.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Read, Jun 25 2002

By

Dean Ottati (Walnut Creek, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stirring Of Soul in the Workplace (Paperback)

A philospher recently wrote "the art of the future will be the work of the collective." It's clear that today's corporate structure has a long way to go before it could be called art. The typical company is not a particularly meaningful, soulful, or enduring place. Somehow there has to be a merging of the corporate need for profit with the individual need for meaning. In The Stirring of Soul in the Workplace, Alan Briskin takes on the often contradictary nature of these twin needs. It raises a deep and difficult set of questions. Briskin doesn't minimize them by offering quick technical fixes, but rather he offers something far more important: the insight and understanding needed to begin honestly approaching them. As a result, Briskin may have also begun the long process of elevating corporate structure to that of collective art form.

Parts of this book are as well written and as insightful as anything I've ever read. If you've spent any time in a corporate structure, you will see a reflection of your own situation in these pages. Layered on top of that reflection are insights from the fields of philosophy, literature, psychology, physics, management and the wisdom traditions of the world. All of which help us to understand, and to live with, the ambiguities we all face. This book will challenge you to ask yourself some important questions. I highly recommend it.

Dean Ottati - Author of The Runner and the Path

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great ground work but little take home, Mar 8 2002

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Mark (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stirring Of Soul in the Workplace (Paperback)

The book has three main sections: Defining the concept and history of Soul; Highlighted history on our work culture; and, how we deal with Soul to make our working world better. The first section was interesting, but perhaps a little philosophical for me. He did use some nice personal story examples to make his points. By itself, the second section would score a 7-star. For this section alone, I would recommend the book. He starts his history trek in the mid 1800's with the advent of the railroad, which presents the first introduction of strict time and scheduling on our society. He continues by discussing the industrial revolution and focusing on important figures such as Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and Fredrick Taylor, the 'Father of Scientific Management'. Additionally, he discusses the works of Elton Mayo and how his finding in human resources ultimately resulted in another control factor for companies. In his final section, Briskin discusses how we as individuals and organizations can learn from our history and begin our journey towards coherence and wholeness. He believes that concerns with communication are often used to describe various barriers within organizations. He is trying to tie the book together and help us pave new ground, but his attempt is too typical and idealistic. Like many 'change' books, he focuses too much on idealistic and not enough on realistic, which renders his suggestions as weak, or even naive. I would have been happier if he left out his attempts to make this a complete book ("we can change by understanding our past") and stuck with his great historical facts and philosophical factors in defining organizational life.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Great ground work but little take home, Mar 8 2002

By

Mark (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stirring Of Soul in the Workplace (Paperback)

The book has three main sections: Defining the concept and history of Soul; Highlighted history on our work culture; and, how we deal with Soul to make our working world better. The first section was interesting, but perhaps a little philosophical for me. He did use some nice personal story examples to make his points. By itself, the second section would score a 7-star. For this section alone, I would recommend the book. He starts his history trek in the mid 1800's with the advent of the railroad, which presents the first introduction of strict time and scheduling on our society. He continues by discussing the industrial revolution and focusing on important figures such as Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, and Fredrick Taylor, the 'Father of Scientific Management'. Additionally, he discusses the works of Elton Mayo and how his finding in human resources ultimately resulted in another control factor for companies. In his final section, Briskin discusses how we as individuals and organizations can learn from our history and begin our journey towards coherence and wholeness. He believes that concerns with communication are often used to describe various barriers within organizations. He is trying to tie the book together and help us pave new ground, but his attempt is too typical and idealistic. Like many 'change' books, he focuses too much on idealistic and not enough on realistic, which renders his suggestions as weak, or even naive. I would have been happier if he left out his attempts to make this a complete book ("we can change by understanding our past") and stuck with his great historical facts and philosophical factors in defining organizational life.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Effort!
People need creativity, fantasy, passion and caring, argues Alan Briskin, and when they're deprived of those things at work, there's trouble ahead. Read more

Published on Sep 21 2001 by Rolf Dobelli

1.0 out of 5 stars Managerial Elite Oriented--Typical New Age Business Book
This is a typical New Age business book. It has a high spiritual gloss, is individualistically oriented (overlooking truly workable ways of changing organizations and... Read more

Published on Sep 13 2000