The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace Paperback – December 1, 2015
Author: Ron Friedman PhD ID: 0399165606
Review
“What a gem! Enough that it’s a thorough, practical manual for optimizing relationships and work environments, based on new and solid research in human behavior—but it’s a surprising, witty, well-written, and wonderfully engaging read.”
–David Allen, author of Getting Things Done
“We’ve lost our way. In this stunning book, Ron Friedman helps us get back on track, exploring not only what work is for, but how we can leap forward and become more human, more alive and more effective.”
—Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception
“In The Best Place to Work, Ron Friedman examines the factors that take a company from ordinary to extraordinary. The stories in this book . . . pack powerful, research-based lessons for better leadership in the workplace. Friedman’s findings are often surprisingly counterintuitive, yet always convincing.”
–Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and To Sell Is Human
“The Best Place to Work is an engaging journey through the latest science of improving the quality of life in organizations. Psychologist Ron Friedman examines how to unleash creativity, boost motivation, and offer rewards and recognition that bring people together rather than driving them apart.”
–Adam Grant, Wharton professor and author of Give and Take
“A contemporary classic. Dr. Friedman’s new book offers a highly original guide to creating exceptional workplaces based on cross-field academic research and superb examples from real companies. You won’t find these insights elsewhere.” —Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
“This is an energetic, conversational look at what really makes an office environment tick.”
—Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Ron Friedman, Ph.D., is an award-winning psychologist and founder of ignite80, a consulting firm that helps smart leaders build extraordinary workplaces.
An expert on human motivation, Friedman has served on the faculty of the University of Rochester, Nazareth College, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Popular accounts of his research have appeared on NPR and in major newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Vancouver Post, The Globe and Mail, and The Guardian, as well as magazines such as Men’s Health, Shape, and Allure.
He contributes to the blogs of Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Forbes, and Psychology Today. To learn more about his work, visit ignite80.com and connect with him on Twitter @RonFriedman.
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Paperback: 352 pagesPublisher: Perigee Books (December 1, 2015)Language: EnglishISBN-10: 0399165606ISBN-13: 978-0399165603 Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Best Sellers Rank: #551,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #210 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling > Occupational & Organizational #309 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Occupational & Organizational #943 in Books > Business & Money > Business Culture > Workplace Culture
This is my favorite book of the year! It’s packed with science-based guidance on how to be a better employee, a better manager, and a better business owner. I’m the founder and CEO of a relatively new company, and this book is now my go-to guide for how to build my business in the most effective way possible. I’m a behavioral scientist myself, with a Ph.D. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, so I certainly appreciate the value of applied research, but the truth is that I honestly don’t have the time to stay current on all the studies that are published on how to motivate employees, how to hire, how to design effective office spaces, and how to gain a competitive advantage in the knowledge-based economy. This book compiles over 1000 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, saving me years of time and effort. The best part of the book is the tools guide at the end of each chapter–a little checklist of action items for managers, business owners, and up-and-coming employees. I don’t have to reread the book to make sure that I’m applying its lessons; I can just refer to the end of each chapter to make sure I’m on track. I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s totally riveting and fun to read. FIVE STARS!
Ron Friedman did us all a favor here. He synthesizes a massive index of academic research, boils it all down into digestible nuggets, and helps us piece together some really interesting insights. What’s more, he shows us why the research matters: It’s one thing to know the research results, it’s another thing to help the reader understand what the results mean. And that’s what Friedman did here. And don’t let the title fool you – this book is not just for managers. This is a book that nearly anyone can benefit from. Whether you are an executive, a ground-level employee, an intern, a student, an academic researcher, a stay-at-home dad or mom, a retiree, or just somebody looking to improve their lot in life, then this book is for you. I personally found value in thinking about how to run my academic lab as a small business – how to motivate my undergraduate research assistants in ways that we both benefit, how to create an atmosphere conducive to excellence, and how to operate in ways that everyone functions at their highest levels of performance. I give this book a hands-down two-thumbs-up. A truly wonderful read, and an admirable way to share science in a way that readers will appreciate, understand, and hopefully apply!
Other things I liked: contextualizing many processes as unconscious and evolved in nature, which does a huge service to the theories behind the results. Reporting studies by sharing the methods and not just the results. Interesting storytelling at the beginning of each chapter that motivates the topic.
This book takes an incredible amount of recent research in several different areas of psychology, recaps it in a style that’s really easy for anyone to understand, and talks directly about how these findings can impact us all at work. The topics cover just about every work-related angle you can think of, including office space design, navigating job interviews, the benefits of office relationships, and even why other things we DON’T always associate with success at work (like sleeping, working out, and screwing up) are actually really important.
Not only is this book really fun to read (I honestly couldn’t put it down until I finished a chapter), but it’s completely practical. There are clear pointers at the end of each section on how you can use this research at your own job. You’ll be able to take something important from this book no matter what field you’re in, or what kind of job you have. It doesn’t matter if you’re a manager, an aspiring manager, or the kind of person who wants nothing to do with management – as long as you HAVE a job (or even if you don’t at the moment, but might like one in the future), you’ll get plenty out of this book.
This is one of the most engaging books I’ve read in a while. Highly recommended.
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