If you have ever wondered how to help create a more effective and engaged workforce, you’re not alone. So many managers, owners and leaders within companies wonder that very same question. In fact, even line employees ask that same question. Let’s explore this idea through a brief but important journey on building a more effective team. Here’s what many people (myself included) frequently asked:

If you’ve seen any of the recent research on what motivates employees in the workplace, you’ll run across several repeating items, such as “having the ability to make an impact,” “recognition for a job well done” and “the opportunity to progress in the company.” A motivating and engaging workforce is one way to ensure that you have a team committed to driving the success of your company.

Think back to when you first opened your business or launched your company. All your hopes and dreams centered on having happy, returning, high-spending customers, right? Your first few customers offered you a great chance to learn how to interact with them to create a great customer experience. As your business grew, so did the amount of people buying from you, and with each new customer you earned, something else happened…you needed more employees! That’s when it all started to change. You learned just how much employee engagement matters, and the more people you hired, the more crucial that realization was to your businesses success.

Mid America Metals is a 29-year-old firm based in Forsyth, Missouri, that provides metal, stone, wood, and glass refinishing and restoration services to primarily Class A office buildings across the U.S. Business Challenges Even as the company has grown over the years, it became apparent to Dale Donat, who co-founded Mid America with his two brothers, that the members of his workforce – which are distributed all over the U.S. – were struggling with their own finances – which prompted him to turn to the system his neighbor, Jack Stack, helped start: the GGOB.

Tasty Catering began as a fast-food hot dog stand called Tasty Dawg more than 25 years ago. Founded by a trio of entrepreneurial brothers, Tom, Larry and Kevin Walter, the company, which is based in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village, Illinois, now serves up tasty treats at weddings, corporate meetings and conferences, social events, residential parties, special events, holiday parties, outdoor picnics, and more. Beyond its great food, Tasty has also garnered dozens of awards for its outstanding company culture.

Argent Tape & Label (ATL) is a manufacturer in Plymouth, Michigan, which produces pressure-sensitive labels used by industrial customers in the automotive, pharmaceutical and consumer industries. Business Challenges Lynn Perenic was a teacher, where she taught elementary education and then special education at the high school level for a total of 20 years, before she ever contemplated becoming an entrepreneur. But after her husband talked about closing ATL, which he had purchased back in 1995, because of its poor performance, Perenic stepped in to try and save the business. But with just three associates and virtually no customers, she had a difficult task ahead of her.

A mechanic by trade, Tom Bissonnette has been part of the auto body repair business in his hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, since the 1980s. It was in 2000 that the opportunity arose to purchase Parr Auto Body, a company specializing/that specialized in auto collision repairs. While the business proved successful over the next 12 years, Bissonnette saw room for improvement. While he had first come across Jack Stack’s book, The Great Game of Business, back in 1998, it was a newly hired consultant who suggested in 2012 that he implement its best practices in his own business.

O’Connells OBM is a progressive chartered accounting firm based in Brisbane, Australia, that specializes in providing its clients with proactive tax and business advisory services. The OBM in the firm’s name is short for open-book management, which the company first embraced some 15 years ago.

Founded in January 2000 in Fort Worth, Texas, Texas Air Composites (TAC) repairs and overhauls aircraft for airlines and other private owners all over the world.

We are always expending energy. The energy we use either hurts us or helps us, moving us backward or forward. Throughout the day, we navigate events using our focus. As our energy follows that focus, we are always headed in one direction or the other on what is called the Energy Map. People who know how to direct energy, both within themselves and others, have a distinct advantage in and out of the workplace. They create greater results.