The Next Level

by: David Gregory

Published by: WaterBrook Press

Reviewed by Bob Pike CSP, CPAE Speakers Hall of Fame

This book is a perfect companion to Dinner with and A Day with a Perfect Stranger. Logan Bell is a recent college graduate who has already quit his first job because of a boss he didn’t get along with. Now he frequently hears from his father who has a high- level job at a technology company. The question is always the same: have you found a job yet? And after several months the answer is still – not yet.

Today, however, Logan walks into Universal Systems in search of a job and finds himself being interviewed by the Director himself. And a most strange interview it is. The basic interview question is: What would you really like to do? When Logan says “Organization Development” – the Director says, “Fine, you’re hired.” And this is with no OD background or experience.

His job is to analyze each of the five levels that comprise Universal Systems, identify performance problems and report what he finds to the director. And with that he’s off.
What he finds amazes him. Some people are simply doing their own thing as long as it makes them happy, and there is no relationship to the goals of the organization. Others are focused on following rules, and are so focused on the rules that there is little contribution to the organization. Still others focus on motivation and achievement, achieving the organization’s goals their way, not in the ways that the Director and Shareholder had identified.

Throughout the experience Logan interacts with a number of people that he learns from – either because of the positive behaviors and beliefs – or their negative behaviors and beliefs. He also learns a great deal from interacting directly with the Director, and later the Shareholder.

The parable is a wonderful metaphor for life and the various ways we try to live it – often times with mixed results – and most of the time without the satisfaction we’d like to have. Your thinking will be challenged as your thinking is described along the way.

Armchair Interview says: An inspirational must read for those that want to live their lives on “The Next Level.”