Do we need another book about New Work?
There are so many books about New Work already!
Well... I find New Work so exciting. Since I started looking into it, I've been constantly amazed at how easy and natural collaboration can actually be.
With his great work Reinventing Organizations , Frederic Laloux has made it so tangible how modern collaboration that meets the challenges of a globalized world can succeed. It is humanity that makes the real difference in New Work. Hardly any other concept really puts people at the center as centrally and fundamentally as New Work.
Many authors
I am not the first author to write about New Work and I will not be the last. But I noticed that there was no booklet about New Work in the 30-minute series from Gabal Verlag . The series is predestined to break down a complex topic briefly and concisely and present it in a way that focuses on the essentials.
Ultimately, it clicked for me that I could be the author to close this gap when I gave a keynote at the Assistants' World in Frankfurt in September 2022. My task here was to give an overview of what New Work actually entails. After developing the keynote, it was clear to me that I had created the almost perfect structure for a 30-minute book about New Work. And so I promptly knocked on open doors at Gabal Verlag when I suggested writing this book.
Lots of content
I realized that I actually had a lot of useful things to say about New Work. A few years ago, I had already tried my hand at a book project. It had the working title Dialogue of the Generations . It remained unfinished mainly because both of my parents became in need of care at almost the same time and I could no longer write. But there was another, crucial reason: I had interviewed many interesting people for this first book project, looking for stories about collaboration between generations. But I received an incredible amount of input about New Work. That's how I first became aware of Frederic Laloux , learned about barcamps and grassroots movements like Working Out Loud , realized the importance of OKRs in the context of self-organization , and much more.
I was looking for input on collaboration between generations and received New Work. Worthwhile ideas that have now found their appropriate format.
Oh yes, and I found it very inspiring to do book research on the Olympic Tower in Munich and to look out over the hometown of my youth while enjoying a delicious iced coffee.
Shitstorm
Phew, as a first-time author, it took a lot of courage for me to finally click on the "Send" button and trustfully place my work in the hands of the editor.
What if my book is not complete enough?
It will never be that way anyway!
What if people have a contrary opinion?
Well, I guess I have to live with that.
What if...
OK, now let's get it out there. I can't and don't want to please everyone.
Now I finally understand
My three test readers, a managing director of a large marketing agency, a consultant who recently retired and an office manager, all said: Great book, very readable. "I finally understand what New Work really means."
Last week, an experienced consultant said at a networking meeting: "What, you understood Frederic Laloux? He always seemed too complicated to me."
Laloux complicated? I personally don't think so. And New Work has many other facets that need to be considered. But maybe that's exactly what my book can do: break something that seems big, complex and complicated down to its essentials and make it understandable for everyone. As I write this sentence, I realize that this has always been the core of my work and the reason why I started working as a trainer. I had heard the sentence so often: "Now that you've explained it to me, I finally understand it."
30 minutes of New Work. I am curious to see whether some readers finally understand New Work.
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