Synopses & Reviews
Almost one in four American working adults has a job that pays less than a living wage. Convenandshy;tional wisdom says thatand#8217;s how the world has to work. Bad jobs with low wages, minimal benefits, little training, and chaotic schedules are the only way companies can keep costs down and prices low. If companies were to offer better jobs, cusandshy;tomers would have to pay more or companies would have to make less.
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But in The Good Jobs Strategy, Zeynep Ton, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, makes the compelling case that even in low-cost settings, leaving employees behindand#8212;with bad jobsand#8212;is a choice, not a necessity. Drawing on more than a decade of research, Ton shows how operational excellence enables companies to ofandshy;fer the lowest prices to customers while ensuring good jobs for their employees and superior results for their investors.
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Ton describes the elements of the good jobs strategy in a variety of successful companies around the world, including Southwest Airlines, UPS, Toyota, Zappos, and In-N-Out Burger. She focuses on four model retailersand#8212;Costco, Mercaandshy;dona, Trader Joeand#8217;s, and QuikTripand#8212;to demonstrate the good jobs strategy at work and reveals four choices that have transformed these compaandshy;niesand#8217; high investment in workers into lower costs, higher profits, and greater customer satandshy;isfaction.
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Full of surprising, counterintuitive insights, the book answers questions such as: How can offering fewer products increase customer satandshy;isfaction? Why would having more employees than you need reduce costs and boost profits? How can companies simultaneously standardize work and empower employees?
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The Good Jobs Strategy outlines an invaluable blueprint for any organization that wants to purandshy;sue a sustainable competitive strategy in which everyoneand#8212;employees, customers, and investorsand#8212;wins.
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Review
and#8220;In this brilliantly conceived and written book, Zeynep Ton shows that companies that view their workforce as an asset to be maximized rather than a cost to be minimized, have both happier workers and better business results. This book is a 'must read' for anyone that wants to think creatively about how they manage their workforce.and#8221;
and#8212;Marshall Fisher, professor at The Wharton School and co-author of The New Science of Retailingand#160;
and#8220;Using years of research and analysis, Zeynep Ton has proven what great leaders know instinctivelyand#8212;an engaged, well-paidand#160; workforce that is treated with dignity and respect creates outsized returns for investors. She demonstrates that the race to the bottom in retail employment doesnand#8217;t have to be the only game being played. In fact, The Good Jobs Strategy shows that smart business leaders can create great shareholder value while creating good jobs.and#8221; and#8212;Josand#233; Alvarez, senior lecturer at Harvard Business School and former president and CEO of Stop and Shop
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and#8220;Stop the presses. Tear out the front page. Employers can increase profits by paying their employees more and treating them better. Raising wages and improving working conditions is not just a matter of public policy. The private sector itself can make a huge difference.and#160; Everyone who cares about good jobsand#8212;and especially every CEOand#8212;needs to read this highly informative and thoroughly readable book.and#8221; and#8212;Peter Edelman, professor of law at Georgetown Law Center and author of So Rich, So Poor: Why Itand#8217;s So Hard to End Poverty in America
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and#8220;In The Good Jobs Strategy, Zeynep Ton offers insights into how successful companies utilize operational excellence to thrive, and she reminds us that the spirit and culture of an organizationand#8212;that sparkle in the eyeand#8212;comes only from fully engaged employees.and#8221; and#8212;Michael Eskew, former CEO of UPS
Synopsis
Drawing on 75 years of Gallup studies and his own perspective as the companys chairman and CEO, Jim Clifton explains why jobs are the new global currency for leaders. More than peace or money or any other good, the business, government, military, city, and village leaders who can create good jobs will own the future.
The problem is that leaders dont know how to create jobs especially in America. What they should do is recognize that the world is in a war for jobs. It seems that leadership has lost the will to win, especially in America, but this is a competition for our lives.
To win, leaders need to compete. Everyone does. The public school system needs to inculcate kids with the knowledge theyll need to compete in the jobs war. The business community needs to double the psychological engagement of workers so that it can compete with cheaper labor. The healthcare system must stop wasting the resources that we need to spend on job competition. Society needs to realize that entrepreneurs, not government, are the source of new jobs and put all its energy behind them. Perhaps most importantly, leaders need to recognize universities, mentors, and especially cities as a supercollider for job creation.
If that can be done and it can be done; leaders have done it before new good jobs will result. Theres not moment to waste: the war has already begun.
Synopsis
Definitive leadership strategy for fixing the American economy, drawn from Gallup s unmatched global polling and written by the company s chairman.
What everyone in the world wants is a good job. This is one of the most important discoveries Gallup has ever made, says the company s Chairman, Jim Clifton.
In The Coming Jobs War, Clifton makes the bold assertion that job creation and successful entrepreneurship are the world s most pressing issues right now, outpacing runaway government spending, environmental degradation and even the threat of global terrorism.
The book is grounded in findings from Gallup s World Poll, which reveals the implications of the jobs war on everything from economics to foreign policy to nothing less than America s moral authority in the world. And it offers a prescription for attacking the jobs issue head-on. Clifton argues that the solution to creating good jobs must be found in cities, not in the federal government. Promoting entrepreneurship and job creation must be the sole mission and purpose of cities business leaders, government officials and philanthropists.
Clifton says that the next big breakthrough will come from the combination of the forces within big cities, great universities and powerful local leaders. Their combined effect is the most reliable, controllable and predictable solution to America s biggest problem. Strong leadership teams and a natural order are already in place within cities in governments and local business and philanthropic entities, with caring leaders working on initiatives to fuel local economic growth and to create good jobs. The feat these leaders have to pull off is doubling their entrepreneurial energy by aligning their local forces: local tribal leaders, super mentors and universities.
Winning the jobs war will require all hands on deck, and failure is not an option, especially for the United States, which has been the global leader in promoting freedom and entrepreneurship. America s place in the world is at stake, and there are other countries poised to surpass a sputtering U.S. economy that is currently growing at only 2% annually. The biggest threat? China, with a GDP that is increasing at nearly 10% annually a pace that will make it the world s leading and most influential economy within the next 30 years.
While the statistics are dire, Clifton remains optimistic about America s ability to win the jobs war because America has been here before. The Greatest Generation saved America by beating the Japanese and Germans at World War II]. The Baby Boomers saved America a second time by beating the same foes, Japan and Germany, in an economic war that determined the leadership of the free world, again, he says."
Synopsis
In
The Coming Jobs War, Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton boldly asserts that job creation and successful entrepreneurship are the worlds most pressing issues, outpacing runaway government spending, environmental degradation, and even the threat of global terrorism.
The book is grounded in findings from Gallups World Poll, which reveals implications of the jobs war on everything from economics to foreign policy to Americas moral authority in the world. And it offers a prescription for attacking the jobs issue head-on. Clifton says the solution to creating good jobs must be found in cities, not the federal government. Promoting entrepreneurship and job creation must be the sole mission and purpose of cities leaders.
Winning the jobs war requires all hands on deck, and failure is not an option, especially for the U.S., which has been the global leader in promoting freedom and entrepreneurship. Americas place in the world is at stake, with other countries poised to surpass a sputtering U.S. economy growing at only 2% annually.
While the statistics are dire, Clifton remains optimistic about Americas ability to win the jobs war. The Coming Jobs War offers a brutally honest look at Americas biggest problem and a cogent prescription for solving it.
Synopsis
WHAT EVERYONE IN THE WORLD WANTS IS A GOOD JOB
In a provocative book for business and government leaders, Gallup Chairman Jim Clifton describes how this undeniable fact will affect all leadership decisions as countries wage war to produce the best jobs.
Leaders of countries and cities, Clifton says, should focus on creating good jobs because as jobs go, so does the fate of nations. Jobs bring prosperity, peace, and human development but long-term unemployment ruins lives, cities, and countries.
Creating good jobs is tough, and many leaders are doing many things wrong. Theyre undercutting entrepreneurs instead of cultivating them. Theyre running companies with depressed workforces. Theyre letting the next generation of job creators rot in bad schools.
A global jobs war is coming, and theres no time to waste. Cities are crumbling for lack of good jobs. Nations are in revolt because their people cant get good jobs. The cities and countries that act first that focus everything they have on creating good jobs are the ones that will win.
Synopsis
A research-backed clarion call to CEOs and managers, making the controversial case that good, well-paying jobs are not only good for workers and for societyand#8212;theyand#8217;re good for business, too.
About the Author
Jim Clifton
Chairman and CEO
Since 1988, Jim Clifton has served as CEO of Gallup, a leader in organizational consulting and public opinion research. His most recent innovation, the Gallup World Poll, is designed to give the worlds 6 billion citizens a voice in virtually all key global issues. Mr. Clifton has pledged to continue this effort to collect world opinion for 100 years in 150 countries.
Under Mr. Cliftons leadership, Gallup has achieved a fifteenfold increase in its billing volume and expanded Gallup from a predominantly U.S.-based company to a worldwide organization with 40 offices in 30 countries and regions.
Mr. Clifton is also the creator of The Gallup Path, a metric-based economic model that establishes the linkages among human nature in the workplace, customer engagement, and business outcomes. This model is used in performance management systems in more than 500 companies worldwide.
Mr. Clifton serves on several boards and is Chairman of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. He has received honorary degrees from Jackson State, Medgar Evers and Bellevue Universities.
Table of Contents
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Introductionand#8194;ix1.and#160;An Unnecessary Sacrificeand#8194;1
2.and#160;Great Operations Need Great Peopleand#8194;18
3.and#160;The Penalties of Going Cheap on Retail Laborand#8194;37
4.and#160;Model Retailers: Who Knew It Could Be This Good?and#8194;55
5.and#160;Offer Lessand#8194;74
6.and#160;Standardize and Empowerand#8194;99
7.and#160;Cross-Trainand#8194;129
8.and#160;Operate with Slackand#8194;153
9.and#160;Seizing Strategic Opportunitiesand#8194;173
10.and#160;Values and Constraintsand#8194;191
and#160;and#160;and#160;Acknowledgmentsand#8194;208
and#160;and#160;and#160;Notesand#8194;213
and#160;and#160;and#160;Indexand#8194;223
and#160;and#160;and#160;About the Authorand#8194;228