Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It

The Results-Only Revolution

By: Cali Ressler, Jody Thompson

Narrated by: Barry Dean Evans

Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

In a Results-Only workplace, employees can do whatever they want whenever they want, as long as the work gets done. No more pointless meetings, racing to get in at 9:00, or begging for permission to watch your kid play soccer. You make the decisions about what you do and where you do it.

It sounds like a fantasy, but Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson are leading a movement to make it a reality, even implementing it successfully at best buy. They show how a Results-Only Work Environment™ not only makes employees happier, but also delivers better results.

Filled with passion and common sense, their book will change the way you think about your job, your company, and your quality of life.

©2008, 2011 Thompson & Ressler, LLC (P)2015 CultureRx, LLC

A Long Pitch

The company I run switched to ROWE in the last 2 years, so I was very eager to find answers to some hard questions, however, like a sales pitch, the book repeats again and again how good ROWE and individual freedom are without addressing the difficulties. The examples and stories are caricatural with mature experienced individuals oppressed by egocentric power-hungry managers.

Important topics like:
- how to objectively set measurable results in a large backlog scenario
- how to fairly decide the workload expected of each team member
- how to run ROWE in a fast-scaling team/company
- how ROWE applies to entry-level hires
- how to protect the company and team against potential slackers
- how to make sure chasing results doesn't result in overworking (which does happen)
are not touched at all.

It's slightly disappointing that the book apparently speaks in a revolutionary tone only to employees to convince them to demand ROWE, but not to managers who could actually be convinced to implement it.

Nothing new to me

While many of these ideas are awesome, I didn't find them new. Perhaps that is because I have worked in companies that avoided politics and hiring people who are not focused on results.

For people who are in larger slower or more traditional companies, this book would be insightful.

Haven't finished yet, but they skipped a section.

I haven't finished listening yet, but they skipped the section better Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.

Revolutionary!

This approach to work is very unorthodox but can be extremely effective, worth a try!

Ideas with little data

There is very little data used to support the arguments in this book. Their case study, Best Buy, has abandoned ROWE which you can Google to see why. The arguments about the work environment sucking may apply somewhere, but I've never worked at a place like that. Essentially this book is "treat everyone like a contractor" where you give them a project or result and don't care about how or when it gets done. It seems great in the short term, but it overlooks innovation in the long term which is what looks like happened to Best Buy.

Possibly the worst read in the last decade

This book is arguably the most overrated rubbish I have ever had the misfortune of reading. This is a classic case of the authors not having very much to say at all so they drone on and on rehashing the same storyline chapter for chapter. There is nothing insightful, nothing meaningful and nothing worthwhile about this book. Possibly the worst investment in reading material I have made in a very long time.