Steve Curtin and his new book is all about sparking inspiration. Those two words would make an ideal part of the perfect log line, summarizing Curtin’s dynamic, all-encompassing read that is well written enough so it can appeal to just about any nonfiction reader out there. Often leadership and business advice books can cater towards exclusive crowds. It’s unusual for the author to realize them in a manner that can appeal objectively, and outside the particular, corporate and/or hierarchal-centric focal points and positions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: https://twitter.com/enthused?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
But Curtin’s work, aside from these affable traits, highlights something that’s ideologically more. The title of the book, summarizing this *more*, is The Revelation Conversation: Inspire Greater Employee Engagement by Connecting to Purpose. In short, the phrase All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy in Curtin’s mind is colloquially cloaked, scientific fact. “It is healthy to be introspective and to think deeply about the purpose of your life. People who self-reflect, determine where their passions lie, and crystalize a purpose for their life tend to concentrate their effort and energy on what matters most,” Curtin writes. “…Although a good chunk of us may never discover our existential purpose in life, that’s not true for organizations.
They have a responsibility to identify and articulate their purpose from their beginnings, usually in the form of mission, vision, and purpose statements…Job purpose is a job role’s reason for being. It unifies team members by clarifying their single highest priority at work and pointing them toward an aspirational goal.” The titular ‘Revelation Conversation’ comes into play here, a dynamic, well-explained communicatory process that Curtin swears by. The rest of the book breaks down this process in vivid detail, chapter by chapter. Concurrently, Curtin is able to provide other tips of the trade – casually demonstrating how like any good methodology timeless practices are part and parcel to making up the parts of the Revelation Conversation tactics.
“If an organization does not have a definable purpose that can be articulated by its management team, it cannot measure progress toward it,” Curtin states as advocacy to this. “In every organization, whether people realize it or not, there is a systemic relationship between purpose…the work itself…and the methods used…Work is more fulfilling when employees know that what they do makes a difference, that their jobs have purpose and meaning. This is not a romantic notion. The problem is that in most organizations purpose and meaning are elusive and difficult to define, measure, and pursue.”
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Revelation-Conversation-Employee-Engagement-Connecting/dp/1523000678
Curtin also states that the Revelation Conversation is a tactic that can be used for essentially every position, in every echelon of a company’s network. “Every job role has a purpose, even if it is hidden from employee and customer view. The role of a formal purpose statement is to be able to articulate that purpose, connect it to employees’ job roles, and leverage it to inspire employee engagement,” he writes. “…You must be fluent in these corporate ideals if you expect to have any credibility connecting employees’ job duties and tasks to job purpose…”
Kendall Townsend
