Make Your Workplace Great

Gold Medal Winner, Human Resources and Employee Training, 2012 Axiom Business Book Awards Trust, Pride and Camaraderie—transform your company into a "Great Place to Work" The Great Place to Work Institute develops the annual ranking of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. In this book, the authors explore the model of a Great Place to Work For-one which fosters employee trust, pride in what they do, and enjoyment in the people they work with. They answer the fundamental question, "What is the business value of creating a great workplace?" and brings the definition of a Great Place to work alive with anecdotes, best practices, and quotes from employees working at the best workplaces in the U.S. Reveals the essential ingredients in and the trends of the best places to work Explores Great Place to Work model developed in 1984 and validated through its enduring resonance in both the United States and in over 40 countries around the world Written by Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin two Great Place to Work Institute Insiders If you organization is struggling with the challenges of leveraging human capital, discover why some companies have what it takes to be great.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Foreword A Better View of Motivation -- Introduction A Great Place to Work For All -- PART ONE Better for Business -- Chapter 1 More Revenue, More Profit -- Chapter 2 A New Business Frontier -- Chapter 3 How to Succeed in the New Business Frontier -- Chapter 4 Maximizing Human Potential Accelerates Performance -- PART TWO Better for People, Better for the World -- Chapter 5 When the Workplace Works For Everyone -- Chapter 6 Better Business for a Better World -- PART THREE The For All Leadership Call -- Chapter 7 Leading to a Great Place to Work For All -- Chapter 8 The For All Rocket Ship -- Notes -- Thanks -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Z -- About Us -- Authors

For readers of Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, and Freakonomics, comes a captivating and surprising journey through the science of workplace excellence. Why do successful companies reward failure? What can casinos teach us about building a happy workplace? How do you design an office that enhances both attention to detail and creativity? In The Best Place to Work, award-winning psychologist Ron Friedman, Ph.D. uses the latest research from the fields of motivation, creativity, behavioral economics, neuroscience, and management to reveal what really makes us successful at work. Combining powerful stories with cutting edge findings, Friedman shows leaders at every level how they can use scientifically-proven techniques to promote smarter thinking, greater innovation, and stronger performance. Among the many surprising insights, Friedman explains how learning to think like a hostage negotiator can help you diffuse a workplace argument, why placing a fish bowl near your desk can elevate your thinking, and how incorporating strategic distractions into your schedule can help you reach smarter decisions. Along the way, the book introduces the inventor who created the cubicle, the president who brought down the world’s most dangerous criminal, and the teenager who single-handedly transformed professional tennis—vivid stories that offer unexpected revelations on achieving workplace excellence. Brimming with counterintuitive insights and actionable recommendations, The Best Place to Work offers employees and executives alike game-changing advice for working smarter and turning any organization—regardless of its size, budgets, or ambitions—into an extraordinary workplace.

What Steven J. Stein found out about creating and sustaining great workplaces The proprietary and cutting-edge research carried out by the author led to outcomes that shed new light on management practice and strategy. The 7 Keys presented in this book, when implemented, will produce immediate results and long-term enhanced performance. You will be privy to what the author has learned about the changing workplace and the role leaders play in maximizing their workforce. You can fill an organization with all the intelligent and highly educated people you want, but without the right culture and discipline, your chances of success are in doubt. Use this book to see how your organization measures up to the 7 Keys and implement the necessary changes to make your workplace a happier and more productive one. The 7 keys Hire capable people who love the work they do and show how they contribute to the bigger picture. Compensate people fairly. Don't overwork (or underwork) people. Build strong teams with shared purpose and viable goals. Make sure managers can manage. Treat people with respect and leverage their unique talents. Be proactively responsible by doing the right things to win the hearts and minds of your people.

What Steven J. Stein found out about creating and sustaining great workplaces The proprietary and cutting-edge research carried out by the author led to outcomes that shed new light on management practice and strategy. The 7 Keys presented in this book, when implemented, will produce immediate results and long-term enhanced performance. You will be privy to what the author has learned about the changing workplace and the role leaders play in maximizing their workforce. You can fill an organization with all the intelligent and highly educated people you want, but without the right culture and discipline, your chances of success are in doubt. Use this book to see how your organization measures up to the 7 Keys and implement the necessary changes to make your workplace a happier and more productive one. The 7 keys Hire capable people who love the work they do and show how they contribute to the bigger picture. Compensate people fairly. Don't overwork (or underwork) people. Build strong teams with shared purpose and viable goals. Make sure managers can manage. Treat people with respect and leverage their unique talents. Be proactively responsible by doing the right things to win the hearts and minds of your people.

Unfortunately, far too many people don’t like where they work. Some organizations are unhealthy and full of disrespectful behavior. Other workplaces are simply uninspiring. For various reasons, countless people feel trapped, indifferent, or bored at work. The authors of this book believe that people should be able to like where they work. When employees like the places they work, it’s not only good for their mental health and well-being, it’s also good for their organizations – both financially and otherwise. When a workplace culture is purposely created to be respectful and inspiring, employees are happier, more productive, and more engaged. By exploring six key elements that make up a healthy workplace culture, The Culture Question answers two fundamental questions: “How does your organization’s culture impact how much people like where they work?” and “What can you do to make it better?” Discover how to create a workplace where people like to work by focusing on these six elements of healthy workplace culture: Communicating Your Purpose and Values. Employees are inspired when they work in organizations whose purpose and values resonate with them. Providing Meaningful Work. Most employees want to work on projects that inspire them, align with what they are good at, and allow them to grow. Focusing Your Leadership Team on People. How leaders relate to their employees plays a major role in how everyone feels about their workplace. Building Meaningful Relationships. When employees like the people they work with and for, they are more satisfied and more engaged in their work. Creating Peak Performing Teams. People are energized when they work together effectively because teams achieve things that no one person could do on their own. Practicing Constructive Conflict Management. When leaders don’t handle conflict promptly and well, it quickly sours the workplace. This book includes survey feedback from over 2,400 leaders and employees and resources for putting these ideas into action.

This Harvard Business Review digital collection showcases the ideas of Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, authors of Why Should Anyone Be Led by You? and Why Should Anyone Work Here? In Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?, Goffee and Jones argue that leaders don’t become great by aspiring to a list of universal character traits. Rather, effective leaders are authentic: they deploy individual strengths to engage followers’ hearts, minds, and souls. In Why Should Anyone Work Here?, the authors argue that it used to be that businesses could ask individuals to conform to the organization’s needs but that now today’s leaders are charged with creating the best company on earth to work for: they must transform their organizations to attract the right people, keep them, and inspire them to do their best work.

While you can't personally transform the corporate culture, you can influence the workplace climate and create meaningful and lasting change. Supported by the latest research, this eye-opening book argues that our best work is the product of a positive environment. When it comes to work these days, we're expected to do more with less--but is this nose-to-the-grindstone philosophy the best way to run a business? Alarmingly low employee engagement numbers indicate otherwise. So, if pushing everyone harder isn't the path to productivity, what is? Advocating a steward model of management, The Optimistic Workplace reveals how to: Explore personal and organizational purpose--and align them for astonishing results Overcome resistance and skepticism Build camaraderie and deepen loyalty Increase intrinsic motivation Help your team find meaning in their work Identify goals collaboratively and track progress Examples from companies large and small demonstrate how this people-centric focus ignites employee potential, increases innovation, and catapults the organization to new levels of performance. The Optimistic Workplace presents an array of surprisingly simple strategies as well as practical 30-, 60-, and 90-day plans designed to focus your actions and make employee optimism not just a worthy goal--but a real and measurable result.