Interview with Ethan Chazin

Author of The Compassionate Organization: and the people who love to work for them

Where are you from originally and where do you reside now?

Oakland, CA

If you currently reside somewhere besides where you were born, what’s the story that lead from there to here?

A number of family relocations and various educational and career moves have led me back to New York City where I grew up.

What made you decide to write and publish your first book?

I have always been fascinated with organizations that leveraged compassion, trust and loyalty to their employees and thus established amazingly powerful cultures

How would you describe your books to first time readers?

The Compassionate Organization is dedicated to providing readers with a blueprint to either create, find, or thrive in organizations that care about building meaningful places to work and that have a positive impact on society.

Who do you feel is most likely to connect with the topics you write about?

The idea that a person can find an organization that possesses a compassionate workplace by researching the informal culture, ask employees who currently work there or have worked there, find out how world-class cultures treat all of their constituents.

What unexpected or surprising thing did you learn during the process of writing and publishing?

Having spent 20+ years working in mostly toxic workplaces and now having consulted with over 250 organizations the past 10 years, it always amazes me that the organizations with the most compassionate workplaces are ALWAYS the most successful in terms of financial and marketplace performance. They simply always outperform their competitors.

If you could, what advice would you give to your past self before embarking on this journey?

Do not squander away your professional career devoting all your efforts, commitment, and engagement to organizations that “use up” people as merely assets. Pursue your passions, find places to work that will allow you to pursue your passions, work i na state of flow, and realize your full potential.

How many people would you ideally like to reach with your books?

Millions!

What has been the biggest challenge and frustration during the process to date?

People do not afford the chance to have meaningful discussions around the critical importance of re-architecting the 21st Century workplace to accommodate our 5-Generation American workplace of Matures, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.

What’s your biggest strengths when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

My 30 years of commitment to the cause of career exploration, professional development and organizational development through a career-long commitment to coaching and training.

What’s your biggest weakness when it comes to book a) writing, b) publishing and c) marketing?

Lack of an established national personal reputational brand.

When do you think you will write your next book?

Within the next 5 years.

Are you self published or did you use a hybrid publisher, or a traditional publisher?

Self-published my latest 2nd book The Compassionate Organization with Author House.