Work 2.0: Building the Future, One Employee at a Time by Bill Jensen, 2002 (preface 2003) is as much corporate leadership self-help as it is innovative restructuring rah-rah. The book actually has a wealth of great advice even though much of it is cloaked in corporate cliches, and tries to invent catch-phrases that really don’t have a lot of traction. The premise of the book is that in order to survive in the new economy, leaders are going to have to rethink the way they organize and manage work, workers, and themselves. The books refrain, My Work My Way, is Jensen’s way of saying that workers need to be given the leeway to dictate how they work, get respect from leadership, and be heard when important customer and front-line decisions need to be made. Jensen also urges leaders to become Extreme Leaders who give their employees respect, listen to workers who know first-hand what needs to be done, and hold themselves accountable. The book offers a few tools for leaders to gauge their work like worksheets, but it mostly preaches about what changes will happen in the workplace with and without the adoption of the Work 2.0 ideology.
One of the more intriguing ideas is that the Invisible Workplace, the place where social networks within the company, know what’s going on before the senior execs and often before the market itself. Much of it simply riffs on a variation of the tipping point personas (Gladwell’s connectors, mavens, salesmen) using another management consultant’s terminology. By tuning into the social networks that exist in any corporation, Extreme Leaders will have a better idea of what is really going on instead of surrounding themselves with brown-noses and kiss-asses who insulate and isolate themselves and leadership. No matter how it is put this is the difference between poor leadership and great leadership.
The writing is snappy and informal, and a little repetetive. The text, full of bulleted lists and bold headings, flows quickly and won’t tax a casual reader despite occasional SHOUTING outbursts.
Scant on real case-studies, solid research, or many concrete examples the book is a quick fix for managers and leaders who are looking for one, today. The recent fad for the 2.0 convention (Business 2.0, Web 2.0, Library 2.0) makes the book a management resource for today, but not really tomorrow.