In this book, Bakke describes his outline for fostering a workplace that people enjoy working at. He claims that this model also allows for a successful and more productive workplace as well. At the core are four shared values: fairness, social responsibility, integrity, and fun. He also shares some ideas he has that achieve these goals. Central to his ideology is a playing field where management and "the workers" are placed on an almost-level playing field. Throughout the book, Bakke tells his story of being the CEO of AES and bits and pieces of his life story.I had mixed feelings about this book. I work for one of his schools, but thanks to Pennsylvania law, I'm not actually an employee of Imagine Schools, I'm an employee of the ECS board of trustees. Bakke infuses a lot of Christian theology in the book (and includes a postscript that details how Christianity influenced his thinking and workplace philosophy), and that got me thinking as well. So here goes...my 3 reactions:
As a teacher in an Imagine School: Even though our school is not run (only financed) through Imagine Schools, we do try to incorporate these ideas in our school. I love working for ECS, and many other people do as well, but I would not say that there is an overall joy among staff members. One problem is that the shared values are oddly defined. In the schools he has boiled it down to three: justice, integrity, and fun. Justice is supposed to mean special treatment for everyone - some people can get more special treatment than others, too. Integrity is actually pretty close to the standard definition, so no issues there. Fun is the worst. Bakke defines fun as "decision-making," and that big decisions should be made by just one person. I disagree with that.
As a Christian: I greatly respect Bakke's faith. I admire his courage to be an outspoken Christian as a CEO. I think his attempts to instill Christian values in the workplace are noble. We certainly need more leaders like that. However, I believe that the only way you can have joy is to have joy in your heart. Joy comes from Christ, so without that real, true joy in your heart, there will be no joy at work. No program or shared values system is going to do the job that only Jesus can do. Bakke also makes some theological statements throughout the book that seem out of place and one of them right at the end was scripturally problematic, but I'm not here to tear apart a fellow Christian. I think his overall idea that people should embrace their Godly vocation - whatever it is - is a poignant message.
As a reader of all kinds of books: As a voracious reader, I don't know what to think. I know next to nothing about economics or running a business. A lot of Bakke's ideas sound pretty good, and it seems like his employees enjoyed this model. It was refreshing to read the simplicity and the apparent efficiency of his model. However, I think that it is important to note that his company was not particularly successful during his time as CEO. Ultimately, employee satisfaction is more important (I think) than profitability, but it's concerning that his model did not succeed from an economic standpoint.
The book itself...well...Bakke is not a writer. He's a businessman. The book lacks an overall focus. It's supposed to about joy at work, yet Bakke includes quite a lot of autobiographical information and at times reads like a memoir. He even includes a picture section in the middle with pictures from his life! He writes towards the beginning of the book that he had a bunch of ideas that he wanted to put into one book, and he wanted that book to be the only book he would ever need to write. That's what he did. What you get is a book that is part memoir, part business tome, part Christian inspiration: a mediocre mix with noble aims that fall short of their goals.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
90/100
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