Culture Your Culture: Innovating Experiences @Work

by Karen Jaw-Madson

Organizational culture isn't just a hot topic-it's an untapped asset and potential liability for all businesses. And yet, for all its potential to make or break, few know how to manage cultures with proficiency. Culture Your Culture: Innovating Experiences @Work provides the much-needed "how-to" with Design of Work Experience (DOWE). Tapping into human-centered design, interdisciplinary innovation concepts, and other research, this leading edge approach partners employees and their employers in unprecedented ways to co-create solutions and differentiating experiences that are customized, relevant, and profoundly impactful to the organizations for which they are intended-all while building employee engagement, learning agility, and capability.

Be open to changing mindsets, for this is not your typical business book. Part-business case, part-instructional, and part-commentary, the guidance offered here puts your organization--not some detached case studies-at the center to envision how DOWE can help you design solutions and experiences unique to your context. Culture will no longer be esoteric or intangible, but overt, meaningful, fully leveraged, and truly experienced. No more hacking through trial and error to a culture that lacks sustainability. We can practice the management of culture and organizational change through lived experiences, with intention, rigor, and discipline.

Leaders, managers, teams, and employees alike will benefit from understanding the need for this approach, how it's defined, why it works, and what to do to successfully tackle business challenges and positively influence lives with this innovative model-if you are willing to do the work to get there.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business

182 pages, Hardcover

First published June 14, 2018

About the author

Organizational expert Karen Jaw-Madson enjoyed success as a corporate executive before pursuing a ‘portfolio career’ comprised of research, writing, consulting, teaching/speaking, and creative pursuits. As a versatile leader across multiple industries, Karen developed, led, and implemented numerous organizational initiatives around the globe. Today, this East Coast transplant to Silicon Valley (via Ireland and the Midwest) is principal of Co.-Design of Work Experience, where she enables organizations with innovative approaches and customized solutions for intimidating challenges. Focus areas include culture, organizational change, and people strategies. Her book, Culture Your Culture: Innovating Experiences @Work (Emerald Group Publishing) was released in June, 2018. She has a BA in Ethnic and Cultural Studies from Bryn Mawr College and a MA in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. Visit her website at www.designofworkexperience.com.

Reviews

[Caro]

“Culture is a construct reflected in all things that have the power to influence behaviors, interactions, and perception within a socially defined entity or institution. Examples of what reflects culture include: norms, literal and figurative messages, artifacts, and so on”

I picked up this book because I’m interested in subjects that can help people become better professionals in the workplace. I read mostly fiction books but always try to squeeze in business and nonfiction here and there.

This book explains how DOWE (the Design of Work Experience) can help companies thrive. It is grouped by sections but the author explains how there’s no need to read them in order. I preferred to read them in order since it’s hard to keep track of read sections on ebooks.

“DOWE (pronounced [‘dü ‘w ē]) partners employees with their employers to co-create customized and meaningful work experiences that set the conditions for people and business to thrive”

I found the book to be helpful when it comes offering advice on creating a good culture in the workplace, I would’ve liked to have seen more practical examples and real-life situations and less theoretical concepts, it would’ve helped me relate to the concepts better.

Overall, it’s a helpful book for those looking for ideas on how to improve workplace culture.

Received ebook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Noelle Walsh]

A great book to read and a process worth implementing in the workplace. All workplaces should be healthy ones and this book just might be the right way to get them there. Everything in it is really helpful.


*won as a GoodReads Giveaway*

[Tim Tingo]

After the first 25 or so pages you realize this is not just another copy cat business book but an holistic guide to creating and sustaining the cultural ecosystem where wildly successful organizations thrive. Open your mind and put aside preconceived notions and let an extremely talented practitioner/leader show you the way. This is an important book on an important topic, don’t ignore it.

Thoughtful
Concise
Practical