What America Does Right: Learning from Companies That Put People First [Hardcover]

Robert H., Jr. Waterman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393035972 | ISBN-13: 978-0393035971 | Publication Date: May 1994 | Edition: 1st

Turning conventional management theory on its head, this anecdotal work shows how only those companies that put people first and organize to meet their needs will stay productive, breed quality, execute strategy, and do well by their shareholders.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Waterman, coauthor of In Search of Excellence , here illuminates "why a handful of widely admired American firms do so well" and why "some giant companies . . . stumble badly." He argues that firms excel by building coherent, clearly defined cultures. A successful company creates "shared values that give its people a sense of purpose," while eschewing bureaucratic organizational charts, job descriptions, written policies and other strictures that might restrain employee initiative. The author relies heavily on case studies of company strategies that he defines as great, including Federal Express's people-first philosophy, Merck's investment in intellectual capital and other guideposts from Levi Strauss, Proctor & Gamble, Rubbermaid and Motorola. Waterman's anecdotal lessons from the best methodologies is outstanding, like the rest of this book.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Waterman's purpose here is to examine and understand how and why certain American firms have fared so well over the years, organizationally and structurally. The companies he studied include Procter & Gamble, Motorola, Federal Express, Levi Strauss, Rubbermaid, and Merck. Waterman (coauthor, with Tom Peters, of In Search of Excellence , LJ 2/15/83) believes that these corporations share a commitment to organizing in ways that treat employees and customers fairly. He acknowledges the similarity between the theme of this book and his earlier ones, but he does succeed in providing a more detailed profile of each company than he did previously. The book is readable, and Waterman's decision to interview employees from all levels of an organization and to include comments from dissenters is a definite strength. Recommended for public libraries.
- Mark McCullough, Heterick Lib., Ohio Northern Univ., Ada
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 318 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc; 1st edition (May 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393035972
• ISBN-13: 978-0393035971
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,551,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very inspiring to improve the way you manage your business, September 5, 2000

By 

Versteeg, Marcel - See all my reviews

This review is from: What America Does Right: Learning from Companies That Put People First (Hardcover)

I should start to confess that I am probably biased, as I have in my entire career been a strong believer in empowering people. Not only, because it is a very efficient way to operate a business, but I am convinced it is much more fun working in such an environment. Reading this book of Robert Waterman has been very inspiring to me. I was in the middle of a major restructuring unit I was leading at that time, introducing empowered teams. This book helped me going forward. It gives great real world descriptions of companies that in some way have been successfully in introducing elements to "put their people first". I was much inspired to bring in new elements in our own organization, which helped empowering the employees and improve the organization. The book is very easy to read and very attractive because it provides lively in-depth descriptions of what is going on in these organizations. It really provides you with the opportunity to judge for yourself what elements you like and might fit in your own organization and management style. I recommend reading this book, as it is one of the few books that really give you so much inspiring information. Even though it has been written in the first half of the nineties, I still use the stories in this book to inspire my customers and me today.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rating potential for success, October 1, 2008

By 

Craig Bolon "persistentreader" (Massachusetts, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: What America Does Right: Learning from Companies That Put People First (Hardcover)

Mr. Waterman's book, based on findings of about 15 years ago, has its inspiring moments. However, one is apt to wonder how well the organizations he singles out for praise have prospered.

Chapter-by-chapter, the book reviews Procter & Gamble (PG, Ch. 3 and 9), P.S. 94, Bronx, NY (government, Ch. 4), Steadman Hawking Clinic, Vail, CO (private, Ch. 4), Federal Express (FEDEX, Ch. 5), Applied Energy Systems (AES, Ch. 6), Levi Strauss & Co. (private, Ch. 7), Rubbermaid (NWL, since 1999 Newell Rubbermaid, Ch. 8), Merck & Co. (MRK, Ch. 10), Motorola (MOT, Ch. 11) and Apple Computer (AAPL, Ch. 12).

Of these examples six have been public companies under the same organization since Mr. Waterman did his research in 1993. Their stock performance, based on adjusted exchange closing prices for September 30, 2008, and September 30, 1993, follows:
. . . . . 2008. . 1993. . Rate
PG. . . 69.69. 41.91. . 3.4%
FEDEX. 18.50. 13.55. . 2.1%
AES . . 11.69. . 7.42. . 3.1%
MRK . . 31.56. 41.60. -1.8%
MOT. . . 7.14. 10.10. -2.3%
AAPL. 113.66. 10.36. 17.3%
S&P. 1213.27. 995.97 . 1.3%

A 1993 investor who bought and held the stocks would have made money on four of the six and lost money on two. Mr. Waterman's approach did not always identify potential for financial success, but it pointed to more winners than losers. The average rate of return for the six public companies he praises is about 3.6 percent or nearly triple the aggregate S&P 500 index return over the period. This average return, alas, is in line with money-market earnings over the period.

In light of this history, did Mr. Waterman underplay inertia at Motorola and Merck? If he performed a new set of reviews today, could he identify potential for success more accurately?

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, well-researched guide to Excellence 2000, December 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: What America Does Right: Lessons from Today's Most Admired Corporate Role Models (Paperback)

This book is a nice, contemporary follow-up to In Search of Excellence by that book's co-author (the European edition was entitled Frontiers of Excellence). The author uses fewer examples and studies them in more depth; the result: a wonderful guide for emulating the best of the best in management and leadership. The author elaborates on what motivates people, especially employees and customers and relates an organization's ability to match these needs to the organization's long-standing success. Putting all constiuents (employees, customers, community) on equal footing with shareholders, he says, is crucial.