Gung Ho!
"Turn on the People in Any Organization"
by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles
When this book was first recommended to me, I thought of the 80's movie with Michael Keaton. It turns out, several books and movies have used the title Gung Ho! In this case, this book is not the story of the movie, but instead the story of a woman who is placed in a doomed management position. The book is told in story form, relating the tale of how the supervisor befriends an outcast at the plant, and learns how this man who is an outsider to the rest of the plant has turned his particular production center into the most profitable, most efficient area not only within the plant, but within the entire company.
There are three central tenets to the book. Unfortunately, to simply tell you what those are would probably turn you off from the book. To be honest, when I read the back cover and read through these tenets, I thought the book was going to be a joke. Just another pile of crap that some authors churned out for the deep pockets of the management and leadership market. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the central ideas of the book aren't just a bunch of marketing hokum, but when placed in the context of the book have surprising effect.
I can't give this book enough praise. Whether you are interested in becoming a leader or not, this book is an excellent read and provides a great perspective on how the right team attitude can lead to great things. It is an exceptionally easy book to read as well due to the storytelling form that the message is presented in. Paul and I have both read it, and we easily finished it in a single sitting of less than three hours. I hope that you will enjoy it as much as I did.
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