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  • Published: 1 February 2016
  • ISBN: 9780399165603
  • Imprint: Tarcher
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $35.00

The Best Place to Work

The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace



Now in paperback: A groundbreaking, practical guide for fueling workplace happiness, creativity, and success based on the latest research from the behavioral sciences.

Now in paperback: A groundbreaking, practical guide for fueling workplace happiness, creativity, and success based on the latest research from the behavioral sciences.

For readers of Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink, and Stephen Dubner, a captivating and surprising journey through the science of workplace excellence.

Why do successful companies reward failure? What can casinos teach us about building a happy workplace? How do you design an office that enhances both attention to detail and creativity?

In The Best Place to Work, award-winning psychologist Ron Friedman, Ph.D., uses the latest research from the fields of motivation, creativity, behavioral economics, neuroscience, and management to reveal what really makes us successful at work. Combining powerful stories with cutting-edge findings, Friedman shows leaders at every level how they can promote smarter thinking, greater innovation, and stronger performance.

Among the many surprising insights, Friedman explains how learning to think like a hostage negotiator can help you defuse a workplace argument, why placing a fish bowl near your desk can elevate your thinking, and how incorporating strategic distractions into your schedule can help you make smarter decisions. The book introduces the inventor who created the cubicle, the president who brought down the world's most dangerous criminal, and the teenager who single-handedly transformed professional tennis--vivid stories that offer unexpected revelations on achieving workplace excellence.

The Best Place to Work offers employees and executives alike game-changing advice for working smarter and turning any organization--regardless of its size, budget, or ambitions--into an extraordinary workplace.

  • Published: 1 February 2016
  • ISBN: 9780399165603
  • Imprint: Tarcher
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $35.00

Praise for The Best Place to Work

"What a gem! Enough that it's a thorough, practical manual for optimizing relationships and work environments, based on new and solid research in human behavior--but it's a surprising, witty, well-written, and wonderfully engaging read."
-David Allen, author of Getting Things Done
"We've lost our way. In this stunning book, Ron Friedman helps us get back on track, exploring not only what work is for, but how we can leap forward and become more human, more alive and more effective."
-Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception
"In The Best Place to Work, Ron Friedman examines the factors that take a company from ordinary to extraordinary. The stories in this book . . . pack powerful, research-based lessons for better leadership in the workplace. Friedman's findings are often surprisingly counterintuitive, yet always convincing."
-Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and To Sell Is Human
"An engaging journey through the latest science of improving the quality of life in organizations. Psychologist Ron Friedman examines how to unleash creativity, boost motivation, and offer rewards and recognition that bring people together rather than driving them apart."
-Adam Grant, Wharton professor and author of Give and Take