06/ 02/ 2004
Slack: Getting Past Busywork, Burnout, and the Myth of Total Efficiency, by Tom DeMarco Broadway, $23.Here's a nice response to all the emphasis on 24/7 workdays and multitasking your days away. Author DeMarco argues that frantic schedules not only engender stress and a culture of fear, they will also slow down your company. This is because the more efficient you get, the harder it is to change. And as everyone's heard by now, flexibility to change is the key to running a successful company. DeMarco shows how slack -- the time and freedom from control that business owners and employees need for reinvention, creativityand growth -- results in better employee retention and an increased capacity for risk-taking.
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