Book Club

Book Club

I am involved with two book clubs at the moment, one through work and the other is a family one with my mom and two sisters that we’ve had going for about two years. For the sake of the assignment, I’ve chosen to record observations from my work book club; my family one is a lot more disorganized and involves a lot more wine, although it is tremendous fun and gives us something to look forward to, seeing as how we are currently scattered across Indiana, Kansas, and Utah.

I work as a property manager for a luxury apartment community in Fishers, IN and our company hosts a virtual book club for each division, as we have communities all over the country. Each month, we get together to discuss a book about leadership/management that is chosen by the division’s vice president, and this month’s read was Start with Why by Simon Senek.

For our division, my district manager leads the discussion. It’s a fairly informal discussion, done completely over Teams, although for this particular one she was in my office that day so it was a tiny bit more personal than usual, which was a nice change! She always starts off with her own opinion before posing a question to the group. For this particular one, she asked us to talk about either a time that we have employed this method in our own offices, or if there is a policy we would like to understand the WHY behind from within our company.

Senek’s book is based on his TED talk, START WITH WHY, which has become the third most popular TED talk video of all time. My honest opinion of the book, which I shared with the group, is that the subject makes for an amazing video and a very boring, very repetitive book. I think it would have worked better as an essay inside a compilation, rather than a standalone piece. The concept is very interesting and applicable to working for a large company or corporation, as it explores the idea of explaining the WHY behind policies, actions, or guidelines. Just knowing the rules is one thing, but understanding why we have those rules adds a layer of communication and motivation for adhering to the policies. 

I utilize a similar practice when I send out emails reminding residents about certain guidelines; for example, we have valet trash service onsite, which allows residents to set their trash outside their front doors after 6PM to be picked up, five nights a week. However, many residents will set their trash outside early in the morning, or on the two days there is no pickup, then complain when they receive fines. So I explain that by setting their trash outside all day, or for days at a time, they are not only causing an unsightly and possibly malodorous display, they are attracting unwanted pests to both their own homes, and their neighbors. It’s an effective strategy, and one that I have to employ often when enforcing the community guidelines.

I really think it’s applicable to just about any industry though, and not just customer-facing ones. That added communication between upper management and employees gives your job more purpose, or at least provides a better understanding of why certain rules are in place.

    Of the 23 of us present on the call, only about ten or so were fairly active in the discussion, but that is pretty typical for this club. Since I work with my district manager directly on almost a daily basis, I feel very comfortable speaking up in this forum, even though public speaking is not, and has never been, my strength. I do like that this gives us the opportunity to provide feedback to our corporate office as well; a few of the other attendee’s pointed out some new policies that could definitely use some WHY clarification.

    Overall, it's a really fun book club, even if the material isn't exactly thrilling. It's applicable to what I want to do though, as I hope to move into a leadership position after a few years under my belt in the library field, so I'm learning what I can from the material, and enjoying the chance to connect with my peers across the Midwest.