Unleashing Human Productivity: From Toxic Culture to High Energy, High Performance Organization - Hardcover

Donald, Rust L; Alan, Weinstein G

9780692086209: Unleashing Human Productivity: From Toxic Culture to High Energy, High Performance Organization

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 069208620X ISBN 13: 9780692086209

Publisher: Arliss Publishing Company

Organizations of all types have been plagued by low productivity and poor engagement of workers. At a time when international competition is strong, and hiring and retaining workers is a challenge, companies need to invest in creating a positive culture if they are to remain economically viable.

In Unleashing Human Energy Through Culture Change authors Donald Rust and Alan Weinstein recount the story of how General Motors' largest engine plant moved from being on the brink of being shut down, to becoming the top-producing engine plant within the GM organization. Decades later, the plant remains one of the company's most productive facilities.

Don Rust's values--fostered growing up on an Upper-Midwest farm--led him to challenge the way workers were treated at the company's Tonawanda, New York, engine plant. As plant manager, he became the change agent who energized both management and workers to partner, leading to positive and profitable culture changes--no small feat given the animosity that existed between managers and union workers.

Using Rust's experiences as a benchmark, the authors identify the reasons for poor performance at any organization, not just those in the manufacturing sector:

industrial warfare (employee/management conflict)
industrial depression (employee disengagement)
bully management
overemphasis on short term profits
lack of job security
dull and uninspiring work and working conditions

Unleashing Energy Through Culture Change is a practical guide to culture change based on a set of three core values:

faith that workers want to be productive
trust between workers and management
respect for all employees

The book shows readers how they can bring real, transformational change to their own organizations.

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Review:

"Alan and Don have cut through theory and conjecture to communicate a real-world guide for executives to address the challenges of changing a culture head on. This is a must read for leaders who find themselves handicapped by unproductive culture"

--Sam Reese, Chief Executive Officer, Vistage International

"Your culture activates your people; your people drive your success. Alan and Don use a real-world manufacturing environment to teach us how to develop and use a positive employee-focused workplace culture to unleash employees' energy, activate their engagement, and amplify their performance. They demonstrate how caring, connection, and communication can change even the toughest workplaces into high-performing successes. This is practical wisdom that will benefit every organization and should be the focus of business leaders everywhere." --Jay Forte, MBA, CPC, ELI-MP, Executive Coach, Author, Consultant and President of The Forte Factor

"While the story Rust and Weinstein share is about the auto industry and GM in particular, it's a far more universal story than that. It's a story that shows the very real impact--on people, on productivity, and on profits--of creating a positive workplace culture. It's a story that more leaders need to know." --David Friedman, CEO of High Performing Culture, and author of Fundamentally Different and Culture by Design

"I believe that Unleashing Human Energy through Culture Change is an absolutely must-read book for managers at every level of the organization, and for anyone involved in serious organizational change. Don Rust and Alan Weinstein provide real-life examples of significant change in an industry that historically resists change and is hierarchal to a fault. Making real change is no easy task but using a philosophy of both thought and action that simply develops mutual faith, trust and respect among and between management and hourly employees really works. The book is clear and thought-provoking. You'll wonder how Don got away with what he did and be amazed at the long-term impact it had on the employees and the corporation." --Dennis Gallagher, Ph.D., President, Dennis Gallagher and Associates

"This book describes Don Rust's lifetime journey at GM and massive organizational successes at the Tonawanda Engine plant. How Don and his team were able to change the culture at the plant is instructive for every industry and every leader. His message is simple: treat your teams with trust and respect, engage them in the business, and they will lift your enterprise higher than you could ever expect." --David Brooks, President (retired) and Director, Unifrax I LLC

"It has been nothing short of amazing to watch a struggling manufacturing operation, and a small Chevrolet dealership, partnering to create two highly competitive and successful businesses. The role of culture change should never be underestimated in its ability to contribute to massive improvements in the quality of work life for the people that do the work. It is the unleashing of human energy that makes possible a drive for new and competitive endeavors in all kinds of businesses." --Duane Paddock Jr., President & CEO, Paddock Chevrolet

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