Review of "Joy at Work"

I finally got around to finishing that "Joy at Work" book by Bakke (chapel speaker last spring). In no particular order (just as I came upon the arguments in the text), here are my notes from the book (which I hope are relatively comprehensive and not too idiosyncratic). Make of them what you will, though you can probably see from the similarity to some of the agendas that I've been promoting (ancillary fund, innovation fund, budget prioritization process, indirect cost allocation, use of task forces to resolve major issues, salary over benefits, and so on) why I resonated with much of what Bakke is arguing for and why I therefore thought it might be worthwhile passing along this brief summary.

- have fun
- keep score of everything
- share all information
- emphasize salaries over benefits
- use group strategy sessions instead of annual reviews
- there are no hourly workers, and everyone is "management"
- experiment with setting compensation by group feedback (he says this part has been the most difficult to do)
- have all salaries be calculated from the same base pay
- limit "training" and maximize on-the-job education by doing
- keep to a minimum number of supervisory layers (no more than 3-5 steps between President and anyone)
- utilize values surveys focused on comments
- institution-wide task forces do most of the real work
- limit the size of the central staff
- encourage generalists instead of specialists
- focus on shared values and service to society instead of bottom line financial contribution - leaders should focus on service to others instead of making decisions
- follow the principle of subsidiarity (have decisions made at the lowest level possible)
- everyone has to seek lots of advice or you're "fired"
- everyone has to be responsible for the consequences of their work
- the biggest consequence of a bad decision is not being put in a position to make another one
- limit organizational charts, handbooks, and policy manuals

I hope that was helpful. As always, if you have any particular thoughts about the above, feel free to share them with me.