Take the brakes off your business. In the perfect follow-up to 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, the innovative book that has sold over one million copies, Bob Nelson reveals what real companies across America are doing to get the very best out of their employees-and why it's the key to their success. Energizing is listening-AT&T's Universal Card Service's employee suggestion system yields 1,200 ideas a month and millions of dollars in savings. Energizing is encouraging risk-taking-Hershey Foods gives out The Exalted Order of the Extended Neck Award. Energizing is Starbuck's making employees partners, Saturn creating teams that function as independent small businesses, Springfield Remanufacturing's opening its books to all employees. With case studies, examples, techniques, research highlights, and quotes from business leaders, 1001 Ways to Energize Employees is invaluable for managers seeking to increase employee enthusiasm and involvement.

Bob Nelson reveals what real companies across America are doing to get the very best out of their employees -- and why it's the key to their success.

1001 WAYS to Take Initiative at Work is about managing up--about employees taking ownership of their jobs, whether it's an assistant working for a manager or a VP working for the CEO. Third in the 1001 Ways series by bestselling business writer Bob Nelson, whose 1001 Ways to Reward Employees and 1001 Ways to Energize Employees have over 900,000 copies in print, TAKE INITIATIVE is the first management book for employees. Weaving together case studies, examples, quotes, research highlights, and the author's own "Tool Box" of management techniques and exercises, this practical handbook will show every reader how to develop self-leadership, set goals, create learning opportunities, take risks, build a team, sell ideas, and work both within and outside the larger organization. Taking initiative is about a former secretary at Johnsonville Foods who originated and now runs the company's thriving mail-order business. It's about a technical writer who created Xerox's popular "webmaster" website. And it's about you. As Bob Nelson proves, employees have much more power than they think--taking initiative is how to harness that power and reap its rewards. By the bestselling author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees and 1001 Ways to Energize Employees, with over 900,000 copies in print.

Why is 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, with over 1.4 million copies in print, such an extraordinary bestseller? Because a little over ten years ago Bob Nelson took the seeds of an idea and turned it into something indispensable for business. The idea? That it's not a raise that motivates an employee, and it's not a promotion--what really sparks a person to perform are those intangible, unexpected gestures that signify real appreciation for a job well done. Now, after having worked with thousands of organizations in the years since 11001 Ways to Reward. . . was first published, Bob Nelson presents a second edition packed with hundreds of new ideas and examples of how companies are using rewards and recognitions to boost productivity and keep their valued employees happy. Airplane mechanics are rewarded with balloons and pinwheels. Another manager calls his employees' mothers and thanks them for raising such industrious children. There are ideas from the offbeat (The Margarita Award) to the company-wide (a quiet room) to the embarrassingly simple (a hand-written thank you note) to the wacky (the Laugh-a-Day challenge) to the formal (a two-week promotion to special assistant to the president). Each section includes no-cost rewards and low-cost rewards, both public and private, making this new edition an indispensable resource for making the person/achievement/reward equation work.

“Share these ideas with key members of your company. Together, select a half-dozen ideas that resonate with all of you. Next, devise a plan to systematically implement these. And watch your company grow both in profitability and as a great place to work.” —Inc.com Employee engagement has been consistently cited as a top and growing priority by CEOs, managers, and human resources leaders across the country. From bestselling author Dr. Bob Nelson will help move any organization from just measuring the need to engage employees to actually changing management behaviors that will lead to a stronger culture of engagement. Your organization will become more effective at both attracting and retaining talent and maximizing the contribution of your employees. 1,001 Ways to Engage Employees: Categorizes specific research-based factors proven to impact employee engagement. Cites hundreds of examples of what other companies are doing to enhance employee engagement—ideas you can use right now. Offers practical insights and advice from hundreds of clients Dr. Bob has worked with. Highlights the key research on employee engagement you need to know and use. Is the only resource on the market that guarantees behavioral change on the part of your leaders that will deliver desired results. Employees are your company’s most important asset. Attracting the best, getting them to do their best work, and keeping them in the organization are critical to your company’s success. 1,001 Ways to Engage Employees gives you all the powerful tools you need.

Imagine overseeing a workforce so motivated that employees relish more hours of work, shoulder more responsibility themselves; and favor challenging jobs over paychecks or bonuses. In One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees? Frederick Herzberg shows managers how to shift from relying on extrinsic incentives to activating the real drivers of high performance: interesting, challenging work and the opportunity to continually achieve and grow into greater responsibility. The results? An ultramotivated workforce. Since 1922, Harvard Business Review has been a leading source of breakthrough management ideas-many of which still speak to and influence us today. The Harvard Business Review Classics series now offers readers the opportunity to make these seminal pieces a part of your permanent management library. Each highly readable volume contains a groundbreaking idea that continues to shape best practices and inspire countless managers around the world-and will have a direct impact on you today and for years to come.

What motivates people to do their best work in any endeavor they undertake? Management theory and practice has traditionally focused on elements that Kenneth Thomas calls 'extrinsic motivators': pay, benefits, status, bonuses, commissions, pension plans, expense budgets, and the like. While these are powerful motivators, particularly in command/control job situations where workers have little or no say in how the job is managed, by themselves they are no longer enough. In today's organizations, where managers expect workers and teams to self-manage their work, intrinsic rewards are essential. This breakthrough book provides the first comprehensive treatment of intrinsic motivation in the workplace-the psychological rewards workers get directly from the work itself-offering clear advice on how companies can harness its tremendous power to develop a more committed, self-managing workforce. Written in an engaging, accessible style and grounded in solid academic research, the book provides a diagnostic framework for addressing problems of intrinsic motivation and essential ways to build it. Thomas describes four intrinsic rewards needed to energize today's employees: A sense of purpose or meaningfulness; The ability to choose how the tasks are performed; A sense of competence from performing work activities well, and A sense of progress. Thomas offers detailed information on these rewards, together with the building blocks leaders and workers can use to create them. Finally, he spells out the practical implications for executives, managers, and employees themselves. Intrinsic Motivation at Work makes a major contribution to the topic of work motivation-one that is based on a keen understanding of the changing requirements of today's workplace and the limitations of other motivational models. The paradigm and practical approaches this path-breaking book provides will help business leaders build motivation at every level of their organizations. Ken is also the co-author of the new assessment, the Work Engagement Profile, which measures four intrinsic rewards that fuel employee engagement in the workplace, as discussed in Intrinsic Motivation at Work. The WEP is published by CPP, Inc.

Push employees to their full potential with “tough love” leadership! “Provides the tools managers need to take ‘average’ employees and create a culture of accountable, fully engaged people. Managers will learn to recognize their leadership style and understand how they, too, can become Hundred Percenters.” Laura Christiansen, Vice President Human Resources, VTech Communications, Inc. "Heavily-researched and loaded with tools and examples, this book shows you how to challenge your employees to achieve the kind of extraordinary results and innovations that every CEO dreams about. Every leader needs to read this book!" Ned Fitch, CEO, Kalahari Tea "Murphy finds that most workplaces are brimming with untapped talent. Only it's suppressed by goal-setting that discourages big ideas and leaders who focus on happiness rather than greatness." Training Magazine We’ve all heard the saying that a happy employee is a motivated employee. But what if that’s not true? Leadership IQ CEO Mark Murphy says the “happy employee” philosophy doesn’t work. A study of more than 500,000 leaders and employees shows that despite the billions of dollars organizations spend to satisfy and engage workers, 72% of employees admit they’re still not giving their best effort at work. Rather, it’s leaders who focus on making their people great—not happy—who inspire Hundred Percenter performance. If you talk to the employees behind today’s great innovations, you’re unlikely to hear, “I was inspired by a boss who coddles me.” Instead you’d probably hear, “My boss challenges me and pushes me past my limits.” Most workplaces are brimming with untapped talent—only it’s suppressed by leaders who fail to connect with and challenge employees to unleash their true potential. Here are just a few of the big ideas in Hundred Percenters: The harder the goals you set, the better your employees will perform You should never use a Compliment Sandwich to deliver feedback Talented Terrors—people with great skills and a bad attitude—can destroy your company culture Before you can start motivating Hundred Percenters, you have to stop demotivating them You should never ask your employees if they’re “satisfied” This groundbreaking book debunks management fads that don’t apply to today’s workplace and provides the facts, theories, and direction you need to become a 100% Leader. Apply Murphy’s leadership lessons and you’ll see innovation, productivity, and profits soar, while employee turnover rates plummet. Hundred Percenters will bring out the best in your workforce.

Intrinsic Motivation at Work marks a major advance on the topic of work motivation -- one based on an understanding of the changing requirements of today's workplace and the limitations of older motivational models. Written in an engaging, accessible style, yet grounded in solid academic research, the book is divided into three parts. Part One assesses older models of work motivation and why they need an overhaul. Part Two explains the nature of the "new work" and the importance of reintroducing a feeling of purpose and self-management. Part Three presents in depth the four intrinsic rewards that make work energizing and compelling -- a sense of meaningfulness, a sense of choice, a sense of competence or quality, and a sense of progress -- and how to create them.

Take the brakes off your business. In the perfect follow-up to 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, the innovative book that has sold over one million copies, Bob Nelson reveals what real companies across America are doing to get the very best out of their employees-and why it's the key to their success. Energizing is listening-AT&T's Universal Card Service's employee suggestion system yields 1,200 ideas a month and millions of dollars in savings. Energizing is encouraging risk-taking-Hershey Foods gives out The Exalted Order of the Extended Neck Award. Energizing is Starbuck's making employees partners, Saturn creating teams that function as independent small businesses, Springfield Remanufacturing's opening its books to all employees. With case studies, examples, techniques, research highlights, and quotes from business leaders, 1001 Ways to Energize Employees is invaluable for managers seeking to increase employee enthusiasm and involvement.