Insights

If you want to deepen your understanding of people experience, these are the books we most often recommend to managers and executives. 👉 View the full list here: People Experience Reading List

𝐁𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 , 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 , 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 , 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 The Olympic credo — 𝐹𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟 , 𝐻𝑖𝑔𝘩𝑒𝑟 , 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 , 𝑇𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡𝘩𝑒𝑟 — captures the spirit of constant progress. It isn’t about perfection. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥. The same mindset applies to people experience. Work models, recognition programs, and growth pathways all lose relevance if they stay…

𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 Anyone can finish a task. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 . People don’t want to feel like they’re just checking boxes. They want to know their 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 . When people see how their contributions move the organization forward, they gain clarity, meaning, and staying…

𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐩 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 , 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 Satisfaction is a low bar. People don’t join or stay with a company just to be satisfied. A paycheck, a laptop, and a benefits package set the floor. They don’t set the experience. The real differentiator is whether work feels remarkable in ways people notice and remember. Too often, managers…

𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐝 When managers make the effort to truly know their people, they lay the foundation for stronger relationships and better experiences. The easiest trap for managers is to think that “ 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 ” 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 , 𝐡𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐬 , 𝐨𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬’ 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬 . Those details matter, but…

𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭. 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 . They can stay silent, disengage, or walk away. Each of those options leaves you in the dark and provides no chance to address the issue. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 ’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭, not a complaint. 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭…

𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 . No matter how detailed your standards are, 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭. In customer experience, a long wait time or confusing process outweighs any company’s claim of “best in class.” Inside the workplace, the same principle applies. 𝐈𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 , 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 , 𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝…