Hidden Value

Hidden Value offers a customizable template for building high-performance, people-centered organizations. Blowing up the prevailing wisdom that companies must chase and acquire top "talent" in order to remain successful, two leading experts on organizational behavior and people management argue that how a firm creates and uses talent is far more important than how the firm attracts talent. The authors provide vivid, detailed case studies of several organizations in widely disparate industries--including Southwest Airlines, Cisco Systems, The Men's Wearhouse, and NUMMI--to illustrate how long-term success comes from value-driven, interrelated systems that align good people management with corporate strategy. In a refreshing break from management tomes that force-feed superficial frameworks and trite "rules," the authors instead allow the company stories to take center stage. They guide readers in discovering for themselves how seven different firms maximize talent, why one firm hasn't fully released the hidden value in its work force, and, most importantly, how the winning ones have made it tough for competitors to imitate them. Collectively, the stories reveal a common path to success that places values before strategy; emphasizes implementation over planning; and focuses on getting the best out of all employees, not just individual stars.