Managing with Aloha

  • Posted by Pete
  • May 29, 2007

Several months ago I had the pleasure of reading Rosa Say’s signature work Managing with Aloha.  If you find yourself in a new context as a manager or you are discovering that older methods of managing are just not helping you glean the best from your staff (or retain them), this book is a must.

At about 230 pages, Managing with Aloha is one of the “easier” reads you’ll come across in regards to management. This is largely due to Rosa’s fluid style and knack for story-telling. If you’re like me, you would rather read 10 pages of “this is how the principle worked with real people in the real world” than 20 pages of statistical analysis and abstract reasoning that “proves” the principle.

Rosa has outlined the traditional and positive values of Hawaiian culture and found unique ways to live them in  managerial and business settings. This results in  employees becoming activated, taking ownership, enjoying high morale and raising productivity through their own development.

Now if you just heard “Hawaiian culture” and thought “it won’t translate to mine”, think again: everything I read is transferable.

As I wrap this up, I want to make clear that Rosa did not ask me to review her book, nor am I receiving any “kickback” for this post. This is entirely my idea and choice.

Managing with Aloha can be found by clicking here.

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May 29th, 2007
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Rosa Say
Posted on:
May 29, 2007 at 5:39 pm

Mahalo nui Pete, thank you!

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Pete
Posted on:
May 29, 2007 at 6:05 pm

You’re more than welcome, Rosa. Grace and peace to you!

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
david douglas
Posted on:
June 3, 2007 at 2:07 am

crazy muffins. give us an example of a transfer?

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Pete
Posted on:
June 3, 2007 at 1:52 pm

Ok, short example of how transferable the concepts are:

Rosa talks about the Hawaiian value of taking personal responsibility (Kuleana). She relates a time when her managers were all wrestling with the question “How do you motivate people?”…

“There were 2 main themes to the discussion: one was the proposition that you cannot expect your employees to be as mission-driven as their leader if they haven’t bought into the mission and goals of the department in the first place…self-motivation comes largely from desire. The second theme revolved around a shared view that motivation essentially comes from within, and if you are knocking yourself out trying to motivate somone, you’re wasting your time.”

Rosa then tells the story of how they brought their employees to a place of finding their own “want-to” within the business and taking responsiblity for themselves…

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
david douglas
Posted on:
June 3, 2007 at 4:58 pm

ahh yeh cool… im just curious, surely some of these hawaiian values are mostly universal?

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Pete
Posted on:
June 3, 2007 at 5:11 pm

I think they’re what many of us aspire to but I know cultures that don’t have values like unconditional love (= aloha) which are not there at all. I also find that the concept of personal responsibility has faded in our own Western society.

I think that’s what I like most of all about Rosa’s teaching: she’s bringing these values and concepts into mainstream business and showing us that they’re not only philosophically sound and noble, they positively affect the success of the business.

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
david douglas
Posted on:
June 3, 2007 at 6:26 pm

yah okay i see…
i guess im just curious how she defines how these values are hawaiian… and whether they are ideals that the hawaiians themselves aspire to, or whethere they actually practice them, or whether or not they’re just tradition.
yeah im being a little critical! sorry! haha.
cause if all these values are cornertstones to hawaiian culture, then why dont we all move to hawaii

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Pete
Posted on:
June 3, 2007 at 7:14 pm

Move to Hawaii? Sounds good to me!

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
david douglas
Posted on:
June 4, 2007 at 2:10 am

hehehe.
for sure