Why I Wrote This Book
Short version: To help others.
Long version: I grew up near the Brushy Mountains in North Carolina, graduated from high school, and went to Colorado for four years at the United States Air Force Academy. I chose not to be a military pilot but found a job, management engineering, where I could learn a lot about other people’s work.
With my teams we developed a new vision for how to do consulting in the Air Force to help people and organizations. We saved American taxpayers millions of dollars. During my Air Force years I consulted worldwide and with other government agencies. I led and managed, hired and fired, and developed others.
Having learned about the workplace “in the trenches”, I studied what researchers have learned. I earned a PhD at Purdue in Social-Personality Psychology and did all the course work for a second in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. I was in a unique position. I had both the practical experiences as a consultant, leader, manager and an academic knowledge about behavior in the workplace.
As a professor at the Air Force’s graduate school, the Air Force Institute of Technology, I began bringing those practical experiences and academic knowledge together in the classroom to help others decode the workplace. Leaving the Air Force, I taught at Wittenberg University, Miami University of Ohio, and spent two decades at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati. Occasionally I would also teach for Central Michigan University’s Global Campus.
Long version: I grew up near the Brushy Mountains in North Carolina, graduated from high school, and went to Colorado for four years at the United States Air Force Academy. I chose not to be a military pilot but found a job, management engineering, where I could learn a lot about other people’s work.
With my teams we developed a new vision for how to do consulting in the Air Force to help people and organizations. We saved American taxpayers millions of dollars. During my Air Force years I consulted worldwide and with other government agencies. I led and managed, hired and fired, and developed others.
Having learned about the workplace “in the trenches”, I studied what researchers have learned. I earned a PhD at Purdue in Social-Personality Psychology and did all the course work for a second in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. I was in a unique position. I had both the practical experiences as a consultant, leader, manager and an academic knowledge about behavior in the workplace.
As a professor at the Air Force’s graduate school, the Air Force Institute of Technology, I began bringing those practical experiences and academic knowledge together in the classroom to help others decode the workplace. Leaving the Air Force, I taught at Wittenberg University, Miami University of Ohio, and spent two decades at Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati. Occasionally I would also teach for Central Michigan University’s Global Campus.
Increasingly graduate students, who were already in the workplace, suggested I write a book. They were finding the ideas and information we discussed of great value and felt it could help their husbands, wives, daughters, sons, friends. Increasingly I heard, “Dr B, you gotta write a book.”
At a professional conference in San Diego I met with a senior editor of a major publishing company. It was insightful. He said, “You professors are always doing research, publishing papers, learning about the workplace, but you just talk to each other. You write textbooks but that’s not what we need. We need a book that is easy to understand so the person on the street can read about what you’ve learned and use it.”
There was a need for this book. I realized also that I wanted to share these ideas with our two children who were young adults. I thought such a book might give them an advantage in the workplace.
At a professional conference in San Diego I met with a senior editor of a major publishing company. It was insightful. He said, “You professors are always doing research, publishing papers, learning about the workplace, but you just talk to each other. You write textbooks but that’s not what we need. We need a book that is easy to understand so the person on the street can read about what you’ve learned and use it.”
There was a need for this book. I realized also that I wanted to share these ideas with our two children who were young adults. I thought such a book might give them an advantage in the workplace.
It took years but I finished the book and found a wonderful literary agent. We sold the publishing rights to Praeger. The book has been very well received earning strong endorsements and great reviews. Next Generation Indie Book Awards honored it as best career book in 2016.
Whether you buy the book or borrow from your library, my hope is that you find some idea, some information, that helps you up your game. In the Free Resources section at this site, I offer my suggestions for how to use the book.
1 Image is in public domain. Free to use and share.
2 Used with permission, CC by 3.0
Whether you buy the book or borrow from your library, my hope is that you find some idea, some information, that helps you up your game. In the Free Resources section at this site, I offer my suggestions for how to use the book.
1 Image is in public domain. Free to use and share.
2 Used with permission, CC by 3.0