Design Love In

The most powerful force in business is not what you think it is—and it's right in front of you as a leader, waiting to be unleashed.
Think about the last time you said, "I love that." Maybe it was about a product that exceeded expectations, a service experience that built instant loyalty, or a moment when your work brought out the best in you. That reaction isn't just emotional—it's electric. In the workplace, it fuels engagement, strengthens performance, and drives lasting success. Yet most leaders don't acknowledge it, let alone try to measure or make use of it.
In Design Love In, leading researcher on human performance and bestselling author Marcus Buckingham reveals how love—the deep connection that makes people feel seen, valued, and inspired—isn't a soft feeling but a practical, measurable force. He shows how leaders, as experience makers, can intentionally "design love in" to everything we do: our interactions with team members, our company policies and practices, the products and services and experiences we create for those we lead and serve. When we do this, it not only generates positive feeling toward us and our products, it energizes our teams and organizations, strengthens the connections between us as humans, and creates a better world.
Featuring vivid stories of global brands, current research, and personal experiences, Buckingham illustrates that tapping this force is not simply about being more "warm and fuzzy"—it's a concrete matter of utilizing loving experiences to drive behaviors to drive outcomes, and the book provides step-by-step advice on how to "design love in" to all your actions as a leader.
Love—it's the most powerful force in business. This book shows how you as a leader can unleash it.

For over twenty-five years, Marcus Buckingham has been the world's leading researcher on strengths, engagement, and human performance. He began his career at Gallup and was the cocreator, with Donald O. Clifton, of StrengthsFinder. He is the New York Times–bestselling author or coauthor of many books, including First, Break All the Rules; Now, Discover Your Strengths; StandOut 2.0; Nine Lies about Work; and Love + Work.