“The only way we’ll have any kind of widespread job security in today’s business environment is if we change our thinking as to what makes good management. Instead of praising corporations that downsize, we need to look at their actions as admissions of failure. We don’t need layoffs – we need creativity.”

These words were the inspiration for writing Spark, my first book. They were spoken by the head of Lincoln Electric, a manufacturing company in Cleveland, Ohio that rejects normal North American business practice by refusing to lay off its employees in tough times. The company’s century-long record of profitability and innovation is proof that trust, flexibility and fairness can inspire people to achieve amazing things when they are confident that their future – and that of their families – is secure.

This is the story that Spark tells. It’s a view of the world of work which has shaped my career as a journalist for nearly 30 years.

Spark How Old-Fashioned Values Drive a Twenty-First Century Corporation:
Lessons from Lincoln Electric’s Unique Guaranteed Employment Program

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