Joe’s HR head spoke up, “The employees should be happy to have a job.” Joe felt no positive energy from that statement either and replied, “Something has got to change, that’s all I know.” Joe was never afraid to make aggressive decisions or to be bold. In fact, more and more, over the last year or so, he felt the need to change things at the company, whether it be in marketing, products, culture, etc. Nothing was off limits. In the old days, he’d feel energized after implementing new programs, but now felt weary. And the employees were responding that way, too. Increasingly, his changes were met with polite acceptance and compliance—at least to his face. Things just don’t feel right. What do I need to change next? he wondered. Joe gathered his employees and tried to 昀椀re them up. He explained that, while things were tough, they were going to succeed, there were going to be changes, but they’d be worth it. He looked around the room for support—a smile, a head nod—anything. He came up empty. The faces were, if anything, more sullen and lacking any energy. A 昀椀re raged inside him. He yelled, “Where is your passion?” The employees were frozen, staring back at him. He stormed out. As he walked back to his of昀椀ce, head hanging, he could hear the employees. “Why did he lose it?” “Why should we want to go through more change?” More why, why, why. What he had hoped would rally his people actually drove them farther away. Five steps back, he thought. This was Wednesday, and every Wednesday during autumn, Joe left at three o’clock and headed for his daughter’s school. This was a welcome diversion today. Joe coached his eleven-year-old daughter’s Junior Varsity basketball team. He couldn’t wait to see the expressive faces of the 昀椀fth and sixth graders as they practiced their basketball skills. Make no mistake, his daughter’s team was no world-beater—they had never won a game in the school’s 6