Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down

Vineet Nayar's Employees First, Customers Second (EFCS) is a first person CEO account of the transformation of their enterprise. The book is a refreshing and frank look at the challenges facing leaders looking to transform their company, culture and employees. Nayar discusses his experience leading HCLT and its transformation from a $700 million dollar company that was losing market share to a $2 billion dollar company at the front of their market. Nayar provides a clear, well-written and frank discussion of the issues he faced and his personal thought process and learning journey during the transformation. It is rare that a sitting CEO provides such a frank and honest discussion of the company and personal journey. At 185 pages in a small format, the book is an excellent size and length for executives to read, reflect on and consider how it fits into their strategies and plans. Recommended reading for executives who are frustrated with the current structure and culture of the modern organization. CEO and BU executives will gain an understanding of new views on leveraging the talent, knowledge and passion of their people both internally and more importantly with customers. HR and Staff Executives will be exposed to a different view of their role. This is not a direct focus of the book, but reading it will help you think differently about what you do and how it creates/connects to value. Individuals will see an example of the actions and evolution involved in realizing a new way of working. Just about everyone wants to work this way and this book provides an example that can help crystallize your thoughts and how you communicate with your peers and management. It is particularly recommended to read now or at a minimum have read during the summer months so these ideas can influence their strategic planning and initiatives for 2011. This book will provide fresh views and a new configuration of approaches to create a new style of organization. A list of strengths and challenges are at the end of this review. The book covers a number of `tools' and ideas that are particularly helpful for understanding what you can do to change your enterprise. Many of these ideas are based on existing thoughts, but Nayar presents them in a fresh view integrated around the idea of putting employees first. Some of the tools included in the book include: Value Zone - the place in the organization where the company creates value with the customer. This zone is at the bottom of the enterprise not the top and that reality shapes much of the thinking in the book. You may recognize this in other words as the `moment of value' Mirror/Mirror - a process where the company and individuals confront the truth of their situation, strengths and weaknesses, and what they need to do about it. This is a direct descendent of confronting reality in the TQM movement. Transparent House - the role and change created by making traditional management information, plans, evaluations etc available to all. Zero Tickets - the notion that enabling functions not only work to resolve issues but need to be dedicated to eliminating them. This again builds on TQM principles. True 360 evaluation and feedback, which can be easily thought of as old hat but which Nayar gives a fresh perspective and experience. Overall this is a good book and one that will help every executive think about how their company works and what it does to create value. It is important to note that while Nayar's company is based in India, his business is global and these techniques are working in multiple geographies, cultures and workforces. This means that his experience is readily transferable to other organizations and situations. Strengths: * Clear and comprehensive in terms of describing the business situation and the actions they took to address the issues. There is no consultant-ese or academic mumbo jumbo, just clear thinking clearly explained. * Solution specific in terms of defining specific initiatives, tools, things that the company did to create results and address issues. * Comprehensive discussing multiple aspects of the transformation from the way they worked with customers, to enabling functions, evaluations, transparency and the changing role of the CEO and their office. * Insightful as Nayar reflects on what has happened at the most basic and fundamental level. For example his discussion of the evolved nature of 360-degree feedback (p. 116 - 126) gives this tool a new power and rational. * Focused and humble as Nayar accomplishes all of this in just 185 pages without aggrandizing himself, his company or its track record. This gives the book a clear and honest tone that puts conviction behind the words. * Realistic as Nayar recognized and values the people who say `yes, but' he then goes on to share the insights and changes in the solution generated by people who have legitimate and value issues with the stated direction. This is a balanced and mature approach to change that is refreshingly different than branding people as the enemy. Challenges: * Nayar's discussion of the business issues and situations are often at a high level. While I understand the business and publishing rational behind this, it does weaken the context and may lead some people to think that this does not apply to them - it does. * Nayar presents a fairly straightforward time progression; we did this, then that, then that. This is a strength in making the book clear and focused, but it has caused Nayar to omit what I am sure are some of the * The book is somewhat impersonal, not from the CEO's perspective, but from the perspective of the people a HCLIT who we hear little about and even less from. It is paradoxical in that the book is about putting employees first, but we really never hear from the employees. A brief first person story of the transformations that an individual manager or front line person when through would have made this a five star plus book. Overall the challenges do not rob the value of the ideas, experience and insight presented in this book. Read it and think about its applicability to your company, industry and situation. There is much here to think about and even better a deep example of what one company did. Employees First, something every employer should read.

I am an avid business book reader - reading an average of 20 B-books per year. And business books are like business conferences, you go to many and absorb ideas and tips that may help your work. However, it's really rare to come across content that really can change your business, and Employees First, Customers Second (EFCS) is a good example of this. While most books worth with generic frameworks or too specific examples (no middle term that you can apply at your company!), EFCS brings advice that's actionable. I do hope to implement strategies based on ideas from this book within my company. This is the best gauge of a good read ;-)

Vineet Nayar will challenge your Status Quo with EFCS. It's refreshing to a read business book from a perspective outside the typical Western dogma. Nayer refers to the likes of Ghandi and MLK Jr to support his ideas - something seldom seen in biz books. In doing so, he connects smart business practice with strong human instinct. There's an attractive vulnerability in Vineet's narrative. He's not afraid to share missteps and personal doubts experienced along the way. He also gives appropriate credit to co-thinkers. His easy gentle style could lull a reader into thinking the EFCS idea would be easy to impliment, which would be a mistake. These ideas make sense and would be well worth the incredible effort to make them happen.

I had some trepidation after reading some reviews. As I typically lean pessimistic I always start with the one star reviews but I needed something to assist me in conveying what I think and feel about the organization in which I work to my boss. After reading it and going back and rereading the one star reviews I wonder if those who gave it that rating went into this title with an open mind. The author talks at length about people with this mindset so it is somewhat ironic. This book is a light read not intended to give step by step instructions on this philosophy but to serve as something of a general guide. Far and away better than something that was clearly written to sell a management book like "The One Minute Manager" I truly get the impression the author believes in this concept.

I loved this book as much or more than any business/management book I've read in the past few years. This is a first hand account of how Nayar transformed his company by focusing where value is truly created or lost - at the interface between employees and customers. This is the service-profit chain in action, something I've been teaching for years. In order to grow his company, Nayar first had to change his assumptions, then change the organizational systems in which those assumptions were embedded and driving the behavior of his employees. By first changing his mind, the minds of others, and the systems they worked with, he changed the behavior of his employees and even some of his customers with spectacular results. Get this book!

Some thoughtful ideas and a strong case study for how large organizations should look at rearranging their management systems and structures. That said, in my opinion, it is not worthy of a book 185 pages in length...especially for entrepreneurs like myself who run a small business. While there was some solid material in the book, it felt more like a marketing piece for HCLT than a real business book.

Vineet Nayar has written an excellent account of the 5 year transformation at HCL. It is a "warts and all" story of how they effectively inverted the business pyramid by empowering their staff on the front line or "value zone". Vineet is an open and humble leader who is comfortable admitting that "all wisdom does not reside in the CEO's office." If you are interested in the changing business world and the interaction between customer and employee engagement, then this book is for you.

Vineet Nayar has given first hand account of how he made the elephant dance. He has transformed the company in last few years by empowering the employees of the company. full of simple yet powerful ideas about how to converge energy and innovative ideas of thousands of employee in meaningful and result oriented practices, which ultimately bring more values to the customer. He contest that CEO need not to be most powerful and knowledgeable but enabler. It is about how transparency and small changes (he calls them catalyst)breaks the old hierarchies (without actually breaking them)and enable people at value zone to be more innovative and proactive while serving their customers.

Vineet Nayar brings this revolutionary idea and turns the pyramid upside down. Many managers and leaders fail to realize that the employees are the first defence and face of the customer. Interesting read!

Ho letto con grande interesse questo libro, che racconta come l'amministratore delegato di un'importante multinazionale dell'information technology abbia avuto il coraggio di introdurre cambiamenti drastici nell'organizzazione dell'azienda della quale e' responsabile. Apparentemente il meccanismo che ha consentito a Vineet Nayar di stravolgere l'approccio tradizionale si basa sull'assoluta convinzione che, una volta messo a fuoco un problema sia possibile, oltre che indispensabile, intraprendere un cambiamento; anche quando la nuova direzione non e' ancora stata sperimentata da nessuno. Scuotere situazioni caratterizzate da un forte equilibrio richiede la la capacita' di vedere soluzioni innovative e per trovarle Nayar attinge alle idee che provengono da una moltitudine di dipendenti, indipendentemente dal livello al quale sono inquadrati. Nei problemi descritti da Nayar ho riconosciuto molte situazioni che ho incontrato nella mia esperienza professionale e questo ha reso particolarmente appassionante la lettura di questo libro.

Vineet Nayar, CEO eines indischen IT-concerns beschreibt den Prozess und die Schritte, wie Organisationsentwicklung gelingen kann. Er begründet seine Schritte, beschreibt seine Zweifel und erzählt von den Erfolgen. Das Kernelement dieses Prozesses ist die Erkenntnis, dass in einer Wissensgesellschaft die MitarbeiterInnen an der Front zum Kunden das wichtigste Element der Wertschöpfungskette sind. Das verlangt konsequenterweise danach, die klassischen Organisationsstrukturen (die Pyramide) völlig auf den Kopf zu stellen. Was das konkret bedeutet und wie es Vineet Nayar erreicht hat. beschreibt er in seinem Buch.

Vineet Nayar has produced a summarized account of the turnaround he helped mastermind at HCLT, a leading Indian IT company in this book. While accounts of this sort often risk turning into an advertorial for the company or the CEO, in this case I would say the author managed to successfully thread the thin line and deliver content first, with the company itself remaining more in the background. The premise - somewhat provocatively named 'employees first, customers second' - is that often most value in companies is generated at the bottom layers of the pyramid and that it is exactly those people there that should be empowered by management, so as to deliver the maximum value to the customer. In the end, as the author repeatedly mentions, this does not mean putting the customer second as such, it just means that priorities internally should lie with enabling the employees to be as effective at solving customer issues, as possible. Specific issues tackled are the role of management, communication channels, reorganizing support functions, blue skies strategies, etc. If you have been working in a larger company in the recent years, you will definitely recognize some of the approaches - such as ticket systems for support functions (although if the companies I have worked with in the last years are indicative of the whole, this has been sadly successfully resisted by all but IT departments), various blogs and other social media like platforms enabling employees to confront top management with inadequacies they face in their daily work lives, etc. What I find refreshing is the introduction of those as a coherent whole, with clear objectives behind and a constant development. Not trying to claim this is not the case anywhere else but the author at least does an excellent job of demonstrating how to do it right (as opposed to just paying lip service to the new fad of the day). If you are looking at the book from a 2013 perspective (the turnaround started in 2005), some of the things do not seem as new as they were when introduced (where many were much closer to, or at the leading edge). This should not deter you from reading the book, though - the explanations, the overarching plan and the consequent implementation is what matters and where the book delivers very well. In the end you may forget the employees first, customers second catchphrase, or use your own. Still, the book is likely to garnish you with some solid concepts that will help you in improving the management of a medium sized or large enterprise. In spite of all the useful advice, success will probably still be highest, if you initiate such change from high enough up (like the author), otherwise many of the ideas will probably fail to penetrate the resistance of the status quo defenders.

One of the most insightful and interesting books I have read on changing the management paradigm. We have provided several now for managers in the company and shared some feedbacks. Very highly recommended.