"One small idea can ignite a revolution just as a single
matchstick can start a fire.
One such idea—putting employees first and customers
second—sparked a revolution at HCL Technologies, the IT services
giant.
In this candid and personal account, Vineet Nayar—HCLT''s
celebrated CEO—recounts how he defied the conventional wisdom that
companies must put customers first, then turned the hierarchical
pyramid upside down by making management accountable to the
employees, and not the other way around.
By doing so, Nayar fired the imagination of both employees and
customers and set HCLT on a journey of transformation that has made
it one of the fastest-growing and profitable global IT services
companies and, according to BusinessWeek, one of the twenty most
influential companies in the world.
Chapter by chapter, Nayar recounts the exciting journey of how he
and his team implemented the employee first philosophy by:
Creating a sense of urgency by enabling the employees to see the
truth of the company''s current state as well as feel the "romance"
of its possible future state
Creating a culture of trust by pushing the envelope of
transparency in communication and information sharing
Inverting the organizational hierarchy by making the management
and the enabling functions accountable to the employee in the value
zone
Unlocking the potential of the employees by fostering an
entrepreneurial mind-set, decentralizing decision making, and
transferring the ownership of "change" to the employee in the value
zone
Refreshingly honest and practical, this book offers valuable
insights for managers seeking to realize their aspirations to grow
faster and become self-propelled engines of change.