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Joy at Work

A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job

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About this listen

 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.

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.

©2005 Dennis Bakke (P)2005 PVG Business Career Success Leadership Management Management & Leadership Motivation & Self-Improvement Professionals & Academics Career Employment

Critic reviews

"A timely and inspiring book that challenges us to rethink the purpose of business in society." (Bill Clinton)
"A must-read book for anyone who wants to make work fun." (Jack Kemp)
All stars
Most relevant
This puts into practice the theory of stewardship. Bakke appears to have braved many obstacles but his conviction and fundamental values kept him on the straight path. Building a multi-billion dollar business with so much decentralised power and decision making is an inspiration to any forward thinking employer or entrepreneur. Bakke provides insight into how we can create companies we'd actually want to work for and where we would have the right to do our best work for the greatest personal satisfaction and contribution. I think it was Ken Blanchard who said, "Success is all about getting; significance is about giving back". Dennis Bakke is a significant business leader and I suspect his legacy will have positive ripples across many decades if his story is told and replicated. Read it.

Bakke walks his talk.

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