Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote a remarkable book named “Good Business: Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning”, which has been reviewed here. He is Hungarian psychology professor. He is well known for both his study of happiness and in the study of creativity. He has been called the maker of the concept of flow experience and for his experience achieved from the years he spent researching and writing on that topic. He has authored many books and over 120 articles and chapters in books. In this book, he used the concept of flow, which he had introduced in 1975, and used it in the role that business plays in society. The book has been described as the guidebook for conducting a successful yet humane business. It focuses on how individuals playing different roles in a business, from leaders to managers as well as employees can learn means to contribute to happiness, to developing an enjoyable life and to a society ensures justice and is ever evolving. The book “Good Business” begins with the statement that in the given age, business and occupation have replaced the role of religion and politics as the main forces in modern-day life. The book sheds light into how people involved in the day to day functioning of business can find their “flow” and make significant contribution toward their own happiness as well as towards a just and developing society. It recognizes the factors critical towards the working of a successful business this includes the pledge to nurturing to the individual development of employees, building trust and the required dedication in giving rise to a product that will help humankind.
The author, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, in the book “Good Business: Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning”, suggests that it is possible to easily attain flow experience in the most menial of tasks. The concept of flow is something that the author had discussed in his previous book which was very applauded. He had done extensive research on the notion of flow and used it in this book in reference to better leadership and attainment of happiness. It is therefore the duty as well as responsibility of corporate leaders to give rise to an environment in which employees can achieve a state of flow more frequently. The result will be that the employees will be engaged and focused which will increase the productivity. The concept of flow is derived from the author’s previous book. The concept has been used throughout the book and has been used to explain productivity increases.
The book has been divided into various sections. In the first section of the book, which is called the “Flow and Happiness,” Csikszentmihalyi offers insights into the concept of flow from the examples of some well-known corporate leaders. According to the leaders and the author himself, a company does not do “good business” unless it both improves the quality of life of its people it employs along with that makes a genuine contribution towards general human happiness. Further, the author wants to teach business leaders through the book on how to foster the concept and occurrence of flow phenomenon and utilize their psychic energy to enrich and motivate the happiness of the organization’s customers, employees and also themselves. The book gives out predictable but also sound guidance to the business leaders. These advices are to know oneself, to set clear goals not only for themselves but also for their employees and also weigh the consequences that can arise from various business decisions. Insightful quotes from erudite and prominent personalities like Dante Alighieri, Aristotle and John Locke give some great deal of historical foundation, but in most of the parts, the author focuses his examples on how present day businesses encourage their employees and contribute largely to the common welfare of the organization as well as the society. The author is also of the opinion through his book that by looking at a company’s restrooms and its cafeteria one can divulge a lot about the corporate culture of the firm and the kind of happiness experienced by its employees. If a firm cannot provide for a healthy and also clean environment for its workers, it is probably not in the path of success. Csikszentmihalyi in the book shows how provision of clean bathrooms, respecting the environment and having moral responsibility is the key to make a business good.
The author feels that these big goals should be striven for, as the centrality of a business is dependent on it. The author also mentions some of the drawbacks in the free market model like exploitation of workers, excess greed and unethical practices. These may threaten the normal working of a business unless a model is developed in which markers of success is not restricted to achieving short-term goals. The book is based on a tri-university research project, which interviewed 39 business leaders who portrayed the desired behaviors. The leaders who are extensively mentioned and quoted in the book extended to Sir John Templeton, Anita Roddick of The Body Shop as well as Leon Gorman who is the chairperson of L.L.Bean and many others.
Csikszentmihalyi examines Abraham Maslow’s work on happiness in 1960 and many others from the field of positive psychology and finds that people can find happiness in basic things like food, shelter, security to religion and self-actualization by making complete use of their talent to succeed grow and innovate. He noticed that organizations having happy employees are more productive. They also have lower turnover and higher morale therefore; leaders therefore need to make sure that the conditions of work are developed in way that makes the employees happy. Most visionaries believe that to be successful on must enjoy putting in their best while at the same time contribute to something beyond themselves. Simply put, every person is unique but integrated with strengths and scope for development. Each person is responsible for his or her complete development. Since people are connected irretrievably, it is very important to live in harmony. The author calls a human a complex individual and a person having the highest chance of finding happiness and a meaningful life. The concept of flow is a different form of happiness and has been explained with the examples of individuals who experience the flow. This ranges from people who climb mountains, people doing boring jobs, stay-at-home mothers and visionary leaders. These examples make the core of the book. The author goes on to research on what happens to people who are in flow and it has many common elements. Their goals are very clear and they are totally immersed in the activity. They get immediate feedback and they are characterized with deep concentration, focused attention and a lot of inspiration and harmony. The work may be challenging but if the skill set required are appropriate, one tends to be in full control. A flow is extremely rewarding as it is worth doing something for one’s own sake even it does or does not involve monetary rewards. Therefore, according to Csikszentmihalyi, experiencing flow contributes to increase a person’s happiness and it also improves the quality of his or her existence.
The flow experiences should not be seen as just circumstantial but given the number and frequency of the occurrence of such experiences especially in the business surrounding can be used to the improvement of all by engineering it in a way to increase its occurrence. Survey taken in the United States reveal that over 80% of the adults do not encounter flow experiences on a regular basis although the potential of such experiences is immensely high in the working population. These flow experiences are characterized with a balance of chances and skills and in turn lead to further refinement of skills and higher understanding of the subject under consideration. If jobs are designed in a way that is more amendable towards flow by these leaders and managers the organization will benefit largely and so will its employees. The ideal way of managing people is by creating an environment where they not only enjoy the job but also grow while they are doing that work. Csikszentmihalyi has drawn a very clear parallel to the hunters and gatherers who also must have experienced their work at those times as flow. This can be realized by envisaging their work condition and comparing the same to the common elements that have been mentioned in the book like having clear goals, being completely immersed in the activity, getting immediate feedback and having characteristic of deep concentration, focused attention and a lot of inspiration and harmony. The author also says that flow opportunities have diminished in the present day work place situations because purpose or goals are not well defined, the feedbacks provided may not be adequate, the skills may not match the opportunities that are available to work on and often workers may not be having the control over the result of their work. According to the author, the ideal situation would be one where the true potential of the workers are well expressed. The leader should become the enabler and not just the doer in these environments.
The prerequisites for a flow experience are many such as the top managements must commit to provide for an environment that can foster flow. Moreover, the mission and purpose of the organization must be overriding along with that there should be continuous flow of communication of these missions throughout the organization at all times. The performance goals at every level should be very clear and the feedback mechanism should be very good and efficient. Finally the challenges faced by the employees must also match the skill set of the employees facing the same.
A very vital role of strategic planning is that the vision statement through which the company and its future state is defined is looked upon as the highest level of plan and the planners should work towards it. The author suggests that one should go further ahead and capture the vision of the organization’s motivation force and he calls that force the soul of the organization. This part is the most powerful but also very complicated portion of the book. Two such examples of the organization’s soul are to attempt to achieve excellence and to do something that will be beneficial to other people. If these goals or soul, according to the book, are properly realized and applied appropriately these overarching goals can spur the workers of the company in a manner in which even the financial bottom line of the company cannot. The author’s own opinions were that the quest for having a life, which would have meaning or relevance, should be the sole focus of an individual. This need inspires a person to become a part of something large or lasting. If a leader is able to make himself very convincing while explaining that working for the company will provide significance then his vision will generate a great deal power. A vision that is authentic and is translated into action soon becomes a commanding attractor for members who are related to the organization. Moreover, it provides a goal that deserves chasing beyond the extrinsic rewards that the job can provide.
Conclusion
To conclude, the book can be used in various walks of life and can help people from various walks of life. Csikszentmihalyi was of the opinion that is past incidents which have been experiences of a flow can be analyzed again then these occasions can be studied well and used as references for increasing opportunities of experiencing flow in the future. Further, if one considers how he or she can contribute to the prosperity of the organization they are currently in or will be in the future by the use of the book then they will try and act upon their ideas and think beyond the financial bottom line of the company. Leaders and managers can also use the book so that flow can be experienced more in the organization. An employee should on the other hand try hard to get good feedback or try for organizations that will provide it. The work one does should be in accordance to their skills and also gives growth opportunities that will help in increasing competencies.
References
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2004). Good business: Leadership, flow, and the making of meaning. Penguin.
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