Chester Elton

The influential New York Times bestselling authors—the “apostles of appreciation” Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick—provide managers and executives with easy ways to add more gratitude to the everyday work environment to help bolster moral, efficiency, and profitability.

Workers want and need to know their work is appreciated. Showing gratitude to employees is the easiest, fastest, most inexpensive way to boost performance. New research shows that gratitude boosts employee engagement, reduces turnover, and leads team members to express more gratitude to one another—strengthening team bonds. Studies have also shown that gratitude is beneficial for those expressing it and is one of the most powerful variables in predicting a person’s overall well-being—above money, health, and optimism. The WD-40 Company knows this firsthand. When the leadership gave thousands of managers training in expressing gratitude to their employees, the company saw record increases in revenue.

Despite these benefits, few executives effectively utilize this simple tool. In fact, new research reveals “people are less likely to express gratitude at work than anyplace else.” What accounts for the staggering chasm between awareness of gratitude’s benefits and the failure of so many leaders to do it—or do it well? Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton call this the gratitude gap. In this invaluable guide, they identify the widespread and pernicious myths about managing others that cause leaders to withhold thanks.

Gostick and Elton also introduce eight simple ways managers can show employees they are valued. They supplement their insights and advice with stories of how many of today’s most successful leaders—such as Alan Mulally of Ford and Hubert Joly of Best Buy—successfully incorporated gratitude into their leadership styles.

Showing gratitude isn’t just about being nice, it’s about being smart—really smart—and it’s a skill that everyone can easily learn.

The New York Times bestselling authors of The Carrot Principle and All In deliver a breakthrough, groundbreaking guide for building today's most collaborative teams--so any organization can operate at peak performance.

A massive shift is taking place in the business world. In today's average company, up to eighty percent of employees' days are now spent working in teams. And yet the teams most people find themselves in are nowhere near as effective as they could be. They're often divided by tensions, if not outright dissension, and dysfunctional teams drain employees' energy, enthusiasm, and creativity. Now Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton share the proven ways managers can build cohesive, productive teams, despite the distractions and challenges every business is facing.

In The Best Team Wins, Gostick and Elton studied more than 850,000 employee engagement surveys to develop their "Five Disciplines of Team Leaders," explaining how to recognize and motivate different generations to enhance individual engagement; ways to promote healthy discord and spark innovation; and techniques to unify customer focus and build bridges across functions, cultures, and distance. They've shared these disciplines with their corporate clients and have now distilled their breakthrough findings into a succinct, engaging guide for business leaders everywhere. Gostick and Elton offer practical ways to address the real challenges today's managers are facing, such as the rise of the Millennials, the increasing speed of change, the growing number of global and virtual teams, and the friction created by working cross-functionally.

This is a must-read for anyone looking to maximize performance at work, from two of the most successful corporate consultants of their generation, whom The New York Times called "creative and refreshing."

Stick Management is out. Carrot management is in! The Carrot Principle offers proven strategies to help recognize and motivate your valued employees.

Since its original publication in 2007, the New York Times bestseller The Carrot Principle has received rave reviews in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, and The New York Times, and has helped a host of managers to energize their teams, and companies to dramatically boost their business results. The book was even adopted by the prestigious FranklinCovey International training and consulting group for its leadership training. This updated edition couldn't come at a better time, as the economic downturn requires us all to come up with creative and cost-effective ways to stimulate growth and productivity.

Revealing the groundbreaking results of one of the most in-depth management studies ever undertaken, The Carrot Principle shows definitively that the central characteristic of the most successful managers is that they provide their employees with frequent and effective recognition. With independent results from HealthStream Research, and analysis by bestselling leadership experts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, this breakthrough study of 200,000 people over ten years found dramatically greater business results when managers offered constructive praise and meaningful rewards in ways that powerfully motivated employees to excel. These managers lead with carrots, not sticks, and in doing so achieve higher:

-Productivity
-Engagement
-Retention

In a new chapter, Gostick and Elton report on the results of an extensive study, conducted by leading research authority Towers Perrin, that confirms the extraordinary effectiveness of the Carrot Principle approach all around the globe.

Drawing on case studies from leading companies including Disney, DHL, KPMG, and Pepsi Bottling Group, Gostick and Elton show how the key to recognition done right is combining it with four other core traits of effective leadership. Gostick and Elton walk readers through exactly how to use the simple but powerful methods they have discovered all great managers use to provide their employees with this effective recognition, which can be learned easily and will produce immediate results.

Great recognition can be done in a matter of moments--and it doesn't take budget-busting amounts of money. Following these simple steps will make you a high-performance leader and take your team to a new level of achievement.

"A gem of a book . . . finding that workers who are recognized are more productive, have fewer on-the-job accidents, and translate their satisfaction into customer satisfaction."
--Financial Post

"There is magic in this book. Whether you are looking for a few good tips to keep a good thing going or need to recapture the very essence of a productive workplace, The Invisible Employee provides valuable lessons nestled among the pages of a clever and compelling story."
--Stephen C. Lundinbestselling coauthor of Fish!

"Gostick and Elton's simple-to-understand and teachable approach of setting and supporting core values and recognizing and celebrating those behaviors can be a very effective management technique for creating a committed and engaged workforce of 'visible employees.' This is a culture no organization can afford to be without."
--Michael R. LoseyPresident, World Federation of Personnel Management Associations

"The basic principles detailed in The Invisible Employee are simple yet profound (1) setting a guiding vision, (2) seeing employees supporting that vision, and (3) praising and celebrating that behavior. Engaging our entire staff by using these principles helps Friendly's provide great memories for our guests."
--John L. CutterCEO and President, Friendly's Ice Cream Corporation

"The Invisible Employee is a very inventive and original book. Combining facts that will surprise you and a fable that will fascinate you, Gostick and Elton have crafted a book that educates and entertains. The Invisible Employee is a wonderful read with a powerful message, and I highly recommend it to leaders at all levels."
--Jim Kouzescoauthor of The Leadership Challenge