What one gains from “Experience Inc.” 5 reason to read this book.

My colleague Jill Popelka, president of SAP SuccessFactors recently released the book Experience Inc. Why companies that uncover purpose, create connection, and celebrate their people will triumph.? Here are five reasons why Experience Inc. is worth reading by anyone interested in improving employee experience.

1) It explains what it means to be an experience focused leader

One of my prior books Commonsense Talent Management observed “leadership is not about what leaders do, leadership is about what leaders inspire other people to do”. Experience Inc. explains how the personal behavior of leaders can create positive employee experiences in their organizations and why this impacts business success. Key insights include how to build trust through showing vulnerability, the impact small appreciations have on employee self-confidence and commitment, what it means to be inclusive, and how to view operational technology investments from an employee experience perspective. ??

2) It incorporates a diverse range of information about employee experience

A hallmark of experience focused leadership is listening and learning from others. Jill’s approach to writing Experience Inc. embodies this concept. The book includes input from diverse range of people who provide input reflecting personal experiences, scientific research, and business knowledge. This includes information on the types of employee experiences that shape how we feel about work, core psychological needs people seek from work, the nature of leadership authenticity and why it matters, and why psychological safety has become critical to creating agile organizations.

3) It challenges core assumptions that influence leadership

Experience Inc. starts with a quote from Albert Einstein that the world “cannot be changed without changing our thinking”.?This theme is carried throughout the book, challenging different mental models that influence leadership behavior. Examples include evaluating meetings and interactions not simply based on what was accomplished but also based on how they made participants feel; expanding the definition of business success beyond profit to include social impact and employee wellbeing; recognizing that neither employees nor leaders can or should ignore how work is influenced by what we experience in our homes and communities; and embracing the fact that employees cannot be fully effective at caring for customers, developing creative solutions or, adapting to new demands if they do not feel passionate about their work and supported by their organization. ?Of the many leadership mindsets addressed in Experience Inc., one strikes me as perhaps most critical of all: “to bring out the value in their people [leaders must have] genuine belief in the capabilities that exist within all employees” (italics added).

4) It makes effective use of storytelling

Experience Inc. includes many stories drawn from Jill’s own leadership experience. But it ?does not fall prey to the problem in many books by corporate leaders that focus more on what the author has done than what others can learn from it.?The stories in Experience Inc. are engaging and illuminating which makes it easy to read. Far more important, all the stories are instructive.?

5) It is specifically focused on leadership actions that impact experience.

In August of 2021 I received a phone call from Jill that began, “I heard you are writing a book!?So am I.?How can we work together?” ?The book Jill was referring to is Talent Tectonics which will be released in September 2022. We talked about how to write our books to be complementary given both are about creating employee experiences necessary to build future-ready workforces. The difference is Experience Inc. primarily focuses on leadership behaviors while Talent Tectonics focuses more on organizational practices. As an author, knowing what topics one does NOT have to cover is almost as valuable as knowing what needs to be addressed. The result is Experience Inc. is a highly focused and succinct discussion of leadership and its impact on employee experience.

Experience Inc. is an engaging, informative, and practical guide on what leaders can do to improve employee experience organizations that I strongly recommend to anyone interested in this topic.?