Executive Briefing

How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People

How can corporations get the most out of their employees? Charles O'Reilly has a prescription for the overheated labor market, especially in Silicon Valley: abandon the obsession with hiring high-priced stars and instead, motivate ordinary people to build a great company and achieve exceptional results.

For 25 years, O'Reilly (working with Jeffrey Pfeffer) has researched why some companies have been able to tap the full potential of their people and others have not. Discovering how these firms have outwitted sometimes larger and more powerful competitors is like uncovering a great mystery. O'Reilly uses lessons derived from his studies which show how to retain current employees and foster their creativity, drive, and development. He presents powerful examples of companies that live their values, value their people - and are extraordinarily successful.

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