The must-read summary of Brian Becker, Mark Huselid and Dave Ulrich's book: "The HR Scorecard: Linking People, Strategy and Performance".
This complete summary of the ideas from Brian Becker, Mark Huselid and Dave Ulrich's book "The HR Scorecard" introduces a measurement system that showcases how HR impacts business performance. The "HR Scorecard" matches business strategy against HR deliverables and objectives to provide a statistical basis by which HR efficiency and contribution to strategy implementation can be measured. In their book, the authors provide a seven-step model for embedding HR systems within the firm's overall strategy. This summary will teach you how to use this to maximise the overall quality of human capital in your company.
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To learn more, read "The HR Scorecard" and find out how you can use this strategy to get the most out of your employees.
The must-read summary of Don Maruska's book: "How Great Decisions Get Made: 10 Easy Steps for Reaching Agreement on Even the Toughest Issues".
This complete summary of the ideas from Don Maruska's book "How Great Decisions Get Made" shows that businesses decisions are often surrounded by fear; employees are scared to express an opinion and they feel threatened by change imposed on them. This summary proposes a different way for businesses to approach decision-making, one that fosters enthusiasm, hope and cohesion. It gives ten steps for achieving this, ones which have been tested in Fortune 500 and high-growth companies over more than a decade. It also provides strategies for overcoming common obstacles you might encounter on the way. "If you've been bogged down in divisive and unproductive debates, just imagine what it would be like if your team member's philosophy was 'We can do this together'". Everyone in the company should be a stakeholder, and as such should be given accurate information about the company and considered a decision-maker. All employees should be aware of the end-goal in any big decision, and the end-goal should be something everyone should have a stake in. Executives should never start a workforce meeting having decided the outcome. This summary explains how to overcome obstacles such as a blame-culture and circular debates.
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- Increase your business knowledge
To learn more, read "How Great Decisions Get Made" and discover a way for businesses to develop their most valuable resource, their employees.
The must-read summary of Gordon Bethune's book: "From Worst to First: Behind the Scenes of Continental's Remarkable Comeback".
This complete summary of the ideas from Gordon Bethune's book "From Worst to First" shows that all successes in your business or in your career will be the result of your ability to create, develop and maintain healthy and honest relationships. As the author rightly points out, there is no such thing as a successful company that sells a product nobody wants and where employees don't want to come to work. In his book, Bethune explains how you must create a working environment that adds value and motivates employees to achieve success.
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To learn more, read "From Worst to First" and find out how you can add value to your business by making it a great place to work.
The must-read summary of Jason Fried and David Hansson's book: "Remote: Office Not Required".
This complete summary of the ideas from Jason Fried and David Hansson's book "Remote" shows that now is the right time for allowing more workers to do their work remotely, rather than keeping watch over them in a centralised office. Therefore, if you get your mindset right and put in place some robust operating rules for how remote work will happen, you position your organisation to take full advantage of the benefits of the growing remote work phenomena.
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To learn more, read "Remote" and find out how you can expand your business all around the globe.
The must-read summary of Alex Hiam's book: "Making Horses Drink: How to Lead and Succeed in Business".
This complete summary of the ideas from Alex Hiam's book "Making Horses Drink" shows that, in a commercial setting, your employees are your horsepower - the people with the potential to take the company to great results. In this book, the author explains that realising this potential is the central challenge and goal faced by every leader and, just like the proverbial horse, you can't force employees to be exceptional if they don't want to be. This summary reveals the key to motivating your workforce and how you can make small changes to improve your leadership skills.
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- Expand your leadership skills
To learn more, read "Making Horses Drink" and discover the key to getting the best from your employees.
The must-read summary of Lowell Bryan and Claudia Joyce's book "Mobilizing Minds: Creating Wealth from Talent in the 21st Century Organization".
This complete summary of the ideas from Lowell Bryan and Claudia Joyce's book "Mobilizing Minds" shows that a company's existing workforce is the key to its growth - not its technology, systems or any other assets. In their book, the authors explain that the central theme of your corporate strategy should be to redesign your organisation in order to better mobilise the mind power of the people who already work for you. This summary provides everything you need to design an organisation that can better capture the opportunities of the 21st century.
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To learn more, read "Mobilizing Minds" and discover the key to structuring your organisation for future success.
The must-read summary of Dave Anderson's book: "If You Don't Make Waves You'll Drown: 10 Hard-Charging Strategies for Leading in Politically Correct Times".
This complete summary of the ideas from Dave Anderson's book "If You Don't Make Waves You'll Drown" shows that political correctness is draining the health and vitality out of many businesses because it encourages managers to patronise weak performers, thus dis-incentivising employees to achieve more. It also praises conformity rather than innovation. Instead, companies should create an environment where high-performance is celebrated and exceptional results are applauded. This summary puts forward a radical program to get the full potential of every employee. It suggests that executives stop trying to make everyone happy: always treat people with respect, but give them expectations and celebrate those who meet those expectations. Always be honest with people, and be specific in your feedback. Never give across the board bonuses: they should be performance-based. Think about your own role as a thermostat rather than a thermometer - you should be controlling the business environment, not passively standing by. Ideally, business processes should be structured to avoid burnout, so that you don't sacrifice long-term productivity for short-term speed. This summary sets out a manifesto for improving company performance and increasing morale. By following this plan, employees will be motivated to perform better and will reap benefits themselves.
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- Increase your business knowledge
To learn more, read "If You Don't Make Waves You'll Drown" and motivate your employees to increase the performance of your business.
The must-read summary of David Maister's book: "Practice What You Preach: What Managers Must Do to Create a High Achievement Culture".
This complete summary of the ideas from David Maister's book "Practice What You Preach" asks a fundamental question: "Is there a statistical correlation between employee attitudes and financial success for a business? And if there is, what is the correct sequence - do employee attitudes drive financial success or does financial success itself result in improved employee attitudes?" To answer these questions definitively, a survey was conducted and the data collected formed a convincing proof that if a business first energizes and excites its people, they will then serve clients well with the result that the business will make lots of money. This summary will teach you the importance of personal character in managers who aspire to lead their firms to greatness.
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To learn more, read "Practice What You Preach" and discover the research that reveals exactly what makes a business successful.
The must-read summary of James Tamm and Ronald Luyet's book: "Radical Collaboration: Five Essential Skills to Overcome Defensiveness and Build Successful Relationships".
This complete summary of the ideas from James Tamm and Ronald Luyet's book "Radical Collaboration" shows that in today's networked world, being able to add value by collaborating effectively with others has become a new business imperative. The collaborative capital of a company is now of equal importance to its intellectual and financial capital. In their book, the authors explain that collaboration must begin with the mind-set of the individual and then work its way into the organisation as a whole. This summary presents the five essential skills of collaboration that you can learn in order to improve your ability to build productive collaborative relationships.
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To learn more, read "Radical Collaboration" and discover the key to improving your own collaborative skills.
The must-read summary of Frederick Reichheld's book: "Loyalty Rules! How Today's Leaders Build Lasting Relationships".
This complete summary of the ideas from Frederick Reichheld's book "Loyalty Rules!" shows how there is a direct relationship between loyalty and profitability. The greater the loyalty any firm can engender amongst its customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders, the greater the profits it will reap in the future. In his book, the author explains that this can be achieved by following the six key principles and presents each of them in turn, explaining why they are important and how to implement them. This summary demonstrates the measures that you can take to boost your status, morale and profits.
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To learn more, read "Loyalty Rules!" and find out how you can take your fate into your own hands and follow the key principles to success.
The must-read summary of Rusty Rueff and Hank Stringer's book: "Talent Force: A New Manifesto for the Human Side of Business".
This complete summary of the ideas from Rusty Rueff and Hank Stringer's book "Talent Force" shows how few businesses make the effort to create a true talent force, rather than a workforce. In their book, the authors explain that the people within an organisation will always be the differentiator, more than marketing, brand recognition or even its products. This summary presents specific strategies and techniques that every good business should use in order to align employees' talents with business processes.
Added-value of this summary:
- Save time
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- Expand your business knowledge
To learn more, read "Talent Force" to discover why your employees are the biggest asset to your company and how you can benefit from them most.
The must-read summary of Guy Kawasaki's book "The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything".
This complete summary of the ideas from Guy Kawasaki's book "The Art of the Start" shows how starting a business is an art. In his book, the author explains a step-by-step approach for starting any business project, from launching a start-up to creating a new product. He also demonstrates the importance of giving meaning to everything you do to make things happen and achieve success.
Added-value of this summary:
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- Expand your business knowledge
To learn more, read "The Art of the Start" and find out everything you need to know about starting a new business and how to make it a success!
The must-read summary of Noel Tichy and Nancy Cardwell's book: "The Cycle of Leadership: How Great Leaders Teach Their Companies to Win".
This complete summary of the ideas from Noel Tichy and Nancy Cardwell's book "The Cycle of Leadership" shows how the central commercial challenge today is to not only satisfy customers, but delight them. In their book, the authors explain that the best way to do this is by creating an efficient teaching-and-learning environment, where everyone within the company is both a teacher and learner. This summary provides readers with a technique for applying the approach and why you should take the time to craft development plans for each employee.
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To learn more, read "The Cycle of Leadership" and discover the new approach to management that ensures that everyone's voice is heard.
The must-read summary of Richard Tedlow's book: "Andy Grove: The Life and Times of an American".
This complete summary of the ideas from Richard Tedlow's book "Andy Grove" tells the wonderful rags to riches story of Andy Grove. It describes his early childhood in war-torn Hungary and the humble beginnings of his career, right to his successful central position in Silicon Valley working at Intel. In his book, the author reveals all about the challenges Andy faced during his time at Intel, and the incredible decisions he made with his colleagues when faced with major competitors such as IBM. This summary also presents the key principles that Grove used for his winning business strategy.
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To learn more, read "Andy Grove" and discover the story behind the success of Intel businessman, Andy Grove.
The must-read summary of Ricardo Semler's book: "The Seven-Day Weekend: Finding The Work/Life Balance".
This complete summary of the ideas from "The Seven-Day Weekend" exposes the origins of ingrained habits in the business world and explains how changing them might be for the better. This useful summary provides you with the tools necessary to identify said habits in your company and to implement changes that will benefit both your business and the people involved, following in the example of the incredibly successful company Semco S.A. Striking the right balance between personal and professional life is now possible.
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- Expand your knowledge of management
To learn more, read "The Seven-Day Weekend" and discover how to organise your company for maximum efficiency!
The must-read summary of Zeynep Ton's book: "The Good Jobs Strategy: How the Smartest Companies Invest in Employees to Lower Costs and Boost Profits".
This complete summary of the ideas from Zeynep Ton's book "The Good Jobs Strategy" tells you how most companies believe that they need to keep costs down and pay employees very little to keep their prices low. According to Zeynep, this is a 'bad jobs strategy'. A 'good jobs strategy' involves investing in people and paying them more. By offering them better pay and more benefits, they will be more motivated to work hard. These companies have an enthusiastic team, strong returns for investors and still offer low prices for customers.
Added-value of this summary:
- Save time
- Employ a 'good jobs strategy' in your company
- Offer your employees better benefits to keep them motivated
To learn more, read "The Good Jobs Strategy" and find out how you can get the best out of your employees!
The must-read summary of Frances Frei and Anne Morriss' book: "Uncommon Service: How to Win by Putting Customers at the Core of Your Business".
This complete summary of the ideas from Frances Frei and Anne Morriss' book "Uncommon Service" shows that it's not enough to demand that employees deliver a great service. In other words, it is indispensable to design a business model so that all employees deliver excellent service as an everyday occurrence. This summary provides a guideline in five steps to establish the cornerstones for delivering uncommon service on an ongoing basis.
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To learn more, read "Uncommon Service" and discover the key to developing excellence in your business.
The must-read summary of Roger Connors and Tom Smith's book: "Change the Culture, Change the Game: The Breakthrough Strategy for Energizing Your Organization and Creating Accountability for Results".
This complete summary of the ideas from Roger Conners and Tom Smith's book "Change the Culture, Change the Game" explains that culture is at the heart of every organisation. According to the authors, if you want to change your results, you must start by changing your culture. By creating a 'Culture of Accountability', you will create an organisation that is filled with people who can produce game-changing results. By following their advice, you will discover the key to changing your company culture for guaranteed results.
Added-value of this summary:
- Save time - Understand the key concepts
- Expand your business knowledge
To learn more, read "Change the Culture, Change the Game" and find out how you can gain a competitive advantage by changing the culture at the heart of your company.
The must-read summary of Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle's book: "How Google Works: The Rules for Success in the Internet Century".
This complete summary of the ideas from Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle's book "How Google Works" demonstrates how the power has shifted in companies due to the "Internet Century". Individuals known as 'smart creatives' can now have a massive impact by knowing how to use modern tools to get fast results. Google has attracted these 'smart creatives' to get ahead, providing them with the perfect creative environment.
Attracting 'smart creatives' depends on:
1. Culture
2. Strategy
3. Talent pool
4. Decisions
5. Communication
6. Innovation
Added-value of this summary:
- Save time
- Attract 'smart creatives'
- Use modern tools to get fast results
To learn more, read "How Google Works" and find out how Google excels thanks to its individual 'smart creatives'!
The must-read summary of Scott Bedbury's book: "A New Brand World: 8 Principles for Achieving Brand Leadership in the 21st Century".
This complete summary of the ideas from Scott Bedbury's book " A New Brand World" shows that a strong set of brand values can be a company's most important asset. In their book, the authors outline eight principles for creating a solid 21st century brand, giving useful and well-known industry examples to highlight the main points. An impressive amount of information has been condensed into this neat and digestible format, making it a great guide for anyone looking to build a memorable brand for the 21st century, whether you are building on existing foundations or starting entirely from scratch.
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- Save time
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To learn more, read "A New Brand World" and find out how to create a solid 21st century brand based on values.
The must-read summary of Ken Blanchard, Jim Ballard and Fred Finch's book: "Customer Mania: It's Never Too Late to Build a Customer-Focused Company".
This complete summary of the ideas from Ken Blanchard, Jim Ballard and Fred Finch's book "Customer Mania" shows that to succeed in business today, you have to provide consistently great customer service. In other words, unless you have a unified, people-first, customer-oriented culture, it will be difficult to build your business going forward. Fortunately, any company large or small can achieve this. Note that you can't build a customer-focused company by emphasizing the results that you want to achieve. This is the equivalent of putting the cart before the horse. When you focus on results, getting people to do the right thing will be an effort - people will have to be convinced that's the right way to go. A much more effective idea is to concentrate on building your people first, and then they will just naturally take care of the customer in the ways you prefer. Get your people acting with passion and commitment and everything else will just naturally fall into place. With astute management, you'll even be able to create a self-perpetuating cycle where the work feeds the energy of the people involved, which in turn means the work gets done better, leading to increased levels of energy in the future and so on.
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- Save time
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- Increase your business knowledge
To learn more, read "Customer Mania" and discover the key to succeeding in business!
The must-read summary of General Stanley McChrystal's book "Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World".
This complete summary of the ideas from General Stanley McChrystal's book "Team of Teams" shows that hierarchies are no longer the most effective way to structure an organisation. Instead, organisations should transform themselves into interconnected and effective networks which are resilient and adaptable. Using the structure of the US army as an example, the author explains exactly how to arrange your organisation to produce the best possible results.
Added-value of this summary:
- Save time
- Understand the key concepts
- Improve your social and communication skills
To learn more, read "Team of Teams" and discover how re-structuring your organisation can yield better results.
The must-read summary of Gino Wickman and Mark Winter's book: "Rocket Fuel: The One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business".
This complete summary of the ideas from Gino Wickman and Mark Winter's book "Rocket Fuel" shows that the best way to grow a business is by linking a "Visionary" up with an "Integrator". While visionaries can see the future they are aiming for, integrators know how to get there. Companies can reach their goals faster and more efficiently by following in the footsteps of partnerships such as Walt and Roy Disney, who combined a visionary with an integrator to produce stellar results. The authors explain how you can tell if you are a visionary or an integrator and then how to use this knowledge to excel in your role.
Added-value of this summary:
- Save time
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- Increase your business knowledge
To learn more, read "Rocket Fuel" and discover how you and your company can excel!
The must-read summary of Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham's book: "A Stake in the Outcome: Building a Culture of Ownership for the Long-Term Success of Your Business".
This complete summary of the ideas from Jack Stack and Bo Burlingham's book "A Stake in the Outcome" shows that to succeed in creating an employee-owned and operated company, employees have to be taught how to think and act like owners. This summary advises business managers to go beyond the traditional ways of rewarding employees, and teaches them how to build a sustainable ownership culture which provides employees with the right tools and attitude to carry out their responsibilities with the goals of the wider company at heart. This summary outlines fourteen rules of 'Employee Ownership' and systematically addresses each point, often illustrated with examples. At the end of this summary you should have a clearer understanding of how to empower your employees with the trust and intelligence they need in order to act in the company's best interests, without necessarily handing out company shares.
Added-value of this summary:
- Save time
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- Increase your business knowledge
To learn more, read "A Stake in the Outcome" and discover the rules of employee ownership.
