These are the questions answered below:
- Can I use Managing with Aloha on my own, or must my entire workplace organization buy-in?
- What if I’m not a manager?
- How much Hawaiian must I learn to understand your book and this philosophy?
- You write prolifically, and publish coaching essays online very generously: Do I still have to read the book too?
- How does Managing with Aloha stick with me, and not end up with the rest of the books I have read, then left behind to collect dust on my bookshelf?
1. Can I use Managing with Aloha on my own, or must my entire workplace organization buy-in?
In brief, MWA is about bringing your personal values to the work you do. That is something you can do on your own first, and then bring to your company later if you choose to.
It is similar to the advice I give managers: Do not presume to manage or lead others, even when you feel it is your calling, until you self-manage your own behavior first. Live, work, manage, then lead. Those are verbs, not rights.
I will say this: Those who get the very most out of Managing with Aloha do so within their work teams whether or not the rest of the organization buys in. We see it happen time after time, and we call it MWA-inspired mountain climbing. Workplace teams greatly underestimate what they are capable of when they collaborate in value-alignment. You will find the team approach can truly move mountains, pun fully intended!
(There’s more on this with the answer to the next question.)
2. What if I’m not a manager?
I did write MWA with the manager in mind, however a manager is a person first, and our roles in an organization play a supporting role in our work. I use the word “manager” for the person who both manages and leads, and I consider those two efforts (of management and leadership) to be disciplines and skill sets, not titles or positions on an org chart.
We refer to a 4-Peak progression of mountain-climbing in our community of MWA practitioners, where you first scale the smallest mountain called Live with Aloha. Then you climb a higher one, called Work with Aloha. The third highest peak we scale is Managing with Aloha, and the tallest of them all is Leading with Aloha. All four peaks are taken into consideration in the book.
3. You say that MWA is a Hawaiian story about universal values at work: How much Hawaiian must I learn to understand your book and this philosophy?
You will learn some, but as word associations for universal values you start to see in a brand new light. You will not need to learn as much as you must grapple with when learning a language, and you will not need to have a Hawaiian dictionary handy.
Most of the Hawaiian in the book has to do with a concept I call Sense of Place. Read the page here called “Choose Values” as a sample of my writing, and to see the list of Hawaiian values, and how they are translated in English.
You can also read a book excerpt offered at Ho‘ohanaCommunity.com: It is Chapter Two from the book, on Ho‘ohana.
I can point you to a 3rd free sampler in the right hand sidebar of this page: I have written a 28-page manifesto for ChangeThis.com which will have more about Aloha, and explain how my book was also written to share my lessons-learned with the integrity of smart business models.
4. You write prolifically, and publish coaching essays online very generously: Do I still have to read the book too?
I must say I love the honesty of this question! Yes, I do think that everything is much clearer when you read the book, for it was written with a specific learning progression in mind, whereas you will find my writing on the web in a much more random way: My web-based writing has been done in real-time responsiveness to the situation of the day, and hence with varied context, and not as a comprehensive work.
I honestly hesitate with including an Archive Page here, for the top navigation bar truly contains all you need and I do not want MWA to seem overwhelming. However I now have a five year history of online writing, and I include the archives so I will not frustrate people looking for favorite pages they had forgotten to bookmark.
Back to the book itself: I’ve designed each chapter in Managing with Aloha to be a self-contained primer per value, so that the book can serve you well as a reference guide and source of inspiration once you make the choice to manage with Aloha for yourself. However upon the first reading you will discover that the values build upon each other: what you have read in previous chapters will frame the concepts you are learning in each new one.
5. Okay, first I read the book. Then what? How does Managing with Aloha stick with me, and not end up with the rest of the books I have read, then left behind to collect dust on my bookshelf?
Ah! That is where web-based learning can make a big difference for you, and that is where the Ho‘ohana Community comes in! The publishing of Managing with Aloha marked the beginning of a movement.
However did you catch where I said, “upon the first reading” in responding to the question above? MWA was designed to be a workbook and ongoing resource for you to dip into often: You will see how it works once you have your own copy of the book in your hands.
Get involved with us by learning more about our Ho‘ohana Community at this website (Click on the badge).
There is not too much more to read there, and you will find the site nicely maps out the different ways you can remain connected to me, and begin to meet others eager to help you remain engaged in your newfound commitment to living by managing your life and your work with Aloha.
With my aloha,
~ Rosa Say
Additional Reading as Linked Above:
- Why Choose Values (Includes a list of the 19 Hawaiian Values in the book)
- The 9 Key Concepts of Managing with Aloha (For more on Language of Intention, and Sense of Place)
- Book Excerpt on Ho‘ohana in Chapter Two (Link will go to the Ho‘ohana Community website)
- 28-page Managing with Aloha Manifesto (Link will go to ChangeThis.com)
Visit Say Leadership Coaching to bring Rosa to your company: The Services We Offer You
