Book Review: Lessons from the Hive by C. Decker

Introduction and Book Selection

I found Lessons from the Hive to be a much more practical book than, say, Thank God It's Monday! by Roxanne Emerich. I began reading Emerich's book for this paper but decided against it for two reasons. First, it read almost like a positive-thinking treatise suggesting that if you think good thoughts, good things will happen in the workplace too. Second, I could not see that she delivered on the "how to make it work" part of the book. So, back to Lessons from the Hive.

Decker offers a "based on a true story" narrative that mirrors the experiences of a candle company in New England. The fictional company, Bee Natural, Inc., has been bought out by a large corporation, and the story is mostly the aftermath — dealing with the changes that five of its characters go through and struggle with. With that summary out of the way, on to the review and reaction.

Summary of the Story

I found it a realistic tale, as far as I can tell from my own perspective. The characters seem real and face the kinds of problems I have read about in other books. They navigate both personal and work-life pressures that do not appear overdone or artificially cheerful. Decker emphasizes the positive when his characters deal with organizational change, and he effectively conveys the importance of trust and shows how different personalities might handle workplace conflict in their relationships with colleagues and managers.

Realism of Characters and Setting

Dana Carswell, the main character and narrator, is the company veteran. She carries the same conflicted relationship with her teenage son that many parents will recognize. Her role — and much of the rest of the book — is handled through dialogue, which made it feel more authentic since the language is down-to-earth and believable. Overall, the decision to write the book in novel form while still teaching meaningful business and personal lessons made a strong impression on me.

Unlike with Emerich's book, I often expected a "happy thought" solution to the conflicts generated in the story, but I got realism instead. Even so, Decker fully engages with the real pressures and conflicts of office life, particularly within a changing workplace. The conversations are real; the pressures are real; the conflicts are real; the language is real; and all of the personalities feel genuine.

Lessons on Workplace Conflict and Change

Decker also teaches lessons through his characters and the circumstances they face. One of the more important, it seems to me, is his demonstration that organizational change can bring opportunity as well as challenge. Though the events are specifically tied to a corporate takeover, Decker's message feels broader than that context alone. He also illustrates ways to avoid or minimize conflict in the workplace and to handle it more constructively — doing so by example through dialogue between characters rather than through lecture.

Two more things that the author does stand out as particularly significant. First, he makes you think about yourself in those types of situations. You cannot help but relate to one or more of the characters in some way, and when you see how a character either handles or mishandles a difficult moment, the reader learns from it just as the character does. This kind of experiential learning through narrative is one of the book's greatest strengths.