Wrong Fit, Right Fit
Why How We Work Matters More Than Ever
How do we make work, less work? We are in the midst of a crisis of commitment in the workplace—organizations are searching for engaged employees (“talent”) and employees are looking for a place to thrive. Both are struggling. What if the issue isn’t good or bad culture, but the fit between our ideal way of working day-to-day and that of the companies we join. If we fit, we hum, we connect, we create momentum and do our best work with grace and ease because our creative energy is not eaten up in coordination cost or deciphering the secret to achieving success–we just are. But, wrong fit has serious consequences. It can erode performance, drive up frustration, and steal our competence and confidence. Wrong fit leaves us demotivated and disillusioned, and it leaves our companies without the energy or commitment needed to win. Finding right fit has always been hard, and with the seismic shifts in the workplace it isn’t getting any easier. The good news is, there is a way forward. Through his decades of experience and exhaustive research, including in-depth interviews with knowledge workers and leaders from all walks of life, Dr. Martin guides talent and organizations to find right fit. Chalked full of compelling exercises, clear insights, and personal stories, this book helps talent uncover the kind of place where they can thrive and where work can be, well, less work. And for organizations, Dr. Martin utilizes social science research, innovative practices from progressive companies big and small, and practical day-to-day leadership tips to help companies rediscover their secret sauce and create more clarity and possibility for their talent. Wrong Fit, Right Fit is for both talent and companies who are looking to build more energy and commitment in the day-to-day. Now is the time to boost engagement, inspiration, well-being, and meaning in the work we do. Now is the time to find a greater return in value for ourselves and our organizations. Now is the time to find right fit.
Available for pre-order in all formats.
“Wrong Fit, Right Fit” couldn’t come at a better time. In a relentlessly competitive battlefield for talent where employees are expected to drive more and more impact, It’s never been more important for employers to reflect on how they establish the “right fit” with their new recruits and current team alike. Dr. Martin has unlocked a new paradigm with this approach that finally provides a roadmap to greater employee happiness, team productivity, and organizational harmony.
Phil Dur
Founder, PeakSpan Capital
André Martin is a force. Having benefited immensely from his insights and personal coaching on how to drive growth and create a purpose-led company, we were excited to read his book. And, it didn't disappoint. Wrong Fit, Right Fit is full of thought-provoking research, practical advice, and nearly everything a founder or CEO needs to create a fulfilling workplace where their team is inspired to do their best work every day. This is one of those books that you will return to again and again.
Alejandro Velez & Nikhil Arora
Co-Founders/Co-CEOs,
Back to the Roots
If you're a leader who's dedicated to cultivating a thriving workplace with the right fit talent, then this book is a must-read. Dr. Martin shares straightforward and novel advice on how to tackle the commitment crisis and transform your organization into a place where individuals find genuine fulfillment and continuously contribute to its success.
Sheryl O'Loughlin
former CEO Clif Bar, REBBL, and Co-Founder of Plum Organics.; Author of Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart
In today's rapidly changing work landscape, Wrong Fit, Right Fit is essential reading. André provides a fresh perspective on today’s challenges and offers practical tools to help all readers design a more intentional and fulfilling work life. Whether you’re an intern or a CEO, this timely book offers valuable insights for navigating the evolving relationship between individuals and institutions.
Sandy Speicher
Former CEO, IDEO
Wrong Fit, Right Fit is the ultimate guide for finding a fulfilling and satisfying career that aligns with your values, passions, company culture, and skills. Andre Martin's practical approach will help you identify the ‘right fit’ so you can wake up every day motivated and excited to go to work. This book is a must-read for anyone looking to unlock their full potential and find genuine satisfaction in their career.
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach and New York Times Bestselling Author of The Earned Life, Triggers, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Wrong Fit, Right Fit is a great fit for every C-suite leader to read and share with her or his team and every job candidate to read before accepting employment. Wrong Fit, Right Fit cuts through the miasma around workplace culture and “fitting in” and instead focuses on whether the ways of working in the organization align with the values and natural work preferences of talent. Andre’s analogy to effortlessly writing with one’s dominant hand (instead of constantly trying to write with the less dominant hand to “fit in”) was an aha moment for me!
Mark D. Adrian
CEO Consulting, Korn Ferry
Reading this book turned on a light bulb in my head, illuminating much more clearly and consciously, why my own career experiences evolved as they have. It helped me to understand, in a practical and purposeful way, the elusive concept of “fit” so often discussed in management today yet so little understood — why I jumped between 5 different organizations (many with big names and super reputations) early in my career, then settled in for 3 decades at my current employer. Andre Martin takes the concept of fit and moves it from generic to meaningful. He goes deep to offer an array of insights and tools that should be considered indispensable to any individual or organization who wants to find or create an authentic home that brings out the best in those lucky enough to inhabit that special space.
Jeanne Leidtka
Professor, University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Author, Designing for Growth
Dr. Martin has written a book everybody should read. I love the idea of ‘right fit’ because it puts so much control in the hands of every teammate and every leader! Team members can make personal adjustments so that they can ‘fit’ better into the team we were so attracted to. Team leaders can make adjustments to the position requirements so that they better resonate with the special talents of the individual teammate. Through these mutual adjustments, teams achieve a harmony that elevates them to the highest levels of commitment, inspiration, and performance.
Admiral John Richardson
USN (Ret), 31st Chief of Naval Operations
In a crowded field of books aimed at the future of work, Wrong Fit, Right Fit provides simple, practical, and sage advice to help companies build better workplaces and people to find a place where they can be at their highest, best use. This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to make work, less work.
Prasad Setty
Lecturer at Stanford; Advisor, BetterUp and Grab; Former Google VP, People Operations
If there is a book that can help companies build passionate and thriving teams filled with energized and happy people, or to help employees find these types of companies, Wrong Fit, Right Fit is that book. Filled with non-stop thought-provoking and actionable ‘ah-has,’ this book is a page-turner and a must-read for leaders, managers, and employees in any organization.
Wyatt Taubman
CEO & Co-Founder of Vive Organics
About André Martin, PhD
On a mission to help our talent rediscover the 7.8 trillion dollars of lost productivity due to disengagement... to make our lives more meaningful and make work, less work.
André Martin, PhD, has held key senior leadership, advisory, and board roles dedicated to employee engagement and culture in some of the biggest consumer brands in the world including Target, Nike, Google, Mars Incorporated, and Disney. Whether his teams were unleashing the potential of Target’s 350,000 employees by helping to build a more purpose-driven culture, activating a consumer-focused digital transformation at Nike by delivering a more value-driven, leader-led culture, or building a principle-led culture at Mars that resulted in five consecutive Gallup Great Place to Work awards, André’s mission has always been to help make make growth companies as engaging as the consumer brands they create. When he isn’t helping companies thrive, Andre is a guest lecturer at top universities on design thinking and innovation, a committed husband and father of two wonderful children, an owner of a sustainable mushroom farm in the Ozark Mountains, and can otherwise be found hiking the rain-soaked trails around Portland with his two english labs (Bode and the Fonz).
Organizational Psychologist.
Chief Talent Officer.
Engaging Speaker.
Start Up Advisor.
Executive Coach.
Author.
Consulting + Coaching
How can we recapture the 7.8 trillion dollars of lost productivity in the workplace due to disengagement?
Shift Space is a culture and leadership studio located near the sunny beaches of San Clemente, California. We are committed to helping companies of all shapes and sizes make work, less work, so we can solve more of the big, gnarly problems facing our planet. We are a different kind of consultancy. We believe in the power of the human spirit, in lowering the drag on work, and ensuring that every day we spend in the office is a day that brings value to our lives, our customers, and each other. We push. We prod. We uncover. We build with you and for you. You see, we know there is no perfect way to run a company, there is simply the way that works for you and your talent. Our job is to help you rediscover it. We do that through:
Leadership Labs
1-3 day leadership experiences that are created to help leaders see the touchpoints they have with their talent and ensure that each one creates higher and higher levels of engagement, commitment, energy and inspiration.
Executive Coaching
Being a leader is darn near impossible. The higher you go, the fewer people you have to turn to for advice, insight, a hip check, or some tough love. We are there for you. Our approach is to help you remember who you are and what you value, ensure you are creating harmony between how you work and the calendar that directs your every day, and aid you in creating a high-performing team.
Offsites/Talent Summits
In the hybrid world we are living in, the bar has been raised on how and when we gather. With years of experience convening groups large and small, we are able to create spaces and experiences that connect your talent to your purpose, your strategy, each other, and to the world. We sweat the small details and view every moment through the eyes of the talent–who they are, what they need, and how we can help them deepen their dedication to your company.
Better Work Consulting
The future of work is a misnomer. We need better ways of working right now. Done well, they will continue to evolve with us. We believe work emerges by creating the space for something different, right now. By combining a company’s “secret sauce” and the brilliance of their talent, we uncover the obstacles to making work less work, and help you to close the gap with innovative and “just for you” ideas. We are experts in employee onboarding, engagement, performance management, talent development, succession planning, and many other human capital areas in need of some reinvention.
