Peter's Articles
A Time to Heal:
Creating Healthy Conditions for Service
By: Peter Block
From
Reflections on Nursing Leadership
Nursing, more than almost any other profession, defines the meaning of
service. The nurse is the front line, what we might call the touch
labor, of the U.S. health care system. The job represents the heart and
soul of authentic health care.
Why, then, is there a shortage of nurses and why do so
many nurses find the job so stressful? The crisis is not about the work
itself, but how to create more fulfillment in the work. The problem is
not primarily lack of skill or motivation, but the context in which the
work is done.
The agenda for health care reform
does not focus on those delivering the service; it’s mostly reduced to a
problem of cost and restructuring how the system is managed. Reform has
become an issue more of politics and economic interests.
> Continues
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Leading Change from Within
By: Jacqueline Wong
From Air Force 21 Magazine
In part a book review
and in part a reflection from her own lenses as an
 organization observer
and OD consultant, Jacqueline Wong summarizes key ideas from Peter
Block’s book “The Answer to How is Yes!” and echoes his views on the
importance of asking the right questions in organizations. The central
message is about making the personal choice to commit, rather than
waiting and hoping for the next right tool, right process, right
methodology, right timing, or sometimes, for the next right boss to come
along!
Peter Block is an eminent organizational consultant and thought-leader
who has inspired many through his work, and renowned for his authorship
of bestsellers such as Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your
Expertise Used, The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at
Work, and Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest.
> Continues
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'Transformation' needed in ethics
By: Bob Deahle
From The Business Journal of Milwaukee
Seventy-five leaders from Milwaukee's business, nonprofit, government
and education communities gathered Oct. 27 at Marquette University to
explore how to generate a deeper commitment to ethical leadership
throughout our community. The summit was hosted by Marquette
University's College of Professional Studies.
The event
included presentations by Richard Teerlink, retired CEO of
Harley-Davidson Inc. and author of "More Than a Motorcycle: My
Leadership Journey at Harley-Davidson," and Peter Block, author of "The
Answer to How is Yes: Acting on What Matters," "Flawless Consulting: A
Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used" and "Stewardship: Choosing Service
Over Self-Interest."
>Continues
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Embracing Stewardship: An Interview
with Peter Block
A renowned business consultant talks about
what empowerment, accountability and partnership mean for your store.
By: Ray A. Hemachandra
Peter Block is trying to change American workplace
culture, and he believes New Age stores are great testing grounds for
workplaces emphasizing stewardship, empowerment, accountability,
engagement, and community.
Block’s best-selling books are
Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used;
Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest;
and
The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work.
His other books include
The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters,
which won the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Award for business
breakthrough book of the year, and
Freedom and Accountability at Work: Applying Philosophic Insight to the
Real World,
coauthored by consultant and philosopher Peter Koestenbaum.
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Once Around The Block
Peter Block Speaks Candidly About His Work,
Life, Influences and Ambitions
 Few people in the world of quality
and participation can claim ignorance of the work of Peter Block. His
insights into creating sustainable organizations by placing power and
control in the hands of those who can best use it as opposed to the
obligatory supervisors, managers and CEOs is practically legendary. They
know Block has authored four best-sellers (“Stewardship,” “The
Empowered Manager,” and “Flawless Consulting”, "The Answer to How is
Yes"). They know he is actively
involved in organizational change having co-founded the consulting firm,
Designed Learning, as well as AQP’s popular The School for Managing (an
alternative learning experience for organizations and communities).
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__________________________________________________________________________________ As Goes the Follower; So Goes
the Leader
By Peter Block
This culture holds
firmly to the belief that our institutions and our citizens are driven
and shaped by those who lead them. When we look at a workplace, we
explain its culture by looking at the management style and vision of its
leaders. We ignore the possibility that leaders are created,
manufactured and molded by their followers. Employees hold important
cards that determine what the organization will become. Leaders have
their place and we would each rather have a great leader than a small
one, but we consistently undervalue the extent to which the leadership
we get is exactly the leadership we have created.
Read a
response to this article.
>Continues
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 My Way is the Highway
By Peter Block
I was in San
Francisco last week and Denver before that. Atlanta before that and
earlier Boston, Chicago, New York and L.A.. All anyone talked about was
the traffic. How long it took to get here, how long to get there. As
soon as we arrived we started worrying about getting back. And all this
driving was about getting to work and back. And if we were not going to
work, we were going shopping.
When did traffic
become so important? And what happened to talk about the weather? In San
Francisco there was an earthquake, but all anyone talked about was the
traffic. I kept saying, “What about the earthquake?” and they responded
with, “Traffic was awful this morning.”
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