You can’t motivate people, but you can help people learn to motivate themselves. This second edition includes new material on inspiring self-motivation in remote workers and a distributed workforce. What if the answer to motivating people is to stop trying to motivate them? Leadership researcher, consultant, and coach Susan Fowler says that overtly trying to motivate your employees can be frustrating for everyone involved and doesn’t work in the long term. You can’t force people to be motivated—but you can help them find the inner commitment that increases productivity and engagement and gives them a profound sense of purpose and fulfillment. The second edition of this bestseller includes a new chapter on remote and hybrid work as well as updated content on postpandemic management, DEIJ initiatives, and the Great Resignation. Fowler uses the Self-Determination Theory to show the positive effects of optimal motivation on people’s vitality, productivity, and creativity and lays out a tested model and course of action for leaders. In addition, she includes compelling examples and anecdotal evidence from applying her techniques in organizations and with individuals worldwide. Fowler shows leaders how to get out of the way and encourage their people to self-motivate and foster personal excellence.
Susan Fowler Book order
Susan Fowler is the author of a book on computer programming that has been implemented by companies across Silicon Valley. Her work delves into the intricate workings of technology and its profound impact on society, encouraging a more critical and informed engagement with the digital world.






- 2023
- 2020
Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and Fight for Justice at Uber
- 500 pages
- 18 hours of reading
"The unbelievable true story of the young woman who faced down one of the most valuable startups in Silicon Valley history--and what came after. In 2017, twenty-five-year-old Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing the sexual harassment and retaliation she'd experienced as an entry-level engineer at Uber. The post went viral, leading not only to the ouster of Uber's CEO and twenty other employees, but "starting a bonfire on creepy sexual behavior in Silicon Valley that ... spread to Hollywood and engulfed Harvey Weinstein" (Maureen Dowd, The New York Times). When Susan decided to share her story, she was fully aware of the consequences most women faced for speaking out about harassment prior to the #MeToo era. But, as her inspiring memoir, Whistleblower, reveals, this courageous act was entirely consistent with Susan's young life so far : a life characterized by extraordinary determination, a refusal to accept things as they are, and the desire to do what is good and right. Growing up in poverty in rural Arizona, she was denied a formal education--yet went on to obtain an Ivy League degree. When she was told, after discovering the pervasive culture of sexism, harassment, racism, and abuse at Uber, that she was the problem, she banded together with other women to try to make change. When that didn't work, she went public. She could never have anticipated the lengths to which Uber would go in its efforts to intimidate and discredit her, the impact her words would have on Silicon Valley--and the world--or how they would set her on a course toward finally achieving her dreams. The moving story of a woman's lifelong fight to do what she loves--despite repeatedly being told no or treated as less-than--Whistleblower is both a riveting read and a source of inspiration for anyone seeking to stand up against inequality in their own workplace"--Provided by publisher
- 2020
"Susan Fowler was just twenty-five years old when her blog post exposing sexual harassment at Uber riveted the nation, toppling the company's leadership and helping to spark the #MeToo movement. But long before she worked as a software engineer, Fowler had been struggling against the entrenched forces that prevent so many from pusuing their dreams. Raised in poverty with little formal education, she nevertheless propelled herself to the Ivy League, and to sought-after jobs in Siliocon Valley. In the male-dominated realms of science and technology, from her undergraduate physics lab to the startup world, she continually faced gender-based discrimination and mistreatment. Fortunately, this meant that by the time she got to Uber, she knew how to stand up for herself. When the company refused to take steps to address its toxic workplace culture, she knew she had to speak out - no matter the consequences"--Page 4 of cover
- 2019
Master Your Motivation
- 192 pages
- 7 hours of reading
"If you want to accomplish what's important to you, discipline and willpower won't get you where you need to go. In this iconoclastic new book, Susan Fowler reveals compelling insights and actions to help you master and maintain your motivation. Motivation is at the heart of everything you do and everything you want to do but don't. Unfortunately, the ways we typically motivate ourselves don't work. Relying on sheer determination eventually becomes exhausting--it's not sustainable. And even setting goals can backfire--if you're not setting them for the right reasons. Susan Fowler says motivation is energy, and what matters is the quality, not the quantity. Traditional "motivators" such as fear, guilt, or the promise of a reward provide low-quality, short-term energy. Drawing on the latest empirical research, she proves that high-quality, optimal motivation is a skill that you can learn and apply. Science tells us that satisfying three basic needs--for choice, connection, and competence--is essential to optimal motivation. You need to feel like you've picked your path, not that you're being driven down it. Your goal should be linked to people or a purpose meaningful to you. And you want to continually learn and grow. Through practical exercises and eye-opening stories, Fowler shows you how to identify and shift the quality of your motivation. The skill to master your motivation is important--it may be your greatest opportunity to evolve, grow in wisdom, and be the light the world so desperately needs"-- Provided by publisher
- 2016
Production-Ready Microservices
- 172 pages
- 7 hours of reading
In this practical book, author Susan Fowler presents a set of microservice standards in depth, drawing from her experience standardizing over a thousand microservices at Uber. You'll learn how to design microservices that are stable, reliable, scalable, fault tolerant, performant, monitored, documented, and prepared for any catastrophe.
- 2005
Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager
- 156 pages
- 6 hours of reading
Ken Blanchard's phenomenal bestselling classic The One Minute Manager explores the skills needed to become an effective self leader. Now, Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager clearly and thoroughly reveals how power, freedom, and autonomy come from having the right mind-set and the skills needed to take personal responsibility for success. In this captivating business parable, number one New York Times bestselling author Ken Blanchard, with coauthors Susan Fowler and Laurence Hawkins, tells the story of Steve, a young advertising executive who is about to lose his job. During a series of talks with a gifted magician named Cayla, Steve comes to realize the power of taking responsibility for his situation and not playing the victim. Passing along the knowledge she has learned from the One Minute Manager, Cayla teaches Steve the three skills of self leadership. These three techniques not only empower him to keep his job but show him what he needs to know in order to keep growing, learning, and achieving. For twenty-five years, millions of managers in Fortune 500 companies and small businesses nationwide have followed Ken Blanchard's management method, thus increasing their productivity, job satisfaction, and personal prosperity. Now, discover Ken Blanchard's newest techniques in Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager and experience the profitability that has been achieved by applying his management lessons.