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The 2008 crisis set off a systemic panic which almost engulfed the world´s financial system. Through a lens of sustainability this book examines how organisations can explore a new business culture today. Drawing from real-life examples and new ideas Bowles and Cooper discuss how organisations can move from ´me´ to ´we´.

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Introduction and Background Part 1 What Has Happened to Our Work Culture and Why? 1. The Crash of 2008: What Happened and Why Did It Happen? 2. A Benefit of the Crash: More Focus on Culture and Engagement at Work 3. Ego at Work: The Common Thread between the Crash and Low Engagement Part 2 What Can We Do To Change? 4. Balancing Me and We : Building a Sustainable, High Enagement Work Culture 5. Case Studies for the High Engagement Culture: BMW Group and Whole Foods Market 6. Why All This Matters So Much, and Where We Go From Here Notes Index

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´Great read. There are many good examples that show how organizations can create a high engagement culture. It clearly describes how successful companies have achieved outstanding levels of performance by balancing me and we.´

Edward E. Lawler III, Author of Management Reset: Organizing for Sustainable Effectiveness, Director, Center for Effective Organizations and Professor at Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

´The way we manage our employees has not kept pace with the changing nature of workplaces, growing competition and the changing attitudes of people at work. This mismatch is not sustainable; this is a vital topic for our ability to sustainably create wealth and for the wellbeing of our people. David Bowles and Cary Cooper have written an important book, at an important time on a vital topic. The good news is that some (but all too few) organizations have risen to this challenge and are sustainably engaging their people while delivering great business outcomes. The current crisis has focused attention on this topic and has resulted in

the UK government-sponsored, employer-led Task Force movement on this topic being well supported. With thoughtful contributions such as this book, we have every opportunity to evolve a better way of working for the good of organizations, for the good of the country and for the wellbeing of our people.´

David MacLeod, Chairman, UK Employee Engagement Task Force

´David Bowles and Cary Cooper take us from the financial Crash of 2008, through the ego, into culture, and offer the reader perspective and approaches to create high engagement by weaving me with we. The authors offer depth and detail to understand and achieve engaging work cultures. The book is laced with specific examples and research from BMW and Whole Foods Market, among many other organizations, to shopping experiences in Germany. This is a book to be read together with the people where you work to create a culture where all will benefit from an improvement in the workplace.´

David Zinger, Founder and Host of The Employee Engagement Network (www.employeeengagement.ning.com)

´My personal experience from many years in practice tells me that a strong corporate culture is the driver for sustainable, profitable growth of a company. Highly engaged employees create loyal customers and as a result, great financial results. This new book from David Bowles and Cary Cooper fully supports this experience with strong case studies, combined with a prescription for a more ´balanced´ form of capitalism which works for everyone, not just a few.´

Dr. Pius Baschera, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hilti Corporation, Liechtenstein

The authors have done an excellent job of laying the foundation for their thesis. There´s much here that can and should be applied to the larger debate about what kind of Capitalism the U.S. should practice in the future.

- Peter Smirniotopoulos, The Huffington Post

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