Flow (The Enthusiasm Trilogy) (Volume 2)

The most successful companies are driven by enthusiasm. “You experience a feeling of flow at the moment that everything at work is running smoothly and going to plan, you become completely immersed in your work and experience energy, involvement and also success.” In the first part of the Enthusiasm Trilogy, we went in search of an organisation’s Olympic torch, the “Flame”. In this second part, “Flow”, steering on enthusiasm becomes part of the company culture. The flow of enthusiasm is essentially social. It has to do with the moment people become enthusiastic together: musicians playing together in harmony, sportspeople working effortlessly as a team or colleagues who complement each other. The ability to create enthusiasm is perhaps the most important characteristic of an organisation or a manager. Charles Schwab, the most successful manager of the industrial revolution, expressed this concept a century ago. “I consider my ability to arouse enthusiasm among men the greatest asset I possess.” “By creating space, organising systems differently, managing on enthusiasm and inviting enthusiastic customers to play a role, it is possible to bring an organisation into a state of flow. Even small changes have an unexpectedly large impact. In this book, I have brought together my experiences as CEO with research into employee enthusiasm and insights from positive psychology. I am delighted to invite you to get into the flow with me.”