The Human Side of High-tech: Lessons from the Technology Frontier (Wiley Upside) [Hardcover]

"If you want to create an enthusiastic, committed, high–performance workforce today, think democratic. Think equal. Think ′everyone′s as important as I am. ′Think ping–pong tables,company picnics, and bagels for everybody. And don′t keep secrets!"

–from The Human Side of High–Tech

Imagine being at a company where the workforce actually views work and fun as synonymous. A company that resembles a playground for gifted children and creates an atmosphere to generate free–flowing ideas. One that provides instant backrubs for overstressed workers and gourmet food for lunch in the office cafeteria. Welcome to the billion–dollar high–tech industry! Silicon Valley forever changed the way the high–tech industry is structured. These companies challenged conventional wisdom to find new and innovative ways to attract and retain talented employees. From the fitness center, on–site car wash, and cleaning services of Cisco Systems to an entire company vacation in Tahoe with PeopleSoft, the focus is placed on making the worker feel like a valuable member of a team. To uncover how the technology sector maximizes human potential, Carol Kinsey Goman combines extensive field research and interviews with her fifteen years of experience as a corporate consultant on change–management and leadership. Gathering information from today′s leading high–tech CEOs, corporate communicators, human resource professionals, managers, and employees, this book offers a valuable look at the people practices that are effective even in this volatile industry. These leaders have developed highly successful strategies that keep gifted employees happy so the ideas and dollars keep flowing! The Human Side of High–Tech also reveals how the culture behind Silicon Valley′s astonishing success can be applied to any business. These lessons will help organizations develop the policies necessary to hire the best talent available, lower the turnover rate, and find new ways to sustain cutting–edge competitiveness in the worldwide infotech arena. Ranging from the methodical to the quirky, these approaches will lead to increased employee satisfaction and productivity.

The organizations featured in this book realize that corporate success and the care for the total individual are inextricable in the high–tech corporate philosophy. Their innovative practices can be applied to any business in the areas of recruitment, retention, communication, motivation, and leadership of talented employees.

Presenting a whole new idea about people, life, and work, The Human Side of High–Tech provides the tools to create an extremely effective management model for businesses all over the world. Carol Kinsey Goman, PhD, (Berkeley, CA), is an internationally recognized expert on the human side of organizational change. As President of Kinsey Consulting Services, Goman designs organizational transformation strategies, coaches senior managers on ways to increase their effectiveness as leaders of change, and delivers over 100 speeches a year at international and corporate conferences. She has been cited as an authority in media such as Industry Week, Investor′s Business Daily, CNN, and NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw.

Praise for The Human Side of High–Tech

"The Human Side of High–Tech focuses on the single most critical issue for high–tech organizations today: attracting and retaining the talent that is at the core of a company′s competitive advantage. Quantum′s pursuit of ′extraordinary environment′ has made us the first and only data storage company to appear on Fortune′s ′100 Best Places to Work′ list and, even more importantly, has helped us cultivate the talent that has positioned Quantum as the leader in four of the six storage markets we serve."

–Michael Brown, Chairman and CEO, Quantum Corp.

"The Human Side of High–Tech isn′t just for leaders of technology companies. This is a book for all managers looking to attract and retain the best and brightest in a new generation of workers."

–Robert L. Dilenschneider, CEO, The Dilenschneider Group

"If you want to create an enthusiastic, committed, high–performance workforce today, think democratic. Think equal. Think ′everyone′s as important as I am.′ Think ping–pong tables, company picnics, and bagels for everybody. And don′t keep secrets!" –from The Human Side of High–Tech Imagine being at a company where the workforce actually views work and fun as synonymous. A company that resembles a playground for gifted children and creates an atmosphere to generate free–flowing ideas. One that provides instant backrubs for overstressed workers and gourmet food for lunch in the office cafeteria. Welcome to the billion–dollar high–tech industry! Silicon Valley forever changed the way the high–tech industry is structured. These companies challenged conventional wisdom to find new and innovative ways to attract and retain talented employees. From the fitness center, on–site car wash, and cleaning services of Cisco Systems to an entire company vacation in Tahoe with PeopleSoft, the focus is placed on making the worker feel like a valuable member of a team. To uncover how the technology sector maximizes human potential, Carol Kinsey Goman combines extensive field research and interviews with her fifteen years of experience as a corporate consultant on change–management and leadership. Gathering information from today′s leading hightech CEOs, corporate communicators, human resource professionals, managers, and employees, this book offers a valuable look at the people practices that are effective even in this volatile industry. These leaders have developed highly successful strategies that keep gifted employees happy so the ideas and dollars keep flowing! The Human Side of High–Tech also reveals how the culture behind Silicon Valley′s astonishing success can be applied to any business. These lessons will help organizations develop the policies necessary to hire the best talent available, lower the turnover rate, and find new ways to sustain cuttingedge competitiveness in the worldwide infotech arena. Ranging from the methodical to the quirky, these approaches will lead to increased employee satisfaction and productivity. The organizations featured in this book realize that corporate success and the care for the total individual are inextricable in the high–tech corporate philosophy. Their innovative practices can be applied to any business in the areas of recruitment, retention, communication, motivation, and leadership of talented employees. Presenting a whole new idea about people, life, and work, The Human Side of High–Tech provides the tools to create an extremely effective management model for businesses all over the world.