Employees First, Customers Second: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down
- Downloads：2955
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-22 10:52:25
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Vineet Nayar
- ISBN：1422139069
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Summary
MORE THAN 100，000 COPIES SOLD
One small idea can ignite a revolution just as a single matchstick can start a fire。
One such idea—putting employees first and customers second—sparked a revolution at HCL Technologies， the IT services giant。
In this candid and personal account， Vineet Nayar—HCLT’s celebrated CEO—recounts how he defied the conventional wisdom that companies must put customers first， then turned the hierarchical pyramid upside down by making management accountable to the employees， and not the other way around。
By doing so， Nayar fired the imagination of both employees and customers and set HCLT on a journey of transformation that has made it one of the fastest-growing and profitable global IT services companies and， according to BusinessWeek， one of the twenty most influential companies in the world。
Chapter by chapter， Nayar recounts the exciting journey of how he and his team implemented the employee first philosophy by:
• Creating a sense of urgency by enabling the employees to see the truth of the company’s current state as well as feel the “romance” of its possible future state
• Creating a culture of trust by pushing the envelope of transparency in communication and information sharing
• Inverting the organizational hierarchy by making the management and the enabling functions accountable to the employee in the value zone
• Unlocking the potential of the employees by fostering an entrepreneurial mind-set， decentralizing decision making， and transferring the ownership of “change” to the employee in the value zone
Refreshingly honest and practical， this book offers valuable insights for managers seeking to realize their aspirations to grow faster and become self-propelled engines of change。
One small idea can ignite a revolution just as a single matchstick can start a fire。
One such idea—putting employees first and customers second—sparked a revolution at HCL Technologies， the IT services giant。
In this candid and personal account， Vineet Nayar—HCLT’s celebrated CEO—recounts how he defied the conventional wisdom that companies must put customers first， then turned the hierarchical pyramid upside down by making management accountable to the employees， and not the other way around。
By doing so， Nayar fired the imagination of both employees and customers and set HCLT on a journey of transformation that has made it one of the fastest-growing and profitable global IT services companies and， according to BusinessWeek， one of the twenty most influential companies in the world。
Chapter by chapter， Nayar recounts the exciting journey of how he and his team implemented the employee first philosophy by:
• Creating a sense of urgency by enabling the employees to see the truth of the company’s current state as well as feel the “romance” of its possible future state
• Creating a culture of trust by pushing the envelope of transparency in communication and information sharing
• Inverting the organizational hierarchy by making the management and the enabling functions accountable to the employee in the value zone
• Unlocking the potential of the employees by fostering an entrepreneurial mind-set， decentralizing decision making， and transferring the ownership of “change” to the employee in the value zone
Refreshingly honest and practical， this book offers valuable insights for managers seeking to realize their aspirations to grow faster and become self-propelled engines of change。
Reviews
Adrien SALES
，
Very inspiring and easy to read book。 A collaborator gave it to me having spoken about my past readings about management， LEAN and open innovation。
Dr。 Gilberto Arantes
，
The principles EFCS in this book was， is， will be valid for any entrepreneur who want to design an everlasting organization。 Care for the “right” people， people will care for the business as it is their own。
Azzam Ayoub
，
A great book describing a true success story of HCL company and how they managed to thrive in tough times by following a Philosophy of putting employees first and making top management accountable for them。
Paul Whitla
，
How inverting the organizational pyramid and building a culture of trust can enable a company to create a passion for customer facing。 Change and long term growth。Written by an Indian tech services CEO and based upon his personal experience， liberally laced with tales from his childhood and what he learned sitting next to someone on a plane etc （I。e。 Largely anecdotal）Some satisfactory stuff about setting points A and B before setting off on a journey and the reasons the pyramid needs to be inve How inverting the organizational pyramid and building a culture of trust can enable a company to create a passion for customer facing。 Change and long term growth。Written by an Indian tech services CEO and based upon his personal experience， liberally laced with tales from his childhood and what he learned sitting next to someone on a plane etc （I。e。 Largely anecdotal）Some satisfactory stuff about setting points A and B before setting off on a journey and the reasons the pyramid needs to be inverted for today’s knowledge driven economy and Gen Y employees。 However， not much of it is really very new and there are few external examples to back up the ideas。 。。。more
Rohan Hattangdi
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Amazing read on how to put your employees at the center of your organization
Todd McQueen
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Several excellent ideas from this CEO of an Indian IT company。 Worth reading for management ideas。 B+
Ivan Martinez
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Una empresa que quiera salir del hoyo en el que está y cuando salga ser una de la empresas más admiradas， solamente puede hacerlo con un genio al mando。 Los empleados siempre deben ir primero en toda organización。 Gran libro。
Sandeep Sharma
，
Vineet has provided an insight view of how he was able to transform HCLT。 Also the examples he co-related from family system are very practical。 A recommended read for every professional。。。。
Jogy Abraham
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I didn't know that something like this has happened around us。 I like viewing things in a different perspective and that's what I liked about Vineet's experiments at HCL。 Would like to see HCL continue doing what Vineet has started and becoming one of the great example how an organisation can grow by focusing on employees I didn't know that something like this has happened around us。 I like viewing things in a different perspective and that's what I liked about Vineet's experiments at HCL。 Would like to see HCL continue doing what Vineet has started and becoming one of the great example how an organisation can grow by focusing on employees 。。。more
Karan Shah
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I'm leading an IT services company myself and thus perhaps I could relate a lot but I liked the humbleness and the way with which the book is presented。There were some good takeaways I could see such as those regarding trust and transparency。 I would have loved to see something more concrete but it was designed to be an easy read I suppose。 I'm leading an IT services company myself and thus perhaps I could relate a lot but I liked the humbleness and the way with which the book is presented。There were some good takeaways I could see such as those regarding trust and transparency。 I would have loved to see something more concrete but it was designed to be an easy read I suppose。 。。。more
Pradip Caulagi
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A real war story explaining ideas simply and clearly！ And as far as I can tell， in line with modern theory as well。 Enjoyed it a lot。
Vijay Shrotryia
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detailed review at:https://shrotryia-bookreview。blogspot。。。 detailed review at:https://shrotryia-bookreview。blogspot。。。 。。。more
المهند السبيعي
，
I liked the discussed concepts and ideas in this book because it was based on practical experience of the author， however， What I didn't like is the showoff part and marketing （i。e。 the book can be considered as a PR tool for the company （check out pages from 82 to 85）。 In conclusion， it is nice to read it but not a must （for those who are working in Employee/customer experience） I liked the discussed concepts and ideas in this book because it was based on practical experience of the author， however， What I didn't like is the showoff part and marketing （i。e。 the book can be considered as a PR tool for the company （check out pages from 82 to 85）。 In conclusion， it is nice to read it but not a must （for those who are working in Employee/customer experience） 。。。more
John G。
，
I discovered this book while I drove limos/shuttles and picked up a consultant who recommended this book to me。 It's a winner！ Clearly and warmly exposes the myths of conventional business management and the wastefulness of hierarchy and command and control centered organizations。 It's a very simple idea， but almost revolutionary in the workplace， treat your employees well and they will take ownership of their workplace and deliver exceptional performance。 In fifty years of living， I have never I discovered this book while I drove limos/shuttles and picked up a consultant who recommended this book to me。 It's a winner！ Clearly and warmly exposes the myths of conventional business management and the wastefulness of hierarchy and command and control centered organizations。 It's a very simple idea， but almost revolutionary in the workplace， treat your employees well and they will take ownership of their workplace and deliver exceptional performance。 In fifty years of living， I have never seen this attempted but yet we all know it's true！ Beyond business， this book is about following your own path and going against conventional wisdom and power structures。 。。。more
Kaustubh Kirti
，
Vineet Nayar's turnarond story is one of the masterpiece of evolving nature of corporate stakeholder management。 While reading the book the authors story telling and flow makes it more appealing and important。 This book is all about emotions and understanding how people behave with the unknown。 The best example is probably of a friend you meet after several years and he doesnot recognize you because you have changed so much。 You never look into the mirror and think whether you have changed and t Vineet Nayar's turnarond story is one of the masterpiece of evolving nature of corporate stakeholder management。 While reading the book the authors story telling and flow makes it more appealing and important。 This book is all about emotions and understanding how people behave with the unknown。 The best example is probably of a friend you meet after several years and he doesnot recognize you because you have changed so much。 You never look into the mirror and think whether you have changed and this question makes all the difference。Starting as a soul searching activity through checking self in Mirror and identifying the things pulling back in self the author drives the book into the cauldron of corporate reforms。 From soul searching to bringing in transparency and a culture of change the author successfully inverts the pyramid and makes the employee the center of all business activity。 Whether it is the brightest or the weakest every employee is important。 Author talks about empowerment through testimonials， 360 degree feedback and better team building which made the change which HCL needed the most during that period circa 2005-2009。THe book is all the more relevent today because of the proliferation of stratup and matrix structures and the changing nature of virtual and networked organisations。 With the IT sector facing another round of challenges during 2017 and the coming years the next phase of transformations would also be on similar lines。 On a philosophical note author note that treating employees as human being with emotions and fears is key to make them work。 Change is not so complicated as managing or evolving the culture of change and communicating what to do next。 The book however fall short of just one aspect。 A more micro picture of how this employee first feature works。 Management thought and learning is ongoing but micro picture of responses and detailed version of changes would make the read more illustrative。 THe book is more of good read with bold understanding of how to drive organisations and thinking out of the box。 。。。more
Rodolfo Hernández
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Me gustó el libro。。。 como siempre vale la pena apostar por la persona。。。 y dentro de una institución tus colaboradores。 Fundamental esa necesidad de cambio continuo personal。 El siempre buscar el cómo hacer mejor las cosas。。。 el no estar de acuerdo con lo que habitualmente hacemos。。。 siempre podemos hacer más y mejor。 Interesante el involucrar más a los colaboradores。。。。 Hay mucho por hacer。
Jitender S。
，
Writing about some management concepts is easy but implementing them is tough and that what Vineet Nayar has done。 Employee First Principle took the route of transparency， reverse-accountability， and collective wisdom。 If Tom Peters says， "Mr。 Nayar could be the next Peter Drucker"， then its better have a close look at what Vineet has achieved。 Writing about some management concepts is easy but implementing them is tough and that what Vineet Nayar has done。 Employee First Principle took the route of transparency， reverse-accountability， and collective wisdom。 If Tom Peters says， "Mr。 Nayar could be the next Peter Drucker"， then its better have a close look at what Vineet has achieved。 。。。more
Bryan
，
A concept that I generally support but not a terribly enlightening book。 Basically one big case study。
Alexandre
，
Very interesting read even though not very "actionable"。 It is more a "eye opener" than a manual。 Recommended。 Very interesting read even though not very "actionable"。 It is more a "eye opener" than a manual。 Recommended。 。。。more
Bruce Harbour
，
Interesting and very different approach to dealing with staff
Sheyla
，
Nothing new。。。
Antony Dick
，
I came across this book when I was hearing one of Vineet's speeches in youtube。 Having the curiosity developed with the name of the book I wanted to read it。This book is all about his personal experience narrated in a subtle way which will provoke you to think across boundaries to help you develop personally and also professionally。 A must read for someone who wants to do something to his organization and help the company develop。With a different perspective about how we can win the hearts of th I came across this book when I was hearing one of Vineet's speeches in youtube。 Having the curiosity developed with the name of the book I wanted to read it。This book is all about his personal experience narrated in a subtle way which will provoke you to think across boundaries to help you develop personally and also professionally。 A must read for someone who wants to do something to his organization and help the company develop。With a different perspective about how we can win the hearts of the customer by winning the hearts of the Employees first。 。。。more
Sourav Sen
，
A very interesting take on how conventional management techniques could be inverted to focus on creating value for the driving force of a tech company- its employees。
Pratik Garg
，
Yet another management book which discusses a simple idea of change in the manner an organisation typically functions。What is it about？The author lamenting his success story at HCLT presents an idea of focusing more on your team members and empowering them for improved results and enhanced customer engagement as compared to focusing primarily on customer needs。How is it helpful？Such an environment provides with high level of employee engagement that nurtures a culture of empowerment and initiati Yet another management book which discusses a simple idea of change in the manner an organisation typically functions。What is it about？The author lamenting his success story at HCLT presents an idea of focusing more on your team members and empowering them for improved results and enhanced customer engagement as compared to focusing primarily on customer needs。How is it helpful？Such an environment provides with high level of employee engagement that nurtures a culture of empowerment and initiative。 The author showcases multiple examples wherein empowering employees helped the company he was heading， HCLT。 Faster deliver of output and enhanced employee satisfaction were the very basics the author expected out of the idea， and what turned out of this experiment at HCLT。He primarily talks about how opening the company to its employees， building a transparent system of working and open dialogue system of communication instead of monologues actually helped driving better results。 One of the crucial changes brought to the system， as the author laments， was the introduction of an open platform wherein any employee could address an issue， expect fruitful feedback and follow up on the progress of his problem solution via a tracking process。 The leaders also introduced online portals for executives of the company to participate in company leadership， providing ideas for the next big change。 It is very well understandable that the level of employee satisfaction sky rocketed with it all。Of course， the company faced a lot of hurdles implementing the idea。 Of many， the author majorly mentions about the 'everything good， but' problem。 A lot of people are found skeptic about change。 The author， being in no different spot， brought motivation from the lessons he learnt in school， addressing this issue with honesty and sincerity。 His example of accepting not being able to see things beyond the horizon yet awaiting a view， sounds insightful。In most organisations not considering its size， it is the team members who engage with the customers mostly。 HCLT was no different。 And therefore， they play a very important role in how the customers feel about the company and their level of satisfaction。 Empowering the employees and bringing them closer to management， HCLT created an environment of initiatives and openness。 And hence， enhanced customer satisfaction。Why should you read it？The book is simple and straight forward。 An idea is presented with a proof of its practical applicability。 This is an idea which can be applied in most organisations albeit its size or industry， expecting positive results。 If you're looking for a book that tells you something about spotting the next big paradigm shift， this is the book you should consider picking up。 Its written down fairly simply with as many examples as required。 The book would leave you with a thought for transformation。 The author boasts tremendous growth at HCLT with the application of this idea。 May be its helps you too。 Check out its website。 。。。more
Avinash
，
nice book on how Vineet Nayar changed the HCL work culture for the better。。。easy to read and can complete reading in quick time。
Nitin
，
Opposite approach than most of the companies follow today。 I believe in "Employees first" approach and this book confirmed my understanding。 Good read。。。 Opposite approach than most of the companies follow today。 I believe in "Employees first" approach and this book confirmed my understanding。 Good read。。。 。。。more
Verbiage
，
http://www。verbiage。fr/les-employes-d。。。A lire absolument ！Au final un livre de partage d’expérience qui malgré l’humilité de l’auteur présente pour beaucoup ce que devrait être le management du XXIème siècle。 L’expérience peut paraître utopique et peu d’entreprise oseront franchir le pas。 Reste que le modèle du management « start-up » s’étend de plus en plus dans les grandes entreprises。 http://www。verbiage。fr/les-employes-d。。。 http://www。verbiage。fr/les-employes-d。。。A lire absolument ！Au final un livre de partage d’expérience qui malgré l’humilité de l’auteur présente pour beaucoup ce que devrait être le management du XXIème siècle。 L’expérience peut paraître utopique et peu d’entreprise oseront franchir le pas。 Reste que le modèle du management « start-up » s’étend de plus en plus dans les grandes entreprises。 http://www。verbiage。fr/les-employes-d。。。 。。。more
Gaurav Acharya
，
EXCELLENT ！！ Great Job Vineet Nayar。。
Nathalie De Spiegeleire
，
Title says it all。 Fascinating experiment， all about 'truly' empowering employees。 But is it not too good to be true？ Interesting read。。。 Title says it all。 Fascinating experiment， all about 'truly' empowering employees。 But is it not too good to be true？ Interesting read。。。 。。。more
Onkar
，