Gary Chapman - Sync or Swim: A Fable About Workplace Communication and Coming Together in a Crisis

Sync or Swim is a quick and easy read with a simple but powerful message for anyone who hopes to effectively manage and lead others. It reminds us of what we all need to remember but too quickly forgetthat everyone needs appreciation, but that everyone needs it communicated in their own unique way. This book is a beautiful introduction to the basics of the true art of appreciation in the workplace.

JACK CANFIELD | Coauthor of The Success Principles and Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work

Ive always said that business is easy until people get involved. The key word is teamwork. If you cant work together, you cant win together. In Sync or Swim, Chapman, White, and Myra tell a quick, fun story that gives you the tools you need to bring your people together like never before.

DAVE RAMSEY | New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio show host

I was sitting waiting to board a flight, with twenty things on my to-do list. But I decided to look at this fable and couldnt stop reading! It really drew me in and I instantly started thinking about how I need to purposefully tell (and show) my amazing team members how much I genuinely appreciate themand to do so much more often. Sync orSwim makes a tremendously important point in an incredibly simple waythat I dont think Ill ever be able to forget.

SHAUNTI FELDHAHN | Author, For Women Only and The Male Factor

Congratulations! Sync or Swim is a quick and easy read with valuable insights. Wherever you work, whatever your role, you will see yourself and your team in this little story and you will learn. Extremely well done.

GARY BRADT, PHD | Primary trainer for Who Moved My Cheese?
Author, The Ring in the Rubble: Dig Through Change and Find Your Next Golden Opportunity

Not since Patrick Lencionis The Five Dysfunctions of a Team has someone encapsulated a critical leadership lesson in a quick and fun-to-read fable. After fifteen years as a turnaround executive and seven years as a leadership coach, I recognized old familiar patterns in Sync or Swim and picked up several new useful techniques for keeping executive teams motivated and working together. A valuable and enjoyable read!

GLENN HELLMAN | CEO, DrivenForward; executive coach

In an age fixated on quarterly results, bottom-line growth, and increased value for the stakeholders, this book turns our attention to HOW those results get produced. The people who make them happen (or not) are real-life human beings, not cogs in a machine. And each of them is unique. Sync or Swim sheds valuable light on the everyday human interactions that can make or break any organization. Leaders and managers will do well to take heed.

DEAN MERRILL | Publishing executive and bestselling author/collaborator of more than forty titles

Its about people, stupid. Thats the first line in our book Brains on Fire and thats the big management lesson I learned reading Sync or Swim. We all want to be seen as individuals. And heard. This short fable is a simple and wonderful reminder.

ROBBIN PHILLIPS | Courageous President, Brains on Fire
Coauthor, Brains on Fire and The Passion Conversation

Sync or Swim points out how easy it can be to help others improve their performance with positive affirmation, genuine encouragement, and open communication. Every manager and executive will recognize themselvesand othersin this fun, readable tale.

JUDY BRYSON | Pioneer Clubs president/CEO, retired

There are many Friscos, Tias, Alanas, et al in the workplace. The trick is for managers to appreciate the differences and lead accordingly. This book will help managers appreciate people for WHO they are and recognize them for what they DO in an appropriate manner.

PETER W. HART | CEO, Rideau Recognition, Inc.

I was surprised at how I was drawn into Sync or Swim, despite the fact that Im a lover of practical, proven management case studies. This fresh and creative approach gave me insights on how to appreciate, understand, and communicate with each colleague through their eyes that I wouldnt have gotten from any typical business book. Now Im challenged to put into practice these unforgettably practical lessons.

JOHN LARUE | Founder, ChristianityToday.com
Chief Development Officer, Jesus.net

The title Sync or Swim was not lost on me. As a leader, I not only see myself and my team in Chapman, White, and Myras latest book, I identify things we could have done much better in our own journey. If you lead or ever want to lead, this is a must-read. You did it again guys!

MIKE NOVAK | President and CEO, KLOVE

I really enjoyed the story and the perspective it gives business leaders at all levels. Sync or Swim is a great, easy read with a terrific message that allows the reader see the value of targeted, sincere appreciation.

MIKE BYAM | Terryberry Company

Sync or Swim is a compelling tool for management training and a refresher course for those whove spent years leading people. Youll find yourself smiling and resonating with the sequence of events in this delightful fable.

CAROL THOMPSON | Chief Operating Officer, Christianity Today

Sync or Swim is a brilliant modern-day fable that captures the essence of everything that is wrong in the workplace, and it offers real, authentic solutions steeped in practical wisdom! If you manage people or plan to in the future, you must read this fable!

AARON BROYLES | Entrepreneur, speaker, and author of Do Great Things

2014 by
GARY CHAPMAN, PAUL WHITE, AND HAROLD MYRA

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Edited by Betsey Newenhuyse
Interior and cover design: Erik M. Peterson
Cover and interior illustrations copyright 2014 by Nathan Little/nathanlittleart.com. All rights reserved.
Gary Chapman photo: P.S. Photography
Paul White photo: Michael Bankston

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chapman, Gary D.

Sync or swim : a fable about workplace communication and coming together in a crisis / Gary Chapman, Paul White, Harold Myra.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-8024-1223-2 (hardback)
1. Employee motivation. 2. Employee morale. 3. Communication in management. 4. Organizational behavior. 5. Corporate culture. I. White, Paul E. II. Myra, Harold Lawrence. III. Title.

HF5549.5.M63C4383 2014
658.4523

2014029144

Northfield Publishing
820 N. LaSalle Boulevard
Chicago, IL 60610

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Printed in the United States of America

To all those determined to help their teams pull together when the storms hit