EVERYBODY MATTERS

Much studied CEO Bob Chapman and bestselling author Raj Sisodia take on one of the greatest misconceptions of modern business—that leadership starts with getting the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off). Real leader enable the people already on the bus to achieve extraordinary things.

Too many companies focus only on producing the best products; Bob Chapman says we should put our efforts into bringing out the best in the people who produce them. Over the past few decades, he has transformed Barry-Wehmiller from a broken one-hundred-year-old manufacturing business into a thriving global firm, by acquiring challenged companies and leading them in creating a better future.

However, instead of using cost cuts, cosmetic changes, financial hijinks and major layoffs, Chapman did it by inspiring the people within the business around a shared vision of a better tomorrow. When he looks into a challenged company, he usually sees disenfranchised team members, undeveloped value, unheard complaints, and a lack of inspiration. As he frequently points out, seven out of eight people believe the company they work for does not care about them. Chapman advocates creating environments teeming with care, compassion, and human connection to bring out the best in the employees. When that happens, both the business and its people flourish.

In this book, Chapman and Sisodia challenge traditional thinking about how to run a business and, above all, how to be an inspirational leader. Through actual stories and proven how-to techniques, you’ll see how the cultural transformation Chapman championed throughout Barry-Wehmiller became the fuel for its robust growth and created meaningful work and personal fulfillment for its team members. From the establishment of an organizational vision to adopting continuous improvement processes to drive that vision deep to empowering employees through education, recognition, collaboration, communication, and more, you’ll get simple, straightforward, practical techniques to create thriving work environments grounded in people-first leadership. You’ll be inspired and equipped with actionable build a better organization and a better world.

Bob Chapman is Chairman and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, a $2-billion global capital equipment and engineering consulting company. A combination of almost eighty acquired companies spread among ten operating companies with nine thousand team members around the world, Barry-Wehmiller’s vision is to use the power of business to build a better world.

Raj Sisodia is FW Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College. His most recent book is the Wall Street Journal bestseller Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business (with John P. Mackey, cofounder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market).