What do you think?
Rate this book
The XYZ Factor: The DoSomething.org Guide to Creating a Culture of Impact
What is the XYZ factor?
The XYZ Factor isn't a place or a company or an age. It's a new kind of culture where innovation, accessibility, and transparency are the norm. It's an environment created on the principles of the Millennial generation to foster intergenerational productivity in a new kind of office culture. An XYZ organization's employees are challenged, engaged, and excited to produce. Simply put, XYZ companies have an "it" factor that helps them rise above the competition.
Any company can become an XYZ company. This book is your blueprint.
Each chapter is written by a DoSomething.org staff member. Their firsthand experience with DoSomething.org, an organization that helps young people make the world suck less, gives them exceptional insights into working magic in the corporate world. And with over 3 million members and more than 200 active campaigns, such as collecting clothes for teenagers in homeless shelters, helping older adults learn to use technology, and creating anti-bullying comics, DoSomething.org is a standout organization—not only for its message, but for the way it operates.
When you open The XYZ Factor , you're getting the recipe for the awesome sauce that has driven the success of the world's largest organizations for young people and social change. This guidebook is your key to answering the questions your company has looming over its cubicles, such
How do I create an office environment that fosters collaboration and creativity?
How do I form the right partnerships that appeal to our brand and our audience?
How do I authentically reach the Millennial generation?
If you want to take your business or organization from okay to amazing, you need The XYZ Factor .
The XYZ Factor isn't a place or a company or an age. It's a new kind of culture where innovation, accessibility, and transparency are the norm. It's an environment created on the principles of the Millennial generation to foster intergenerational productivity in a new kind of office culture. An XYZ organization's employees are challenged, engaged, and excited to produce. Simply put, XYZ companies have an "it" factor that helps them rise above the competition.
Any company can become an XYZ company. This book is your blueprint.
Each chapter is written by a DoSomething.org staff member. Their firsthand experience with DoSomething.org, an organization that helps young people make the world suck less, gives them exceptional insights into working magic in the corporate world. And with over 3 million members and more than 200 active campaigns, such as collecting clothes for teenagers in homeless shelters, helping older adults learn to use technology, and creating anti-bullying comics, DoSomething.org is a standout organization—not only for its message, but for the way it operates.
When you open The XYZ Factor , you're getting the recipe for the awesome sauce that has driven the success of the world's largest organizations for young people and social change. This guidebook is your key to answering the questions your company has looming over its cubicles, such
How do I create an office environment that fosters collaboration and creativity?
How do I form the right partnerships that appeal to our brand and our audience?
How do I authentically reach the Millennial generation?
If you want to take your business or organization from okay to amazing, you need The XYZ Factor .
320 pages, Hardcover
First published December 25, 2014
5 people are currently reading
507 people want to read
About the author
Nancy Lublin
8 books5 followersNancy Lublin has led DoSomething.org, the largest online youth service organization, since 2003. She is the founder of Dress for Success, and has been named to the World Economic Forums 100 Most Influential Young Leaders. She writes a regular column for Fast Company and is a contributor to The Huffington Post."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 10, 2015
Never judge a book by its cover is an old phrase that is equally valid today. There was something about this book that one didn’t like from the first glance, yet it is hard to quantify. It would have been quite easy to have put it to the side and moved on – yet that would have been a BIG mistake!
The premise is simple. A look behind the scenes at DoSomething.org and the promise of learning how its workplace methodology can be transplanted into your own company. So yet another social engagement/young person-type company that will talk about its whacky working environment, flat culture and interconnected world? Well, not exactly! Of course the company does things differently and seemingly things work, but it does appear not to be more style over substance. Something is working for them. Can it work for you?
So, the XYZ Factor? Let the book’s publicity blurb explain: “The XYZ Factor isn’t a place or a company or an age. It’s a new kind of culture where innovation, accessibility, and transparency are the norm. It’s an environment created on the principles of the Millennial generation to foster intergenerational productivity in a new kind of office culture. An XYZ organization’s employees are challenged, engaged, and excited to produce.”
After reading this book the blurb doesn’t sound as far-fetched, pretentious, unbelievable or any other possibly negative attribute that you can consider. There is a certain poignancy and clarity in the messages being propagated. The reader is taken on a whirlwind tour around DoSomething’s office by individual team members, covering everything from physical office space and pitching to brand identity and partnership creation. As a concept this book really does work and it was rather a refreshing, different approach.
Even if your company cannot or will not sign up to a full XYZ Factor-style transformation, even any changes made will be beneficial. It could be something small as a cultural component or large such as changing working arrangements, but every part of a machine has interdependencies irrespective of size and perceived value.
Modern-day companies need to be agile, responsive, forward-thinking, social and caring. Old values and thought processes may have their place but the new generation of consumers, decision makers, employees and employers are not used to waiting, don’t rely on single sources or see long-term loyalty as necessarily normal. One study notes that newly graduating students in the United States may expect to have 16 jobs by the time they are 37 and this has nothing to do with disciplinary action or economic difficulties. This generation craves feedback – both giving and receiving – and has feelings of value, worth and expectancy that their predecessors didn’t necessarily have. Even in this reviewer’s lifetime there has been massive change and the whirlwind shows no sign of calming down.
Although reading through this book, even as someone in their mid-40’s, a lot of the typical happenings for a XYZ Factor-equipped company didn’t seem that strange. Banging a gong to attract everyone to a meeting just seems normal, a random reassignment of office and desk space by lottery twice a year sounds enlivening and having an open plan environment with company provided earphones to let you focus would be ideal.
Now, DoSomething and New York is a bit to far away, but it does seem a great place to work at – even for a forty-something who dislikes a lot of the “things” we are told modern-day companies must have. XYZ Factor companies don’t seem to follow in this vein, so perhaps they lead instead? So what local company is going to become XYZ Factor-inspired?
It feels a lot more real, manageable and workable than “dress down Friday” or the obligatory football table and funky chairs beloved by many so-called modern companies. This is perhaps why this book really hit the mark. It burrowed through this reviewer’s mind in an unexpected way. Prejudices were perhaps shattered, opinions tweaked with humour and actionable, deliverable information provided page after page.
The XYZ Factor: The DoSomething.org Guide to Creating a Culture of Impact, written by Nancy Lublin & Alyssa Ruderman and published by BenBella Books. ISBN 9781941631638, 224 pages. YYYYY
The premise is simple. A look behind the scenes at DoSomething.org and the promise of learning how its workplace methodology can be transplanted into your own company. So yet another social engagement/young person-type company that will talk about its whacky working environment, flat culture and interconnected world? Well, not exactly! Of course the company does things differently and seemingly things work, but it does appear not to be more style over substance. Something is working for them. Can it work for you?
So, the XYZ Factor? Let the book’s publicity blurb explain: “The XYZ Factor isn’t a place or a company or an age. It’s a new kind of culture where innovation, accessibility, and transparency are the norm. It’s an environment created on the principles of the Millennial generation to foster intergenerational productivity in a new kind of office culture. An XYZ organization’s employees are challenged, engaged, and excited to produce.”
After reading this book the blurb doesn’t sound as far-fetched, pretentious, unbelievable or any other possibly negative attribute that you can consider. There is a certain poignancy and clarity in the messages being propagated. The reader is taken on a whirlwind tour around DoSomething’s office by individual team members, covering everything from physical office space and pitching to brand identity and partnership creation. As a concept this book really does work and it was rather a refreshing, different approach.
Even if your company cannot or will not sign up to a full XYZ Factor-style transformation, even any changes made will be beneficial. It could be something small as a cultural component or large such as changing working arrangements, but every part of a machine has interdependencies irrespective of size and perceived value.
Modern-day companies need to be agile, responsive, forward-thinking, social and caring. Old values and thought processes may have their place but the new generation of consumers, decision makers, employees and employers are not used to waiting, don’t rely on single sources or see long-term loyalty as necessarily normal. One study notes that newly graduating students in the United States may expect to have 16 jobs by the time they are 37 and this has nothing to do with disciplinary action or economic difficulties. This generation craves feedback – both giving and receiving – and has feelings of value, worth and expectancy that their predecessors didn’t necessarily have. Even in this reviewer’s lifetime there has been massive change and the whirlwind shows no sign of calming down.
Although reading through this book, even as someone in their mid-40’s, a lot of the typical happenings for a XYZ Factor-equipped company didn’t seem that strange. Banging a gong to attract everyone to a meeting just seems normal, a random reassignment of office and desk space by lottery twice a year sounds enlivening and having an open plan environment with company provided earphones to let you focus would be ideal.
Now, DoSomething and New York is a bit to far away, but it does seem a great place to work at – even for a forty-something who dislikes a lot of the “things” we are told modern-day companies must have. XYZ Factor companies don’t seem to follow in this vein, so perhaps they lead instead? So what local company is going to become XYZ Factor-inspired?
It feels a lot more real, manageable and workable than “dress down Friday” or the obligatory football table and funky chairs beloved by many so-called modern companies. This is perhaps why this book really hit the mark. It burrowed through this reviewer’s mind in an unexpected way. Prejudices were perhaps shattered, opinions tweaked with humour and actionable, deliverable information provided page after page.
The XYZ Factor: The DoSomething.org Guide to Creating a Culture of Impact, written by Nancy Lublin & Alyssa Ruderman and published by BenBella Books. ISBN 9781941631638, 224 pages. YYYYY
May 29, 2023
The book is written by a group people working at Dosomething.org. The XYZ in the title is alluding to all three generations in their org, but they are primarily consisted of Gen Y at the moment. You learn a bit of their summary of Gen Y characteristics: move fast, nomadic (numbers for study abroad trippled in 20 years), value choices (Don’t pick a computer for them, let them choose) & feedback (please give feedback kindly, w/o anger), tech savvy, post everything online.
You hear some interesting tidbits about their organization’s culture & beliefs:
* Nesting (decorating their workspace),
* Having meal together are important,
* Do lottery for work desk every six month (the constant move improves flexibility),
* They have org-wide quite time when no meetings are allowed.
* They pitch a lot (ppt, some data, lots of joke) and learned how to do it authentically, with humor and a bit of vulnerability.
* They also have days where everybody gathers with 1 min summary (something amazing they accomplished last week, important goal for this week, and request for coworkers).
* If you advertise about the real work interns will do, you’ll attract talent.
* They pitch a lot to cooperate folks and realized sometimes give your ear to them is a welcome surprise.
* People volunteer when they experience positive emotion, so don’t use sad imagery to get sympathy.
But overall, this book is more of a pitch/advertisement of their org than a genuine book of insights.
You hear some interesting tidbits about their organization’s culture & beliefs:
* Nesting (decorating their workspace),
* Having meal together are important,
* Do lottery for work desk every six month (the constant move improves flexibility),
* They have org-wide quite time when no meetings are allowed.
* They pitch a lot (ppt, some data, lots of joke) and learned how to do it authentically, with humor and a bit of vulnerability.
* They also have days where everybody gathers with 1 min summary (something amazing they accomplished last week, important goal for this week, and request for coworkers).
* If you advertise about the real work interns will do, you’ll attract talent.
* They pitch a lot to cooperate folks and realized sometimes give your ear to them is a welcome surprise.
* People volunteer when they experience positive emotion, so don’t use sad imagery to get sympathy.
But overall, this book is more of a pitch/advertisement of their org than a genuine book of insights.
March 2, 2015
Not since DELIVERING HAPPINESS have I read a book that most captures my thoughts on collaboration and culture.
February 5, 2019
I’d been putting off the reading of this book for a long time, and it was a huge mistake. I’ve known DoSomething.org for a few years now and even had the chance to visit their HQ in NYC. From the moment I walked in, I could tell it is a different kind of organization with a special culture and personality.
This book confirms just that. Each chapter is an essay on one specific aspect of the organization: from internships to marketing, to data analysis, to the physical space. Each chapter provides important insights and great ideas for letting your organization or company take advantage of the new generations in your work force. But not only that, if you want, this book will help you transform the entire organization into this new culture. An XYZ organization is the one that responds to the challenges in our present time using the latest advances in technology and the new work culture to foster impact.
The book contains a great combination of practical examples and clear principles that can be learned and applied to any organization. It is a must read for nonprofits and youth organizations.
——
Había estado postergando la lectura de este libro durante mucho tiempo y fue un gran error. Conozco DoSomething.org desde hace algunos años e incluso tuve la oportunidad de visitar su sede en Nueva York. Desde el momento en que entré, me di cuenta de que es un tipo de organización diferente con una cultura y personalidad especiales.
Este libro confirma precisamente eso. Cada capítulo es un ensayo sobre un aspecto específico de la organización: desde internships, mercadotecnia, análisis de datos, hasta el espacio físico. Cada capítulo proporciona información importante y grandes ideas para permitir que una organización o empresa aproveche lo positivo de las nuevas generaciones. Además, puede ayudar a transformar a toda una organización en esta nueva cultura. Una organización XYZ es la que responde a los desafíos en nuestro tiempo presente utilizando los últimos avances en tecnología y la nueva cultura de trabajo para maximizar el impacto.
El libro contiene una gran combinación de ejemplos prácticos y principios claros que se pueden aprender y aplicar a cualquier organización. Es una lectura obligada para organizaciones sin fines de lucro y organizaciones de jóvenes.
This book confirms just that. Each chapter is an essay on one specific aspect of the organization: from internships to marketing, to data analysis, to the physical space. Each chapter provides important insights and great ideas for letting your organization or company take advantage of the new generations in your work force. But not only that, if you want, this book will help you transform the entire organization into this new culture. An XYZ organization is the one that responds to the challenges in our present time using the latest advances in technology and the new work culture to foster impact.
The book contains a great combination of practical examples and clear principles that can be learned and applied to any organization. It is a must read for nonprofits and youth organizations.
——
Había estado postergando la lectura de este libro durante mucho tiempo y fue un gran error. Conozco DoSomething.org desde hace algunos años e incluso tuve la oportunidad de visitar su sede en Nueva York. Desde el momento en que entré, me di cuenta de que es un tipo de organización diferente con una cultura y personalidad especiales.
Este libro confirma precisamente eso. Cada capítulo es un ensayo sobre un aspecto específico de la organización: desde internships, mercadotecnia, análisis de datos, hasta el espacio físico. Cada capítulo proporciona información importante y grandes ideas para permitir que una organización o empresa aproveche lo positivo de las nuevas generaciones. Además, puede ayudar a transformar a toda una organización en esta nueva cultura. Una organización XYZ es la que responde a los desafíos en nuestro tiempo presente utilizando los últimos avances en tecnología y la nueva cultura de trabajo para maximizar el impacto.
El libro contiene una gran combinación de ejemplos prácticos y principios claros que se pueden aprender y aplicar a cualquier organización. Es una lectura obligada para organizaciones sin fines de lucro y organizaciones de jóvenes.
October 30, 2015
At first I was a bit peeved that this is a curated collection of essays rather than a work written entirely by the authors, but after reading I think the amplification of so many different voices was very XYZ. For those of us with newer tech company and startup experience, many of the concepts are common, but they are introduced with such passion that the book itself offers a lesson in creating culture. These team members clearly love what they do and feel empowered to make an impact on their business and the world.
The only factor that made this collection less than stellar to me was the focus on youth without clearly noting that much of the youthful focus for DoSomething.org is appropriate because of their mission, but not actually a key part of cultures of impact. DoSomething's youthful team culture and recruitment practices are a great fit for them, but it would be detrimental to copy the same tactics rather than adapt to whatever business you're building. E.g. Re: team representative of customer demographics - If your customers are primarily women, you should make sure to hire and empower women throughout all levels and divisions of your company. Re: filtering for knowledge based on age - Assuming "young" people are the only people familiar with new technologies is a major mistake (particularly when recruiting software engineers, for example) and can adversely impact team culture.
My favorite sections were:
> Introduction to the XYZ Organization - here they introduce how realtime feedback and a general fast pace have become cultural standards. This absolutely maps to my experience with innovative technology teams, both in and outside of the social impact space. Read it, and make it happen.
> Chapter 4: Being Data-Informed: Why Measurement is Essential - excellent review of meaningful metrics and how to communicate data that drives better decision-making to normal humans, not just data lovers.
> Chapter 5: Brand: How Your Identity Influences Everything - exercises like, "If DoSomething.org died, what would be on its tombstone?" and other tips for crafting shared identity.
There are fun tips sprinkled throughout, and I enjoyed hearing from different teammembers about an organization that consistently does great social impact work without getting stale. Thumbs up.
The only factor that made this collection less than stellar to me was the focus on youth without clearly noting that much of the youthful focus for DoSomething.org is appropriate because of their mission, but not actually a key part of cultures of impact. DoSomething's youthful team culture and recruitment practices are a great fit for them, but it would be detrimental to copy the same tactics rather than adapt to whatever business you're building. E.g. Re: team representative of customer demographics - If your customers are primarily women, you should make sure to hire and empower women throughout all levels and divisions of your company. Re: filtering for knowledge based on age - Assuming "young" people are the only people familiar with new technologies is a major mistake (particularly when recruiting software engineers, for example) and can adversely impact team culture.
My favorite sections were:
> Introduction to the XYZ Organization - here they introduce how realtime feedback and a general fast pace have become cultural standards. This absolutely maps to my experience with innovative technology teams, both in and outside of the social impact space. Read it, and make it happen.
> Chapter 4: Being Data-Informed: Why Measurement is Essential - excellent review of meaningful metrics and how to communicate data that drives better decision-making to normal humans, not just data lovers.
> Chapter 5: Brand: How Your Identity Influences Everything - exercises like, "If DoSomething.org died, what would be on its tombstone?" and other tips for crafting shared identity.
There are fun tips sprinkled throughout, and I enjoyed hearing from different teammembers about an organization that consistently does great social impact work without getting stale. Thumbs up.
Read
September 18, 2020DoSomething.org is my favorite nonprofit. As one of their "superfans" that they talk about in the book, I loved reading about the details of the nonprofit that I've caught on to over the years. It was so cool to read this and remember all of the campaigns I have participated in and understand their reasonings behind choices they make in partnerships. If you haven't been by their NY office, you should! Wonderful people and a wonderful space. I can't say enough good things about them. They really do treat their members well. #ApathySucks
unread-giveaways
June 5, 2015I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.
Which was a mistake to enter on my part. From the title I assumed this would be a nice essay into how to make the world a better place, but it is about business, which is not even remotely relevant to me. This one will go unread. My apologies to the editor!
Which was a mistake to enter on my part. From the title I assumed this would be a nice essay into how to make the world a better place, but it is about business, which is not even remotely relevant to me. This one will go unread. My apologies to the editor!
December 23, 2015
I'm in a nonprofit so this had some wonderful and insightful points that I will reference over and over. Their method of writing the book using employees was great. Upbeat and comprehensive. Thanks DoSomething.org!
April 7, 2015
Timely advice for the millenial generation. Five stars.
September 13, 2015
A useful summary of Millennial-run companies' values, but not anything life-changing for those of us who have some exposure to the pet-friendly, open office, free food style company.
September 16, 2015
great book about how companies should be run
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews