Cambridge Business Association
Hug Your People
Book

Hug Your People

The Proven Way to Hire, Inspire, and Recognize Your Employees to Achieve Remarkable Results

Jack Mitchell
Hyperion, 2008
Buy book or audiobook

Read or listen offline

Amazon Kindle
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×

Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Some business executives go out of their way to be mean to their employees. Just watch real-estate magnate Donald Trump on The Apprentice, a TV show where young entrepreneurs do their best not to be fired ignominiously by the scowling mogul. Trump does everything possible to demean the show’s eager participants. Or take the late billionaire New York City hotel owner Leona Helmsley: She was the hated “Queen of Mean.” She once ordered an employee to get on his knees and beg for his job. She served 19 months in prison for tax evasion and her will designated more money to her dog than to any one of her grandchildren. In contrast, take author Jack Mitchell, CEO of a popular Connecticut retail clothing firm. He believes in treating employees with courtesy, consideration and respect. In this book, he explains why this approach is good business. Maybe the corporate world should immediately replace its soulless sourpusses with warmhearted business leaders like Mitchell. getAbstract recommends reading his book to learn how to run a profitable business while treating your employees with honor and dignity.

Summary

Your Business Needs Your People

Many company leaders claim that their associates (a much better term than “employees”) are their most valuable assets, even if they do not always treat them in that light. The most important rule for business leaders to remember is, “Everyone wants to feel appreciated.”

Treat staffers with respect and consideration every day, not once a quarter or once a year during some employee-recognition event. This is the right thing to do and it is smart business. If you fail to treat people properly, you’ll harm your firm: Your employees will be unhappy; they will not feel motivated and their productivity will suffer. They will feel no loyalty to your firm. Do not keep your associates at a psychological distance. Hug them metaphorically (and even physically). Make your company “people-centric.”

Keep five principles in mind as you organize your company’s relationship with your associates: “be nice”; “trust”; “instill pride”; “include”; and “generously recognize them.” Employing these actions in a personalized way will guarantee a loyal workforce.

How to Be Nice

What is your true attitude toward your employees? Do you regard ...

About the Author

Jack Mitchell is the CEO of Mitchells/Richards/Marshs, a Connecticut-based high-end clothing retailer with $70 million in annual sales. He wrote the bestseller Hug Your Customers.

Comment on this summary