Slack: Getting Past Burnout, Busywork, and the Myth of Total Efficiency

In an era of expense-slashing and 24/7 work schedules, the notion of corporations cutting themselves a little slack may seem far-fetched. But as the old ideal of the lean and mean staff proves to have negative consequences, "slack" is becoming the critical factor in a company's ability to grow, maintain profitability, and adjust to marketplace changes. Slack is the cutting-edge guide to capitalizing on these revolutionary principles.

Acclaimed management consultant Tom DeMarco, whose clients include such giants as Hewlett Packard and IBM, has spent years studying this critical but neglected corporate strategy. Without time built in for managers and workers to spend thinking about new ideas, he's shown, companies can't effectively respond to sudden events, and they won't have enough flexibility to change when necessary, or to take needed risks. And forget about fostering creativity. As companies have becomes slaves to head counts, overloading workers with multiple job descriptions, the result is not necessarily soaring revenues; turnover, stagnation, disloyalty, and slowdown are the most likely outcomes.

A counterintuitive approach that works for new- and old-economy companies alike, Slack debunks commonly held assumptions about personnel management and replaces them with an innovative model for true effectiveness — and a healthier bottom line.

“"An irreverent counterpoint to treatises about corporate efficiency. Brisk, compelling, and hard to put down." Financial Executive "Tom DeMarco goes after one of the most pervasive and pernicious myths of business--that humans are efficient the same way machines are. Slack will change the way you manage and understand your business." David Weinberger, author of The Cluetrain Manifesto "In times of many layoffs, shrinking staffs, vanishing 'think time,' middle managerial heads rolling, and mounting pressure to produce more faster . . . there are few limits on who can get some thoughts from [ Slack ]." CNN.com From the Trade Paperback edition.”

"An irreverent counterpoint to treatises about corporate efficiency. Brisk, compelling, and hard to put down." -"Financial Executive""Tom DeMarco goes after one of the most pervasive and pernicious myths of business--that humans are efficient the same way machines are. "Slack" will change the way you manage and understand your business." -David Weinberger, author of "The Cluetrain Manifesto" "In times of many layoffs, shrinking staffs, vanishing 'think time, ' middle managerial heads rolling, and mounting pressure to produce more faster . . . there are few limits on who can get some thoughts from ["Slack"]." -"CNN.com"

Tom DeMarco is an international management consultant with clients in numerous industries. His previous books include Deadline and peopleware.

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