Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
-20% $23.97$23.97
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: CuteProducts
$8.97$8.97
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Murfbooks
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Audible sample
Follow the author
OK
Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family Hardcover – October 6, 2015
Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.
View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.
Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.
Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.
Purchase options and add-ons
Starting in 1997, Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller have pioneered a dramatically different approach to leadership that creates off-the-charts morale, loyalty, creativity, and business performance. The company utterly rejects the idea that employees are simply functions, to be moved around, "managed" with carrots and sticks, or discarded at will. Instead, Barry-Wehmiller manifests the reality that every single person matters, just like in a family. That’s not a cliché on a mission statement; it’s the bedrock of the company’s success.
During tough times a family pulls together, makes sacrifices together, and endures short-term pain together. If a parent loses his or her job, a family doesn’t lay off one of the kids. That’s the approach Barry-Wehmiller took when the Great Recession caused revenue to plunge for more than a year. Instead of mass layoffs, they found creative and caring ways to cut costs, such as asking team members to take a month of unpaid leave. As a result, Barry-Wehmiller emerged from the downturn with higher employee morale than ever before.
It’s natural to be skeptical when you first hear about this approach. Every time Barry-Wehmiller acquires a company that relied on traditional management practices, the new team members are skeptical too. But they soon learn what it’s like to work at an exceptional workplace where the goal is for everyone to feel trusted and cared for—and where it’s expected that they will justify that trust by caring for each other and putting the common good first.
Chapman and coauthor Raj Sisodia show how any organization can reject the traumatic consequences of rolling layoffs, dehumanizing rules, and hypercompetitive cultures. Once you stop treating people like functions or costs, disengaged workers begin to share their gifts and talents toward a shared future. Uninspired workers stop feeling that their jobs have no meaning. Frustrated workers stop taking their bad days out on their spouses and kids. And everyone stops counting the minutes until it’s time to go home.
This book chronicles Chapman’s journey to find his true calling, going behind the scenes as his team tackles real-world challenges with caring, empathy, and inspiration. It also provides clear steps to transform your own workplace, whether you lead two people or two hundred thousand. While the Barry-Wehmiller way isn’t easy, it is simple. As the authors put it:
"Everyone wants to do better. Trust them. Leaders are everywhere. Find them. People achieve good things, big and small, every day. Celebrate them. Some people wish things were different. Listen to them. Everybody matters. Show them."
- Print length272 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPortfolio
- Publication dateOctober 6, 2015
- Dimensions6.3 x 0.97 x 9.26 inches
- ISBN-101591847796
- ISBN-13978-1591847793
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Editorial Reviews
Review
—RON SHAICH, founder, chairman and CEO, Panera Bread
"Bob and Raj beautifully illustrate the important intersection of business and the true essence of the human spirit. One company, one employee at a time, Barry-Wehmiller is changing the world—and the world of business! If this model can be successful in manufacturing, it can be successful anywhere."
—KIP TINDELL, chairman and CEO, The Container Store
"It is almost impossible for me to adequately convey my admiration, excitement, and incredulity. . . . To give people the power and freedom to care for each other, to trust that people want to do well and be good . . . and to see how these things create value for everyone—it doesn’t get better than that. I have (happy) tears in my eyes as I write this."
—AMY CUDDY, associate professor, Harvard Business School
"Is it possible to run a successful business without treating people like numbers? Can a corporate culture of mistrust and insecurity be transformed into one of caring and fulfillment? Everybody Matters answers these questions with an enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ If you’re ready for a new way of doing business, this is the book for you."
—DANIEL H. PINK, author of To Sell Is Human and Drive
"When it comes to maximizing potential, Chapman and his team at Barry-Wehmiller have it figured out. This deeply moving and practical book will have you asking yourself ‘Why haven’t we been doing this?’ Now you can begin tomorrow!"
—JACK CANFIELD, coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul® at Work and The Success Principles™
"Everybody Matters simply blew me away. This is THE book that practically every corporate CEO in North America has been breathlessly waiting for . . . even if they don’t yet know it!"
—BOB BURG, coauthor of The Go-Giver
About the Author
BOB CHAPMAN is the chairman and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, a global capital equipment and engineering consulting company. A combination of almost eighty acquired companies spread among ten operating divisions around the world, Barry-Wehmiller’s vision is to use the power of business to build a better world. Chapman blogs about leadership and culture at www.trulyhumanleadership.com.
RAJ SISODIA is the FW Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College. His most recent book is the Wall Street Journal bestseller Conscious Capitalism (with John P. Mackey, cofounder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market).
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
“Our people matter,” says nearly every CEO on the face of the planet. “Without our people,” so the logic goes, “we would not achieve our goals.”
Rare are the leaders of organizations who will tell you that their people don’t matter. However, there is a big difference between understanding the value of the people inside an organization and actually making decisions that consider their needs. It’s like saying, “my kids are my priority,” but always putting work first. What kind of family dynamic or relationship with our kids do we think results?
The same is true in business. When we say our people matter but we don’t actually care for them, it can shatter trust and create a culture of paranoia, cynicism, and self-interest. This is not some highfalutin management theory—it’s biology. We are social animals and we respond to the environments we’re in. Good people put in a bad environment are capable of doing bad things. People who may have done bad things, put in a good environment, are capable of becoming remarkable, trustworthy, and valuable members of an organization. This is why leadership matters. Leaders set the culture. Leaders are responsible for overseeing the environment in which people are asked to work . . . and the people will act in accordance with that culture.
Culture equals values plus behavior, as my friend Lt. Gen. George Flynn, USMC (ret.) says. If an organization has a strong and clearly stated set of values and the people act in accordance with those values, then the culture will be strong. If, however, the values are ill-defined, constantly changing, or the people aren’t held accountable to or incentivized to uphold those values, then the culture will be weak. It’s no good putting “honesty” or “integrity” on the wall if we aren’t willing to confront people who consistently fail to uphold those values, regardless of their performance. Failure to do so sends a message to everyone else in the organization—“it doesn’t matter if you’re dishonest or act with questionable integrity, as long as you make your numbers.” The result is a culture of people who will drive for short-term results while systematically dismantling any sense of trust and cooperation. It’s just the way people react to the environment they are in. And without trust and cooperation, innovation suffers, productivity lags, and consistent, long-term success never really materializes. The worst-case scenarios often end in crimes being committed, sleight-of-hand accounting practices, or serious ethics violations. But the more familiar scenarios include office politics, gossip, paranoia, and stress.
I admit I am an idealist. I understand that it is a lot easier for me to say and write things like “put your people first” than it is to actually put it into practice. Financial pressures, pressure from the competition, pressure from the board, the media, Wall Street, internal politics, ego . . . the list goes on . . . all factor into why sometimes well-meaning leaders of organizations don’t (or can’t, as some say) care about their people like human beings instead of managing them like assets.
That’s why Bob Chapman matters.
If you ask Bob what his company does, he will tell you, “We build great people who do extraordinary things.” If you ask him how he measures his results, he will tell you, “We measure success by the way we touch the lives of people.” It all sounds rather fluffy and mushy. But for the fact that he means it—and it works. Because if you ask Bob what fuels his company, only then will he talk about the financials. And on that level, the amount of fuel Chapman’s companies are able to produce would be the envy of most CEOs.
When I first met Bob, he told me he was building a company that looked like what I talk about. Again, I’m an idealist. I believe it’s important to strive for the things I speak and write about . . . achieving it is an entirely different thing. And so I told Bob, the very first time we met, “I want to see it.” And see it I did!
We crossed the country visiting various offices and factories and in all cases Bob let me wander around and talk to whomever I wanted. I was free to ask any questions. He stayed out of all the meetings and he wasn’t with us when we took the factory tours. And what I saw was nothing short of astounding. I saw people come to tears when talking about how much they loved their jobs. I heard stories of people who used to hate going to work, who didn’t trust management, who now love going to work and see management as their partners.
I saw safe, clean factories, not because of some management-imposed safety or cleanliness program. The factories were safe and the machines well looked after because the people who worked there cared about their equipment and each other. I could go on and on . . . but it’s probably better if you read the book.
I’ve since taken others to see Barry-Wehmiller’s offices and factories, and the results are always the same. People are blown away by what Chapman has created. As for me? I can no longer be accused of being an idealist if what I imagine exists in reality.
It begs the question, if what I talk and write about can exist in reality, if every C-level executive acknowledges the importance and value of people, why is Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller the exception rather than the rule? The reason, once again, is pressure. Though nearly every CEO on the planet talks about the importance of doing things for the long term and the value of long-term results, an uncomfortably high number don’t seem to run their companies that way. Forget about ten- or twenty-year plans, the quarter or the year is king. Even if a five-year plan exits, odds are it gets changed or abandoned within those five years. It’s hard to make a strong argument to defend the way so many leaders of organizations conduct business today.
Though a lot of leaders talk about this stuff, in Everybody Matters you will see what happens when you actually do it. You will learn what happens when leaders care about the lives of the people inside the company as if they were family, Truly Human Leadership, as Bob Chapman calls it. You will also learn about the remarkable power unleashed when leadership is aligned with a long-term vision. That single ability is what allows for the patience to do the right thing. That combined with a desire to do right by the people is what makes companies great. And I think we need a few more great companies in the world today.
Product details
- Publisher : Portfolio (October 6, 2015)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 272 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1591847796
- ISBN-13 : 978-1591847793
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.3 x 0.97 x 9.26 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #152,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #103 in Business Ethics (Books)
- #292 in Workplace Culture (Books)
- #1,972 in Leadership & Motivation
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Raj Sisodia is FEMSA Distinguished University Professor of Conscious Enterprise and Chairman of the Conscious Enterprise Center at Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico. He is Co-Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Conscious Capitalism Inc. He has a Ph. D. in Business from Columbia University. Raj is co-author of the New York Times bestseller Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business (2013) and Wall Street Journal bestseller Everybody Matters (2015). He was named one of “Ten Outstanding Trailblazers of 2010” by Good Business International, and one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America for 2010 and 2011. Raj received an honorary doctorate from Johnson & Wales University in 2016 and the Business Luminary Award from Halcyon in 2021. He has served on the boards of Mastek and The Container Store.
Raj has published sixteen books, including Firms of Endearment: How World Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose, which was named a top business book of 2007 by Amazon.com. His most recent books are Awaken: The Journey to Purpose, Inner Peace & Healing; The Healing Organization: Awakening the Conscience of Business to Help Save the World; and The Global Rule of Three: Competing with Conscious Strategy. Raj has consulted with and taught at numerous companies, including AT&T, Verizon, LG, DPDHL, POSCO, Kraft Foods, Whole Foods Market, Tata, Tesoro, Siemens, Sprint, Volvo, IBM, Walmart, McDonalds and Southern California Edison.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book inspiring and informative about putting people first in business. They describe it as an interesting read that should be mandatory for anyone in leadership. The story is relatable and well-written, with relatable narratives. Readers appreciate the author's powerful insights and consider the book a worthwhile investment.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers appreciate the book's educational content. It inspires them to be good leaders and think about putting people first in business. They find it presents a paradigm for business that is revolutionary, integrating and reconciling the highest human values with the business world. The book covers the importance of leadership in stakeholder-centricity and the proactive, advanced methods applied to achieve it.
"...that we can have both excellent performance and a safe, trusting work environment...." Read more
"...The initial insight for this novel, humane, and effective management philosophy came in 1997 as Chapman was introducing himself to some managers at..." Read more
"...Personal takeaways: An insightful perspective on conscious capitalism, with demonstrated success in a global, multifaceted company (B-W), providing..." Read more
"...; Bob and his team have created where a remarkably powerful, continuously learning, continuously improving business culture where every employee, in..." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and informative. They say it's a must-read for anyone in leadership or starting a business. The perspective is worth contemplating and the author is an amazing CEO.
"...It has renewed my faith in human nature. In this well written book, Chapman and Sisodia trace the journey Barry-Wehmiller made from a..." Read more
"This book is amazing & should be mandatory for anyone in a leadership/ management role." Read more
"...A good read and exceptional concepts. Well worth the price of admission." Read more
"...This topic is very important for all business leaders, well worth a read." Read more
Customers find the story engaging and well-told. They appreciate the humane insights and truths that the author brings to light.
"...The initial insight for this novel, humane, and effective management philosophy came in 1997 as Chapman was introducing himself to some managers at..." Read more
"...So my reaction is that this is a great story, but I'd hope that companies learn to empower others to design and improve the organization...." Read more
"...I loved every story, lesson, and insight...." Read more
"...Filled with stories you'll walk away with a fresh look at how you lead your business. Thanks Bob!" Read more
Customers find the book well-written and relatable. They appreciate the author's narrative and easy read about how to treat others.
"The authors do really well at crafting a relatable narrative of what needs change in how humans relate and experience work...." Read more
"Excellent written work on engaging employees and looking beyond the everyday motivation that so many employees have seen time and time again...." Read more
"Love the topic and the easy read about how to treat others with respect leading to positive organizational change." Read more
"Extraordinary book written by an extraordinary person" Read more
Customers find the book's power useful. They say it helps create a powerful, learning team that produces excellent performance and trusting work. The book also shows how to be more productive and efficient.
"...Yet B-W has proven that we can have both excellent performance and a safe, trusting work environment...." Read more
"...lives of our people," Bob and his team have created where a remarkably powerful, continuously learning, continuously improving business culture..." Read more
"...that not only makes the workplace better, more productive and efficient but also helps his employees outside of work...." Read more
"...It is the most powerful force in the universe. Love is a competitive advantage...." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's value for money. They say it's worth the price and people are not a variable cost.
"...A profitable, high-energy corporation didn’t need to fuel itself on stress and treat people as objects or functions...." Read more
"...A good read and exceptional concepts. Well worth the price of admission." Read more
"...In this way, people are not a variable cost you want to flex up and down - but a fixed cost, or even a capital investment that continues to..." Read more
"...Love is abundantly available, and allows for the creation of great value."..." Read more
Reviews with images
I have read two books Dr. Raj Sisodia has ...
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2015I am grateful that I had Chapman's book on the shelf to read. I had just finished Jeffrey Pfeffer's book, Leadership BS, and was pretty down based on what I had read. What a delight and contrast, to pick up Chapman's and Sisodia's book. It has renewed my faith in human nature.
In this well written book, Chapman and Sisodia trace the journey Barry-Wehmiller made from a company focused on KPI's to a company focused on building a Business Family - not a family business, but a business family dedicated to the sustainability of the business using the philosophy of taking care of people.
Certainly the company isn’t perfect, they still get it wrong some times. But the difference is they correct course when they find out what can be better, admit their mistakes and re-commit themselves to the path of compassionate leadership.
Barry-Wehmiller figured out that to actively manage the culture, they would have to write down, teach, enforce and live the values they wished the organization to embrace. They did that at every turn by creating the Barry-Wehmiller University and by being patient building back the trust with employees.
Most impressive to me is that the company, besides growing through becoming more effective internally, has grown through acquisition. The acquisitions they made were of product compatible companies but ones who were “on the edge” of insolvency. Invariably, the culture of the acquired companies were the typical command and control and unsafe environment with no trust at all between and among leadership and employees. With patience and the consistent application of the B-W way, the companies soon began to improve and thrive.
It is telling that Simon Sinek (Leaders Eat Last, Start With Why) found B-W to be an excellent case study and had much praise for the company and this book. In the forward, Sinek made the following statement:
“I’ve since taken others to see Barry-Wehmiller’s offices and factories, and the results are always the same. People are blown away by what Chapman has created. As for me? I can no longer be accused of being an idealist if what I imagine exists in reality.
It begs the question, if what I talk and write about can exist in reality, if every C-level executive acknowledges the importance and value of people, why is Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller the exception rather than the rule? The reason, once again, is pressure. . .” - Chapman, Bob; Sisodia, Raj (2015-10-06). Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family (Kindle Locations 81-84). Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The root cause of employee disengagement is our typical command and control business structure. The pressure to “hit the numbers,” even in private businesses but certainly in public entities, is enormous and there is no patience on the part of shareholders. Yet B-W has proven that we can have both excellent performance and a safe, trusting work environment.
Pfeffer does a great job telling it like it is, and then misses the mark on realistic solutions. Chapman does an equally great job on telling it like it is (and was at B-W), and then not only provides a useful solution, but proves that the solution is viable through the story of Barry-Wehmiller's transformation.
I believe that if one reads and truly understands the content of three books – Start With Why, Drive, and Turn the Ship Around! – and having understood, builds a business based on the content of those books, then one will wind up with a truly unstoppable and sustainable business that will look a lot like the Barry-Wehmiller of today.
- Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2016There’s trouble afoot in the Land of the Free. Many, perhaps the majority of American workers, spend their days under the thumbs of detached autocrats, who at the top in large corporations make over 300 times what the average worker receives. Since the early 1970’s real wages have remained flat for workers while productivity has increased almost five-fold. What gives? The simple but compelling answer is that intimidation works. As union membership has declined, who will stand up for the workers? Certainly not its money-grubbing politicians. Essentially most workers are on their own. Thus, wages are slashed, benefits diminished, corporate employees replaced with ill-paid temporary workers, jobs are moved overseas, and safety is ignored whenever it doesn’t fit management’s cost-benefit profile. The simplest aspects of human dignity are attacked. No allowance is made for a sick child at home or for a vehicle that breaks down. Bathroom breaks are timed by computer, and on some production lines key workers must wear an adult diaper because management cannot be bothered to consider the biological needs of its employees.
Far too many American corporations are run in the interest of maximizing shareholder value. In this worldview, the value of labor counts only insofar as that labor can increase shareholder wealth. Money over people is the rule not the exception. In an earlier day such a set of values would have been considered a form of idolatry, and the people who advocated for money-worship over the protection and enhancement of human beings would have been pariahs. Now business cable networks celebrate them and ask in hushed, submissive tones what can be done to cut so-called entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare.
Fortunately there has always been a strain, often a small strain, of management thinking that considered this ruling paradigm a bunch of hooey. That strain flourished especially in small, privately owned companies where owners felt themselves to be part of the community and where workers were also neighbors and sometimes friends. Occasionally this strain flourished under the name of Servant Leadership and was understood to include broad non-denomination religious overtones, a part of what is referred to as civic religion.
In Western Europe worker rights flourished under the aegis of left-learning social democratic parties. At times overtly communist or socialist parties pushed the social democrats to promulgate labor laws that were strongly pro-worker. Among the pleasant revelations of Michael Moore’s film, “Where To Invade Next,” is a sojourn among Italian business owners and workers. In the two companies Moore visited, both high-end manufacturers, workers had six weeks of paid vacation, twelve paid holidays, and a bonus thirteenth-month of salary given at the end of the year. Even workers in less flush companies receive 20 paid vacation days and 12 paid holidays. In Italy workers must be strongly represented on management committees. The owners Moore interviewed, far from being upset by the power and benefits that their workers have, seemed proud to run companies that contributed to the common good. Profits were still made but not at the expense of exploiting those who produce the wealth. Italy has the tenth largest economy in the world.
Even in the United States until the 1970’s, management saw itself as part of the community and as contributing to community well-being. Likewise, a company’s people were considered its most important resource. This was not mere lip service. During World War II, many rich and powerful people volunteered for active military service. When the country was in danger, those in all social and economic classes assumed the risks of defending freedom. Somewhere along the line the ethic of defending freedom was transformed to defending freedom so long as doing so helped to maximize profits. Some might consider this a change in values worth exploring.
Into this morass of amoral contemporary American business thinking, we are fortunate to have Everybody Matters by Bob Chapman and Raj Sisodia. While not nearly so polemical as I might wish, Everybody Matters turns the ruling corporate management paradigm on its head. Chapman is the CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, a $1.7 billion manufacturing corporation created by and large through the acquisition of small, specialized businesses mostly in the US but overseas as well. Sisota is a chaired business professor at Babson College. The initial insight for this novel, humane, and effective management philosophy came in 1997 as Chapman was introducing himself to some managers at a recent acquisition. To boost morale and alleviate fear, Chapman on the fly invented a game that allowed a play-element into business activities. While employees could earn a small amount of money from participating in the game, play was as important as economic reward. Chapman reflected on this unanticipated success and eventually, in dialogue with his managers and workers, created a set of Guiding Principles of Leadership (GPL) meant to help employees grow personally and not simply serve as functionaries in a for-profit enterprise. It wasn’t enough simply to create principles, however. Enron had done that. Those principles had to be lived from the top down. People on all levels and across the range of companies were asked how the GPL could be implemented more effectively. Along the way, Chapman and his senior managers discovered that success didn’t come from finding the right talent or from recruiting at the best business schools. Success came from positive leadership and specifically from creating passionate experienced people who were prepared to perform in a creative, life-enhancing way. A profitable, high-energy corporation didn’t need to fuel itself on stress and treat people as objects or functions. As Chapman avers (italics in the original), “Business can change the world if it fully embraces the responsibility for the lives entrusted to it” (page 74). Brutal honesty isn’t necessary. Brutal honesty is still brutal. Real leadership cares, inspires and celebrates.
The great recession of 2008-2009 gave depth to this vision. As with the overwhelming percentage of business enterprises, Barry-Wehmiller suffered a drastic downturn in orders and revenue. The conventional wisdom would require laying off employees, cutting benefits, and closing the least profitable divisions. That wasn’t the path that Chapman took. He did have to make painful choices. He ordered everyone in the corporation to take one month of unpaid leave. Besides that, though, the only salary he cut was his own, by more than 95 percent. Because everyone in the organization, including union stewards, saw this process as fair and well-intentioned, it was instituted without objection. No one had to be permanently laid off. Toward the end of the recession, business came roaring back, and when it did, Barry-Wehmiller had experienced, well-motivated employees in place to take the corporation quickly to new levels of profitability.
While the first half of this book is a kind of case study, the second half serves as a description of principles leading to a path forward. It includes group visioning, leading through stewardship, inspiring passion and optimism, and recognizing and celebrating everyone who is actively on the path the Guiding Principles sketch out. The authors recognize that “courageous patience” is sometimes required. Not everyone learns at the same pace or can embrace change easily. Toward the end of their book, Chapman and Sisodia quote Herb Kelleler, the long-time CEO of Southwestern Airlines. Kelleler said, “The business of business is people. Yesterday, today, and forever.”
Everybody Matters goes a long way toward showing how to realize Kelleler’s maxim. It is a powerful antidote to the management by numbers that serves as leadership and strategy in most corporations. While it presents a way that will require continuous improvement and listening carefully to people throughout the organization, a process that is never fully realized, it offers a life-enhancing paradigm and a way to add meaning and profit to the endeavor that occupies most people throughout most of their waking hours. Thank you, Chapman and Sisodia, for writing this book.
John Jiambalvo is the author of Smirk, A Novel, a satiric analogy to the first administration of George W. Bush, and Americana Collection: Poems of War and Peace.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2024This book is amazing & should be mandatory for anyone in a leadership/ management role.
Top reviews from other countries
- Alice DanlaReviewed in India on December 21, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good!
Very good, I highly recommend.❤️👍
- RicardoReviewed in Spain on July 22, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars The future of leadership
This book and the life of his author reflect what really matters in life: your impact in others.
You do not need to work in NGOs or go to missions to create a great impact in the world, just through your day to day life in a business environment you have the opportunity to bring great things for the lives of other.
- Bomber-d1kReviewed in Italy on October 11, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars The Truly Human Leadership Message
It’s a must-read book. The story of Berry-Wehmiller people-centric culture is powerfully conveyed through the words of the company’s CEO & President and many other leaders and employees.
The message spread over the pages is much more effective because you feel that authenticity. Everybody matters and deserves to work for an inspiring and caring organization.
-
Dominique Arrighi de CasanovaReviewed in France on May 10, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars un management qui n'est pas fondé sur l'instrumentalisation de ses collaborateurs est possible.
En recevant ce livre que j'avais commandé plus d'un mois auparavant, je ne me souvenais plus de l'avoir commandé et me suis reproché un achat impulsif.
Après l'avoir lu, je suis ravi de cette lecture qui est un plaidoyer très convaincant pour un management essentiellement centré sur l'impact positif qu'on peut avoir sur ses collaborateurs et les autres parties prenantes de notre organisation.
Ce livre nous décrit comment Bob Chapman, l'un des 2 co-auteurs, a mis en oeuvre dans son entreprise (Barry Wehmiller) ce principe fondamental : avoir un impact positif sur la vie de ses employés et ce que cela produit comme réussite pour chacun et pour l'entreprise.
On y trouvera à la fois une vision du management centré sur l'homme avec toute l'exigence qu'elle contient et des façons concrètes de mettre en œuvre cette exigence.
Un chapitre particulièrement convaincant décrit la façon dont ils ont décidé de traverser la crise des subprimes sans licencier, dans un secteur (machine outil) particulièrement touché. C'est dans l'épreuve qu'on vérifie la vérité des conceptions du management professées par les dirigeants.
Ce livre rappelle celui de Zobrist : "La belle histoire de Favi". Mais je l'ai trouvé plus abouti.
C'est depuis "Reinventing Organizations" de Frédéric Laloux, le meilleur livre de management que j'ai lu.
A chaudement recommander pour tous ceux qui croient qu'un management qui n'est pas fondé sur l'instrumentalisation de ses collaborateurs est possible.
Pour paraphraser l'Evangile (Matthieu 6,33) : prenez d'abord soin de vos collaborateurs et le reste (succès et profit) vous sera donné par surcroît
- LeonReviewed in Germany on April 11, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars A must to read for every leader and leader to be
It seems unreal, but it works so much better than the constantly used R-word, restructuring, by downsizing, outsourcing with the effect of destroying jobs for the sole purpose of increasing CEO salaries and bonuses from some 10-30x in the 1980s to over 400x today.