Bee Wise Book – “The beehive is the ultimate business case study for complex organisations and working life today.”
Philip Atkinson, Organisational Coach, and Beekeeper, lifts the lid on what happens inside a hard-working hive and uses this as a refreshing metaphor to examine working life. This fascinating book brings a fresh perspective to many of the most pressing challenges facing leaders and organisations today.
Bee Wise Book – “The beehive is the ultimate business case study for complex organisations and working life today.”
Philip Atkinson, Organisational Coach, and Beekeeper, lifts the lid on what happens inside a hard-working hive and uses this as a refreshing metaphor to examine working life. This fascinating book brings a fresh perspective to many of the most pressing challenges facing leaders and organisations today.
I couldn’t resist – but what a buzz this book is! Philip’s passion and expertise shines through, as well as the inspired idea to invite twelve guest writers to add their perspective to the dialogue. They add real, grounded, relevant and sweet-as-honey insights. Bravo to all the industrious, diligent, clever and purposeful community involved. Gosh they sound like bees!
Caroline Barth, Chief Human Resources Officer at Syngenta Group
“I couldn’t resist – but what a buzz this book is! Philip’s passion and expertise shines through, as well as the inspired idea to invite twelve guest writers to add their perspective to the dialogue. They add real, grounded, relevant and sweet-as-honey insights. Bravo to all the industrious, diligent, clever and purposeful community involved. Gosh they sound like bees!”
Caroline Barth, Chief Human Resources Officer at Syngenta Group
More about the book
- Learning from the bees – a year of wisdom for everyone at work
- A fun, insightful, and thought-provoking reflection on leadership through the metaphor of beekeeping. Something to learn for everyone!
- Fascinating insights into what happens inside a beehive and a fun metaphor for working life.
- Full of first-hand examples and inspiring ideas for further reading and actions.
- Unique collaboration. 12 experienced guest writers add their own perspective to each chapter.
“A thought-provoking reflection on the complex lives of bees and how that can be used as a metaphor for leadership in large organisations. There is something for everyone in this fascinating book”
This book represents a fresh look at beekeeping and life today and provides a greater insight to the life of bees and how we must support and protect them and give people the opportunity to work together with them in harmony.
Megan Denver, CEO Bees for Development Charity
“This book represents a fresh look at beekeeping and life today and provides a greater insight to the life of bees and how we must support and protect them and give people the opportunity to work together with them in harmony.”
Megan Denver, CEO Bees for Development Charity
Who isn’t curious about life inside a buzzy bee hive and the miracle that turns sunshine and flowers in a meadow to a beautiful jar of honey spread on toast. And if you’re a leader at work there is always room to keep learning and improving how you and your team and business operate.
In this fascinating and fun book, Philip Atkinson shares wisdom about what happens inside a busy hive. Did you know bees have seven different jobs and only fly for the last few days of their life? Did you realise that when bees decide to swarm to a new location they take time to seek second opinions from each other, and they might disagree? But when a decision is taken the bees all agree to stand by that decision. Were you aware that male bees are no longer necessary at the end of the summer and they are murdered by the female worker bees so as not to be a drain on resources in the winter.
In turn these thought-provoking insights from inside the hive become lessons for life inside complex corporations. There are important lessons regarding leadership awareness, decision making, continuous learning and the benefits of diversity. There are also practical insights for how we develop our own career and lead complex teams.
Inside the hive the bees work as a collaborative community. In this innovative book, Philip has invited 12 guest writers to share their reflections and perspectives on each chapter.
This is both a fun and thought-provoking look at leadership and life today. I keep dipping into different seasons and chapters, and each time I’m left with something to apply immediately or keep thinking about.
Nora Galli, Gulf and Channel Partners Network Lead Roche Diagnostics Middle East
“This is both a fun and thought-provoking look at leadership and life today. I keep dipping into different seasons and chapters, and each time I’m left with something to apply immediately or keep thinking about.”
Nora Galli, Gulf and Channel Partners Network Lead Roche Diagnostics Middle East
Sample Pages
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About Philip and the 12 Guest Writers
Philip Atkinson
Philip is based in Alsace, France, and is the founder of hive-logic.com Coaching & Communications with offices in Basel, Switzerland, and London, UK. Philip is a leadership team expert and organisational coach and shares the wisdom of his two great passions together in one volume.
As a beekeeper, Philip loves to spend the summer tending to and observing his precious bees and spending the winter learning, reading, and writing about them. Throughout the whole year, Philip supports leadership teams and leaders worldwide to grow and develop.
You can contact Philip by email on philip@hive-logic.com
Everything we do in life and at work is improved by partnering with other good people. This book is not just about sharing one view point; it’s about creating a community towards shared thinking. Therefore, I asked the following twelve people to contribute to this book:
Click/tap an author to read more...
About Philip and the 12 Guest Writers
Philip Atkinson
Philip is based in Alsace, France, and is the founder of hive-logic.com Coaching & Communications with offices in Basel, Switzerland, and London, UK. Philip is a leadership team expert and organisational coach and shares the wisdom of his two great passions together in one volume.
As a beekeeper, Philip loves to spend the summer tending to and observing his precious bees and spending the winter learning, reading, and writing about them. Throughout the whole year, Philip supports leadership teams and leaders worldwide to grow and develop.
You can contact Philip by email on philip@hive-logic.com
Everything we do in life and at work is improved by partnering with other good people. This book is not just about sharing one view point; it’s about creating a community towards shared thinking. Therefore, I asked the following twelve people to contribute to this book:
Click/tap an author to read more...
What people say…
“What a fun and refreshing leadership book. Real and practical advice for everyone – AND bonkers facts about the bees! Who knew the females kill the males when they’re no longer useful…”
“A thought-provoking reflection on the complex lives of bees and how that can be used as a metaphor for leadership in large organisations. There is something for everyone in this fascinating book”
“Bee Wise is a deep and practical look at who we are as humans, leaders, parents and role models with a responsibility to stop, pause and think about how we show up in the world today. It is full of real experience, devoid of jargon, and a very good read.”
Charles Style, Former Commandant of The Royal College of Defence Studies
“I was curious to learn more from the first line. Chapter 6 on continuous learning was really thought-provoking. It was fun to learn about bees’ own ‘career progression’ and to apply that to our own situations.”
Simon Brown, Global Partner Talent, EY. Author of the Curious Advantage
“What a powerful and insightful read. The bee metaphor is such an elegant way to introduce these 12 essential topics for leaders today.”
Carrie Scott, Global Head of Sustainability and ESG Office, Novartis
“What a fresh and inspiring look at leadership today!”
Pippa Edwards. Atlantic Rower and Leadership Coach
