There seems to be something moving through the decade - the more I analyze the literature and the authors the more I see the theme of empowerment - I am thinking in particular of the impact of “It’s your ship - managment techniques from the best damn ship in the Navy” by D Michael Abrashoff, and “Breaking the Mould” by Peter A Hunter. Both books are about stories of ordinary people who suddenly got it - they were given the chance to make their own decisions and became successful as a result- they did not destroy the organization they were working for - rather real money, and real progress was made - both books are truly inspirational in a way that many business books are not and should be checked out.

The central question here is one raised by Hertzberg in the 1950s and Greenleaf: do people need to be bullied and pushed in order to work well, or given true responsibility and trusted do they bloom? Sounds Utopian? A little. But great companies recruit great people then crush them; and there has to be a better way. Careful empowerment - where the people like boiling frogs do not notice the change, or rather grow acclimatized to it - is a good approach. This, of course, raises the question of how. Both the above books are practical tales of how.