Slack

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 capitalising on these revolutionary principles. Acclaimed management consultant Tom De Marco 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 become 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.