Book Review

The book review based on “The X-Factor, Getting Extraordinary Results From Ordinary People”- written by Ross R. Reck .

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc; book no: B21241

Ross Reck is a consultant who spent the last 15 years developing a four-step management process to help his global clients add millions to their bottom lines. His philosophy is built around what he terms as the "X-factor" -- the secret of getting ordinary people X-cited about going the X-tra mile to help their managers achieve X-traordinary results. The process he builds around it is comprehensive, easy to understand and use, and universal in its application. Presenting his techniques as a business parable, Reck shows how any manager can harness the "X-factor" to achieve extraordinary results from ordinary people.

The X-Factor is the most complete and practical management/leadership/motivation book ever written. It picks up where "In Search of Excellence" left off and is the perfect compliment for "Good to Great". This book is incredibly well researched and thought through -- the author leaves few, if any, stones unturned. At the same time, The X-Factor is a wonderfully compelling story and an easy read. Once you start this book, you literally can't put it down.

With so many books available, it is nice to find a book that actually talks about things you can do for longer than 3 months. This is an easy process to get things done in all aspects of your life. By following the basic points of the book, you can get started today. The book is organized well, and tells a story while teaching you in the process. By implementing the concepts spelled out in The X-Factor, you can get extraordinary results from ordinary people. The nice thing about this is that your people won't roll their eyes, because it is not a gimmick that will go away over time, it is a natural way to get things done and give people more satisfaction in their jobs. Ross Reck has proven that the key to solving the management puzzle is not very complicated. Take a few hours with this book and you will be well on your way to getting ordinary people x-cited about going the x-tra mile to help you, the manager, achieve x-traordinary results.

Most companies have it all wrong. They don't have to motivate their employees. They have to stop demotivating them.

The great majority of employees are quite enthusiastic when they start a new job. But in about 85 percent of companies, our research finds, employees' morale sharply declines after their first six monthsвЂ"and continues to deteriorate for years afterward. That finding is based on surveys of about 1.2 million employees at 52 primarily Fortune 1000 companies from 2001 through 2004, conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence (Purchase, New York).

The fault lies squarely at the feet of managementвЂ"both the policies and procedures companies employ in managing their workforces and in the relationships that individual managers establish with their direct reports.

Our research shows how individual managers' behaviors and styles are contributing to the problem (see sidebar "How Management Demotivates")вЂ"and what they can do to turn this around.

Three key goals of people at work

To maintain the enthusiasm employees bring to their jobs initially, management must understand the three sets of goals that the great majority of workers seek from their workвЂ"and then satisfy those goals:

• Equity: To be respected and to be treated fairly in areas such as pay, benefits, and job security.

• Achievement: To be proud of one's job, accomplishments, and employer.

• Camaraderie: To have good, productive relationships with fellow employees.

To maintain an enthusiastic workforce, management must meet all three goals. Indeed, employees who work for companies where just one of these factors is missing are three times less enthusiastic than workers at companies where all elements are present.

One goal cannot be substituted for another. Improved recognition cannot replace better pay, money cannot substitute for taking pride in a job well done, and pride alone will not pay the mortgage.

What individual managers can do

satisfying the three goals depends both on organizational policies and on the everyday practices of individual managers. If the company has a solid approach to talent management, a bad manager can undermine it in his unit. On the flip side, smart and empathetic managers can overcome a great deal of corporate mismanagement while creating enthusiasm and commitment within their units. While individual managers can't control all leadership decisions, they can still have a profound influence on employee motivation.

The most important thing is to provide employees with a sense of security, one in which they do not fear that their jobs will be in jeopardy if their performance is not perfect and one in which layoffs are considered an extreme last resort, not just another option for dealing with hard times.

But security is just the beginning. When handled properly, each of the following eight practices will play a key role in supporting your employees' goals for achievement, equity, and camaraderie, and will enable them to retain the enthusiasm they brought to their roles in the first place.

1. Instill an inspiring purpose. A critical condition for employee enthusiasm is a clear, credible, and inspiring organizational purpose: in effect, a "reason for being" that translates for workers into a "reason for being there" that goes above and beyond money.

Every manager should be able to expressly state a strong purpose for his unit. What follows is one purpose statement we especially admire. It was developed by a three-person benefits group in a midsize firm.

Benefits are about people. It's not whether you have the forms filled in or whether the checks are written. It's whether the people are cared for when they're sick, helped when they're in trouble.

This statement is particularly impressive because it was composed in a small company devoid of high-powered executive attention and professional wordsmiths. It was created in the type of department normally known for its fixation on bureaucratic rules and procedures.

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