Work That Works

Conclusion and Acknowledgments

As I wrote the ending, I realized this book is not only a description of Emergineering but a true example of its application as well. It turns out Emergineering is so customary in our office that we subconsciously apply it to everything we do. Each chapter of this book was written with the principles in mind, and each principle was fully evident in our office as we worked feverishly to the end using WEteams (see Principle 4). Here is how I assembled our Denver employees to help me create the outline for Work That Works.

First, I assembled them for an hour and a half of their time. We brainstormed all the things about our office that we prize. Every-body had a chance to add their ideas. Each person had a sticky note pad, and each person wrote down, one note at a time, all work that works in our office. We ended up with more than 200 notes!

Second, three people took all the notes and grouped them into what finally became the seven principles. The most interesting conversation was about the Love Principle. Some thought it was too touchy-feely for a business book, whereas others argued that this is what we experience in our office. Ultimately, we agreed that love is an essential aspect of work, regardless how touchy-feely it seems.

Third, I organized the WEteams and gave each group one of the seven principles and one hour to design an outline for each principle that included a paragraph describing the principle, a story to accompany it, the ROI, three ...