Page 89 - (DK) The Business Book

LIGHTING THE FIRE 87

See also: Leading well 68–69 ■ Creativity and invention 72–73 ■ Effective leadership 78–79 ■ Organizing teams and talent
80–85 ■ Is money the motivator? 90–91

underachievement. Consequently, up to the shareholders. Companies
equipping employees with the tools that value effectiveness over
to develop effective habits can lead to volume, and performance over
more effective performance, happier, presenteeism (when staff works
more productive staff, and, in turn, despite illness, instead of taking
improve a company’s results. sick leave) often find themselves
at the top of best-employer lists.
Working better, not harder Leaders of these companies realize
Google, borrowing from a practice that shareholder value is driven by
introduced by US conglomerate 3M staff performance; allowing staff
in 1948, encourages staff to spend to build careers around what they
20 percent of their time on projects excel at is good for employees and
of their own choosing. Rather than the bottom line. ■
distract from directed projects,
Google’s innovative, dynamic culture,
in which staff are encouraged to work Google found that their staff works
to their strengths and explore projects better on all tasks—when people are
that they are passionate about, is one of passionate about their work, it does
the reasons for the company’s success. not feel like work. Such discretionary
effort, the willingness of employees The man who does not
In his two-factor theory, US to “go the extra mile,” can be the work for the love of work, but
psychologist and management difference between good and great. only for money, is likely to
thinker Frederick Herzberg identified Great businesses focus on getting neither make money nor
a sense of achievement as being the best out of people, not the most find much fun in life.
closely linked to motivation to work. out of them. Gmail, one of Google’s Charles M. Schwab
Effectiveness is intrinsically most popular products, is a result
US industrialist (1862–1939)
rewarding; even the most generous of the company’s 20-percent time.
salary cannot, over the long term, Enabling staff to work better,
replace the satisfaction of a job well not harder, requires an enlightened
done. The same generous salary will leadership approach that looks
not offset the dissatisfaction of down to the factory floor as well as

Warren Bennis Born on March 8, 1925, Warren studies, Bennis was named one
Bennis is an American scholar, of the ten greatest influencers
organizational consultant, and on business thinking by
management author. Enlisting BusinessWeek magazine in
in the US Army in 1943, Bennis 2007. The Financial Times lists
was one of the youngest infantry his classic 1985 book Leaders
officers to serve in World War II, as one of the top 50 business
and was awarded the Purple books of all time.
Heart and Bronze Star for service
in action. After leaving the Key works
military, Bennis studied at Antioch
College, Ohio, and later became 1985 Leaders: Strategies for
a professor at the Massachusetts Taking Charge
Institute of Technology’s Sloan 1997 Why Leaders Can’t Lead:
School of Management. Widely The Unconscious Conspiracy
regarded as the pioneer of the Continues
contemporary field of leadership 2009 On Becoming a Leader