Freedom, Inc.

Companies that abandoned command-and-control management for a trusting, nonhierarchical culture are the subject of Brian M. Carney and Isaac Getz. The authors profile leaders at Harley-Davidson, Sun Hydraulics, insurer USAA, Gore & Associates, winemaker Sea Smoke Cellars and the Richardson Group advertising agency, several of whom started from unpromising positions. Their case is that freeing each employee's initiative and willingness to take risks lets such firms outperform rivals in fiercely competitive industries. The practices described include listening to staff instead of issuing orders, treating them as equals, sharing information rather than passing it down a hierarchy, and replacing imposed jobs with chosen commitments. The payoff, they argue, is more loyal and engaged workers along with measurable profit and growth.

Mehdi Kajbaf of Matboard and More said it deepened what he had always sensed about business and people, starting from whether humans are naturally motivated to do good work, and Echoz founder Nicolae Andronic described it as a study of liberated organizations that rely on employees' own judgment instead of a chain of command.