The Decision Maker

As the former CEO of AES, a Fortune 200 global power company, and cofounder of Imagine Schools, Bakke (Joy at Work) had a simple idea: “Treat people like people, not machines.” The result was so successful that Bakke has penned a fable to help managers “unlock the full potential of the people around them.” This charming parable draws on Bakke’s leadership experience, tracing the journey of a fictitious company, MedTec, from a traditional top-down decision-making enterprise to a company at which leaders put control in the hands of their people. The story unfolds as MedTec’s new owners begin to discover issues that threaten the company’s health. As they embark on a plan to empower everyone from HR to line managers to administrative assistants to make decisions, they encounter many obstacles along the way. Anger, skepticism, fear, and resistance plague all parties—including the owners and their investors, at different times—but in the long run, allowing people closest to the action to make decisions proves transformational. Knowing that the entertaining, ultimately rosy story is grounded in Bakke’s real-world experiences adds credibility to the narrative; the work’s engaging style is sure to inspire and captivate leaders and managers who wish to transform not only their businesses but also their employees’ lives. (Mar.)