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Widgets: The 12 New Rules for Managing Your Employees As If They're Real People
New York Times bestselling author Rodd Wagner tackles one of the most destructive problems facing organizations today - the breakdown of the social contract between people and the organizations where they work.
"Your people are not your greatest asset. They're not yours, and they're not assets."
With this declaration, one of the leading authorities on employee performance rolls up his sleeves against the weasel words, contradictions, bad habits, and intrusions that reduce people to "human resources." To "FTEs." To "human capital." To flesh-and-blood widgets.
Armed with empirical evidence from the provocative studies he leads around the globe, Wagner guides you through the new realities of what it takes to get the highest levels of intensity from people in a more mercenary, skeptical, and wired work world. He explains how elements such as individualization, fearlessness, transparency, recognition, and coolness are reciprocated with loyalty, productivity, innovation, and - inescapably - corporate reputation.
"Your people are not your greatest asset. They're not yours, and they're not assets."
With this declaration, one of the leading authorities on employee performance rolls up his sleeves against the weasel words, contradictions, bad habits, and intrusions that reduce people to "human resources." To "FTEs." To "human capital." To flesh-and-blood widgets.
Armed with empirical evidence from the provocative studies he leads around the globe, Wagner guides you through the new realities of what it takes to get the highest levels of intensity from people in a more mercenary, skeptical, and wired work world. He explains how elements such as individualization, fearlessness, transparency, recognition, and coolness are reciprocated with loyalty, productivity, innovation, and - inescapably - corporate reputation.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published March 13, 2015
9 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 12, 2015
In his book Wagner provides important and actionable insights into the behavioral drivers of employee engagement - what motivates them, how they think, how they learn, how they act. The goal of the book is to teach you how to use reciprocity as a key motivator in employee performance, adapt new employees to the work environment, and become the best manager you can be. I would suggest starting with the first two chapters that lay the foundation but from there if people want to jump around it’s not a problem at all.
For your convenience, we had Rodd Wagner on our podcast, The Entrepreneurs Library, to give a deep dive on Widgets. With Rodd’s experience he gives amazing insight on how to master the art of human resource management. If you would like to get a more in-depth look from the author himself check out episode 218 on the EL website or you can find the show on iTunes.
For your convenience, we had Rodd Wagner on our podcast, The Entrepreneurs Library, to give a deep dive on Widgets. With Rodd’s experience he gives amazing insight on how to master the art of human resource management. If you would like to get a more in-depth look from the author himself check out episode 218 on the EL website or you can find the show on iTunes.
October 13, 2015
And, at the widgets website there's a free assessment to measure your own level of employee engagement. Good luck.
July 14, 2017
I really liked this. Most of what the author says is common sense (and he states that. He actually says in the book that most of what he says will seem like common sense, you just don't know it until it's pointed out). I think that if every manager in every company read this book and implemented what it said, we would see instant improvement in human lives, company productivity and profit, economies as a whole, and quite possible a more sustainable way of operating businesses that don't put current profits ahead of the future. The book also had some 'lol' moments for me which is always nice with a book like this since a lot of books on management and employees can be really dry and a struggle to get through.
May 8, 2019
This was pretty straight-forward and maybe not earth-shattering, but the info was valuable and it's a good read for anyone who got a business degree and had their heads stuffed with all the out-of-date cynical nonsense colleges teach these days. It definitely had useful points about investing in employees, the value of making them feel safe and valued, and incorporating transparency and meaning.
October 2, 2024
Not for everyone and certainly more of an industry specific read but well laid out and easy to follow. The author has written since rebuking some of his own positions held in Widgets which I appreciate. He’s dedicated to providing the most up to date perspectives on engagement and not doubling down on his perspectives if newer research proves him wrong.
May 5, 2015
Most companies fail to get the best out of “their” employees, making mistake after mistake along the way and possibly compounding issues by pretending to care. Sometimes they even do care, in their own special way, yet their behaviour is so clumsy and formulaic that it is working against itself.
This book looks at the apparent breakdown of the social contract between employees and employers. Many companies have fine words about how their people are “their greatest assets” and the author correctly notes that the rot has already set in with weasel words and patronising statements. You own assets. People are not assets or mere chattels for companies to buy, sell and exploit, wrapped up in meaningless, potentially offensive terms such as “human resources”, “human capital” or “full-time equivalents (FTEs)”.
Reading this book can make you angry, angry at how many companies don’t really treat their employees well. Those who sugar-coat their comments, peppering in words about partners, colleagues, co-workers or throwing in mere trinkets to the “compensation and workplace mix” - that are tax-deductible anyway - can feel as it is rubbing salt into the wound. “Polishing a turd,” as a slightly off-colour British English phrase may call it.
This was an enjoyable, focussed and gripping read yet a book like this shouldn’t be necessary if companies just got it. Take this extract from the book, which is something that should be printed out as a large poster and stuck liberally throughout the executive suite and a luminous copy within “human resources”: “Your people are not your greatest asset. They're not yours and they're not assets. Assets are property. You don't own your people. Many of them don't trust you. Some don't like you. Too many won't stick it out with you. And the ones you need most have the credentials to walk out fastest if you treat them poorly.”
Ah… but companies have carried out surveys, they engage their employees, they listen to the pulse of their resources and produce glowing statistics that would make a former political statistician in the USSR blush at their optimism. “We are all one big family, working together to a common goal,” they may cry (forgetting the little star and footnote that says “subject to shareholder and management whim or when dysfunctional management has a temper tantrum and makes an example of someone”).
Of course, not all employees are good. Many are bone idle, uncooperative and destructive. They are “as much use as a one-legged man in an arse kicking contest”, yet most employees actually do want to do a good job, no matter how high or low they are in an organisation. They want a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, be treated with respect and encouraged to develop. Most people know and understand that they can’t all be a CEO or sit on the top table, enjoying the financial benefits that these positions can bring. They can do their job though, playing their part.
Maybe some of the damage is self-inflicted out of a general, genuine fear of doing wrong. The cynic may say it is more fear of a lawsuit or bad press. If everyone is treated equally and fairly there wouldn’t be a problem. The author notes: “(this problem) is most painfully apparent when large firms pursue the admirable goal of eliminating racial and sexual discrimination. They count widgets by whether they are Latino, African American, Asian, or Native American; male or female; young or old. They become adept at categorisation rather than individualisation.”
Whether the companies who need to change the most would “get” this book is debatable. Many are too entrenched in their poor ways, buoyed by a faltering economy where people are often glad to have any job – yet when the good times start to roll again, maybe some companies will “reap what they sow”. Mind you, by then, they will be the first to start whinging about the difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff.
Widgets, written by Rodd Wagner and published by McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 9780071847780, 256 pages. YYYY
This book looks at the apparent breakdown of the social contract between employees and employers. Many companies have fine words about how their people are “their greatest assets” and the author correctly notes that the rot has already set in with weasel words and patronising statements. You own assets. People are not assets or mere chattels for companies to buy, sell and exploit, wrapped up in meaningless, potentially offensive terms such as “human resources”, “human capital” or “full-time equivalents (FTEs)”.
Reading this book can make you angry, angry at how many companies don’t really treat their employees well. Those who sugar-coat their comments, peppering in words about partners, colleagues, co-workers or throwing in mere trinkets to the “compensation and workplace mix” - that are tax-deductible anyway - can feel as it is rubbing salt into the wound. “Polishing a turd,” as a slightly off-colour British English phrase may call it.
This was an enjoyable, focussed and gripping read yet a book like this shouldn’t be necessary if companies just got it. Take this extract from the book, which is something that should be printed out as a large poster and stuck liberally throughout the executive suite and a luminous copy within “human resources”: “Your people are not your greatest asset. They're not yours and they're not assets. Assets are property. You don't own your people. Many of them don't trust you. Some don't like you. Too many won't stick it out with you. And the ones you need most have the credentials to walk out fastest if you treat them poorly.”
Ah… but companies have carried out surveys, they engage their employees, they listen to the pulse of their resources and produce glowing statistics that would make a former political statistician in the USSR blush at their optimism. “We are all one big family, working together to a common goal,” they may cry (forgetting the little star and footnote that says “subject to shareholder and management whim or when dysfunctional management has a temper tantrum and makes an example of someone”).
Of course, not all employees are good. Many are bone idle, uncooperative and destructive. They are “as much use as a one-legged man in an arse kicking contest”, yet most employees actually do want to do a good job, no matter how high or low they are in an organisation. They want a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, be treated with respect and encouraged to develop. Most people know and understand that they can’t all be a CEO or sit on the top table, enjoying the financial benefits that these positions can bring. They can do their job though, playing their part.
Maybe some of the damage is self-inflicted out of a general, genuine fear of doing wrong. The cynic may say it is more fear of a lawsuit or bad press. If everyone is treated equally and fairly there wouldn’t be a problem. The author notes: “(this problem) is most painfully apparent when large firms pursue the admirable goal of eliminating racial and sexual discrimination. They count widgets by whether they are Latino, African American, Asian, or Native American; male or female; young or old. They become adept at categorisation rather than individualisation.”
Whether the companies who need to change the most would “get” this book is debatable. Many are too entrenched in their poor ways, buoyed by a faltering economy where people are often glad to have any job – yet when the good times start to roll again, maybe some companies will “reap what they sow”. Mind you, by then, they will be the first to start whinging about the difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff.
Widgets, written by Rodd Wagner and published by McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 9780071847780, 256 pages. YYYY
March 5, 2016
I was looking for a list of rules to think about and put into practice to help me lead my team better and help make work a better experience.
What I got was 12 chapters of complaining about awful things that companies do. I already know all that - I work for a company.
I've never read such a negative and depressing management book.
The rules make sense, but the explanations were just depressing. 2 stars.
What I got was 12 chapters of complaining about awful things that companies do. I already know all that - I work for a company.
I've never read such a negative and depressing management book.
The rules make sense, but the explanations were just depressing. 2 stars.
June 11, 2015
This should not even have to be a book, bosses should treat their employees as people and not just as another cog in the wheel. I am fortunate to only manage a few people however I can see how this would be a lot more useful a book for those managing hundreds. A lot of managers needs to step back and just treat people with dignity.
May 13, 2015
This book will be reviewed in the September/October issue of Global Business and Organizational Excellence.
January 8, 2016
Common sense for all managers/ leaders in a workplace - ergo too few managers/ leaders would understand the concepts. Brilliant book!!!
August 3, 2016
Valuable information for anyone interested in retaining good employees and creating a healthy work environment.
October 15, 2016
great ideas for improving employee involvement.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews