In 2015, David Marx released his latest book, “Dave’s Subs: A Novel Story About Workplace Accountability.” It’s written as a novel, but it is by design a business book. And, for many of our clients, it’s their first introduction to the concepts of a Just Culture.
We find that there is a “softening of the spirit” that’s required to move from our current reactive, punitive culture, to one that embraces our inherent fallibility, our propensity to drift into at-risk behaviors, and our occasional self-interested behavior. Told through the eyes of Milo, a manager in a New Jersey sandwich shop, the book explores system design, human error, and company culture in an easy-to-read novel.
As a book club, a group of managers can together explore the concepts, confront their own biases, and develop a general plan for how to build a more open, fair, and just culture. The book does not get as prescriptive as our Just Culture Algorithm, stopping instead at the concept of a better form of workplace justice.
After reading five chapters, a group of ten managers can meet as a group, and through the use or our facilitator’s guides, have a structured conversation about the ideas presented in the book, and how they relate to their own workplace. Consider it as one option for a first step toward a Just Culture.
