This innovative book examines the nature of work and reward, and the place each has in today's society. The author examines why so many people feel "trapped" in the workplace today, and develops a framework that can be used to improve life both in and out of the workplace. The author states that the current definition of work today is sacrifice' and the reward is frequently money. He argues that employees also need access to such things as truth, good, beauty, and power. Concentration on the work ethic will give way to the development ethic which minimizes sacrifice and maximizes development through the use of technology and the structuring of our value system.

During my years as a corporate consultant two things have become increasingly obvious to me. The first is that a vast majority of employees on all levels and in most businesses are not satisfied with their working lives, or with their lives in general. In the board room, in front of bosses, in front of direct reports everything is great. Later, however, over a martini or two, or a beer or two, what comes out is totally predictable. They are tired of the repetition found in most jobs, the meaningless busy work, the back stabbing and conflict. They are tired of unpredictable bosses, tired of trying to keep up, tired of not being able to spend enough time with their families, tired of wasting their potential as both employees and individuals. In essence, they feel that things are not what they should be, not what they could be, and they are frustrated.

The second thing that has become increasingly obvious is that, despite their frustration, most employees have been forced to accept this situation pretty much as an unavoidable part of their existence. They worry about it, they gripe about it, but they don't seem to be able to do much to change it.

One of the key factors contributing to our inability to move in the right direction, in my opinion, is our lack of an appropriate framework into which to fit the pieces. More specifically, the key definitions upon which our current work-related perspective is built--those . . .