Gawker tech-blogger and journalist Ryan Tate reveals how businesses can inspire greater creativity and productivity by allowing their employees to pursue their own passions at work. In The 20% Doctrine, Tate examines how companies large and small can incubate valuable innovative advances by making small, specific changes to how work time is approached within their corporate cultures. The concept of “20% Time” originated at Google, but Tate takes examples from all around the business world—from Yahoo! and Condé Nast to the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, National Public Radio, Flickr and the Huffington Post—to demonstrate how flexibility and experimentation can revolutionize any business model, including yours.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Tate’s enthusiastic but objective study gathers momentum as the book progresses; each chapter builds on the previous one, and he’s quick to point out the practicality of the process. Whether readers are in the corner office or the boiler room, they’ll likely find Tate’s opus to be inspiring and informative.” (Publishers Weekly )
“Useful and inspiring advice for tinkerers.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“In any organization a lot of the rank-and-file are ready to start efforts which will contribute to their community, maybe building the bottom line. The 20 % Doctrine shows how organizations have made that work in real life, and how you might make that happen where you work.” (Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and Craigconnects )
“The most innovative companies in America are those that are willing to let employees explore their own pet projects on company time. The 20% Doctrine is a smart, well-written look at this new path to innovation, full of examples that are engaging, thought provoking, and intriguingly diverse.” (Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine )
“Useful and inspiring advice for tinkerers.” (Kirkus Reviews )
“In any organization a lot of the rank-and-file are ready to start efforts which will contribute to their community, maybe building the bottom line. The 20 % Doctrine shows how organizations have made that work in real life, and how you might make that happen where you work.” (Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist and Craigconnects )
“The most innovative companies in America are those that are willing to let employees explore their own pet projects on company time. The 20% Doctrine is a smart, well-written look at this new path to innovation, full of examples that are engaging, thought provoking, and intriguingly diverse.” (Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine )
From the Back Cover
An inspiring exploration of how unorthodox business practices and the freedom to experiment can fuel innovation
We're at a crossroads. Many iconic American companies have been bailed out or gone bankrupt; others are struggling to survive as digitization and globalization remake their industries. At the same time, the tectonic forces disrupting U.S. corporations—ubiquitous bandwidth and computing power, cheap manufacturing and distribution—have enabled large organizations to foster new innovations and products through experiments that are at once more aggressive and less risky than they would have been twenty years ago. At companies such as Google, employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time on projects they're personally interested in. Almost half of Google's new product launches have originated from this policy, including Gmail and AdSense. Now other companies have adopted the concept, providing them a path to innovation and profits at a time of peril and uncertainty and offering employees creative freedom when many are feeling restless.
The 20% Doctrine is about goofing off at work, and how that goofing off can drive innovation and profit. Here Ryan Tate examines the origins and implementation of 20% time at Google, then looks at how other organizations such as Flickr, the Huffington Post, and even a school in the Bronx have adapted or reinvented the same overall concept, intentionally and serendipitously. Along the way, he distills a series of common themes and lessons that can help workers initiate successful 20% style projects within their own organizations. Only through a new devotion to the unhinged and the ad hoc can American businesses resume a steady pace of development and profitability.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A candid look at the companies that use the 20% doctrine to cultivate each employee's created passion for a particular project or idea. Wish all companies and non-profits thought this way. Even MBA's are scratching their heads on why this works so well and not taught in school.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"This was a unique focus on our changing business practices and culture. I loved the variety of passionate pursuits that resulted in business successes--a teacher and a chef amongst the tech-world ventures. Tate truly captured the precipice of where we are with our changing workplace. We spend so much of our lives working, and the combination of the new technology and upcoming, younger generation of workers has humanized the workplace. Tate stated it well: "...we should end up with more innovation, creativity, emotional touch points, and indeed more humanity in the modern workplace." This was a fun, touching, and inspiring read on so many levels--one of those rare books that leaves you sad when it's over precisely because it's over. Truly unique and timely!"
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By K. Rontowski
Format:Hardcover
I loved this book. Someone recommended it to me and I liked it even more that I thought I would. It really made me think about how different things are now than when I was growing up. I found the book to be through in making it's point and really well researched. It shows a great understanding of this generation and will give a good idea of how college grads should now be thinking when they are entering the work force.
I bought it for my father and a friend and found that even with a 30 year age span between them they both found it not only equally as interesting but a great read.
I like the author's style and will definitely be looking for his next book.
I bought it for my father and a friend and found that even with a 30 year age span between them they both found it not only equally as interesting but a great read.
I like the author's style and will definitely be looking for his next book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
The 20% - I liked 80% of it.
Very engaging, interesting narratives about how the 20% doctrine
was born and works for Silicon Valley and similar companies,
but how does it work for places like where... Read more
was born and works for Silicon Valley and similar companies,
but how does it work for places like where... Read more
Published 12 days ago by Kevin
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting & Informative
A worthwhile read about an interesting business practice. Although 20% time wouldn't necessarily work for my organization, this book did cause me to stop and consider that there... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Gary J. Gilbert Jr.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable read on an interesting topic
I really enjoyed reading this book on the subject of taking a fresh look at the way that companies can nurture a culture of innovation and creativity. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Frederic Caldwell
5.0 out of 5 stars
A compelling case for letting your employees' creativity run wild...at...
Veteran business journalist Ryan Tate explores how firms generate innovation based on Google's approach, which allows employees to spend 20% of their paid time on personal... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Rolf Dobelli
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Worthy Goal but Some Bad Examples
This book lauds the policy of setting aside 20% of an employee's time to work on side projects. This has worked in various companies, most dramatically at Google. Read more
Published 7 months ago by bronx book nerd
5.0 out of 5 stars
great new author
This is a great new book by a great new author. Easy read, great concept. Make your own opinion on this new book. It will be a 5 star one I am sure! Sounds like Mr. Read more
Published 12 months ago by S. Adams
5.0 out of 5 stars
Realtor
This was very easy to read and understand. I recommend this book to any business, whether you are a corporation or self-employed.
Published 12 months ago by Kay W
2.0 out of 5 stars
Goofy -
Ryan Tate's 'The 20% Doctrine' is old news and misses the target more than it hits. He begins by reciting the already well-known story of how Google's 20% time policy in which... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Loyd E. Eskildson
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
