Though I didn't have a copy of this book to review prior to the holidays, I thought this book's name alone warranted a mention this week.

"The Rudolph Factor: Finding the Bright Lights that Drive Innovation in Your Business" by Cyndi Laurin and Craig Morningstar (Wiley, July 2009, $21.95) uses The Boeing Company as an example of how a large corporation needs only to focus on employees who are hyper-creative yet sometimes not in traditional leadership roles to ensure future success.

Laurin and Morningstar recommend turning to those employees who "light the way" for their coworkers, the "Rudolphs." They say "Rudolphs" are highly-engaged, creative thinkers that populate about 10 percent of every organization. But for the most part, they aren't the traditional company leaders, and their talents ,may go untapped, the authors state.

"Depending on the business culture, political structure, and reward system, Rudolphs either let their nose glow, or they cover it in mud so as to not create any career-limiting moves with their non-traditional, and generally unconventional ideas," Laurin said. "Obviously, the more progressive and innovative the business culture, the easier and safer it is for Rudolphs to contribute business-growing innovations or cost-saving solutions to their company's bottom line."

In the last decade, the "Rudolphs" of The Boeing Company helped the giant aircraft manufacturer turn around a cruscial division that was the edge of collapse.

Paraphrased from the book’s inside flap:

The Boeing Company aircraft manufacturers has struggled with the cyclical nature of demand for commercial aircraft. Between the challenging integration of the Rockwell and McDonnell Douglas employees into Boeing, competition from Airbus, and market pressure, the company was facing serious financial consequences ... until it managed a remarkable turnaround.

"The Rudolph Factor" explains how Boeing's journey back to excellence began a decade ago with the Boeing C-17 Globemaster, an Air Force cargo aircraft. Hampered by a toxic culture and struggling to stay alive, Boeing C-17 management and employees partnered with the Air Force to fix the program. They — all 10,000 of them — instituted a new set of progressive practices from the top down and from the bottom up.

This experiment was a smashing success. The C-17 Program continues to be so successful, in fact, that its leadership and employee involvement principles are currently being instituted throughout Boeing.

"The Rudolph Factor" uses Boeing C-17's success as a platform for teaching organizations how to elicit and benefit from the creative, revolutionary thinking of current employees. A small percentage of hypercreative, out-of-the-box thinkers can be the catalyst for organization-wide reform — if you can recognize and nurture their special abilities.

In a Wiley press release supporting the book, Laurin and Morningstar recommend the following ways to motivate the Rudolphs in your organization (a la The 12 Days of Christmas):

1) Give them ample time to shine. No one knows your company and its customers as well as your employees. After all, they are the ones closest to the processes that work and those that don't. That's why they are best suited to uncover the solutions that will make your organization a success in the New Year. But great innovation doesn't necessarily happen overnight, so it's important that you give your employees plenty of time to brainstorm their bright ideas.

"Allowing your employees time to brainstorm each day will likely produce some great cost-saving ideas," asserts Laurin. "Even if it's just for fifteen minutes. Some of the most progressive companies begin and end each workday with a five-minute huddle. It's a great opportunity for the Rudolphs in your workplace to shine!"

2) Include your Rudolphs in the reindeer games. Management often has difficulty solving problems due to a natural level of disconnect between their position and the work itself. "Start listening to the unlikely voices amongst your workforce," suggests Morningstar. "If a red nose is shining, pay attention! Include workers in strategy meetings, and ask for their opinions. You may be surprised at the solutions and innovation that is generated this way."

3) Be on the lookout for a red nose. If you aren't sure how to spot the Rudolphs in your organization, here's a tip: one of the most obvious signs of a Rudolph is that they light up when talking about their work. Maybe not literally like the nose of the most famous Rudolph of all, but you can definitely see and feel their passion for their work. To pinpoint your Rudolphs, look for a face that is shining bright and listen for a passionate voice, and that will be the person who can help you through your company's foggy nights.

"If you want to inspire this phenomenon in others, make sure you take the time to connect with your employees everyday," explains Laurin. "Ask them about their projects and ideas for improvements, and watch them light up with excitement when they speak."

4) Keep their curious spirit alive. Another surefire sign of a Rudolph is that they ask a lot of questions. And they have a tendency to ask those questions even when it isn't the most popular thing to be doing. It's important for you to understand that when your employees are asking questions, they are engaged and generally trying to gain a better understanding of the company's goals, which should be encouraged.

"Make sure you are not inadvertently discouraging their questions," warns Morningstar. "Encouraging questions in your employees helps you to develop a dialogue with them, and it encourages a dialogue for them amongst one other—precisely the way most great innovations come to life!"

5) Don't put your Rudolphs (or their ideas) in the corner. Most employees want to work in an environment that is safe, supportive, and offers them an opportunity to make a difference—it's our human nature. Rudolphs have a natural tendency to see their world through a lens of potential and opportunity. Encourage this type of thinking in all of your employees by listening to their ideas—even if they seem unrealistic or just plain crazy.

"Some of the greatest innovations in history seemed unrealistic or un-marketable at first," Morningstar explains. "For example, the concept of a wireless telephone was being discussed at the famous Bell Labs in the 1950s. Look at how many decades it took to come to fruition, and think about all the great ideas that could be simmering in your own organization."

6) Congratulate them on a job well done. One of the more interesting characteristic of Rudolphs is that they are not interested in self-promotion. Instead, they are genuinely vested in wanting their organization to succeed. And while they aren't looking for personal accolades, it's still a good idea to let them know that you've noticed their good work. It will keep them motivated in the long run.

"Make sure that all your employees understand how their individual work has contributed to the organization this past year," says Laurin. "It may seem trite, but a simple acknowledgement goes a long way in today's business cultures. Try taking advantage of the season and send a simple holiday card with a hand-written note thanking them for a job well done. You may be surprised at just how far a small gesture will go."

7) Reward your Rudolph with action. The greatest reward a Rudolph can experience is seeing their ideas in action. Encourage all employees to share their ideas, and have a system in place for reviewing them. Remember, there is nothing more de-motivating than being asked for ideas only for them to end up in some organizational black hole.

"Be prepared to respond to ideas quickly and briefly," says Morningstar. "And seek more information if the idea is not clearly presented. The only way to keep the creative Rudolph juices flowing is to encourage all ideas, good or bad, and to never discourage an employee from offering suggestions."

8) Encourage your herd to be, well, a team. Rudolphs are natural team players, and when they need help, they are generally not afraid to ask. To bring out the Rudolph-ness in everyone at your organization, make sure that the doors of communication are open. And give people an opportunity to collaborate with one another, if necessary, so that ideas can be shared, refined, and encouraged within your organization.

"It's amazing to meet workers who don't even know the person sitting in the cubicle next to them," says Laurin. "You may be missing out on some great ideas by simply not encouraging the great minds in your company to work together."

9) Be willing to branch out from the eight reindeer you know. Encourage diversity in thought as well as other types of traditional diversities. Many employees intentionally stop sharing ideas if their work environment is not conducive or if the perception is that management doesn't care. This can result in "million-dollar" ideas forever locked in people's minds.

"Make sure your organization recognizes diversity in thinking as a legitimate and unique human quality," adds Morningstar, "And you may also want to consider hiring employees with non-traditional or diverse backgrounds who may offer a completely unique and value-added perspective."

10) Give them some ownership over the workshop. Rudolphs are natural entrepreneurs, a quality many managers will tell you is a great asset to an organizational team. To encourage entrepreneurial thinking, be open with your employees about business information. Employees will feel a greater sense of ownership over your business if they have a basic understanding of the organization's current strengths and challenges.

"Keep in mind that this may require some basic training for all employees," says Laurin. "Every employee should understand the fundamentals of profits and loss, budget creation, and how their work contributes to the bottom line. Without a clear value proposition to employees, it will be difficult to reap the rewards of innovative thinking."

11) Let all your reindeer lead the sleigh (in their own special way!). Rudolphs tend to be natural leaders because of the way they define leadership. Rather than looking at leadership as a position on the organizational chart, encourage employees to lead from where they are.

"This can be easily accomplished by offering a new definition of leadership," asserts Morningstar. "Try to define leadership as 'a commitment to the success of people around you' or 'connecting people to their future.' With the appropriate verbiage in mind, all employees can start leading today!"

12) Always offer your Rudolphs the resources they need. Give them the tools, training, and resources they need to contribute to the organization's bottom line.

"And remember, your people are your most sustainable competitive advantage, and many are just chomping at the bit to make a significant impact to the bottom line," Laurin conclude. "So when you see those red noses shining bright, why not give them the chance to guide your company's proverbial sleigh this year?"

Cathy Greenberg and Barrett Avigdor authors of "What Happy Working Mothers Know: How NewFindings in Positive Psychology Can Lead to a Healthy and Happy Work/LifeBalance," (Wiley, $19.95, 2009, 256 pp.) will be two of the keynote speakers at the Pennsylvania Governor's Conference for Women on Thursday, Sept. 17, at The Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

Barrett S. Avigdor, J.D., is the director of legal talent strategy at Accenture, a position she created in 2007. In this role she strives to maximize the productivity, creativity and engagement of the 400 legal professionals at Accenture around the world. Avigdor spent much of her legal career as a senior executive in the legal group at Accenture, though she's also a certified career coach and an advocate for happiness. Avigdor writes and speaks to audiences around the globe on the subject of finding happiness by working to your strengths and aligning your time to your values. She is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School and a former Fulbright Scholar to Brazil.

Cathy L. Greenberg's books include "Global Leadership: Next Generation," with Marshall Goldsmith, which ranked No. 1 in leadership on Amazon.com. She is cited as an authority on leadership behavior by all major business and financial newsorganizations, as well as by popular media outlets such as Glamour, Oprah Magazine and Martha Stewart Living Radio. Named a "Top 100 Leadership Coach" byExecutive Excellence Magazine (2008), she is a business talk show host on "Voice America" and founder of h2c, LLC Happy Companies Healthy People, a beacon for successful leaders.

Click here for more information about the Pennsylvania Governor's Conference for Women.

Every attendee will receive a free copy of "What Happy Working Mothers Know."

Could your family benefit from being run like a business?

That's the premise behind author Patrick Lencioni's latest, "The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family: A Leadership Fable ... About restoring Sanity to the Most Important Organization in Your Life," (Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Imprint, 2008, $24.95, 208 pp.) (I favorably reviewed Lencioni's book "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job" in January 2008 -- check that review out here.)

While this book is labeled in the "family & relationship/parenting" category, it certainly doesn't hurt to look at it from a business perspective.

Much as he did in "The Three Signs of a Miserable Job," Lencioni uses a simple tale to communicate what might be to some a complicated business concept -- or in this case, an idea for improving family time.

A father of four and business consultant/bestselling author who's often on the road, Lencioni said he tested out his model in his own home. After all, if your family is the most important organization in your life, why wouldn't a business executive apply the tools they use at work to improve the way his/her family functions?

"Family chaos is just a part of life, and so we accept levels of confusion and disorganization and craziness at home that we would not tolerate at work," Lencioni states in the book's introduction. Less chaos, for most families, including a few extremely busy young families I know, would be good.

Lencioni said he and his wife have found benefits to applying a few simple strategic concepts to managing his own family.

"The vast majority of families I know - including my own - wold admit that one or more of the following adjectives apply to them: reactive, scattered, frantic chaotic, stressed," he writes. "And if you were to ask them if they were living their lives with the sense of purpose and intentionality that they want, every last one of them would look at you like you were mocking them and say 'Are you kidding?'"

And so Lencioni has come up with this easy-to-understand fable about a couple who are struggling to keep on top of three kids, school and church obligations, sports and other extracurriculars, and simply finding time to hang out as a family.

The book opens with a frustrated husband, Jude making the following (rather loaded) statement to his stay-at-home wife, Theresa: "If my clients ran their companies the way we run this family, they'd be out of business!" After taking some time to get over her initial indignation, the wife proceeds to investigate that claim.

It all boils down to these three questions a family can live by to restore sanity and clarity. I'll tell you the questions, but it will be in very simplistic and out-of-context form. They're better illustrated by reading this little fable, which you could easily do in a night or two (no matter how busy you are).

1) What makes your family unique? Basically, what makes you you and differentiates you from everyone else on the block.

2) What's your family's top priority (aka rallying cry) right now? That would be your main goal over the next 2 to 6 months, and it could be something like carve out more family time or it could be something like moving to a bigger house. It's the main thing that drives you as a family at this time.

3) How do you talk about and use the answers to these questions? What are you doing to implement the first two questions. Holding weekly family meetings? Keeping a spreadsheet?

How did Theresa and Jude answer these questions and implement the answers? They're "rallying cry" was to spend more time together as a family. That meant Theresa had to said no to taking on a time-consuming post at church. Jude and Theresa decided to cut back on their kids' extracurriculars. They cut back on social activities as well as TV-watching. They made family vacations a priority. And, lastly, Jude decided to cut back in his business travel for the overall benefit of the family.

Then they met weekly for 10 minutes to keep up with it all and adjust as needed. They kept a whiteboard in the kitchen as a reminder of the "rallying cry" and what was needed to achieve it. And, lo and behold, it worked. And they were on to their next "rallying cry," which had to do with helping one of their kids with an attention deficit.

To further illustrate the concept, Lencioni goes through several other "families" and their experiences with the "three big questions." He also notes that his own family is far from picture perfect:

"Well, I have to tell you that the Lencioni family continues to experience its fair share of stress, and we don't expect that to go away anytime soon. But I am glad to report that by answering the questions laid out here, we have begun to channel that stress in a general direction and obtain a sense of progress," he writes.

A good deal of chaos remains, he admits, but "we're being more purposeful now about which chaos to tolerate and which to squash."

I really like his wife's comment at the end of the book:

"When something is part of a bigger goal that I know we're going to be talking about every week, it's harder for me to let it get pushed aside by those pesky, tactical, and artificially urgent things that distract us from what really matters. Now I can let some things go that I would have felt guilty about ignoring in the past when everything was equally important."

Working together toward a pre-determined common goal: Not a novel concept, but one that might help some stressed out family-type folks I know.

Reviewed: “Escape the Mid-Career Doldrums: What to Do Next When You’re Bored, Burned Out, Retired or Fired,” by Marcia L. Worthing and Charles A. Buck, Wiley, Nov. 2007, $18.95, 204 pages.

If your feel like you’re stuck in a job you have no passion for, uncertain how to make your escape — you’re not alone.

When I graduated from college with my bright, shiny journalism degree and no job, I went to work as a secretary in a chemical company. Frankly, I worried what the dangerous chemicals stored nearby were doing to my health, but it paid the bills. Every day, counting the minutes until my lunch break or until quitting time, I plotted my exit from this occupation.

While the job that “saved” me from the chemical company wasn’t my career salvation (I sold custom-made furniture on a commission-only basis, and was not terribly good at it), it was a stepping stone that helped me to see where my natural abilities did not lie. And, on the bright side, I now know how to accessorize a room.

Those were, no question, the wrong jobs for me, and I knew they were temporary. But even the right job — the right career — can become wrong for you.

Written by a career consultant and a career coach, Marcia L. Worthing and Charles A. Buck, “Escape the Mid-Career Doldrums: What to Do Next When You’re Bored, Burned Out, Retired or Fired,” is a handy reference designed for those who are established in a career and yearn to make a move or for those who are forced out by way of layoffs or who choose retirement but aren’t ready to leave the workforce.

“Escape the Mid-Career Doldrums” offers practical advice and soul-searching exercises to those stuck in what the authors call the “BBRF Syndrome” (bored, burned out, retired or fired). The goal is to get them back on track.

One caveat is that the intended audience is a narrow group: extremely successful business professionals. So, while those of you who are not high-level executives may find some pearls of wisdom, you may be a little put off by the hoity-toity real-life “examples” given.

Here’s one: “Richard, a highly successful human resources executive for a top corporation, had over 200 employees reporting to him and a high-level executive role that allowed him to take on strategic and planning responsibilities. Despite a great salary and other perks, Richard was bored.”

They lost me even before “great salary.” Poor Richard. So misunderstood.

But, I accept that even top-level, high-paid executives get bored. And certainly, in the wake of the economic rollercoaster ride we’ve been on of late, many highly-trained professionals are being abruptly laid off or forced into early retirement.

If you’re a mid-career professional and find yourself out of job, as painful as that may be, the authors say it’s important to keep an open mind. Consider going back to school, starting a consultancy, working part-time or volunteering or working for a nonprofit organization that might benefit from your expertise.

Before doing anything, Worthing and Buck advise readers to get to the bottom of why you were bored with your job, or why you were fired.

“When you don’t know the real cause behind your boredom, burnout, retirement or firing, you can’t respond to it effectively. Your false belief about why something happened will prevent you from emerging from your career blues and discover what you really want to do for the next 10, 20, or 30 years,” they write.

The reality, they say, is that there are “plenty” of opportunities for the mid-career professional, “but a variety of factors make it seem like few opportunities exist.”

Making a change won’t be easy, and just as when I began my career search, you may start out going one direction, only to find it’s not the right path.

“Be open to new opportunities. Just because you had a plan to start your own business or to divide your time between part-time work and travel doesn’t mean you can’t adjust this plan,” the authors write.

Thoughtfully, they remind the reader: If you’re mid-career at 50, you technically have another 25 working years ahead of you.

Reviewed: “The True Cost of Happiness,” by Stacey Tisdale and Paula Boyer Kennedy, Wiley, 2007, $24.95, 288 pages.

How your parents handled money influences the way you handle your finances, according to “The True Cost of Happiness,” a book co-authored by business journalist Stacey Tisdale and financial planner Paula Boyer Kennedy.

Readers are encouraged to take a look at the role family dynamics play in their financial behavior.“I’m talking about the ways in which the first lessons we learned about money as children affect our decision about making and spending it as adults,” writes Tisdale, who penned the first half of the book, which focuses on self-awareness.

In my family, my father managed the money. My mom took care of the house and three kids. The bills and the bank account were the man’s job. When my father died at age 58, losing a 13-year battle with cancer, my mother was thrust into a position of total financial responsibility — a role no one had prepared her for. When my mom was growing up, her father took care of the household finances. She learned at an early age that money was the man’s job. And that was the norm of the time, and it worked out OK for my mom. Until circumstances in her adult life necessitated a crash-course in paying bills.

Learned financial behaviors are what Tisdale and Boyer Kennedy call “money scripts.” Leaving room for you to write down your thoughts, they ask you to explore your own “money scripts” learned in childhood, and look at how they play a part in your financial attitudes as an adult.“Think about those money scripts that are limiting you. Imagine your life without those messages. How would your actions be different?” the authors write.

If your behavior isn’t leading you to your financial goals, then you need to take a new tack, they say. They walk you through ways to make those changes. One fun exercise, that I’m sure each of us has indulged in some variation, is:

•Imagine that you have all the money you will ever need. Decide what you would do with it, your life and your time.

•Next, change that picture. Now you only have 5 to 10 years to live. How will you change your life? What will you do with the time you have left?

•Lastly, imagine the changes you’ll wish you had made if you only have 24 hours to live.“The question is not what you would do with the time you have left, but what are your regrets?” the authors ask. That last scenario, they say, “cuts deepest of all. It becomes clear which issues in life are superficial and which are central. Sometimes this exercise delivers a … longing or wish that has never before surfaced.” It’s a thought-provoking way of getting to your big picture goals.

For instance, I have a desire to travel, but I feel like with my current monthly bills (mortgage!) I don’t have enough money to go anywhere. Per the authors’ advice, I can afford a trip to, say, Italy, if I make a budget and start setting aside a small sum every month.

Those who dislike the “getting in touch with your financial feelings” part of the book may be more comfortable with the second half of the book, which focuses on numbers. Basically, it tells you how to make a budget — something a lot of people simply don’t do. “We think having to literally face your values and your barriers each time you look at your finances will be an important factor in keeping your financial decisions aligned with your priorities,“ writes Boyer Kennedy, who handles the numbers-focused latter half of the book.

In other words, make a budget and stick to it and you may be able to save some money for a trip abroad … or retirement!

While the authors offer some very sound, practical advice, they also suggest that readers visit a financial planning professional to help you figure it all out.“The True Cost of Happiness” helps readers to determine why they spend/save as they do and what they could do better to meet certain goals.

Michelle Karas is The Mercury’s business editor.