Managing with Carrots : Using Recognition to Attract and Retain the Best People [Hardcover]

Chester Elton (Author), Adrian Gostick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2001

There's a crisis in business today," say corporate recognition consultants Gostick and Elton. "The rhetoric we've been using for years-about people being 'our most valuable asset'-has actually come true. Without much warning, we woke up one day and realized that having the right talent in this competitive marketplace is the key to success . . . Go figure." But there is a way to retain your best employees and win their loyalty and commitment: It's called Employee Recognition. Managing with Carrots illustrates how to implement a strategic employee recognition program and presents case studies of how North America's finest companies create powerful recognition experiences.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

There's a crisis in business today. The rhetoric we've been using for years-about people being "our most valuable asset"-has actually come true. Without much warning, we woke up one day and realized that having the right talent in this competitive marketplace is the key to success. Go figure.

From the Inside Flap

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction Carrot Seeds Carrot Planting, Carrot Cultivation Presenting Carrots Symbolic Carrots Communicating about Carrots Creating a Carrot Culture Carrot Harvest Starting Your Own Carrot Crop Endnotes

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Publisher; 1 edition (March 20, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1586850776
• ISBN-13: 978-1586850777
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Fine Example of Self Promotion, November 11, 2001

By 

Roger E. Herman (Greensboro, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Managing with Carrots : Using Recognition to Attract and Retain the Best People (Hardcover)

Anyone with any business sense knows that recognition is important. Company owners and human resource professionals know that an entire industry has been built around this technique. There is an abundant supply of consultants, authors, and professional speakers touting the value of recognition, as well as companies that design recognition programs and sell the products that are used in recognition.

This book is unabashedly written by two senior executives from O. C. Tanner Recognition Company. The copyright is held by the company, rather than the authors. I approached this book with the expectation that it was designed to be a thinly-disguised promotion of O. C. Tanner's products and services. I wasn't disappointed. This perspective is not a bad thing, and a lot of valuable information is conveyed in the 111 pages.

I was a bit overpowered by the theme of the book: Managing with Carrots. The illustration on the front cover is a carrot trophy. Every page number is accompanied by a carrot-in orange print. All the call-out boxes and chapter subheads are printed in orange. Even the flyleaf of the book is orange. I'd have to label this overwhelming use of carrot orange as overkill. Even the start-of-chapter quote from Bugs Bunny was a bit too cute.

Part One is a chapter entitled "Carrot Seeds." Part Two gives us Carrot Planting, Carrot Cultivation; Presenting Carrots, Symbolic Carrots, Communicating about Carrots, and Creating a Carrot Culture. Part Three is Carrot Harvest and Part Four is Starting Your Own Carrot Crop. The flow is to present the recognition concept, explain how to build a recognition program, then how to reap the benefits. A number of case studies sprinkled through the book provide an illustrative enhancement.

If you accept the infomercial nature of this book, you can gain some helpful guidance.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a powerful tool!, January 9, 2008

By 

Bob (Robert) MacLafferty "Bob (Robert) MacLaf... (Chattanooga, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Managing with Carrots (Paperback)

"What is the most effective tool to creat employee satisfaction? If you say money, your wrong! They want to know what is expected of them, be well equiped and trained, have the opportunity to do what they do best, and receive praise regularly for good work. Carrots! This book is a quick read and sets the stage for creating a culture of recognition."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative Book, July 14, 2006

By 

Terri A. Hermann - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Managing with Carrots (Paperback)

My son in law read the book and passed the title on to me. It's a great quick read with information applicable in all areas of ones life.