The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal with Negativity at Work

This is another excellent book by Jon Gordon. You are given ways to implement "The No Complaining Rule" into your life. This is an excellent quick read.

Simple but great principles that can be used in everyday life, organizations, teams, families and especially at work. Don't settle for negative environments when you can help change your attitude as well as others and experience the power of a positive environment. Inspirational.

Some complaints are justified, others are not. Personally, I have found that chronic complaining (even silently to myself) accomplishes nothing positive. However, for many people, it seems to be an essential part of their personality, almost a way of life for them, and can be contagious among others, helping to create a toxic climate. It's best to avoid such people whenever possible but sometimes that is impossible. What to do? That is essentially the question to which Jon Gordon responds in this slender but thoughtful volume. "I didn't invent the [No Complaining Rule]. I discovered it - at a small, fast growing, highly successful company that implements simple practices with extraordinary results." Readers who "find" this rule in Gordon's book and then "obey" it will, in my opinion, do themselves and countless others a great favor: they will think of possible solutions to their complaints and, over time, become problem solvers rather than problem sharers. The business fable has become a very popular genre and Gordon takes full advantage of its components (i.e. characters, plot, conflicts, tension, climax) to dramatize his key points. Briefly, here's the situation. Hope is the VP of HR for EZ Tech and, as the story begins, the highly profitable company suddenly faces a serious problem: The computer batteries it sells are catching on fire and that product defect has brought into question the capabilities of its "rock star" CEO, Dan. We also learn that Hope is a single parent of two teenagers who complain that they are neglected and Dan has recently become concerned that she is not devoting sufficient attention to her EZ Tech responsibilities so there are great pressures on her both at work and at home. Dan convenes his senior management team, accepts full responsibility for paying so much attention to achieving short-term financial results while ignoring employee concerns, allowing negativity and morale problems to fester. "This is not a problem of a few negative bloggers. They're just a symptom. So is our battery problem. Our real problem is negativity and our negative culture, and we need to address this immediately." And then.... What happens next is best revealed while reading the book. Others have their own reasons for praising this book. Here are two of mine. First, Gordon is a skillful raconteur. I almost immediately became interested in the "story," especially in Hope, and that interest continued until the final page. That is not true of all business fables, some of which have "stick" characters, a goofy plot, and a contrived ending. Also, Gordon devotes his attention to a major challenge to all businesses: How to establish and then (key word) sustain a workplace that is a positive environment, one in which there are mutual trust and respect, one in which those involved are problem solvers rather than problem sharers, and one that keeps financial success and the welfare of its people in proper perspective. At one point, Hope observe

The title tells it all: no complaining. Author Jon Gordon, an inspirational speaker and consultant, delivers his message in this book through a captivating story that many corporate executives can relate with. Focused on the circumstances surrounding Hope, the VP of human resources at an IT company during a dangerously precarious business situation, Gordon takes the reader from negativity to productivity via the "no complaining rule." Personal challenges, the company's product failures, co-workers' low morale, even the traffic to and from work, all contribute to how easily Hope harbors negative thoughts leading to negative actions. But serendipitously, picking up an inspiration from a hospital visit, she discovers that with the No Complaining Rule, she and everyone who follows it could be empowered to take the positive road. Using Hope's interactions with her family, doctors, colleagues, and friends, Gordon succeeds in imparting a sure-fire way to stop negativity at home and in the workplace. Towards the end, he provides all the tools and directions to implement the No Complaining Rule and effectively change the culture of any corporation into a dynamic and solution-oriented environment. Everyone has a take-away from this book. Aside from the No Complaining Rule Action Plan for businesses, schools, sports teams, and families, Gordon includes the "Are You a Complainer? Assessment" section and the "No Complaining Week Personal Action Plan" for the reader's personal use. While Gordon admits that he was a professional complainer, he said, "The goal of this book is not to eliminate all complaining, just mindless, chronic complaining. And the bigger goal is to turn justified complaints into positive solutions. After all, every complaint represents an opportunity to turn something negative into a positive." Readers, who may feel like complaining about having to read through yet another inspirational book, should think of it as another opportunity to learn something that could improve their lives. The No Complaining Rule is, indeed, such an opportunity. - Ruby Bayan, OurSimpleJoys.com