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Under New Management: How Leading Organizations Are Upending Business as Usual
Why accepted management practices don’t work—and how innovative companies are changing the rules
Should your employees know each other’s salaries? Is your vacation policy harming productivity? Does your hiring process undermine your team? David Burkus argues that the traditional management playbook is full of outdated, counterproductive practices, and he reveals how the alternative management revolution has already started at companies like Netflix, Zappos, Google, and others. Burkus investigates behind their office doors to show how these companies are reevaluating and reinventing the most basic management principles, like hiring, firing, vacation policy, and even office floor plan, and enhancing their business’s success as a result.
Should your employees know each other’s salaries? Is your vacation policy harming productivity? Does your hiring process undermine your team? David Burkus argues that the traditional management playbook is full of outdated, counterproductive practices, and he reveals how the alternative management revolution has already started at companies like Netflix, Zappos, Google, and others. Burkus investigates behind their office doors to show how these companies are reevaluating and reinventing the most basic management principles, like hiring, firing, vacation policy, and even office floor plan, and enhancing their business’s success as a result.
256 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2016
About the author
David Burkus
11 books91 followersOne of the world’s leading business thinkers, David Burkus’ forward-thinking ideas and bestselling books are helping leaders and teams do their best work ever.
He is the bestselling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.
A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.
He is the bestselling author of four books about business and leadership. His books have won multiple awards and have been translated into dozens of languages. His insights on leadership and teamwork have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, USAToday, Fast Company, the Financial Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, CNN, the BBC, NPR, and CBS This Morning. Since 2017, Burkus has been ranked as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50. As a sought-after international speaker, his TED Talk has been viewed over 2 million times. He’s worked with leaders from organizations across all industries including Google, Stryker, Fidelity, Viacom, and even the US Naval Academy.
A former business school professor, Burkus holds a master’s degree in organizational psychology from the University of Oklahoma, and a doctorate in strategic leadership from Regent University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
March 11, 2016
Looking for "new" management ideas for the 21st century? If so, this book is for you!
Under New Management explores a number of uncommon and "radical" and new business/management ideas, describing not only how they are currently in practice at various companies, but also how business owners and managers can apply the ideas to their own work places.
The book starts with a short history of Fredrick Taylor's promotion of "scientific management" and the significant impact it had on business in the 20th century before noting that "[it] became obvious as early as the 1950s that the tools of “Taylorism” weren’t going to work in the new world of work." The author then challenges readers to consider if it might be time to reexamine the management fundamentals in general practice today, and proceeds to dive into ideas around "new management."
The "radical" new management ideas covered in the book include:
* Outlaw Email
* Put Customers Second
* Lose the Standard Vacation Policy
* Pay People to Quit
* Make Salaries Transparent
* Ban Noncompetes
* Ditch Performance Appraisals
* Hire as a Team
* Write the Org Chart in Pencil
* Close the Open Offices
* Take Sabbaticals
* Fire the Managers
* Celebrate Departures
As a fan of the author's previous book, The Myths of Creativity, I was eager to read this and it met and exceeded all of my expectations.
For each of the ideas covered in the book, the author starts with an example from a company currently employing the idea in practice, such as Netflix's "famous" unlimited vacation policy or Zappo's quitting bonus. These examples drill into the reasons these companies have adopted these ideas in the first place, as well as the specific ways in which they're implementing them. The chapters that explore these ideas also note that there are challenges associated with implementing them. For instance, the idea of unlimited vacation is one that many managers would balk at, simply due to concerns of employee abuse. Many of the chapters address these concerns, citing how managers and leaders in the example companies deal with the challenges inherent in adopting these new approaches. Many of the companies adopting these ideas are quite well known (such as Netflix, Zappos, or Virgin Group) while others are less well known, but one thing these example companies all have in common is that they have seen real, tangible benefits from adopting these "radical" new ideas.
At first glance, it might be easy to write off many of the ideas in this book as flukes that can work only in specific cases at specific companies. However, the book doesn't stop with simple anecdotes. In addition to anecdotes and examples, the author also cites research in the social sciences related to the ideas in this book. For example, in the chapter about Netflix's unlimited vacation policy ("Lose the Standard Vacation Policy") the author spends considerable time looking at the idea of trust (a "word commonly used by leaders who advocate vacation nonpolicies") and its relationship to decision making and studies in neuroeconomics, "an emerging field that studies human decision-making through the lens of traditional economics but also through the scientific study of the brain." This inclusion of related research makes the ideas in this book even more compelling. Beyond the anecdotes of how these ideas have been implemented, the related research provides insight into why these ideas work, and how they can work in other organizations.
I think companies and organizations should consider all of the ideas in this book, but of the ideas presented in this book, I especially liked “Put Customers Second,” “Ditch Performance Appraisals,” and “Take Sabbaticals.” I like these ideas because they are particularly focused on employee welfare and satisfaction. Employees are among a company’s most important stakeholders and I believe it’s vital for companies to nurture and support the people who make their businesses successful.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in management and business looking for new ideas for moving their companies and organizations into the 21st century and beyond.
[Disclaimer: I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book for being part of the book's "Launch Team".]
Under New Management explores a number of uncommon and "radical" and new business/management ideas, describing not only how they are currently in practice at various companies, but also how business owners and managers can apply the ideas to their own work places.
The book starts with a short history of Fredrick Taylor's promotion of "scientific management" and the significant impact it had on business in the 20th century before noting that "[it] became obvious as early as the 1950s that the tools of “Taylorism” weren’t going to work in the new world of work." The author then challenges readers to consider if it might be time to reexamine the management fundamentals in general practice today, and proceeds to dive into ideas around "new management."
The "radical" new management ideas covered in the book include:
* Outlaw Email
* Put Customers Second
* Lose the Standard Vacation Policy
* Pay People to Quit
* Make Salaries Transparent
* Ban Noncompetes
* Ditch Performance Appraisals
* Hire as a Team
* Write the Org Chart in Pencil
* Close the Open Offices
* Take Sabbaticals
* Fire the Managers
* Celebrate Departures
As a fan of the author's previous book, The Myths of Creativity, I was eager to read this and it met and exceeded all of my expectations.
For each of the ideas covered in the book, the author starts with an example from a company currently employing the idea in practice, such as Netflix's "famous" unlimited vacation policy or Zappo's quitting bonus. These examples drill into the reasons these companies have adopted these ideas in the first place, as well as the specific ways in which they're implementing them. The chapters that explore these ideas also note that there are challenges associated with implementing them. For instance, the idea of unlimited vacation is one that many managers would balk at, simply due to concerns of employee abuse. Many of the chapters address these concerns, citing how managers and leaders in the example companies deal with the challenges inherent in adopting these new approaches. Many of the companies adopting these ideas are quite well known (such as Netflix, Zappos, or Virgin Group) while others are less well known, but one thing these example companies all have in common is that they have seen real, tangible benefits from adopting these "radical" new ideas.
At first glance, it might be easy to write off many of the ideas in this book as flukes that can work only in specific cases at specific companies. However, the book doesn't stop with simple anecdotes. In addition to anecdotes and examples, the author also cites research in the social sciences related to the ideas in this book. For example, in the chapter about Netflix's unlimited vacation policy ("Lose the Standard Vacation Policy") the author spends considerable time looking at the idea of trust (a "word commonly used by leaders who advocate vacation nonpolicies") and its relationship to decision making and studies in neuroeconomics, "an emerging field that studies human decision-making through the lens of traditional economics but also through the scientific study of the brain." This inclusion of related research makes the ideas in this book even more compelling. Beyond the anecdotes of how these ideas have been implemented, the related research provides insight into why these ideas work, and how they can work in other organizations.
I think companies and organizations should consider all of the ideas in this book, but of the ideas presented in this book, I especially liked “Put Customers Second,” “Ditch Performance Appraisals,” and “Take Sabbaticals.” I like these ideas because they are particularly focused on employee welfare and satisfaction. Employees are among a company’s most important stakeholders and I believe it’s vital for companies to nurture and support the people who make their businesses successful.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in management and business looking for new ideas for moving their companies and organizations into the 21st century and beyond.
[Disclaimer: I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book for being part of the book's "Launch Team".]
July 21, 2016
This book focuses on turning several long-standing business best practices right on their head. It is a great reminder that just because something "works", it doesn't mean it is the best option.
May 19, 2016
I've been on both sides of the management coin. I've been in management, and I've been managed. I have an idea of what works for me and what doesn't. In this book, David Burkus shows that many of the management practices that were developed in the early 20th century to manage line workers don't work today. Even some that have evolved over time need to change. He identifies 13 items that need to change. They are:
1. Outlaw Email
2. Put Customers Second
3. Lose the Standard Vacation Policy
4. Pay People to Quit
5. Make Salaries Transparent
6. Ban Noncompetes
7. Ditch Performance Appraisals
8. Hire as a Team
9. Write the Org Chart in Pencil
10. Close Open Offices
11. Take Sabbaticals
12. Fire the Managers
13. Celebrate Departures.
Some of these sound counterintuitive at first glance, but he makes the case, with examples of companies that have tried them, that they can actually work. Some of this is not new. For example, the idea of scrapping the standard vacation policy was explored in Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It: The Results-Only Revolution by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson. They argued, as does David Burkus, that as long as the work is done accurately and on time, it shouldn't matter if you're at your desk for a certain time each day. There is some freshness to this book, though, from the use of real world examples. Some of them are modified from what he thinks. For example, the chapter on outlaw e-mail could be retitled outlaw internal e-mail. If a client is emailing you something important, you'd better be ready to take it. Space alone prohibits me from going into detail about every chapter.
One thing I wish the book had done more of is to show instances where the item in the chapter title was tried, and it didn't work. There is some of this, but there could be more. In the chapter on salaries, he discusses a company called SumAll, which has fixed, but transparent, salaries. You're assigned to a salary level, and there is apparently no negotiation. When I saw that, I thought of Ellen Pao, former CEO at Reddit. Ms Pao came to Reddit after losing a discrimination suit against her former employer, an investment firm. The jury returned the verdict in favor of the firm. Ms Pao then instituted a no negotiation policy for salaries at Reddit. This was your salary, take it or leave it. It was supposed to take the pressure off people who didn't feel comfortable negotiating, which some studies have shown many women are. Ms Pao may still have been reeling from her loss in court. At any rate, the policy was universally panned, not just at Reddit, but on other social media and the regular media. It probably led to her exit from Reddit. I believe the policy has since been rescinded. I'm not sure if salaries at Reddit were disclosed within the company or not. This would have been a good example for the book.
The author does emphasize flexibility. There is no one size fits all solution. For example, I'm a CPA who does taxes. The policy on vacations would have to be modified. January 1-April 15, no extended vacations other than medical or death in the family. The rest of the year, the schedule is much more flexible. That's what I like about this book. It doesn't attempt to impose a solution. it suggests a solution, and leaves it to the individual companies to implement it, realizing that it may not work for everyone. All in all, a good book.
1. Outlaw Email
2. Put Customers Second
3. Lose the Standard Vacation Policy
4. Pay People to Quit
5. Make Salaries Transparent
6. Ban Noncompetes
7. Ditch Performance Appraisals
8. Hire as a Team
9. Write the Org Chart in Pencil
10. Close Open Offices
11. Take Sabbaticals
12. Fire the Managers
13. Celebrate Departures.
Some of these sound counterintuitive at first glance, but he makes the case, with examples of companies that have tried them, that they can actually work. Some of this is not new. For example, the idea of scrapping the standard vacation policy was explored in Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It: The Results-Only Revolution by Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson. They argued, as does David Burkus, that as long as the work is done accurately and on time, it shouldn't matter if you're at your desk for a certain time each day. There is some freshness to this book, though, from the use of real world examples. Some of them are modified from what he thinks. For example, the chapter on outlaw e-mail could be retitled outlaw internal e-mail. If a client is emailing you something important, you'd better be ready to take it. Space alone prohibits me from going into detail about every chapter.
One thing I wish the book had done more of is to show instances where the item in the chapter title was tried, and it didn't work. There is some of this, but there could be more. In the chapter on salaries, he discusses a company called SumAll, which has fixed, but transparent, salaries. You're assigned to a salary level, and there is apparently no negotiation. When I saw that, I thought of Ellen Pao, former CEO at Reddit. Ms Pao came to Reddit after losing a discrimination suit against her former employer, an investment firm. The jury returned the verdict in favor of the firm. Ms Pao then instituted a no negotiation policy for salaries at Reddit. This was your salary, take it or leave it. It was supposed to take the pressure off people who didn't feel comfortable negotiating, which some studies have shown many women are. Ms Pao may still have been reeling from her loss in court. At any rate, the policy was universally panned, not just at Reddit, but on other social media and the regular media. It probably led to her exit from Reddit. I believe the policy has since been rescinded. I'm not sure if salaries at Reddit were disclosed within the company or not. This would have been a good example for the book.
The author does emphasize flexibility. There is no one size fits all solution. For example, I'm a CPA who does taxes. The policy on vacations would have to be modified. January 1-April 15, no extended vacations other than medical or death in the family. The rest of the year, the schedule is much more flexible. That's what I like about this book. It doesn't attempt to impose a solution. it suggests a solution, and leaves it to the individual companies to implement it, realizing that it may not work for everyone. All in all, a good book.
March 16, 2016
I have spent most of my career in the banking world. Professional, rigid, rule abiding, and corporate. I tried to work at smaller banks to avoid the corporate ways and games. Some things have changed over my 20 year banking career – just not enough. Today I work in an open office atmosphere, email rules the day, and there is a bigger focus on team. It just isn’t quite enough.
Under New Management How Leading Organizations are Upending Business as Usual by David Burkus represents my corporate dream. David examines new methods to manage and lead people. He pushes aside the traditional management tools and throws out some innovative ideas that are fresh, new, and probably pretty controversial to conventional managers. The thing is, some companies are very successful using some of the new ideas that Burkus shares. What will it take for more to jump on the bandwagon?
David challenges us reexamine our current ways. As a manager, I ate this book up page by page. I love new styles that focus on people and this book delivers. Life is fast paced today and some managers refuse to be innovative and challenge the status quo. Is that you? Under new Management focuses on 13 chapters each outlining a new idea, concept or way of thinking. Some of them will make you uncomfortable and saying “No Way!” Others may have you ready to jump out of your chair chanting “Yes! Yes!” The old ways of managing just don’t work anymore and it’s time make change and impact the world.
Let’s dive into some new ideas from David Burkus. Here are 13 of them for you to discover in Under New Management.
• Outlaw Email. The book starts with a shocker. Outlaw email? Email can be very distracting and pulls us away like a delicate piece of chocolate. We hear and see them roll in all day. They interrupt us, stress us out, make us feel like are missing something if we don’t respond immediately. I worked in an office where I swear there was a contest going on as to who answered emails first. I always lost. Emails “pollute” the work environment, keep people from communicating, and freak us out. Some companies are eliminating emails or at least limiting the hours it can be used. Sound radical? It is, but it may just work.
• Put Customers Second. Wow. I loved this chapter. By putting people first you will have happier customers and improved performance. Invest in what is important (people) and the chips will fall into place. Make managers accountable to your first line people and watch satisfaction and productivity skyrocket.
• Lose The Standard Vacation Policy. I love this idea because it empowers people and makes them responsible. Companies like Netflix have seen increased freedom and trust which translates into higher productivity. I love this idea for me however, I’m not so sure that all employees are ready for this novel idea.
• Pay People to Quit. Zappos pays people to quit. Yup, quit. If you hire in and want to leave after 3 weeks you receive $4000 to do so. No strings. In the end this offer keeps great employees who want to be a part of the culture and they are more engaged with a higher self worth. Better to cut sunk costs early rather than later.
• Make Salaries Transparent. Some companies have instituted policies where everyone knows what their coworkers make. They claim that it is more efficient and actually increases productivity. The secrecy is gone and after awhile people stop being interested in what others make.
• Ban NonCompetes. So many of us have been hand tied by noncompete agreements. They ultimately hamper true competition and fail to motivate people. Clients and employees will follow those that they trust and admire; a noncompete won’t stop that process.
• Ditch Performance Appraisals. This is one of my favorites. As a manager I have always hated the traditional review process and hate getting them today. They are aged and out of touch, I was cheering for this idea. Let’s have more check ins, more ongoing coaching and development, and bring morale up. Stop rating people on curves and dehumanizing your team.
• Hire as a Team. I love this idea and have always tried to make hiring decisions based on a team decision process. The team owns their projects and productivity. They need to choose the talent and enhance collaboration.
• Write the Org Chart in Pencil. This is a novel approach. Rather than building teams in traditional roles, build a team around projects and change things up when a project wraps up. It’s flexible, fluid, and talent is shared. Why not?
• Open Offices Shut Employees Down. Here! Here! This is another idea that I cheer on. I love hustle and bustle as well as my teammates but open offices are distracting. I don’t want to hear about everyone’s woes or their rough party last night. Studies show that open offices worsen relationships, are too loud and distracting, lower job performance, and plain annoy people. There is a better way and leaders need to own up to change.
• Take Sabbaticals. This is a refreshing idea. Initially my reaction was negative. It could never work. Then I really thought about what David wrote and changed my mind. Granted sabbaticals won’t work with every industry however, rejuvenation, new ideas, cross training, and less stress won me over.
• Fire the Managers. Since I am a manager, this wasn’t my favorite idea. However, it grew on me the more that David explained the idea and shared examples where it is effective. This idea is probably best employed in a smaller company and offers more autonomy, better work control, more loyalty, and shared leadership.
• Celebrate departures. I have always rejoiced for people who left my teams for better opportunities. Good companies do the same and form networks to reunite people and keep alumni ties. I worked for a smaller bank and we have an alumni group with occasional reunions. Although most of us are gone due to a merger, we remain close and will always have a special bond.
Reading Under New Management was a delight and I almost read it without putting it down. This book fed my management dreams and really convinced me to take a second look at some new ideas that I originally scoffed at. The old ways are hindering our competitiveness and stifling people and innovation. We all have a responsibility to challenge ourselves and our people to do better, be better, and grow better. Happy reading!
Under New Management How Leading Organizations are Upending Business as Usual by David Burkus represents my corporate dream. David examines new methods to manage and lead people. He pushes aside the traditional management tools and throws out some innovative ideas that are fresh, new, and probably pretty controversial to conventional managers. The thing is, some companies are very successful using some of the new ideas that Burkus shares. What will it take for more to jump on the bandwagon?
David challenges us reexamine our current ways. As a manager, I ate this book up page by page. I love new styles that focus on people and this book delivers. Life is fast paced today and some managers refuse to be innovative and challenge the status quo. Is that you? Under new Management focuses on 13 chapters each outlining a new idea, concept or way of thinking. Some of them will make you uncomfortable and saying “No Way!” Others may have you ready to jump out of your chair chanting “Yes! Yes!” The old ways of managing just don’t work anymore and it’s time make change and impact the world.
Let’s dive into some new ideas from David Burkus. Here are 13 of them for you to discover in Under New Management.
• Outlaw Email. The book starts with a shocker. Outlaw email? Email can be very distracting and pulls us away like a delicate piece of chocolate. We hear and see them roll in all day. They interrupt us, stress us out, make us feel like are missing something if we don’t respond immediately. I worked in an office where I swear there was a contest going on as to who answered emails first. I always lost. Emails “pollute” the work environment, keep people from communicating, and freak us out. Some companies are eliminating emails or at least limiting the hours it can be used. Sound radical? It is, but it may just work.
• Put Customers Second. Wow. I loved this chapter. By putting people first you will have happier customers and improved performance. Invest in what is important (people) and the chips will fall into place. Make managers accountable to your first line people and watch satisfaction and productivity skyrocket.
• Lose The Standard Vacation Policy. I love this idea because it empowers people and makes them responsible. Companies like Netflix have seen increased freedom and trust which translates into higher productivity. I love this idea for me however, I’m not so sure that all employees are ready for this novel idea.
• Pay People to Quit. Zappos pays people to quit. Yup, quit. If you hire in and want to leave after 3 weeks you receive $4000 to do so. No strings. In the end this offer keeps great employees who want to be a part of the culture and they are more engaged with a higher self worth. Better to cut sunk costs early rather than later.
• Make Salaries Transparent. Some companies have instituted policies where everyone knows what their coworkers make. They claim that it is more efficient and actually increases productivity. The secrecy is gone and after awhile people stop being interested in what others make.
• Ban NonCompetes. So many of us have been hand tied by noncompete agreements. They ultimately hamper true competition and fail to motivate people. Clients and employees will follow those that they trust and admire; a noncompete won’t stop that process.
• Ditch Performance Appraisals. This is one of my favorites. As a manager I have always hated the traditional review process and hate getting them today. They are aged and out of touch, I was cheering for this idea. Let’s have more check ins, more ongoing coaching and development, and bring morale up. Stop rating people on curves and dehumanizing your team.
• Hire as a Team. I love this idea and have always tried to make hiring decisions based on a team decision process. The team owns their projects and productivity. They need to choose the talent and enhance collaboration.
• Write the Org Chart in Pencil. This is a novel approach. Rather than building teams in traditional roles, build a team around projects and change things up when a project wraps up. It’s flexible, fluid, and talent is shared. Why not?
• Open Offices Shut Employees Down. Here! Here! This is another idea that I cheer on. I love hustle and bustle as well as my teammates but open offices are distracting. I don’t want to hear about everyone’s woes or their rough party last night. Studies show that open offices worsen relationships, are too loud and distracting, lower job performance, and plain annoy people. There is a better way and leaders need to own up to change.
• Take Sabbaticals. This is a refreshing idea. Initially my reaction was negative. It could never work. Then I really thought about what David wrote and changed my mind. Granted sabbaticals won’t work with every industry however, rejuvenation, new ideas, cross training, and less stress won me over.
• Fire the Managers. Since I am a manager, this wasn’t my favorite idea. However, it grew on me the more that David explained the idea and shared examples where it is effective. This idea is probably best employed in a smaller company and offers more autonomy, better work control, more loyalty, and shared leadership.
• Celebrate departures. I have always rejoiced for people who left my teams for better opportunities. Good companies do the same and form networks to reunite people and keep alumni ties. I worked for a smaller bank and we have an alumni group with occasional reunions. Although most of us are gone due to a merger, we remain close and will always have a special bond.
Reading Under New Management was a delight and I almost read it without putting it down. This book fed my management dreams and really convinced me to take a second look at some new ideas that I originally scoffed at. The old ways are hindering our competitiveness and stifling people and innovation. We all have a responsibility to challenge ourselves and our people to do better, be better, and grow better. Happy reading!
February 5, 2017
New ideas:
- no schedule for work hours or vacations.
- let employees manage their budget "in the company's best interest".
- open offices with private spaces.
- complete transparency on wages.
- timely on-the-spot constructive feedback, focused on goals and cooperation, rather than annual performance reviews.
- no schedule for work hours or vacations.
- let employees manage their budget "in the company's best interest".
- open offices with private spaces.
- complete transparency on wages.
- timely on-the-spot constructive feedback, focused on goals and cooperation, rather than annual performance reviews.
March 15, 2016
Every once in a while there is a book that gets you to question norms and rethink some of the actions that we take for granted as best practices. A few years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting author David Burkus in a workshop that explored the Myths of Creativity, his first book, and was hooked on the out of the box thinking that David was bringing to challenge assumptions we hold in business. Since them, I’ve been a fan of his leadership radio podcasts and articles and today I’m excited to be reading his new book, Under New Management.
Under New Management has me rethinking many of today’s norms in business leadership. Through his new book, David uses research, case studies and exploration into a wide range of organizations and industries and turns commonly practiced and ingrained cultural leadership practices on their heads and examines the unintended and often negative consequences that many create. His goal? To reinvent how we think about management and ultimately how companies are managed.
As a leadership coach, I often reflect on and get curious about many of the management processes that businesses use to create engagement and accountability, help people be productive and efficient, and ultimately reach their organizational goals. Most of the practices he explores we take for granted and don’t consider beyond “how its done”. I appreciate David offering insight into the history of how many of our common management practices came to be and the variety of case studies he offers to explore what works and what doesn’t. His case studies range from well-known organizations like Zappos, Netflicks and McKinsey but also lesser known successful organizations. He doesn’t just rely on history and theory either; he gives practical application for how you might apply these new ideas to your organization and recognizes that what works for one might not work in the same application for your company. While the concepts he explores range from outlawing email and putting employees first to paying people to quit, making salaries transparent and closing open offices might seem radical and against the status quo of best practices, he gives real insight and research into why you might want to rethink these practices.
To add the icing on the cake, not only is Under New Management filled with insightful, practical and tactical information, David Burkus has a gift of using story to help engage you and make this a leadership book that’s an enjoyable and engaging read you’ll want to pass on to everyone on your leadership team.
If you want to explore new thinking and learn to implement new ways of enhancing productivity and morale, read Under New Management.
Under New Management has me rethinking many of today’s norms in business leadership. Through his new book, David uses research, case studies and exploration into a wide range of organizations and industries and turns commonly practiced and ingrained cultural leadership practices on their heads and examines the unintended and often negative consequences that many create. His goal? To reinvent how we think about management and ultimately how companies are managed.
As a leadership coach, I often reflect on and get curious about many of the management processes that businesses use to create engagement and accountability, help people be productive and efficient, and ultimately reach their organizational goals. Most of the practices he explores we take for granted and don’t consider beyond “how its done”. I appreciate David offering insight into the history of how many of our common management practices came to be and the variety of case studies he offers to explore what works and what doesn’t. His case studies range from well-known organizations like Zappos, Netflicks and McKinsey but also lesser known successful organizations. He doesn’t just rely on history and theory either; he gives practical application for how you might apply these new ideas to your organization and recognizes that what works for one might not work in the same application for your company. While the concepts he explores range from outlawing email and putting employees first to paying people to quit, making salaries transparent and closing open offices might seem radical and against the status quo of best practices, he gives real insight and research into why you might want to rethink these practices.
To add the icing on the cake, not only is Under New Management filled with insightful, practical and tactical information, David Burkus has a gift of using story to help engage you and make this a leadership book that’s an enjoyable and engaging read you’ll want to pass on to everyone on your leadership team.
If you want to explore new thinking and learn to implement new ways of enhancing productivity and morale, read Under New Management.
March 10, 2016
Overall - Fun book to read. I'm actually thinking about reading it again or picking it up in a few months before I start a new leadership position. Either way I highly recommend this book and I'll be looking to read other titles from David Burkus.
I've worked in the stereotypical "factory" where traditions ruled and "it" was "always too hard" to change. This book has inspired me to take a run at the windmill and help gain some traction to get hopefully one more worker engaged. Shoot maybe just my organization to try something new. I really appreciated the chapters on Email reduction, Vacation time, Hiring practices, Flexible Org charts, Sabbaticals, Self management, and taking care of the organizations alumni... All the stories and data points didn't work out perfect or in the way the researchers hoped (open office examples) but these test organizations (over a very broad spectrum of companies) were willing to fail forward and keep working on the problem/issue and get to an overall "better" outcome for the company.
This book really got me thinking. Not everything in this book applies to my organization but it was close enough to help me start thinking about how I could pitch an idea to make the place a little better than when I got it.
The research and scholarly feel to the writing made the points sink in really well.
I'd recommend this book for anyone who thinks their organizational culture reflects something out of the 1950s and needs a little shot in the arm.
I've worked in the stereotypical "factory" where traditions ruled and "it" was "always too hard" to change. This book has inspired me to take a run at the windmill and help gain some traction to get hopefully one more worker engaged. Shoot maybe just my organization to try something new. I really appreciated the chapters on Email reduction, Vacation time, Hiring practices, Flexible Org charts, Sabbaticals, Self management, and taking care of the organizations alumni... All the stories and data points didn't work out perfect or in the way the researchers hoped (open office examples) but these test organizations (over a very broad spectrum of companies) were willing to fail forward and keep working on the problem/issue and get to an overall "better" outcome for the company.
This book really got me thinking. Not everything in this book applies to my organization but it was close enough to help me start thinking about how I could pitch an idea to make the place a little better than when I got it.
The research and scholarly feel to the writing made the points sink in really well.
I'd recommend this book for anyone who thinks their organizational culture reflects something out of the 1950s and needs a little shot in the arm.
March 11, 2016
Trust, Transparency, and Triumph - Disruptive business for the 21st century
I had the privilege of reading a pre-release copy of the book, and I really liked it. David Burkus has laid out research based ideas that can seem radical, and even impossible, at first glance, but he has drawn on the success of businesses small and large, polling, and research to lay out the beginning steps to real change for the good. The book asks its readers to think about a business world where trust and transparency top the values list of management. With the proven success of organizations around the world to back him up, David Burkus convincingly presents ways to put employee success first, to increase employee engagement and wellbeing, so that employees, the business, and its customers all win big. With chapters that discuss radical ideas like banning email and unlimited vacation, the book certainly has its shock value, but the way these and other ideas are explained and backed up with real-world examples, it all stops seeming so extreme and begins feeling like exactly the way business should be. Burkus openly admits that not every idea he presents will be right for every business and that there is much more to consider than one book can present, but even if all this book does is get you thinking about change in a more positive light, it will have been well worth your time to read.
I had the privilege of reading a pre-release copy of the book, and I really liked it. David Burkus has laid out research based ideas that can seem radical, and even impossible, at first glance, but he has drawn on the success of businesses small and large, polling, and research to lay out the beginning steps to real change for the good. The book asks its readers to think about a business world where trust and transparency top the values list of management. With the proven success of organizations around the world to back him up, David Burkus convincingly presents ways to put employee success first, to increase employee engagement and wellbeing, so that employees, the business, and its customers all win big. With chapters that discuss radical ideas like banning email and unlimited vacation, the book certainly has its shock value, but the way these and other ideas are explained and backed up with real-world examples, it all stops seeming so extreme and begins feeling like exactly the way business should be. Burkus openly admits that not every idea he presents will be right for every business and that there is much more to consider than one book can present, but even if all this book does is get you thinking about change in a more positive light, it will have been well worth your time to read.
March 28, 2016
I do not often find a book that is as easy to award Five Stars to as David Burkus' latest title.
The author is an articulate and clear-headed visionary leadersip and management change professional. His analysis of how we have been and how we should be is spot on and very nicely stated. The main point is made clearly and reinforced with a number of examples from the real world workplace that most of us can understand and appreciate.
Dirty LIttle Secret: Burkus is saying the same thing many of us have been saying, both generally and specifically, for decades. This is not some new and exotic view of how we ought to work together, but a cleverly stated and comprehensive analysis of some of the most important issues for businesses and those who would lead them have to address if we are to move forward.
Disclaimer: If you are happy with the way management, business, and employment is for most of us right now, this book is not for you. It preaches revolution and that message only goes well with those who can envision a better way into the future.
If you think we can do better, do yourself a favor and read this book ... then share it with others who dream of a more effective and humane workplace. Then do something to help us all get there ... see you on the barricades.
The author is an articulate and clear-headed visionary leadersip and management change professional. His analysis of how we have been and how we should be is spot on and very nicely stated. The main point is made clearly and reinforced with a number of examples from the real world workplace that most of us can understand and appreciate.
Dirty LIttle Secret: Burkus is saying the same thing many of us have been saying, both generally and specifically, for decades. This is not some new and exotic view of how we ought to work together, but a cleverly stated and comprehensive analysis of some of the most important issues for businesses and those who would lead them have to address if we are to move forward.
Disclaimer: If you are happy with the way management, business, and employment is for most of us right now, this book is not for you. It preaches revolution and that message only goes well with those who can envision a better way into the future.
If you think we can do better, do yourself a favor and read this book ... then share it with others who dream of a more effective and humane workplace. Then do something to help us all get there ... see you on the barricades.
July 24, 2016
This author provides 13 easy-to-digest chapters, each one highlighting an innovative business management principle. He also provides history & stats for context, solid reasoning for each one's importance, and examples of companies practicing the principle. My favorite ideas that made me cheer >> Ditch Performance Appraisals -- Put Customers Second -- Celebrate Departures -- Fire the Managers -- Hire as a Team -- Take Sabbaticals.
I strongly believe even just ONE of these principles could go a long way in building morale, value, and job satisfaction. And I've already made a note to myself to talk to upper management at my place of work to ask about ditching the yearly performance appraisal.
I strongly believe even just ONE of these principles could go a long way in building morale, value, and job satisfaction. And I've already made a note to myself to talk to upper management at my place of work to ask about ditching the yearly performance appraisal.
May 22, 2017
I'm an artist and a minister so you might wonder why an artist, speaker and minister of the Gospel would take the time to read such a book. It's a straight up business book and it is quite good and very thought provoking. Well as my friend Craig Smith often says, "Sometimes you can take a business book and baptize it for the church." This is just such a book.
What do I mean? Well what do businesses and churches have in common? The primary element of commonality is people. Whether in business or church people are being led and more importantly empowered. Successful churches work because they empower their people to be all that they can be and as such many of the principles in this book are transferable, or at least I found them to be so.
This book is about new ways to do business and run companies. His chapters are in some cases counterintuitive, and yet Burkus cites real life companies, and some pretty major players at that, that are innovating in these areas to great success. Things like outlawing email. Who hasn't fallen into the pit of spending so much time answering emails that you get no actual work done? One of my favorites is Putting Customers Second. This has been a peeve of mine since my days in retail management. If I had a dollar for every time I had to satisfy the unrealistic demands of often dishonest people, I could have quit that awful job. Now consider how motivated I was in those conditions and as a result, everyone suffered. In the church world, the people I work with and lead are largely volunteers. I need to take care of them and bless them and put them first. These are just two of the principles.
This is a great business book, but it's more. Most of it's principles are really transferrable to other aspects of life. I really didn't know what to expect from this book but I took a chance on a review copy and I am very pleased that I did. If you are in leadership of any kind (and who isn't) this book just might be worth your time.
What do I mean? Well what do businesses and churches have in common? The primary element of commonality is people. Whether in business or church people are being led and more importantly empowered. Successful churches work because they empower their people to be all that they can be and as such many of the principles in this book are transferable, or at least I found them to be so.
This book is about new ways to do business and run companies. His chapters are in some cases counterintuitive, and yet Burkus cites real life companies, and some pretty major players at that, that are innovating in these areas to great success. Things like outlawing email. Who hasn't fallen into the pit of spending so much time answering emails that you get no actual work done? One of my favorites is Putting Customers Second. This has been a peeve of mine since my days in retail management. If I had a dollar for every time I had to satisfy the unrealistic demands of often dishonest people, I could have quit that awful job. Now consider how motivated I was in those conditions and as a result, everyone suffered. In the church world, the people I work with and lead are largely volunteers. I need to take care of them and bless them and put them first. These are just two of the principles.
This is a great business book, but it's more. Most of it's principles are really transferrable to other aspects of life. I really didn't know what to expect from this book but I took a chance on a review copy and I am very pleased that I did. If you are in leadership of any kind (and who isn't) this book just might be worth your time.
September 27, 2021
Business books can really be hit or miss. A lot of times, they're just a interesting thesis the author ideated and decided to beat the drum on for 200-plus pages. Other times, they're too specific to certain industries, organizations, or roles. But when the right book comes along, and has the interesting anecdotes and research to back their ideas, it makes for an unputdownable read.
This was actually the first book assigned in my MBA program and I was pleasantly delighted, both in how well it was written and researched, as well as the ideas themselves. The thesis (What if we re-thought how companies are managed?) is broad enough to touch on a number of interesting concepts, from paying people to quit, to getting rid of managers, to banning emails. Each of the 13 chapters in this book covers a novel concept that a handful of companies have tested and found positive results in. Ever wonder if making salaries transparent to the entire organization or banning noncompete agreements could work? He's got stories and data to prove they do. Are open-office concepts really a boon for collaboration and communication? Not really, and he gets into why.
Really, you don't need to be a manager or well-versed in corporate speak to understand the content here. It's a compact, insightful, thought-provoking book that made me wish I had the power to implement some of these ideas at my company. For example, Netflix allows employees to take as much vacation as they want, and they've seen productivity, creative ideas, and employee well-being rise because of it. Granted, not every idea would be ideal in every work environment, but a lot of the ideas here are worth considering. And if nothing else, the book in its entirety is a fantastic exercise in learning how to think outside the box.
This was actually the first book assigned in my MBA program and I was pleasantly delighted, both in how well it was written and researched, as well as the ideas themselves. The thesis (What if we re-thought how companies are managed?) is broad enough to touch on a number of interesting concepts, from paying people to quit, to getting rid of managers, to banning emails. Each of the 13 chapters in this book covers a novel concept that a handful of companies have tested and found positive results in. Ever wonder if making salaries transparent to the entire organization or banning noncompete agreements could work? He's got stories and data to prove they do. Are open-office concepts really a boon for collaboration and communication? Not really, and he gets into why.
Really, you don't need to be a manager or well-versed in corporate speak to understand the content here. It's a compact, insightful, thought-provoking book that made me wish I had the power to implement some of these ideas at my company. For example, Netflix allows employees to take as much vacation as they want, and they've seen productivity, creative ideas, and employee well-being rise because of it. Granted, not every idea would be ideal in every work environment, but a lot of the ideas here are worth considering. And if nothing else, the book in its entirety is a fantastic exercise in learning how to think outside the box.
January 3, 2018
Its more of the present century slow attrition of practices borrowed from the industrial era of the twentieth century, the use of emails, annual appraisals, closed/open plan offices...
David Burkus endeavored in this book to put forward new ideas and ways which organisations are using to change the way they do business. Some were radical, some were self evident but all looked into individually were good ideas. He even quoted studies that tested the ideas giving them a solid footing. Any business looking for a way to jump start an insipid operating environment might do good to start with the ideas in this book.
There is a slight caveat though, while these ideas might be visionary the scalability and economics of implementation are in question. Some of these ideas can only work in start ups and companies that operate in a quasi monopoly environment. While we would all like to take sabbaticals and drink lemonade in sun baked sandy beaches, there is the harsh reality that some sweat shops in Taiwan will generate our products at half the cost and consign us to bankruptcy. Burkus ideas should be taken with a grain of salt.
Another weakness of the book was its tendency to pick a practice like sending emails and then recommending that we do the opposite, after a while it becomes a cheap trope, an antimatter to the existing matter and there is a good reason as to why antimatter is unstable, similarly the ideas in the book should be cautiously implemented
David Burkus endeavored in this book to put forward new ideas and ways which organisations are using to change the way they do business. Some were radical, some were self evident but all looked into individually were good ideas. He even quoted studies that tested the ideas giving them a solid footing. Any business looking for a way to jump start an insipid operating environment might do good to start with the ideas in this book.
There is a slight caveat though, while these ideas might be visionary the scalability and economics of implementation are in question. Some of these ideas can only work in start ups and companies that operate in a quasi monopoly environment. While we would all like to take sabbaticals and drink lemonade in sun baked sandy beaches, there is the harsh reality that some sweat shops in Taiwan will generate our products at half the cost and consign us to bankruptcy. Burkus ideas should be taken with a grain of salt.
Another weakness of the book was its tendency to pick a practice like sending emails and then recommending that we do the opposite, after a while it becomes a cheap trope, an antimatter to the existing matter and there is a good reason as to why antimatter is unstable, similarly the ideas in the book should be cautiously implemented
January 19, 2018
One of the five best books I read in 2016
The science-fiction writer William Gibson says that the future is already here, it’s just unevenly distributed. Someone is already doing things that will be common in the future. You used to have to hunt for those people. Well, you don’t have to hunt anymore.
David Burkus gives you a book-load of examples of innovative things real companies are already doing today. You probably won’t adopt everything that’s here. Heck, you may not even agree with some of it, but if you’re serious about making your organization better, you need a copy of this book and the examples and ideas it will give you.
Read my complete review at http://www.threestarleadership.com/bo...
The science-fiction writer William Gibson says that the future is already here, it’s just unevenly distributed. Someone is already doing things that will be common in the future. You used to have to hunt for those people. Well, you don’t have to hunt anymore.
David Burkus gives you a book-load of examples of innovative things real companies are already doing today. You probably won’t adopt everything that’s here. Heck, you may not even agree with some of it, but if you’re serious about making your organization better, you need a copy of this book and the examples and ideas it will give you.
Read my complete review at http://www.threestarleadership.com/bo...
September 29, 2019
The book is a collection of examples and stories of innovative business practices such as having limitless vacation time, firing managers. It is easy to read and you get through the book rather quickly.
It doesnt aim to be a fancy or complex book, just one idea a chapter and you could pick and choose if you’re interested in a topic.
Fundamentally, organisations have practised some of these at some level but to take it one step further and introduce widespread structural change remains too wide a jump. When this book was written in 2016, it might have been quite novel. It’s quite sad to note that most of these practices remain so and we have not seen a widespread undertaking in most organisations.
It doesnt aim to be a fancy or complex book, just one idea a chapter and you could pick and choose if you’re interested in a topic.
Fundamentally, organisations have practised some of these at some level but to take it one step further and introduce widespread structural change remains too wide a jump. When this book was written in 2016, it might have been quite novel. It’s quite sad to note that most of these practices remain so and we have not seen a widespread undertaking in most organisations.
November 24, 2017
This book was so inspirational. As I just gave notice and am actively searching for the next ‘fit’ for a workplace environment, reading Burkus’ exhaustive study of disruptive trends in management that are effective and delivering what they aim to - happier and more productive work lives for org’s most important asset - its people - has given me clearer direction on what that fit might look like. I recommend this for anyone in HR or management, or who just wants to better understand the value of disrupting the status quo of traditions that should be questioned for their economic and social,value in their organizations.
December 1, 2021
Should companies do away with email... or at least discourage the continual use of it? Should they give employees extended sabbaticals where they have months away from work? Should they do away with "time off" and allow people to take off whenever they need it? Should they pay people to quit? Should they end performance management programs? Should they do away with management altogether? This book argued that the answer to many of these questions is "yes" because happy and engaged employees are able to do better work and maximize profits. Exhausted, burnt out, unhappy and disengaged employees who feel like they have no autonomy or ability to use their creativity are not good for business.
August 22, 2017
I liked very much the 13 radical new management ideas covered in the book even though I am not on-board with all of those -
1) Outlaw Email
2) Put Customers Second
3) Lose the Standard Vacation Policy
4) Pay People to Quit
5) Make Salaries Transparent
6) Ban Non-competes
7) Ditch Performance Appraisals
8) Hire as a Team
9) Write the Org Chart in Pencil
10) Close the Open Offices
11) Take Sabbaticals
12) Fire the Managers
13 Celebrate Departures
1) Outlaw Email
2) Put Customers Second
3) Lose the Standard Vacation Policy
4) Pay People to Quit
5) Make Salaries Transparent
6) Ban Non-competes
7) Ditch Performance Appraisals
8) Hire as a Team
9) Write the Org Chart in Pencil
10) Close the Open Offices
11) Take Sabbaticals
12) Fire the Managers
13 Celebrate Departures
February 19, 2018
David Burkus has done much research into areas where Orgs can re-look and rethink specifically around the different processes that need to change and approaches that need to be adopted to ensure the human resource element of a corporation is engaged to maximize efficiency , productivity and satisfaction.
Limiting time spent on Emails is something i do practice diligently and has shown significant improvement in my efforts spend on 'Deep work'.
Limiting time spent on Emails is something i do practice diligently and has shown significant improvement in my efforts spend on 'Deep work'.
December 25, 2018
I am happy that I have found a book that details what I have believed since I began working. Dr. Burkus lays out an easy to read argument as to why we should consider revamping the way we approach management. I appreciate the realistic examples of how companies have made the turn-around and it has reflected in their retention and profits. If someone is open to new ideas or ideas that have been around but compiled in one spot for clarity, they should buy and read this book!
March 15, 2019
Not the best. Some good ideas, but very hit-and-miss in terms of applicability to my context. Still, it's always good to be exposed to different ways of managing and leading. "[Un]structure for trust" seems a handy summary for many chapters, "get and keep the right people" might be another. I'm not certain of many of the techniques in the context I'm in, even though the chapters indicate strong support in others.
July 17, 2022
Even though this book is over 5 years old, it is amazingly relevant to solving work force issues companies are facing today. Each chapter is a new idea that flips “we’ve always done it that way” into something shockingly new. I think more and more companies will adapt these practices because they work. And there slots of room for someone like me, not in a larger cooperation, to take the themes and apply them in ways that work in my scale.
May 18, 2019
It’s worth reading merely on the wide arrays of companies and broad spectrum of industries covered in this book. Suddenly many of the radical, counter intuitive & modern management concepts made sense, backed by empirical evidence and researches. I’m very eager to put some of these into practice in my own context.
June 18, 2019
Pretty generic book on modern ways of constructing a business. Not too much surprising information, rather confirming existing knowledge. From no-holiday to debunking open office to horizontal structures. how to change email habits, etcetera, etcetera. It read more as a "here are 7 ways to modernize your organisation" rather than outlaying an out of the box thinking methodology.
June 26, 2022
This books reflects on the new management policy that companies can adopt and essentially mold to its nature of business.
I had fun reading this book, straight to the point with plenty of case study. If you’re still on the fence, just buy the book and have a read. It will surely open your eyes on a lot of things.
I’m probably years late to reading the book but it is still relevant.
I had fun reading this book, straight to the point with plenty of case study. If you’re still on the fence, just buy the book and have a read. It will surely open your eyes on a lot of things.
I’m probably years late to reading the book but it is still relevant.
July 11, 2024
Genuinely quite surprised by how much I enjoyed this. The book is eight years old and yet so many of the ideas are still quite radical, which says a lot about humankind's avoidance of change. I think some of these ideas would be really beneficial in the public sector, but the bureaucracy and red tape are so extremely real.
February 6, 2017
This book covers several recommendations for challenging traditional management practices. Some of these are quite accessible, while others require a significant cultural shift to accomplish. With that being said, it is a reasonable selection of new ideas, but most will not find all of them useful.
August 2, 2019
I found this easy to read, which is great for a book on management. It was direct, concise, well researched, and presented interesting and innovative ideas for getting the most out of your work force. Now to go and try some of those out!
June 20, 2017
A must read for all business leaders and entrepreneurs.
December 7, 2017
Love this book! The ideas aren’t necessarily new, but to have them all in one place with great case studies attached makes it an easy reference.
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