Zapp! The Lightning of Empowerment: How to Improve Quality, Productivity, and Employee Satisfaction

by Jeff Cox, William C. Byham, .. Byham, William

Book Overview

A contemporary fable that shows how empowering people--zapping them--builds strong, enthusiastic employees and organizations dedicated to improving quality, sales, and productivity. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0449002829
• Release Date: November 1997
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

An excellent tool for leveling up the people who work for you

Zapp! is a book that my company uses in the management training seminars we give to employees who are taking on management responsibilities for the first time. Lessons on empowerment are told through a fictional (even science fictional) story of managers at a large company coming to understand why their organization is so disfunctional. The story, although initially pretty hokey, serves nicely as a landscape upon which to illustrate extremes of highly successful and highly unsuccessful management techniques. The people on my team who have read it have learned quite a lot and are applying the learnings regularly. It is not at all uncomon for one of them to raise a concern over some a counter-productive management incident by describing the "Sapp!" that occured. And it is rewarding to hear one of them respond to a positive and empowering interaction by smiling and simply saying "Zapp!" I highly recommend this book for people managers and leaders who want to build a healthy business organization based upon ownership and leadership.

Delightful, Practical, Helpful and FUN!

This short book is really one of the best I've found for winding a manager through the dynamics that can disrupt a team. I went through an 18 month management training course and still come back to this book more often. Managers can inspire their teams or deflate their will to keep giving their best. This book uses a fictional world to illustrate how to do that.

So simple and yet so far reaching

This book in fable form offers a real knowledge of what empowerement is about. It also discretly teaches how to progressively achieve an organization of empowered teams. The fable form is very well suited to the purpose. Short, pleasant to read, and to the point.

A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down

Written in the form of a fairy tale, this book provides situational examples of issues that greatly affect employee performance, attitude, and motivation. It's a quick easy read, one that details situations most readers have undoubtedly experienced at work. It's wacky, funny, enlightening and entertaining. Once you get zapped you'll remember just how simple empowerment and motivation can be, and have some tools to improve your organization.

Zapp!: Lighting of Empowerment

Great, super, couldn't put it down! I carried it in my car with me in case I had time between sales calls. I have used this book for the whole company, sales, store operations and office staff. It was perfect. It started a real conversation between my associates. The best thing that happened was we all saw a differnt side to what we do. This book does more for staff attitude and performance than any of those trainers/speakers ever did.It is the perfect tool for non-profit groups. Get more done with your community service time.