A Better Idea: Redefining the Way Americans Work [Hardcover]

Donald E. Petersen (Author), John Hillkirk (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Here, Petersen, who was president and chairman of the Ford Motor Company in the 1980s, describes how he turned Ford around and gave power back to the employees. Presenting these lessons in a way that can be applied to almost any corporation, he shows how to use statistical process control, employee involvement, participative management, and worker empowerment to create a workplace where people are excited to come to work. This can only occur when there is a real sense of teamwork, and management is committed to training and retraining employees. A strong statement for why management should pay greater attention to its employees. Recommended for medium-to-large business collections.
- Michael D. Kathman, St. John's Univ., Collegeville, Minn.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin; 1st edition (October 17, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395581915
• ISBN-13: 978-0395581919
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,785,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Continual Improvement is not Rocket Science, October 6, 2009

By 

Thomas A. Smith (Lake Orion, MI.) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Better Idea: Redefining the Way Americans Work (Hardcover)

Don Peterson has given us the story of how a large corporation can make the transformation from a command and control management system to continual improvement. This book is easy to read and relate to. Yes subsequent Ford manaagers tore down what Peterson did and nearly destroyed the company, but he shows that treating people with respect and dignity and caring about customers drives good management. I worked with a lot of the managers at Ford during the time Peterson was leading the transformation. They had fun and took pride in their products. It was on its way to becoming a really great place to work. Peterson's story should help spur the desire of managers to contribute to the succsess of their company so instead of keeping silent when management is screwing up they will speak out in support of continual improvement not command and control. It's too bad Peterson just faded away in his retirement. We could have used his knowledge and experience at a lot of other companies instead of people like Jack Welch, Ken Lay and Al Dunlap. System Accidents: Why Americans Are Injured At Work And What Can Be Done To Stop It

4.0 out of 5 stars Respect People, June 23, 2005

By 

Dr. W. G. Covington, Jr. (Edinboro, Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Better Idea: Redefining the Way Americans Work (Hardcover)

The former CEO of Ford Motor Company firmly believed that the way to achieve quality work is to respect people, get them to "buy into" the idea that their work matters, and signficant positive results will follow. The theme of this book is the Golden Rule Jesus taught, "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you."

Petersen saw the need for this approach to management because he was treated with such disrespect in one of the units where he was placed early in his career. His epiphany was that this work unit was operating in a way that caused misery at work, and mediocre output. He realized that relationships among people in an organization are vital for success. Edwards Deming was brought in as Petersen worked his way up the corporation. Deming's strategies included measurement techniques to gange corporate success. Employees across the board realized that their input mattered, and things changed for the better. Petersen is a good man speaking well. He makes a lot of valid points in this book.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book, helped me throughout founding my industry, December 16, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Better Idea: Redefining the Way Americans Work (Hardcover)

This book really helped me understand how to run a successful enterprise. After completion, it was a great paperweight.