The Only Leadership Book You'll Ever Need: How to Build Organizations Where Employees Love to Come to Work

225 Pages·2010·0.73 MB·English

by  Peter Barron Stark

Praise for The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need
“Stark and Flaherty expertly show managers how to get a clear,
compelling vision of professional excellence. The Only Leadership
Book You’ll Ever Need is a must read for anyone who wants to know
how to create and retain a team committed to delivering the highest
standards to their customers.”
––Anthony Robbins,
best-selling author,
Awaken the Giant Within and Unlimited Power
“The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need outlines what every
organization aspires its workforce to become––and how to get there!”
––Pete Wong, vice president, human resources,
Phoenix Suns–U. S. Airways Center
“I found Peter and Jane’s insights to rival those from Built to Last
& Good to Great. We have been strategic partners now for almost
twenty years. As a result, our organization has earned the Peter
Barron Stark Companies Award for Workplace Excellence multiple
times. I think that says it all.”
––Mike Maslak, president and CEO,
North Island Credit Union
“Too many companies pay lip service to the simple yet effective
practices that can become part of the fabric of the culture and make
the workplace not just the place where folks go to earn a living but one
where they can make a difference!”
––Garry Ridge, CEO,
WD-40 Company
“The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need is a must read for anyone
in a leadership role. It identifies the keys to workplace excellence
and provides you with the leadership skills and strategies needed to
transform your organization into one of the best.”
––Sharon Owen, office administrator,
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
“The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need is an excellent guide to
fundamental management practices and should be required reading
for any person aspiring to be a leader, believes they are a leader, and/
or currently direct tasks or employees within an organization. It should
also be mandatory reading for HR staff.”
––Bob Adams, group vice president,
Crain Communications
“This book identifies why good employees leave and specifies the keys
to building a culture of workplace excellence. It is straightforward,
easy to read, practical, and written in terms that anyone can
understand. I guarantee it would improve any organization.”
––Jim Daues, senior vice president, property claims,
Farmers Insurance
“I’m all about creating a workplace where people look forward to
going and want to be their best. What I like about The Only Leadership
Book You’ll Ever Need is that it not only shows us how the Best-of-the-
Best do this but, more importantly, it shows us how we can create such
a workplace as well.”
––Harry Paul, best-selling coauthor,
Fish! and Instant Turnaround!
“Regardless of the business you are in, people who come to work
fully engaged and firing on all cylinders are your major point of
differentiation. Why? Inspiring impassioned people is the hardest
thing to get right. It’s also the hardest thing for your competitors
to replicate. Loaded with great stories and backed with irrefutable
research, Stark and Flaherty deliver the blueprint for creating a
culture where people want to work and choose to stay!”
––Dr. Kevin Freiberg,
author of Boom!, Guts!, and Nuts!
“It’s a compelling read with turn-key, ‘do it now’ suggestions that I can
put into practice today.”
––Chris Folz, vice president, human resources,
Wells Fargo
“If your company has any employees, this book is a must read.
Peter and Jane cut to the bottom line in the very complicated, and
sometimes messy, arena of employee opinion surveys and the leaders
who have the courage to ask.”
––Michael Easley, CEO,
Powder River Energy Corporation
“Once again, Stark and Flaherty have qualified and quantified the
how’s and why’s of creating an environment in which associates are
passionate, and are energized to contribute discretionary efforts to
make an organization a success. Quite frankly, you’re doing your
business a disservice by not embracing the concepts.”
––Paul Barnes, president,
SheaHomes, San Diego Division
“The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need offers strategies that are
critical to increasing organizational excellence, especially in these
turbulent times. If you want to energize your employees so they are
giving their best work to you and your customers, then this book is
mandatory reading.”
––Jon Peters, president,
The Institute for Management Studies
“This timely book puts the focus on what the Best-of-the-Best leaders
actually do to make a difference. The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever
Need risks sharing what works and what doesn’t work…. Don’t just
read it––devour it!”
––Terry Paulson, PhD,
professional speaker and president,
Paulson and Associates, Inc.
“Great information, quick and easy to read. Very frank and to the
point. Employee engagement is the key of any organization––most
organizations know that. But what they don’t know is how to get there.
What does employee engagement look like in the workplace, and what
specific things can be done to create that culture? This book addresses
that specifically with lots of practical things to do to get there.”
––Pam Smith, deputy director,
San Diego County Health & Human Service
“This book has it all––simple, straightforward, and actionable!”
––Sadie Stern, director of human resources,
LG Electronics
“Anyone who leads a world-class organization or who is trying to
create a world-class organization should not only read The Only
Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need, but should put its practical advice to
work. The strategies in the book are relatively easy to implement and
can create huge impact. The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need
provides many great ideas that will move your organization to the
front of the pack.”
––Doran Barnes, CEO,
Foothill Transit
“The authors have drawn from years of experience working intimately
with leaders and organizations to set forth a helpful guide for
leaders. The book helps one take stock of one’s own leadership and
organization and the do’s and don’ts of building a productive culture
where employees not only enjoy their work, but produce at high levels.
I found the practical and down-to-earth strategies extremely helpful as
I continue to strive to become an even more effective leader.”
––Don Phillips, superintendent,
Poway Unified School District
“Great book. Quick reading with ideas on ways to improve the way
employees feel about their company.”
––Bruce Hendricks, president and CEO,
Bank of Nevada
“The Only Leadership Book You’ll Ever Need is a must read for all
CEOs, upper-level, mid-level, and new managers who aspire to
become great leaders. Recognizing that your company’s greatest
assets are its people is the first step, but recognition is not enough.
This book will give you the tool set to develop your leadership skills to
their full potential and help you create a management team and work
culture that is productive, customer friendly, and will have your people
whistling as they are driving to work on Monday morning.”
––Timothy Fennell, CEO/GM,
Del Mar Fairgrounds/Racetrack
“Organizational change is all about first changing behaviors and
ultimately attitudes of your employees. This book moves to the heart
of attitudinal change.”
––Lowell Billings, superintendent,
Chula Vista Elementary School District
“This book is a very informative document that enables managers to
learn how to be leaders who engage their employees and create the
employer of choice.”
––Gail Sullivan, Deputy City Manager,
City of Escondido
“For many senior people, it is not so much that we need to be taught
as we need to be reminded about these items. But for many relatively
new to management roles, it may be their initial exposure and the need
is real. Have them all read this book.”
––Jim Konrath, retired chairman and CEO,
Accredited Home Lenders

O

N L Y
T
HE
L
EADERSHIP
B
OOK
Y ’ E N
OU LL VER EED
How to Build Organizations Where
Employees Love to Come to Work

By
Peter Barron Stark
and
Jane Flaherty
Franklin Lakes, NJ
Copyright © 2010 by Peter Barron Stark and Jane Flaherty
All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright
Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form
or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter
invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press.
THE ONLY LEADERSHIP BOOK YOU’LL EVER NEED
EDITED BY JODI BRANDON
TYPESET BY EILEEN MUNSON
Cover design by Rob Johnson / Johnson Design
Printed in the U.S.A. by Courier
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stark, Peter B.
The only leadership book you’ll ever need : how to build organizations where
employees love
to come to work / by Peter Barron Stark and Jane Flaherty.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-60163-118-3

1. Leadership. 2. Personnel management. I. Flaherty, Jane S. II. Title.
HD57.7.S723 2010
658.4’092-dc22
2009050340

Dedication
First, we dedicate this book to our clients. You are the leaders
who partner with us to conduct employee opinion surveys. Then you
use the results to create environments where employees love to come
to work and customers love to do business. Your engaged employees
look forward to going to work, will give their discretionary effort,
and will go to the wall to ensure that you, and your organization, are
successful. You truly make a significant difference to your employees
and customers. We thank you!
Secondly, we dedicate this book to all the bosses who do not see a
need to listen to their employees’ feedback or act on their opinions––
much less continuously strive to improve their departments and
organizations. As one senior manager told us when we tried to explain
the value of an employee opinion survey, “I already know what the
employees think and I don’t plan on changing if I learn something
new.” It is these managers who lose touch with reality, don’t even
know they have lost touch with reality, and unknowingly produce
poor working environments. It is this group of managers who make
the leaders listed previously look like heroes. When their environment
turns sour enough—measured by a lack of productivity, teamwork,
communication, quality, service, and profitability—these managers
willingly turn to us for help. We thank you, too.