Tweet

The Power of We

Written by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: Book Review -- Succeeding Through Partnerships: By Jonathan Tisch, Karl Weber; John Wiley & Sons, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, www.wiley.com; ISBN: 0471652822; Aug 2004; 260 pages, $24.95

The Power of We

We admit it; we enjoy and get more out of reading management books than we do books that discuss our profession. To us it’s more important to understand what our bosses are thinking than our contemporaries.

For obvious reasons we also find more gratification out of reading books that align with our thinking than those who challenge our thoughts on the way the world in general and business specifically should run. For us The Power of We has the planets in perfect alignment.

Tisch heads up Loews Hotels and while he is a multimillionaire many times over, he seems to be a firm believer in the importance of cooperation throughout the organization rather than dictation from the top.

At times we believe that the book is a mixture of the actual way Tisch runs the multi-billion dollar company and the way he would like to operate if the world were perfect. But even if it is a roadmap it is worth reading because the “we are all in this together” approach seems much more effective than Trump’s “the Donald wants this to happen” approach.

Tisch’s basic premise is that for a company to succeed management must develop partnerships with its various publics – local communities, customers, shareholders and employees. In an entertaining fashion he discusses how company executives are required to periodically leave their offices and take on the frontline jobs – cleaning, cooking, serving and working the front desk.

In our opinion that’s an important step in the right direction for a guy who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and really doesn’t have to “work” for a living, get his hands dirty and experience the challenges and opportunities of working with friendly and not-so-friendly customers.

But the duo – Tisch and Weber – don’t just focus on how Loews hotels executives make certain their people have the freedom and resources they need to do their jobs. The authors also provide very meaningful and useful examples of what other firms and executives do to ensure partnership management.

As fast as business markets and the world as a whole move’s today, it’s real easy to get caught up in the belief that “for us to win, you have to lose.” Tisch shares insights into how his business philosophy evolved and how the approach can be implemented in for-profit and non-profit organizations. The book doesn’t take the Pollyanic view of business though because at certain times decisions have to be made that – in management’s opinion – are in the best interest of the company and its investors. For example he discusses the fact that while the uniforms the hotel staffs wear are humiliating they probably won’t be changed because they provide a uniform image of the hotel to the consumer and they are inexpensive to clean.

Obviously complete partnering isn’t a perfect science or practice. But it can be a goal.

As Tisch and Weber point out in the book by practicing this partnership approach you can dramatically expand the availability of resources and talent to achieve your organization’s goals. The key is to have employees, customers, suppliers, governmental groups and shareholders take ownership of the goals so that they are no longer your goals but their goals.

Even if you are fortunate enough to already work in an organization that encourages and practices the power of partnerships, you’ll find Tisch’s examples – other corporate executives and his own -- interesting, insightful and at times extremely humorous.

Since we are constantly bombarded with “news” about the negative side of business, it’s a pleasant surprise to reaffirm that good corporations and good executives do exist and in fact thrive in today’s instant gratification world.

Tisch’s management approach is one public relations people need to pursue both internally and externally if they are going to be effective. Because of this, we feel The Power of We is a valuable book for people in our profession to read, digest and try to put some of the ideas into practice.

########

Related Articles
  “The Awesome Power of TO-DO Lists, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
  Does Power Corrupt
  What Power Tool Online do you need for a business?
  Selling Power 26
  Women And Power

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Women Entrepreneur Tips - Thank you LeoOliveros, I found #4 particularly true in my case: 4. The Enterprise Must Include the Power of Power Networks. As a conductor of your own enterprise, you can not see yourself as a one-woman-show. You must choose to utilize the power people in your life, by asking for help when you need it, and effectively delegating in order to capitalize on your strengths and that of your power network. When certain experts are not represented in your power network, you must actively seek advisors or mentors and develop a team of specialists, so the benefits are received by everyone involved in the power network - the true Power of Power Networks.
Success Strategies - How to get the results you want now? Success Strategies and Action Steps I have used are: The Power of Choice Where you are at this present moment, is exactly perfect from the choices you have made. If you want to be somewhere else, you have to decide clearly what that is (your goal/outcome) and create action steps to achieve this. The Power of Focus The book "The Power of Focus" by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Les Hewitt, is one of my treasures in my Entrepreneur Library. If you focus on what you want versus what you do not want, your conscious and sub-conscious mind will direct attention to this. The movie, What the Bleep, Down the Rabbit Hole, explains this in detail about quantum physics and what we create in our lives. The Power of Commitment This is not about commitment to others. The first step is the commitment, your word, you make to yourself. Accountability and responsibility are additional success strategies and ingredients to creating the success, defined by you, that you want. The commitment to others reflects your integrity, your word and the team you work with. Co-workers, clients, yoru family, friends and community. My Success Acronyn in Success Breakthroughs(c) is: S pecific & self-directed U nlimited opportunities & possibilities C reate powerful outcomes C onsistent measureable results E xperience pwoerful transformation S olution and action-oriented S uccessful habits and outcomes Break Through to Powerful LIfestyle & Performance Choices Moira
The Power of Ten - Do you want to save money and time? Make the most of your marketing efforts? The Power of Ten™ is about taking the concepts of repurposing and leveraging “to the max”. It allows you to innovate and discover new possibilities for any marketing you already have in place. Here’s how it works: Make a list of the most recent 10 marketing items you’ve created or paid to have created. If you don’t have any materials, you can simply list the pieces you plan on creating. Now pick one. It could be an article, ad, poster, anything you have used recently as a marketing tool. Take a fresh look at it. Brainstorm and free write until you find at least 10 different ways to use that piece. You can do this with as many pieces as you want, but for now start with just one. It’s amazing how much time, effort and money you can save using The Power of Ten™. Below is an example using The Power of Ten™ with this very article. Even a very short piece, such as this, can benefit from The Power of Ten™. Here are some ways I can use this tip: 1) It’s part of a new marketing program I’m creating that may be called Marketing Full Circle. 2) It’s on my blog. 3) I can tweet it (knowing that it will show up on LinkedIn and many other sites which display tweets). 4) I can go over to LinkedIn and post it to a group. 5) I can it to my ezine subscribers. 6) I will send it to my clients. 7) If it is a longer article, I can try submitting it to an Article Bank, or two, or three. It started out as part of an answer on Focus.com 9) Eventually it will be part of an eBook on marketing tips. 10) I mention the concept often at speaking engagements. (c)2010 Elevating Your Business What would you add to the list? How about your own? Give it a try and comment below.
Wills, Power of Attorneys personal, bank, health - These four items are important even if you don't have a business. You don't have to have a Will because the law has procedures that are in place just incase someone dies without a Will. It is call dieing intestate. However, it can be an expensive process for your beneficiaries and your estate may not go to who you want it to go to. A Will - helps you set up where you want your assets to go to and who they go to. They set out your wishes for the business as well. In Ontario, you do not have to have a Will prepared by a lawyer but sometimes it is in your best interest to do so. There is a lot of info on the internet and kits that are available but they key to this are the witnesses to your signature. You may want to write it yourself and then have a lawyer witness the signing of the Will. If you handwrite you’re Will then you don't need to have it witnessed. But the entire document must be in your handwriting no typing allowed. The Power of Attorneys - Personal or Health Personal - This gives someone consent to act on your behalf if you can't due to physical or mental disabilities. The Power of Attorney goes into effect only when you are incapacitated or you authorize it. So it can be signed and ready to be used but only takes effect when you are ready to use it. You don't need a lawyer to prepare these - there are kits on the internet, there are kits that the government have where you can fill in the blanks. But if you have an extensive estate I would take it to the lawyer because their could be other issues that need to be dealt with. Health – This Power of Attorney outlines what you want to happen in case of medical emergency, for example, do you want to be revived if there is no hope of recovery, is the most common reason, maybe the type of treatment that you want to receive for the particular illness you have. This Power of Attorney protects your health rights when you can't speak for yourself and it gives someone else the right to speak for you. In the Power of Attorney you would outline your request and designate someone to carry them out. Bank - This one designates someone to look after your finances if you aren't able to do them. The banks have special procedures and these forms are completed at the bank. So if you became ill then your designated person can take care of your finances until you are ready to resume doing them. The Power of Attorneys and the Wills are legal documents and they can be revoked or changed at any time. If your estate is very large then I would suggest that you have a lawyer prepare these documents to protect your interest. Again, the law does not have the same rules as a married spouse so this would protect the surviving partner in a common-law relationship. I realize that most of the subjects that are discussed on this site are concerning growing your business but I deal with the hidden aspect of the business as well and these could affect your business as much as if you can't find that next client. Happy and Prosperous New Year Everyone
Re: Traffic! How do you get it? - Hi Mal, Thanks for pointing out that Linkdirectorysubmitter is included in the Affiliate Power Group membership package. It's very easy to overlook freebies, even the useful ones. I'll go and check it out.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Build Corporate Credit for Your Small Business

Adapting to Technology and the Internet

Are You Too Good for Your Job?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.