Customer Reviews

The 24-Carrot Manager: A Remarkable Story of How a Leader Can Unleash Human Potential

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A couple of years ago, we used this book as the theme for our nation-wide HR. It was very well received. Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton have given timely advice on how a great leader can unleash human potential.

As our economy continues to spiral downward (with no clear end in sight) the lessons delivered are (and will be becoming) more critical to not only our success but very survival. The book gives great tips on ways of providing solutions for the managers by offering answers for improving employee commitment by building an employee acknowledgment culture into our organizations.

I wrote about this topic in Wingtips with Spurs. However, I just devoted a single chapter to this important issue. The authors have provided a plethora of illustrations regarding: * Choosing the right reward for each employee, * The timing of the reward to motivate performance, * Effectively presenting rewards, * When to give praise in private and when to make it a public celebration, * Motivating employees to work harder and work smarter with the company's goals in mind.

The book is laid out in a very easy to read format with natural progression through the reward process. I also appreciated that while taking the subject seriously, the authors never take themselves seriously.

This small book would be a good ROI for supervisors and managers.

I hope you find this review helpful.

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR

I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Gostick and hearing him speak at the annual International Association of Business Communicators conference in June in Washington, D.C.

The value of this quick, easy-to-read book is remarkable. By learning how to do simple things to recognize and reward employees you will find excellent ways to engage your workforce, keep them loyal, focused and energized and have them reach their highest potential.

It is a great tool for all managers of any organization - big or small - or any industry.

Offer carrots instead of sticks! how simple advise for all the business leaders! This is a great book illustrating how any manager can unleash their employee potential by creating carrots for their employees. They can succeed by keeping their employees happy and satisfied. This is the way to succeed even in the recession like we have now. This book describes some strategies and simple solutions for managers how to motivate their employees and their performance with carrots.

This is an easy-to-read book providing useful tips on how to develop and implement a recognition reward program in your organization.

It offers suggestions at a macro and micro levels. Therefore, you can benefit from it no matter what type of managers you are. There are numerous best practices shared from a wide range of private companies.

In my opinion, the authors spend too much time demonstrating the importance and the benefits of recognizing employees' contribution. If you read the book, it is because you are already converted, isn't it?

After sinking my scarce time into a book, I do a rough ROI calculation by asking two questions: "Is this really going to build my business?" and "How rough a slog was the book to get through?" The 24-Carrot Manager might be my highest ROI book ever. I think it'll have big impact on my company . . . and it's a blast of fresh air to read.

This is a short easy read that stresses the importance of non-monetary rewards and provides some great suggestions for these rewards and the frequency. Especially in today's economic conditions it is easy to get caught up rationalizing and forget about the importance of positive feedback and the value of non-monetary rewards. As the author points out raises and bonuses are important but during tough times are more difficult for companies to justify and in reality are rewards of diminishing returns. Whereas we do not have to hold back on other types of rewards that at the end of the day may be equally as important in instilling happiness and retaining employees.

After I sink my scarce time into reading a book I always do a rough ROI analysis by comparing how much will it will help me build my business with how rough a slog it was to get through. This might me the highest ROI book ever ... it will have a profound impact on my business and it was a blast of fresh air to read!

The idea that Gostick and Elton proposed is not new. In fact, it has been proposed in 1940s by Abraham Maslow in his hierarchy of needs. Maslow's argued that human behaviors are motivated by a series of needs, and are hierarchical in nature. If I understand correctly what Maslow had proposed and applied the same theory to this book, in fact what we are seeing is the execution of satisfying the needs on love/belonging and esteem. This is why an employee will prefer public recognition anytime compare to bonuses, since money, to a large degree, is use to satify the human needs for food and shelter only, which is at the lowest hierarchy of all human needs. The book carries no new theory of human behavior, but a new way in reminding managers that employees are human, and do satisfy human needs in the hierarchical form.

A valuable resource in any organization looking to improve employee morale and output
It highlighted issues we have faced in our current recognition program and provided
a long list of practical applications behind the philosophy.

Well worth the read.

Gostick and Elton have woven a clever story together with thoughtful insight and straight-forward HR advice to create a book that should circulate through the management ranks of every organization bent on success. It will soon circulate through ours!

"The 24-Carrot Manager" is a quick-paced, entertaining read with a bushel-basket full of ideas on how to motivate and retain the best employees in any organization. More importantly, "The 24-Carrot Manager" underscores why employee motivation is central to YOUR success as a manager. It's a 24-karat winner!