Customer Reviews

Contented Cows Give Better Milk

5 star:		(21)
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I have read hundreds of management books and found "Contented Cows" to be one of the most enlightening and refreshing, yet statiscally valid approaches to improving performance and productivity through improved employee relations. As a fellow management consultant, I like the way this book depicts the importance of creating a "healthy" environment starting at the top of the organization, yet at the same time showing ways that a front-line manager can make a grass roots change initiative.. I like your "No Excuse" type of mentality. I am a facilitator for accountability at all levels, and this book hits it right on the head. Thanks Richard and Bill for the fascinating and effective ways in which you present your methodologies for change.

This book makes the case once and for all - when you treat your employees right, you make more money.

Catlette and Hadden have done a masterful job of looking at the bottom line of companies that do a world class job of taking care of their companies. Then they compare that to companies who don't. The result is very clear. The "contented cow" companies make more money. A lot more.

I like the fact that the book contains that kind of data. But I also like the stories the authors tell which bring the data to life.

The book is a good read, and makes a world of difference around the work place.

This book is written in a great style and reflects the candid, slightly business-irreverant style of the authors. It's no wonder that companies order this book by the box and that companies like Chick-fil-A use it for their training.

As the current manager of a retail establishment, I found this book honest, enlightening, educational and very easy to read. It is the perfect "manual" for improving one's self and the way one interacts with their employees. I have read this book twice to help remind me of the simple practices that make a working environment stronger. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has the courage to honestly look at themselves and to make changes for the better.

This is not rocket science! No matter what our managerial "level", we all have a boss somewhere. Don't we perfom our best when we are treated as some who is valued, someone who matters? That's all this book is telling us, with facts and examples of successful companies, large and small, who "walk the talk"! Read this book and them commit yourself to leading your folks based on it's simple principles (which are not new, we just just needed the authors to write them down for us!)

A to-the-point examination about why financially successful organizations are those that exhibit excellence in managing and motivating people. These contented cow companies meet three criteria: profitability, continuity and being regarded as a good place to work. Using lots of examples, the author's explore what such companies do. The book covers many subjects and offers a good deal of sound, practical advice. It also makes a convincing argument for thinking of people as the primary source of achieving the competitive advantage. Enjoyable, informative reading.

I remember reading this book over the course of a few days a couple of years back while I was in Florida on vacation. Since then I have given them as gifts to associates on numerous occasions. The truths held in this book while being so simple in concept reach far into the way successful businesses are run (or should be run) in the new millennium. You need look no further than the list of Fortune 500 companies detailed in this book to find the who's who of the world's most consistently profitable organizations. When I saw that "Contented Cows" had been released in paperback I ordered several copies to give to other managers in my company as well a copy that I can keep on hand for myself. Catlette and Hadden make an excellent point about the power of employee validation. Could it really effect the bottom line that much? Think of the last time your boss patted you on the back on a job well done. How did you feel? Now, multiply that by millions of employees and you can start to see their point. Could the key to success be that simple? Read the book and try it yourself.

"THE COW BOOK" HAS A SERIES OF VERY LOGICAL CONCEPTS THAT NEW MANAGERS WILL QUICKLY GRASP. CREDENCE TO THESE CONCEPTS IS EXHIBITED THROUGH REAL LIFE, REAL COMPANY, REAL EXECUTIVES WHO USED AND LIVED THESE CONCEPTS TO SUCCESSFULLY OVER COME REAL BUSINESS PROBLEMS. YOU WILL RECOGNIZE MANY OF THE EXECUTIVES' NAMES. PERSONALLY, I DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TIME ENOUGH FOR READING AND THE TAPES WERE A GREAT WAY TO "READ" WHILE COMMUTING.

I have read a lot of management books and let me tell you this book delivers. Not only is it a fun read- it has great insights on how to motivate your employees. I have used many of the tips I learned - at boy did it make a difference! Go out and get this book today- you will be glad you did!

Rick Frishman President PLANNED TV ARTS (NYC)Co-author GUERRILLA PUBLICITY (Adams Media ) and GUERRILLA MARKETING FOR WRITERS (Writers Digest Books)

Don't be deterred by the title (initially I was) because it is appropriate to the authors' purposes in their essentially serious analysis of why only some companies sustain market supremacy and profitability...and why the others don't. Years ago, Jack Welch (then CEO of GE, one of the six companies featured in this book) explained why he admires entrepreneurial companies:

"For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy."

These remarks are directly relevant to the key points which Catlette and Hadden make in this book. It is no coincidence that the most highly admired companies (i.e. those for whom employees of their competitor companies prefer to work) are also the most profitable as they dominant their respective marketplaces. They include FedEx, GE, Hewlett-Packard, Southwest Airlines, 3M, and Wal-Mart. Revealingly, each of these six was founded by entrepreneurs and each has since retained its entrepreneurial spirit. They are among the "Contented Cows" which have outgrown the "Common Cows" (e.g. Consolidated Freightways, General Motors, Texas Instruments, United Airlines, Xerox, and Sears) by a margin of roughly four to one. Catlette and Hadden explain why.

At one point in their book, they assert that "just as productive employees are not always satisfied, satisfied employees are not always productive." A "Contented Cow" company offers generous employee benefits, including those which address personal needs. For example, EDS has a car repair facility, bank, store, day care center, and dry cleaners on-site. However, a "Contented Cow" company also has leaders (at all levels) who recognize the importance to their employees of meaningful work to do, high standards to which everyone is held accountable (a "level playing field"), a clear sense of purpose and direction, feeling appreciated, and finally, meaningful opportunities for professional growth.

There is a "Summary" at the conclusion of each of the 14 chapters. These lists of key points will be invaluable to those who may wish to re-read the book (all or in part) as they attempt to formulate strategies and tactics to transform their own organization into a "Contented Cow." I hasten to add that these key points are relevant to ALL organizations regardless of their size or nature. "To become Contented Cows. companies must realize that just as they have choices, their employees (particularly the better, more skilled ones) do so. The new rules of the game have been set, and now it's only a matter of time before everyone learns how to play, and play it to their advantage." Quite true. Contented employees should never become complacent employees. I am among those who believe that great leaders inspire rather than motivate others: they activate in them what is, in fact, self-motivation. Davenport and Beck address this in The Attention Economy, correctly suggesting that there is a form of ADD in the business world which has serious, indeed profound implications for managers at the executive level.

Decision-makers in "Contented Cow" companies understand full well what will attract the attention of those for whom they are responsible. The challenge is to involve and then engage them productively and enthusiastically, indeed passionately in the given enterprise. Only if and when they are can the nature and extent of relationships with customers ensure sustainable profitability. Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out David Maister's Practice What You Preach. His key point, with which Catlette and Hadden obviously agree, is that individuals as well as organizations must have impeccable integrity. "Contented Cow" companies are nothing more and nothing less than human communities within which such values are constantly affirmed, not merely in word but in deed.

This is a readable, sensible book for anyone who manages, leads or especially owns a company. If every business followed this advice, there would probably be a lot less workplace violence and much higher success rates. These guys talk with authority and back their concepts up with believable data. One of the more original books I've read.