Human Resources: RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED

“RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED
grabbed me from page one and never let go.”
-- Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Leading at a Higher Level

“RUN WITH THE BULLS is one of those books that really makes you want to be a better manager, a better leader, a better person. The stories are powerful, the anecdotes are right on the money, and the wisdom is so evident and clear.”
-- Pat Lencioni, bestselling author of The Five Dysfunctions
of a Team and President, The Table Group

“You can feel your own successes and failures in the examples and
questions that are so well crafted they come to life on the pages.”
-- From the Foreword, Steve Reinemund, Chairman & CEO, PepsiCo

CORPORATE PSYCHOLOGIST TIM IRWIN, PH.D., REVEALS WHAT IT TAKES TO “RUN WITH THE BULLS” AT WORK

Based on Interviews With More Than 10,000 People and Filled with
Powerful Stories, New Book Includes Companion Website That Helps
Readers Assess and Develop Critical Qualities For Thriving At Work

For many people, work is a penalty box between weekends. In his new book, RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED: The Qualities You Need To Stay Out Of Harm’s Way And Thrive At Work (Nelson Business, January 2, 2007), veteran corporate psychologist Tim Irwin, Ph.D., uses running with the bulls as a graphic metaphor for what work is like for most -- employing the bulls as symbols for the inept managers, downsizings, misguided compensation systems, and constant churn associated with many organizations. Speaking to workers’ most identifiable point of pain and urging them toward lives of purpose

RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED

and significance, Irwin makes clear how people can learn to run with these “bulls” successfully, and be wise at work. The book’s companion website, www.runwiththebulls.net, helps readers put these lessons into practice in their own lives.

Having actually run with the bulls in Pamplona, Irwin contends that, while the bulls are not out to get anyone personally, employees are at risk when they’re not relevant to an organization’s most basic goals -- survival and success. Based on interviews with more than 10,000 business people at all levels of the corporate structure -- including those who have been highly successful as well as those who have derailed cataclysmically or drifted into obscurity -- Irwin has discovered what separates those who run with the bulls skillfully -- who have a gift for the politics of organizational life and can get things done, work well on teams, and get what they want from their companies -- from those who fall behind or never get started.

RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED provides readers with the distilled essence of Irwin’s own experiences as well as the experiences of all the intriguing people he has interviewed. In offering these insights, Irwin uses his gift for storytelling to draw the reader in, sharing powerful anecdotes from his own life. Supplementing these stories are many illustrations from corporate life, all of which serve to illustrate the larger lessons of RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED.

What separates the successful from those who are not comes down to three fundamental qualities, contends Irwin, who has twenty-five years of experience in leadership development, performance management, and career planning. These are:

•Thoughtful commitment. “Most of us spend more than half our waking hours working -- we need to get it right,” writes Irwin. “This will occur only if we’re thoughtful and intentional in two areas -- the work that we do, and the person at work we become.” One’s work must inspire passion, fit one’s interests and abilities, serve others, and provide meaning. This alone is not

RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED

enough, however. Successful pursuit of this work requires intentionality -- a strategic mind-set, disciplined preparation, a willingness to “just do it,” and courage in the face of difficulty.

•Authentic character. “Our character wraps around us, protecting us like the hull of a submarine -- but compromises in our hull can be exposed by routine pressures of the workplace,” explains Irwin. He emphasizes the importance of trustworthiness, reliability, and being able to handle uncertainty and adversity effectively. He also outlines a number of other failures of character that can knock people out of the race -- from poor interpersonal relationships to arrogance, and from volatility to aloofness. “Individuals who derail are usually blinded by their own lack of awareness; they miss the connection between their behavior and its impact on others.”

•Exceptional competence. “Our ability to perform effectively is in large measure a product of skills and seven ‘Critical Success Factors’ (CSFs). While skills make us competent for specific jobs, skills alone are insufficient.” Irwin outlines the seven CSFs that he has found nonnegotiable for success -- self-management, relationship management, forethought, dependability, resourcefulness, ability to learn, and ability to change.

The good news in Irwin’s findings is that all of these qualities can be developed. Through the remarkably deep and broad-based exercises in the book’s companion website, readers can determine their own level of mastery of each characteristic, and hone in on areas in need of improvement. Throughout RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED, the author offers a variety of pointers for doing just that -- including a primer on how to become resourceful and a step-by-step guide for learning from experience.

More than a success manual, however, RUN WITH THE BULLS WITHOUT GETTING TRAMPLED is ultimately about transformation and how to achieve change. “How can you grow to your fullest potential and become someone who will spend the years until retirement working for meaning, not just money?” Irwin asks. His new book provides the tools all employees need, not only to aim high, but to achieve their aspirations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TIM IRWIN, PH.D., has consulted with many of America’s most well-respected organizations and top Fortune 100 companies for more than twenty years. He has also served as managing vice president for a U.S.-based company with more than 300 offices worldwide. A frequent speaker on leadership development, organizational effectiveness, and executive selection, he is currently managing partner of IrwinInc, psychologists to business.

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