Joy, Inc., Richard Sheridan
Joy, Inc., Richard Sheridan
9 Rating(s)
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Joy, Inc.
How We Built a Workplace People Love

Author: Richard Sheridan

Narrator: Tim Andres Pabon

Unabridged: 7 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 05/01/2014


Synopsis

The moment you walk into Menlo Innovations, you can sense the atmosphere full of energy, playfulness, enthusiasm, and maybe even . . . joy. As a package-delivery person once remarked, “I don’t know what you do, but whatever it is, I want to work here.”

Every year, thousands of visitors come from around the world to visit Menlo Innovations, a small software company in Ann Arbor, Michigan. They make the trek not to learn about technology but to witness a radically different approach to company culture.

CEO and “Chief Storyteller” Rich Sheridan removed the fear and ambiguity that typically make a workplace miserable. His own experience in the software industry taught him that, for many, work was marked by long hours and mismanaged projects with low-quality results. There had to be a better way.

With joy as the explicit goal, Sheridan and his team changed everything about how the company was run. They established a shared belief system that supports working in pairs and embraces making mistakes, all while fostering dignity for the team.

The results blew away all expectations. Menlo has won numerous growth awards and was named an Inc. magazine “audacious small company.” It has tripled its physical office three times and produced products that dominate markets for its clients.

Joy, Inc. offers an inside look at how Sheridan and Menlo created a joyful culture, and shows how any organization can follow their methods for a more passionate team and sustainable, profitable results. Sheridan also shows how to run smarter meetings and build cultural training into your hiring process.

Joy, Inc. offers an inspirational blueprint for listeners in any field who want a committed, energizing atmosphere at work—leading to sustainable business results.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Nate on March 09, 2014

I am grateful for this book. Some partners and I formed a very similar company to Richard at around the same time; he started out Agile whereas we found Agile after a few years of struggle with traditional methods. What Richard describes is music to my ears; Menlo seems to have carried the concepts......more

Goodreads review by Sergey on May 24, 2015

The idea to put employee happiness first in order to make customers happy is not new. What is unusual is the openness with which Richard Sheridan talks about experiments – both successful and failed – that his company ran over the years in pursuit of joy at work. I don't necessarily agree with every......more

Goodreads review by Zach on April 01, 2015

I didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped I would. With a title like "Joy, Inc" and tagline like "How we built a workplace people love," I expected some big transformation leadership ideas. Instead, I found a tedious and detailed account of software project management tactics and methodologies. Additio......more

Goodreads review by SamAnnElizabeth on September 27, 2020

Sheridan's approach really boils down to letting people's lives not be overrun by work and getting rid of the fear of failure at work. One of the most memorable things Sheridan talked about in his presentation was parents being able to bring their babies into the office if they had childcare problem......more

Goodreads review by Nic on August 22, 2019

I love a book that makes me think, and this is definitely one. From the way he tells it Rich Sheridan has done a great job of building a strong business, but more importantly a fantastic culture. His people are happy. On the back of reading this book I'm more sure that's what we should do at Forward......more