Power of 2
How to Make the Most of Your Partnerships at Work and in Life
By: Rodd Wagner, Gale Muller
Published: November 2009
Format: Hardcover, 204pp
ISBN-13: 9781595620293
ISBN-10: 159562029
Publisher: Gallup Press
"Face it. Your partnerships could use some work", write co-authors and Gallup executives Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller in their insightful and groundbreaking, research based book Power of 2: How to Make the Most of Your Partnerships at Work and in Life. The authors provide an in depth analysis of why few people take advantage of the power and strength provided by building strong partnerships, despite their tremendous benefits for everyone.
Rodd Wagner (photo left) and Gale Muller recognize the importance of collaboration with others. The authors describe why working together as partners, in all areas of a person's personal and professional lives, multiplies the strengths of all parties. The strong research based study, upon which this book is based, describes the common elements of what makes a partnership successful. Even though the Gallup research uncovered the commonalities of strong and effective partnerships, the research also found that people as individuals and as parts of larger organizations, were not utilizing the power of partnership to its fullest extent. The authors point out that humans are made for collaborating with one another and for working together. As a result, the authors set out to discover how and why collaboration works, and the book outlines their findings very effectively.
Gale Muller (photo left) and Rodd Wagner provide some disturbing statistics about the lack of partnerships in most peoples' working and personal lives. The authors show how the internet, social media, text messaging, and cell phones have people connected, but not collaborating as full partners. The research also uncovered systemic problems in organizational structure, culture, and management that worked against partnering with others, creating isolation of individual employees and resources wasted on counterproductive internal company battles. The research and analysis in the book demonstrate quite clearly that companies, starting from the top, that encourage and nurture teamwork, partnerships, and organizational collaboration will be stronger, have happier employees with less turnover, and enhanced profitability.
For me, the power of the book is how Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller utilize sound research based data to demonstrate and underline the critical importance of partnerships for both individuals and for organizations. Unlike many research based books, there is no need to examine the research methodology for weaknesses. Gallup utilizes state of the art research and analytical techniques, ensuring the statistical accuracy of its findings. Along with the research based information, the authors also provide real world examples of both effective and ineffective partnerships to illustrate their important points. The study found several common features of successful partnerships, and each one of these important factors is given its own chapter, underlining their value for creating positive working partnerships in any situation.
I highly recommend the must read book Power of 2: How to Make the Most of Your Partnerships at Work and in Life by Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller, to anyone seeking research based insight and analysis of the power of partnership and collaboration with others. The book will transform an organization built on isolated, go it alone individuals into a company based on a shared sense of mission, and of working together to maximize strengths. At the same time, the business will have happier and more productive employees, who work as a team to further the goals of the organization.
Read the empowering book Power of 2: How to Make the Most of Your Partnerships at Work and in Life by Rodd Wagner and Gale Muller, and put the multiplied force of the many to work for your company. The positive results will astound you.
