Leveraging People and Profit: The Hard Work of Soft Management [Hardcover]

Bernard Nagle (Author), Perry Pascarella (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 14, 1997

The manager who can balance the people and profit factors has the best chance of succeeding in tomorrow's corporation. The "altrupreneur"_one who conducts the affairs of an enterprise with conspicuous regard for the welfare of others_builds communities that produce value for all the organization's stakeholders. This new breed of leader responds to the needs of the organization and the demands of people coming to the workplace and marketplace.

Drawing examples from top and middle management, the authors describe the characteristics of altrupreneurs and the core principles by which they operate: their values and vision, optimism, integrity, confidence, and enthusiasm. Altrupreneurial organizations create innovation-friendly environments, where it is not only safe to innovate, it is encouraged.

This book shows what it means to challenge the routine, be other-centered, and build community.

Bernard A. Nagle has over 22 years of executive operations experience in the fields of manufacturing, quality assurance, supply chain management, distribution, strategic planning, and new product development. A native of Pennsylvania, Mr. Nagle currently resides in the St. Louis area.

Perry Pascarella is a nationally recognized authority on humanistic management, worker motivation, and the role of business in society. Until 1996, he was vice president-editorial of Penton Publishing Inc., publisher of 42 business and professional magazines. Mr. Pascarella has collaborated with such celebrated management experts as Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, and Frederick Herzberg. He lives in the Cleveland area.

· Expands the knowledge and practice of humanistic management
· Explores altruism: a better way of doing business while making better lives · Insights into why businesses need to balance profit with common good
· Foreword by Warren Bennis (author of numerous leadership books)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nagle and Pascarella's concept "altrupreneur" _ a difficult term to pronounce and a very difficult role to fill _ captures the essence of the kind of leaders organizations need."
_Warren Bennis, from the Foreword

"This book encourages those of us who want to make a little difference every day. It also dares us to be bold and public an exemplary in holding others in conspicuous and high regard."
_Louis Patler, from the Afterword

"Nagle and Pascarella are correct in believing that . . . treating people the right way, with clarity and honesty, turns out to be the best thing for the enterprise."
_Congressman Jim Talent

Their book salutes leaders who create "value-producing organizations" and "value-builing communities" through their conspicuous regard for others. -Industry Week

From the Publisher

Drawing examples from top and middle management, the authors describe the characteristics of altrupreneurs and the core principles by which they operate: their values and vision, optimism, integrity, confidence, and enthusiasm. Altrupreneurial organizations create innovation-friendly environments, where innovatioin is strongly encouraged. This book exemplifies what it means to challenge the routine, be other-centered, and build community.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann (October 14, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750699612
• ISBN-13: 978-0750699617
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,843,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear insight on how both people and companies can grow., February 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Leveraging People and Profit: The Hard Work of Soft Management (Hardcover)

The truly successful organizations in the next century will be those that learn how to engage and energize the creativity an enthusiasm of their human assets. This is the next frontier in competitive advantage. In fact, there's always likely to be someone out there who can outspend you on those things. What makes your company unique is your people. Their innovation, creativity, and enthusiasm can't be copied. And, if that uniqueness is directed to creating processes, products, and services that are better than your competitors, you have an unbeatable advantage.

In Leveraging People and Profit the authors introduce a new term, altrupreneur. Altrupreneur is defined as one who conducts the affairs of an enterprise with conspicuous regard for the welfare of others. The altrupeneur is not one who acts only for the welfare of others, but one who acts with awareness of others' welfare as one of his or her top priorities.

The authors go on to outline a leadership model which includes the following.

1. The very essence of leadership is you have to have a vision. It's got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You cannot blow an uncertain trumpet. 2. Employees want and expect leaders to set direction and determine the business focus. Leaders are relying more on the power of influence than of command and control. 3. To be credible as a leader, you must first clarify your own values, translate them into a set of guiding principles, a credo, that you can communicate to the people you hope to lead. These overaching values help employees make decisions consistent with the aspirations of the company. 4. A leader must earn the trust of those he/she expects to lead. 5. Establish a mutual service compact which helps people understand where they fit in the value chain, aligns recognition programs to reward organizational successes, establishes training and personal development programs to reinforce continuous improvement, develops a communicaiton plan to ensure every employee understands values and vision and allocates resources to support improvment initiatives.

When an organization is energized by a vision that draws out the best efforts of all stakeholders in a positive and mutually beneficial context, there is virtually no limit to what is possible. Human creativity is not maximized until it is challenged by the impossible.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book from the heart...and from the trenches!, January 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Leveraging People and Profit: The Hard Work of Soft Management (Hardcover)

This book encourages those of us who want to make a little difference every day. It also dares us to be bold and public and exemplary in holding others in conspicuous--and high--regard. Written from experience on the inside of corporations, yet rich with values and insights, it is the most "balanced" look at leadership this year.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Guide To Making Profit Without Hurting People, October 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Leveraging People and Profit: The Hard Work of Soft Management (Hardcover)

There are "how to treat people" books out -- and tons of "how to make more profit" books. Mark this book as one of the very few that integrates the themes with effective, believable ideas about how to manage more productively (and humanely!) tomorrow. One neologism worth noting in this book: altrupreneur. The word symbolizes the writers' core idea: that you can be an entrepreneur while being altruistic. You don't have to exploit to advance, they say, in convincing, straightforward language, statistics, and quotes.