Shapers – Reinvent the Way You Work and Change the Future, reviewed

By Simon Cocking, review of  Shapers – Reinvent the Way You Work and Change the Future by Jonas Altman published by Wiley, August 2020, Priced £18.99, Hardcover and e-book ISBN: 9781119646198

Now, more so than ever before, we are working in places, ways, and on things that were once the stuff of science fiction. Yet the reality is that most professionals are unhappy in their work. Whether you want to reset your career, strike out on your own, or just ignite more joy in what you do, in SHAPERS, author Jonas Altman shows readers how to create a working life that reveals meaning while rewriting our collective future.

A shaper is someone who becomes energised by work. The way they work provides for the highest expression of self. They lead deeper and more fulfilling lives because what they do every day serves them and the greater good.

Altman is a workologist who guides companies to leave politics and posturing behind in favour of transparent and trusting cultures. In SHAPERS he explains how, when we connect with something larger than ourselves, we enjoy the fruits of our labour as well as the journey – the sweat and the struggle.

He describes how it’s the unyielding commitment to a purpose that gives shapers their shimmer. The benefits of this shine are plentiful: enhanced wellbeing, more community engagement, a healthier economy, better work for all, and a more beautiful world.

The stories and anecdotes in SHAPERS come from hundreds of interviews with innovators dedicated to improving our outdated system of work – trailblazers including CEOs, organisational designers, social psychologists, workplace strategists, and start-up entrepreneurs. 

Shapers – Reinvent the Way You Work and Change the Future, reviewed

This is a relevant and timely book. It must have been written prior to covid-19 and the global lockdown as there is no mention of it in the book. However this is not a blocker to the value offered within this book, and many of the insights and suggestions actually fit well and are complimentary to the new, more remote, digital facing world that we are moving into. The suggestions and insights in this book make even more sense in the new global reality that we find ourselves in.

The book aims to help you in the following areas:

Adopt the mindset for creativity, innovation, and boundless growth

Amplify your career and inspire others to do the same

Build fluid and engaged teams to work better together

Become a better leader though the five new modes of leadership

Learn what underpins the most resilient organisations in the world

We are definitely facing an opportunity to embrace a new paradigm in the way we work, how we work, why we work, and what is the smartest use of our time. There is a massive potential to have a much better quality of life, and a reconfiguring of what work could be like. Not everyone may be ready to embrace the suggestions in this book, but the opportunity is there if you are willing to take the steps to achieve it.

Jonas Altman has written a brilliant new book about WORK. Which all of us have to do. This books focuses on how we should all reimagine work and our place in it. I’ll let Jonas explain it better…out today. @sfagency @samatlounge @thebookseller @booksaremybag @WileyBusiness pic.twitter.com/5zVa0wGws1

— Nick Mannion (@nickonion) August 6, 2020

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