Customer Reviews

A Better Idea: Redefining the Way Americans Work

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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

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.

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

I adored this book because it told me about how to run a successful company.

-From Groucho Marx:

From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it!