How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People

Program Highlights

• Common assumptions about workers that are totally wrong.
• Why money is a terrible motivator.
• People-centered practices that can double productivity.

How can corporations get the most out of their employees? Charles O'Reilly challenges the prevailing wisdom that companies must chase and acquire outside talent in order to remain successful. He argues that companies need to abandon the obsession with hiring high-priced stars, and instead motivate ordinary people to build a great company and achieve extraordinary results.

According to O'Reilly, companies should start with a set of values that creates a culture where psychological ownership takes precedence over financial incentives. Employees need to feel listened to, they need to feel that they can make a difference, and they need to feel appreciated. Easier said than done? O'Reilly shares success stories from Southwest Airlines, Men's Wearhouse, the SAS Institute, and others. He also identifies companies that have tried but failed to change their cultures, and points out the moment of failure. Can organizations change themselves? O'Reilly says yes. And in this lecture he provides a road map for success.

Charles O'Reilly III is the Stanford University Graduate School of Business Frank E. Buck Professor of Management, and has been on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Los Angeles. He holds a BS in chemistry from the University of Texas, as well as an MBA in information systems and a PhD in organizational behavior, both from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. O'Reilly is the author of "Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People."