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Overview
In this groundbreaking book, Wiersma outlines the seven key mind-sets of trusted professionals, offering a blueprint for both individuals and organizations interested in fostering a culture of professionalism. You'll see how uncompromising professional standards led to unparalleled success for FBI agent George Piro during his game-changing interrogation of Saddam Hussein, for supermodel Kathy Ireland's design and marketing enterprise, for the world-renowned Dave Matthews Band, and for many more.
From the Author
Q: What's the premise behind The Power of Professionalism?
A: The book's message is that professionalism matters--often more than any other factor--in creating a competitive advantage for individuals and, collectively, for the organizations of which they are part.
Q: Why this book, and why now?
A: It's a book that attempts to rise above the noise, reminding people of the mind-sets that made America great, and provides people and their organizations a substantive approach of enhancing their success. Many have an innate sense that things in the country are a little 'off, that we've strayed from the 'tried-and-true' principles that have served us so well. Trust has never been lower or cynicism higher. This book not only holds up a mirror to the errors of our ways but provides a path (and hope) in correcting them. There's been a lot written recently about 'why' trust is so important but far less on 'how' to cultivate it. Professional ideals, by default, build trust. And if you believe, as I do, that trust is the foundation for both individual and organizational success, then the timing for a renaissance in professional ideals couldn't be more important.
Q: But don't most organizations consider themselves 'professional' ?
A. Most do. But when you look deeper, you find an incomplete understanding of what it really means to be a professional--let alone how that translates to the greater organization. David Maister, the preeminent consultant to the professional services sector, observed, "I rarely meet individual professionals who believe their firm, as an institution, is built on such [professional] principles."
The trouble is the central role of professionalism has not been fully appreciated or understood well by leaders--whether in or out of the professional services sector. Of course there's a great irony here, when one considers the current emphasis on professional development.
With competition being so fierce, organizations are increasingly unable to hide their blemishes. The big problems facing today's organizations are only addressed in a sustainable way when honest-to-goodness professionals roll up their sleeves and tackle them. This requires candor, genuine collaboration, and trust. Just as important are the exciting new (but complex) opportunities presenting themselves to these same organizations. The Power of Professionalism helps shore-up one's understanding of what it means to be a trusted professional and focuses that potential on an organization's biggest problems and opportunities.
Q. So it's the mind-sets that drive behaviors, right?
A. Yes. You might think of a mind-set as 'an attitude with purpose'. A trusted professional's behavior is natural--it's not dependent on having to emulate a certain set of pre-determined behaviors found in the so-called 'success literature'; the types of behaviors that often find their way into best practices, competency models, and the like.
Q. Tell us about the mind-sets.
A. Given that professionalism can transcend vocations, one's education, or one's title, we wanted to better understand the commonality of thought that trusted professionals shared. Simply put, we wanted to understand their mind-sets--how they see the world. We found seven--they're outlined in Part Two of the book.
Q. Of the seven mind-sets, which of the seven resonate most for you?
A. Mind-Set Two--Professionals Realize (and Act Like) They're Part of Something Bigger Than Themselves. Typically Mind-Set Two is an Achilles heel for most organizations.
Q. What are you hoping people will take away from this book?
A. The problems you and I hear about, the ones that are personally exacerbating and organizationally debilitating, are largely remedied when people show up as professionals would. So I'm hoping we help create a new generation of even 'better professionals'. We'll know that we're achieving more of that when people start viewing themselves as a professional who happens to be a vice president, who has earned an MBA, or who holds a prestigious license--not the other way around.
From the Author
Q: What's the premise behind The Power of Professionalism?
A: The book's message is that professionalism matters--often more than any other factor--in creating a competitive advantage for individuals and, collectively, for the organizations of which they are part.
Q: Why this book, and why now?
A: It's a book that attempts to rise above the noise, reminding people of the mind-sets that made America great, and provides people and their organizations a substantive approach of enhancing their success. Many have an innate sense that things in the country are a little 'off, that we've strayed from the 'tried-and-true' principles that have served us so well. Trust has never been lower or cynicism higher. This book not only holds up a mirror to the errors of our ways but provides a path (and hope) in correcting them. There's been a lot written recently about 'why' trust is so important but far less on 'how' to cultivate it. Professional ideals, by default, build trust. And if you believe, as I do, that trust is the foundation for both individual and organizational success, then the timing for a renaissance in professional ideals couldn't be more important.
Q: But don't most organizations consider themselves 'professional' ?
A. Most do. But when you look deeper, you find an incomplete understanding of what it really means to be a professional--let alone how that translates to the greater organization. David Maister, the preeminent consultant to the professional services sector, observed, "I rarely meet individual professionals who believe their firm, as an institution, is built on such [professional] principles."
The trouble is the central role of professionalism has not been fully appreciated or understood well by leaders--whether in or out of the professional services sector. Of course there's a great irony here, when one considers the current emphasis on professional development.
With competition being so fierce, organizations are increasingly unable to hide their blemishes. The big problems facing today's organizations are only addressed in a sustainable way when honest-to-goodness professionals roll up their sleeves and tackle them. This requires candor, genuine collaboration, and trust. Just as important are the exciting new (but complex) opportunities presenting themselves to these same organizations. The Power of Professionalism helps shore-up one's understanding of what it means to be a trusted professional and focuses that potential on an organization's biggest problems and opportunities.
Q. So it's the mind-sets that drive behaviors, right?
A. Yes. You might think of a mind-set as 'an attitude with purpose'. A trusted professional's behavior is natural--it's not dependent on having to emulate a certain set of pre-determined behaviors found in the so-called 'success literature'; the types of behaviors that often find their way into best practices, competency models, and the like.
Q. Tell us about the mind-sets.
A. Given that professionalism can transcend vocations, one's education, or one's title, we wanted to better understand the commonality of thought that trusted professionals shared. Simply put, we wanted to understand their mind-sets--how they see the world. We found seven--they're outlined in Part Two of the book.
Q. Of the seven mind-sets, which of the seven resonate most for you?
A. Mind-Set Two--Professionals Realize (and Act Like) They're Part of Something Bigger Than Themselves. Typically Mind-Set Two is an Achilles heel for most organizations.
Q. What are you hoping people will take away from this book?
A. The problems you and I hear about, the ones that are personally exacerbating and organizationally debilitating, are largely remedied when people show up as professionals would. So I'm hoping we help create a new generation of even 'better professionals'. We'll know that we're achieving more of that when people start viewing themselves as a professional who happens to be a vice president, who has earned an MBA, or who holds a prestigious license--not the other way around.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940012599193 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Ravel |
| Publication date: | 05/20/2011 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 1 MB |
About the Author
Bill Wiersma is the founder and principal of Wiersma and Associates, LLC, a management consulting and training firm providing services to Fortune 500 companies and to the professional services sector. He previously held executive responsibilities as a director in a Fortune 200 company and as a board member and president of a privately held technology company focused on emerging markets. Bill and his wife Holly are the parents of four children and reside in Pleasant Hill, California.
Mr. Wiersma's website and blog http://www.wiersmaandassociates.com/blog/
Mr. Wiersma's website and blog http://www.wiersmaandassociates.com/blog/
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