The Best Place To Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace

Citing icons of workplace coolness, innovation, and productivity (e.g., Google, Parnassus Investments, Facebook, and SAS) along with legendary individuals and groups (Babe Ruth, the Beatles, Steve Jobs) to illustrate in practical terms how to harness insights from fields as diverse as psychology, economics, and anthropology, psychologist and management consultant Friedman delivers in spades on his promise of a book worth reading on a business trip. His tips, insights, and spare yet engaging narrative style work brilliantly together to show how a superior workplace can be achieved without the lavish budget for employee perks—free gourmet meals or on-site barbers and dentists—deployed by top-echelon companies. The author's advice about sparking creativity and productivity is convincing, despite it frequently being counterintuitive. (Rewarding "intelligent failure" and mining it for lessons learned is a prime example.) The takeaway is a call to remove the blinders and adopt ideas and techniques pertinent to a world in which "work is infinitely more complex" than before and "productivity hinges on an employee's thinking."