Executive thinking, made relatable.
Executive thinking, made relatable.
The Job Joy Series · Book 1 of 3
Working hard and feeling fulfilled are not the same thing. Book 1 is where you learn to tell the difference — and meet the formula that explains it. Find the work you are built for.
Solve the Riddle. Why working doesn't equal fulfillment — and the formula to close that gap, drawn from 35+ years inside the rooms where careers are made or broken.
Most people spend more waking hours at work than anywhere else — yet rarely stop to ask why the job itself so seldom delivers the joy they expected. Book 1 breaks down that riddle using 35+ years of on-the-ground leadership at Marriott, DFS/LVMH and Mercy Health, turning hard-won lessons into a formula anyone can use: Love + Good At = Job Joy™.
Book 1 is the first of three steps. Define what job joy actually is, diagnose what is standing in the way, then solve it — role by role, career by career, team by team.
From childhood, we're taught a simple truth: work is something we have to do — not something meant to fulfill us. But what if that belief is incomplete?
In JOB JOY, David Simmons reframes work as something deeper — not just a responsibility, but a riddle to be solved. A job can feel like it binds us over time, tracking our progress, our effort and our outcomes, yet offering no guarantee of fulfillment. Most people spend years chasing happiness at work only to find it remains out of reach. This book challenges that pursuit.
Instead of searching for happiness, you'll learn how to engineer job joy — by identifying the work that energizes you, aligning with meaningful purpose, and intentionally designing how you show up every day. Increase engagement in the tasks you already perform. Transform a necessity into a source of renewable joy.
Work may be required — but fulfillment is designed.
Three books, three steps. Define what job joy is, diagnose what is blocking it, then solve it. Find the work you are built for.
Book 1 · Define
The doorway. Working hard and feeling fulfilled are not the same thing — this is where you learn to tell the difference, and meet the formula that explains it.
Book 2 · Diagnose
The honest mirror. Teaches the Five Joy Blocks — Identity, Alignment, Authority, Belonging, Trajectory — then the method to move them: Name, Locate, Test, Remove.
Book 3 · Solve
The applied practice. How to turn a diagnosed block into a redesigned role — renegotiating what you have, restructuring how you work, or rebuilding around a different opportunity.
