Greetings Colleagues and Friends –

As a follow up to my e-book The Can Do Chronicles, I am currently writing The Can Do Workplace, which will be published this fall as an e-book and in paperback.

Because I believe in the power and importance of stories to bring concepts to life, I am looking for 20-24 individuals who work (or have worked) in Can Do Workplaces to participate in a 1/2 hour to 45 minute interview by phone or Skype. You will receive recognition in the book and two free copies of the book. Interested? See below for contact information.

My working definition and the critical elements of a Can Do Workplace are:

Can Do Workplace Definition: An intentional work environment that encourages, promotes and supports system-wide and individual employee excellence for change & growth. It is a place where strategic change, inspired growth and a persistent attitude of gratitude are the expectation and the norm.

I guess you could say that a Can Do Workplace is primarily a state of mind. It starts there – and it needs that – but it is so much more.

Critical Elements of A Can Do Workplace:

A Can Do Workplace provides regular opportunities for individuals to be heard, supported, recognized and thanked.

A Can Do Workplace calibrates operations to keep its mission, work and revenue in alignment.

A Can Do Workplace is not defined by the number of employees or the size of its expense-to-revenue budget. Its driving force is what people DO, individually and collectively to effect change and growth in their own work outcomes, that also creates ripples into the larger organization and the systems connected to it.

A Can Do Workplace is primarily defined by how its decisions are made – one after the other, day after day – to advance the mission of the organization. Not just the big decisions made by the leadership, but as, or more, important, decisions made by each individual worker.

A Can Do Workplace is goal and future focused. Goal-driven work is based on a clear understanding that change is constant and staying still means losing ground.

A Can Do Workplace does not waste time on what cannot be done, used to be done, assign blame or stay stuck in the past – or in the present.

A Can Do Workplace views and assesses and responds to internal and external fluctuations as opportunities for growth. It uses lessons learned to make adjustments and course-corrections to achieve its goals.

Where do you find Can Do Workplaces? They are EVERYWHERE! A Can Do Workplace can be the home office of a sole proprietor or consultant – a small business in a service industry with 2, 5 or 10 employees, such as a real estate, financial planning or technology business office – any of a wide-range of nonprofit agencies, associations and organizations – a hotel or a bed and breakfast – or, yes, even a cubicle within a government office or large corporation.

The interviews: I am interested in obtaining detailed information on how and why Can Do Workplaces have been established; what keeps the Can Do Workplaces going and growing; what impact the Great Recession and downsizing had on Can Do Workplace operations and outcomes; and, recommendations for transitioning the not-so Can Do! into Can Do Workplaces.

Please NOTE: I already have plenty of examples of CAN’T DO workplaces!

If you are interested in being interviewed, please email me at ccoridan at sbcglobal dot net with your contact information, including the type of organization (small business, corporation, association, nonprofit, etc.), your position in the organization and your general age range, and any other information you think will be helpful for me to make decisions and achieve depth and diversity in the group being interviewed. I plan to conduct the interviews in the next few weeks.

As my work on the book proceeds, I post questions generated during the interviews on the boards of my Linked In groups and also post some of the interview material on my Can Do Blog.

In my small way, I want to make a difference, and let others know that they can too. It’s what I CAN DO – and so can you! Together, we can build a CAN DO world.

Thank you!