Gung Ho! promises to teach you how to motivate people in any organisation so you can increase productivity, profits and your own prosperity.
It tells the story of how Peggy Sinclair and Andy Longclaw, a new plant manager and the manager of a department regarded as troublesome saved the plant from threatened closure by making the work force Gung Ho!
It is written as a true story but I have my doubts and there is a sentimentality in the book that I found hard to take. It starts with the deathbed scene as Peggy promises to share the secrets of Gung Ho! with the world after Andy dies.
I couldn't make up my mind whether the book was insulting to American Indians, perhaps because I know little about the culture and issues since I live in the UK so I'd appreciate your thoughts.
The book presents the three secrets to turning a business Gung Ho and while it is a short book, it still seemed padded out to me and could have been told more precisely.
The three secrets can be found in nature - hence the American Indian in the story:
- The Spirit of the Squirrel - basically the idea that people work best when they know they are doing worthwhile work.
- The Way of the Beaver - give your employees control over how they achieve the goals
- The Gift of the Goose - cheer each other on as work improves and the business becomes more successful.
That's it basically.
As normal with the Ken Blanchard / One Minute Manager books, it is easy to read (once you can stomach the sentimentality) and while the main messages are not brought out in the text so you can quickly scan, there is a two page summary of each way to Gung Ho at the end.
Review Rating Of Gung Ho! by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon BowlesI am a Ken Blanchard fan of the "common-sense lessons" told in a simple story form but I was disappointed by Gung Ho!
I've rated it at the 3.5 star level which is below my recommendation to read (because there are so many books) but an acknowledgement that it does contain some worthy ideas.
The basic ideas of Gung Ho are sound and the link to nature has interest to me but I found myself thinking "is that it?" when I'd finished.
Checking on Amazon, it seems that the new edition of the book has changed title from:
- "Gung Ho! Increase Production, Profits and Your Own Prosperity" to
- "Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization"
The reviews on Amazon.com are also overwhelmingly positive with 76 five star ratings and 25 four star rating so I guess that on Gung Ho! my opinions are in the minority.
You can buy Gung Ho! through Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk (both are affiliate links)
For Other Ken Blanchard Book Reviews Zap The Gaps
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