Dennis presented at a lunch time talk to discuss his popular book
Joy at Work. Dennis ran
AES for 12 years and focused on making the workplace as enjoyable as possible for his employees. It was nice to hear a different perspective about what should drive a company rather than the usual "increase shareholder value" spiel that is so common these days.
Dennis Bakke's BiographyNotes: HBS grad
When visiting a plant, you can learn a lot more during the middle of the night than during the day.
70% of people in the US don't like their job
75% are looking for a new job
Realized 15 years out of school that bosses like him were the reason why employees weren't having fun at work (because he thought he had to make all the decisions and that he should make the decisions)
The natural thing is to make the workplace miserable
He had to give up some control and needed to let other people have the "ball"
When you come out of HBS or MIT you think you are god's gift to decision making. It was hard to understand that it isn't true.
Does not believe "increasing shareholder value" should be a business' primary goal
People don't work to make money. It is not the goal. Of course you need money, but it isn't the goal.
People want to serve and make a difference in the world and make money along the way.
This has got messed up in mainstream business in the last 50 yrs
If you aim for joy as a goal, you are likely to increase productivity and increase shareholder value
If you treat employees as tools to add value, you will lose them
He doesn't believe in the "management" of people. You manage money, assets, etc. but not people. We "lead" people.
Strong character is the most important trait of leadership. Two parts:
* humility - Trump is the anti-example. You have to realize at the core you are the same as everyone else
* love - Need to be willing to love the people you serve so much that you are willing to give stuff up to make them successful/happy
Don't put people in boxes – at AES they never used org charts
Doesn't like the term "human resources" and doesn't think you need HR departments
He isn't talking about being nice to everyone – it is about giving people a chance to take the ball
You don't want to keep unneeded people – one extra person is bad because it is not sound economically and reduces opportunities for others
Free them to be who they want to be but don't treat them like children
If you have a fun place to work, people will hold each other accountable. You don't need artificial metrics to do that.
3 Comments:
for dennis bakke energy idea,why three grades of gasoline,eliminate one grade,perhaps special grade,improve other grades,TWO GRADES OF GAS ONLY> will save on transportation,handling,ads,signs,smaller pumps,fewer hoses,everything
I'm at retreat this weekend, last night the leader let us set the agenda.
When I heard Bakke speak, it was surprising he didn't do the same thing.
Instead he was very structured, not very interactive.
Speaking from first hand knowledge, as a teacher,Imagine Schools/Dennis Bakke idea of management is to get his teachers/aides/management to do everything that would normally be shared by a number of people. Even his teachers had so much extra work laid on them that they didn't have time to teach the students. His bottom line meant more than the student's education. His talk didn't match his walk. "Having fun in the workplace" in his mind is $$$$$$!
Don't be fooled by his retoric, he is in it for the money at the taxpayer's expense.
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