Book Structure
The contents of this book are set out in eleven chapters plus a Conclusion as follows:
Part I: The Fascinating History of Work |
| |
1. |
The Agricultural Age: Before and After |
| |
2. |
The Industrial Age |
| |
3. |
The Information Age |
Part II: Information Age Work and Lifestyle: The Fascinating History of Work |
| |
4. |
How We're Working Today |
| |
5. |
The Golden Age of Entrepreneurship |
Part III: Why the Five-hour Workday Works |
| |
6. |
Why Employees Will Thrive |
| |
7. |
Why Companies Will Thrive |
Part IV: The Tower Paddle Boards Experiment |
| |
8. |
The Final Influence towards my Leap of Faith |
| |
9. |
Implementing the Five-hour Workday at Our Company |
Part V: The Future of Work |
| |
10. |
How We Might Live and Work Soon |
| |
11. |
The Renaissance Economy |
|
Conclusion
|
This book has a total of 268 pages, including the Introduction, but does not have an index or Glossary of terms. It's just not that sort of book. So, you may be asking why am I reviewing this book amongst a long series of technical books on project management?
The answer is because it deals with a pressing issue in the hi-tech industry, the source of the majority of today's projects and, indeed, the trend in many industries. According to the author, you will learn how to:[7]
- Improve business operations, efficiency, and profitability;
- Attract the brightest minds, the hardest workers, and the best performers;
- Stimulate employee performance and increase retention rates;
In ways that:
- Can be implemented and tested at your company, temporarily and without risk, and
- Can change your life into something better than you ever imagined possible;
All within a five-hour workday!
As the author explains:[8]
"Today, we're in the midst of a massive productivity shift for knowledge workers. And yet, the eight-hour workday hasn't changed."
He goes on to explain:
"A century ago, Henry Ford saw a sea change in worker productivity. It was the industrial revolution. Productivity and profitability soared. By giving more to his workers, he changed the quality of life of an entire nation. Today, we're in the midst of a massive productivity shift for knowledge workers. And yet, the eight-hour workday hasn't changed.
Until now, that is."
This book is about a company that had the courage to try an experiment towards re-inventing a more sensible, productive, healthy workday for today's knowledge workers, and explains why and how. The book is well written in an easy style to read.
And, oh yes, the book actually mentions the word "project" about three times.
7. Ibid, back cover
8. Ibid
|
Introduction
