Joy At Work
Paul Valler reviews "Joy At Work" by Dennis W. Bakke
Can a business organisation be founded on integrity, fairness, social responsibility and fun? The answer is yes, according to Dennis Bakke, who co-founded energy giant American Energy Systems (AES) in 1981, employing 40,000 people worldwide. At the core of Bakke's belief system is the idea that decentralised decisionmaking is best for people and organisations.
At AES, Bakke minimised centralised control. He believed people would flourish if they were empowered to make important decisions, even if sometimes those decisions ended in failure. Bakke saw his workforce as creative, thoughtful, and trustworthy. He moved 90% of 'blue-collar' workers from hourly pay to salaries. The company succeeded without making shareholder value the primary concern. Even in 1992, when one electricity plant was in trouble and the stock price fell sharply, Bakke remained committed to his principles. He refused to put money first, even when his leadership was under pressure. The company recovered, and went on to huge financial success.
Bakke followed his principles, not because they worked, but because he believed they were right. That's a tough call in a world which rates success according to results. Yet, ten years later, the picture had changed. AES had developed a financial blind spot: too much debt-financed expansion. After the collapse of the twin towers and Enron, AES stock plummeted. The Board's confidence in Bakke evaporated and he was effectively forced to retire. American CEO's are not known for humility, but Bakke demonstrates it. He exposes the mistakes that undermined his organisational brilliance and his vision of joy at work. In his resignation letter he said, 'I continue to be committed to the belief that every person wants to be part of a cause to serve the world, and that ethically principled and economically robust companies are among the best ways to make the world a better place'.
The cynical observer of AES might say Bakke was an idealist who fell foul of the hard-nosed reality that companies must centralise power in tough times. I'm not so sure. Joy At Work cannot be written off as a failed ideological experiment. It was a prototype that flew well, and only crashed in exceptional economic turbulence. AES recovered and continues today to prize 'fun' as a core value. Employees and customers matter as much as the shareholders do.
Bakke shows how his convictions link with his Christian faith. He challenges readers to understand that the major purpose of work is to use the resources of the created world to serve our needs, and the needs of others. Bakke's faith wasn't always popular at AES, but he stayed true to it. Letters from employees in the epilogue are a heartwarming tribute to his impact. They show how corporate scorecards can work. Joy At Work is endorsed by a previous U.S. President as a timely and inspiring book that challenges us to rethink the purpose of business. It deserves to be read, not because valuing and trusting people always works, but because it is right.
Joy At Work is published by PVG
Paul Valler
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