Table Of ContentPraise for 17 Rules Successful Companies
Use to Attract and Keep Top Talent
“This book is packed with lessons for every manager who aspires to attract and
motivate talented people and build a great organization. Russo is able to ground the
best conceptual ideas in the wisdom of his own deep experience and share it all in
an easy-going conversational style.”
—M. Diane Burton, Associate Professor of Management,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“David Russo has spent a lifetime observing employees and organizations. His
down-to-earth admonitions may at first blush seem obvious; however, they are
pearls of wisdom. Leaders of big and small organizations would do well to heed his
counsel and treat their people as if they were volunteers—as if every employee can
indeed make a difference.”
—Thomas J. DeLong, Harvard Business School, Philip J. Stomberg Professor of
Management Practice and co-author of When Professionals Have to Lead:
A New Model for High Performance(Harvard Business School Press, 2007)
“Passionate and dedicated workplaces of talented employees are within every
leader’s reach. David’s been there. He knows. And he gives it to you straight. Apply
his trademark, candid advice that you’ll find in this book, and you will start seeing
significant positive, profitable shifts in your company culture almost immediately. So ptg6011863
listen up!”
—Martha I. Finney, President and CEO, Engagement Journeys, LLC
and author of The Truth About Getting the Best From People
“David Russo is a thoughtful and reflective practitioner. His book, 17 Rules
Successful Companies Use to Attract and Keep Top Talent, should be read by top-
level executives, as well as human resources managers, if they want to know what
actually works with respect to the attraction and retention of talent. The practical
example Russo provides, which comes from his knowledge and experience, makes
this an extremely useful publication.”
—Fred K. Foulkes, Professor of Organizational Behavior, Director, Human
Resources Policy Institute, Boston University, School of Management
“This book is interesting, provocative, and deeply true. Russo’s advice points the
way for leaders to build and sustain high performance organizations. Beautifully
free of jargon and silver bullets, Russo wisely focuses on common sense and
consistent execution.”
—Cade Massey, Professor of Organizational Behavior,
Yale University, School of Management
“Russo packages a career of experience and insight into a set of rules that will save
managers much heartache and a constant ‘comfort’ guide as they face a new people
issue for the first time.”
—Dallas Salisbury, President & CEO,
Employee Benefit Research Institute
From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
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From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
17 Rules Successful
Companies Use to Attract
and Keep Top Talent
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From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
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From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
17 Rules Successful
Companies Use to Attract
and Keep Top Talent
Why Engaged Employees Are Your
Greatest Sustainable Advantage
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David Russo
From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
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Printed in the United States of America
First Printing January 2010
ISBN-10: 0-13-714670-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-714670-3
Pearson Education LTD.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Russo, David F.
17 rules successful companies use to attract and keep top talent : why engaged employees are
your greatest sustainable advantage / David F. Russo.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-714670-3 (hardback : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-13-714670-1 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Personnel management. 2. Supervision
of employees. 3. Leadership. 4. Industrial relations. I. Title. II. Title: Seventeen rules suc-
cessful companies use to attract and keep top talent.
HF5549.R788 2009
658.3’1—dc22
2008041016
From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
Alongside every fledging author there must be a
special person who convinces him that he is much
smarter than he knows he really is. Thanks Marsha!
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From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
Few people you met along the way will remember
how smart you were, how much you accomplished,
or even what you looked like, but everybody will
remember how you made them feel.
—Harry Dawley
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From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Rule #1: Understand Why Employees Come
and Why They Stay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Rule #2: Play “Win-Win” with Your Employees
(and Allow Them to Be All They Can
Be for Self and Company) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Rule #3: Cultivate Leadership, Not Management,
and Know the Difference! . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Rule #4: Provide Ample and Appropriate
Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
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Rule #5: Demand Contribution; Be Worthy of
Receiving It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Rule #6: Applaud Effort; Reward Contribution . . . .61
Rule #7: Cheerlead; The “Magic” of M&Ms . . . . . .71
Rule #8: Build a Workplace on a Foundation
of Respect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Rule #9: Cultivate the Risk-Trust Dynamic . . . . . . .91
Rule #10: Make Room for Fun in the Workplace
(Nurture Lightheartedness/Levity) . . . . .101
Rule #11: Create Opportunities for Employee
“Alignment” with Vision, Values,
and Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
Rule #12: Understand Human Capital . . . . . . . . . . .119
Rule #13: Treat Employees as “Volunteers” . . . . . . .129
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x 17 RULESSUCCESSFULCOMPANIESUSETOATTRACTANDKEEPTOPTALENT
Rule #14: Know Your Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139
Rule #15: Understand the Nature of Change
and Prepare Your Employees to
Embrace It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Rule #16: Cultivate Organizational Ethics;
Demand and Reward Ethical Behavior . .165
Rule #17: The Last and Overarching Rule:
Tell the Truth! (and a Few Action
Items to Grow On) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
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From the Library of ALESSANDRO CAROLLO
