Pockets of improvement in an organization sometimes go unnoticed. However, in the story behind this book, the pocket became the guiding beacon of the whole organization that eventually protects it from being shut down and employees from being laid off.

When I read this story, I remember wondering, can this story be true? It is too good to be true. First, to have a manager who is willing to listen to one of his department managers, especially when his talk sounds more like that of a poem than a manager. someone who speaks from the heart to the heart of others, rather than from the checkbook to people’s pockets.

“Gung Ho” is the title of this week’s book which is written by Ken Blanchard And Sheldon Bowles. The business novel is based on the story of Walton works 2 plant, which was lacking in productivity and being eyed by its owner for closure. However, Peggy Sinclair, the general manager, was determined to pull it through this ordeal and to save her operation from a fateful ending that seemed inevitable.

In her desperate attempts to do so, and as she is going through performance numbers of her operations’ different departments, she notices that this one department always ended up beating its targets consistently, day in day out. Amazed at this one of a kind performance at her plant, she summons in the department manager to find out his secret to success, hoping it might help resolve her overall plant problems.

Andy Longclaw, a native American, was the department manager and it turned out to be that he was running his department based on ancient wisdom of his ancestors. The open minded general manager decides to listen and learn from this inspired manager, who bases his philosophy of management on observing the behavior of animals in the wild.

Throughout the book, the department manager takes his boss back to mother nature to demonstrate to her the spirit of the squirrel, way of the beaver, and the gift of the goose. From each of these animals, Long Claw demonstrates important workplace values for the organization, managers, and employees. The results of these nature based lessons becomes the game plan to save the Walton Works 2 plant.

I did not give away the story here as this is only the beginning. There are inspiring thoughts in this book to help build workplace values, motivation, and team spirit.

One of the most inspiring things from the book for me was learning why migrating geese fly in a V shape form on their winter and summer seasons flights. This flight formation allows each goose in the sequence to gain momentum and lift from the goose ahead of it, which makes her flying a bit less hard than the leading goose. Then, each goose takes a turn in the lead position while the previous leader takes a rest, and so on. Geese take turns in the leader position so they give each other rest on their long trips in the summer and winter seasons.

This book is not for everyone. If a person is looking for hard facts and direct money based formulas for improving profits, Gung Ho might not be the best choice for him. However, for those looking for inspiration in guiding their organizations and teams to success, very few books can beat this one. Actually, Gung Ho became a business improvement plan that many have studied and used successfully to improve the morale and productivity of their business.

The hard cover book of almost 300 pages became a number one national best seller in the United States. It was originally published in 1997 and repeatedly republished in later years.

 Ken Blanchard is a well known business writer who authored and coauthored many best seller books including Raving Fans, also with Sheldon Bowles, and the One Minute Manager. Sheldon Bowles is also a best selling author, speaker, and successful entrepreneur.