cover image Love and Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership

Love and Profit: The Art of Caring Leadership

James A. Autry. William Morrow & Company, $16.95 (213pp) ISBN 978-0-688-08921-4

As Autry ( Life After Mississippi ) sees it, love, trust and spirituality should be management's watchwords in the 1990s, in contrast to the often manipulative, restrictive policies of the '80s. And the author should know--he's president of the Fortune 500 Meredith magazine group in Des Moines, Iowa. In short essays and poetry refreshingly free of business jargon, Autry pens an unusual management primer designed to integrate work and life while offering, on management's part, specific provisions such as flexible hours, child care facilities, disabled employee and award programs, and a degree of shared ownership. And while conceding that personal and management problems may ensue from his egalitarian ideals, Autry contends that good results can compensate: increased productivity and higher profits and investment returns. First serial to Fortune; Fortune and Newbridge book clubs alternates; author tour. (Feb.)