Phil Lauterjung

Deep into the worst recession most of us have seen – and I’ve personally been through at least three of these, not counting this doozie – I would like to suggest we look for some ways to add a little (Ok, a lot) of joy at work.  I came across Dennis Bakke and his book, Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job, a few years ago when everything was going just peachy.  I thought it was a very provocative book back then and I just dusted it off and got it down from my bookshelf; and it’s still a very interesting read.

What really makes his book different is that he’s not some academic theorist who thinks he has a great idea that would work if only someone would listen to him.  No, he actually put his ideas to work as CEO of AES, a worldwide energy giant with 40,000 employees in 31 countries and revenues of over $8 billion!  I thought that might be an impressive enough resume that maybe I should pay attention to what he had to say.

Here’s a few major points from the book -

• Leaders see their role as serving other employees.
• Decisions are made by non-leaders at the lowest practicable organizational level.
• Allow subordinates to manage resources and make decisions.  Oversee rigorous advice process and fire people who do not use it appropriately.
• People enjoy their work and do not want to leave.
  

Some of his radical ideas weren’t really so radical – they had been proposed before and maybe even implemented successfully in smaller companies.  But, this guy wanted to inject joy into an aircraft carrier of an organization!  Any of you that have worked in large companies know how difficult it is to change a corporate culture even a little bit.

Well, he did turn things upside down and had a great run of success.  So, why don’t you hear much about him anymore?  After the collapse of Enron (remember that fiasco?), energy stocks got hammered and AES stock fell from a high of $70.62 per share to less than $5 per share.  The Board got nervous and, together with Dennis Bakke, decided to make a change in leadership.  Now, he spends a  great deal of time speaking and promoting his ideas about having joy at work.  Read the book, it’s a fascinating read.

How are you coping at work during these difficult times?  Is it possible to have joy at work when things are this tough?

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.