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Book - Product Information
Joy At Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun On The Job
Dennis W. Bakke
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Rank: 50
Imagine a company where people love coming to work and are highly
productive on a daily basis. Imagine a company whose top executives, in a
quest to create the most "fun" workplace ever, obliterate labor-management
divisions and push decision-making responsibility down to the plant floor.
Could such a company compete in today’s bottom-line corporate world?
Could it even turn a profit? Well, imagine no more.
In Joy at Work,
Dennis W. Bakke tells the true story of this extraordinary
company—and how, as its co-founder and longtime CEO, he challenged
the business establishment with revolutionary ideas that could remake
America’s organizations.
It is the story of AES, whose business model
and operating ethos –"let’s have fun"–were conceived during
a 90-minute car ride from Annapolis, Maryland, to Washington, D.C.
In the
next two decades, it became a worldwide energy giant with 40,000 employees
in 31 countries and revenues of $8.6 billion.
It’s a remarkable
tale told by a remarkable man: Bakke, a farm boy who was shaped by his
religious faith, his years at Harvard Business School, and his experience
working for the Federal Energy Administration.
He rejects workplace
drudgery as a noxious remnant of the Industrial Revolution. He believes
work should be fun, and at AES he set out to prove it could be. Bakke
sought not the empty "fun" of the Friday beer blast but the joy of a
workplace where every person, from custodian to CEO, has the power to use
his or her God-given talents free of needless corporate bureaucracy.
In
Joy at Work, Bakke tells how he helped create a company where every
decision made at the top was lamented as a lost chance to delegate
responsibility—and where all employees were encouraged to take the
"game-winning shot," even when it wasn’t a slam-dunk. Perhaps
Bakke’s most radical stand was his struggle to break the stranglehold
of "creating shareholder value" on the corporate mind-set and replace it
with more timeless values: integrity, fairness, social responsibility,
and, above all, fun. And Bakke doesn’t shrink from describing the
assault on his leadership when AES was sucked into the Enron downdraft and
faced a plunging stock price.
At this moment of crisis, influential
colleagues and directors distanced themselves from the values that had
made AES one of the most celebrated companies in the world.
Joy at
Work offers a model for the 21st-century company that treats its people
with respect, gives them unprecedented responsibility, and holds them
strictly accountable—because it’s the right thing to do, not
just because it makes good business sense.
More than any book you’ve
ever read, Dennis Bakke’s Joy at Work will force you to question
everything you thought you knew about corporate success.
About the AuthorDENNIS W. BAKKE was raised in Saxon, Washington, and graduated from the
University of Puget Sound, Harvard Business School, and the National War
College.
He co-founded The AES Corporation in 1981 and served as its
president and CEO from 1994 to 2002. He is now president and CEO of
Imagine Schools, a company that operates elementary and secondary (K-12)
charter schools in 10 states.
He and his wife, Eileen, live in Arlington,
Virginia.
Editorials
Sample 3 of 6
Joy At Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun On The Job
Dennis W. Bakke
![]() | | | From Publishers Weekly | | Bakke cofounded international energy giant AES in 1981 and was its
president and CEO from 1994 to 2002. This memoir-cum-inspirational
business book has an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink feel; in relaxed,
roundabout prose,... read full editorial |
![]() | | | Peter Block, author of Stewardship | | "Joy at Work is simply the best book I have ever read about integrating
human values and economic success." |
![]() | | | Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries | | "This book provides valuable ideas for leaders who wish to build or
strengthen organizations using sound principles." |
Customer Reviews
Sample 3 of 7
Joy At Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun On The Job
Dennis W. Bakke
![]() | | | If You Have a Boss, They May Need to Read This Book! | | (Washington, D.C.) March 12, 2005 - 5.0/5 stars | | Dennis Bakke's stories of everyday workers successes demonstrates why
seeking joy at work is a revolution in the making. He says we are called
to serve, not to conquer, to have fun, not to tolerate our work.
His central... read full review |
![]() | | | Should be called "Joy at Life" | | (Washington, D.C.) March 21, 2005 - 5.0/5 stars | | It is interesting how finding Joy at Work results in finding Joy in Life.
A very inspiring book which make one realize that not matter what their
station is within an organization, that one person can make a difference... read full review |
![]() | | | Dull and Dry with Few Insights | | (Charleston, WV) April 8, 2005 - 2.0/5 stars | | I've read the other positive reviews here on this work, and I must
respectfully disagree. I purchased this volume with great expectations,
and was sadly disappointed. Perhaps the main reason for my negative
response is that... read full review |
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