The Peaceable Kingdom Building a Company without Factionalism, Fiefdoms, Fear and Other Staples of Modern Business

by Richards, Stan

• ISBN13: 9780471391166
• ISBN10: 0471391166
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-03-15
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

"Fresh, provocative, and powerful. Had I read this book before I started building a company of my own, it would have saved me a great deal of time and pain."-Sam Hill, President, Helios Consulting, Coauthor, Radical Marketing and The Infinite Asset "In this insane world of ephemeral company loyalty and revolving doors to top positions, Stan Richards has clearly outlined exceedingly sane ways for any company to retain star performers by creating an environment that fundamentally rejects office politics."-Dick Hammill, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Advertising, The Home Depot "For the three decades during which I was building Mullen, my hero wasn't in New York-he was in Dallas. Stan Richards built a quintessentially creative agency from the uncommon clay of courage, generosity, common sense, loyalty, and integrity. If you'd like to be famous, respected, loved, and rich, here's the manual."-Jim Mullen, Founder, Mullen Advertising "Keeping the creative spirit alive with every member of your team as your company grows should be your highest priority. The Peaceable Kingdom clearly describes how to keep the spirit alive and how to encourage every member of the team to constantly focus on improving the company and its services every day."-H. Ross Perot The Peaceable Kingdom is a story like no other-one that reveals how a company that admittedly refers to itself as strange and odd nevertheless became one of the most closely watched, respected, and profitable businesses in the advertising industry. This eye-opening book takes you inside the doors of The Richards Group, which managed to survive and prosper in this cutthroat business by defying many truisms not only for ad agencies but for businesses in general. Company founder Stan Richards, along with David Culp, unveils how unconventional methods and a willingness to break down barriers earned them an A client list including Nokia, Home Depot, Motel 6, Fruit of the Loom, Corona, and Chick-fil-A. Read The Peaceable Kingdom and see how your company-no matter the industry-can follow in their footsteps and build a more harmonious, productive, and prosperous business.

Author Biography

STAN RICHARDS is the founder of The Richards Group, a Dallas-based ad agency that was named Adweek‘s "Southwest" Agency of the Year in 1984, 1988, 1990, and 1994. In addition, the company has won eleven Clio Awards since its founding in 1976.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Tearing Down the Walls	xi
Tribalism Is Alive and Well---Let's Kill It	1	(32)
Invisible barriers in your company sap your energy and spoil your fun
And visible barriers only exacerbate the problem
It doesn't have to be that way
Barely Managing	33	(26)
How we operate a successful company without GUM (gratuitous use of management)
Learning to Function without Dysfunction	59	(16)
Building an open workplace requires rethinking a lot of the usual ways of business
But believe me, you won't miss them
Who Is Stan Richards, and Where Did He Get This Stuff?	75	(36)
A brief history of The Richards Group and how its open workplace got to be that way
Putting More Force in Your Workforce	111	(30)
What I've learned about hiring, training, and retaining terrific people
And, now and then, saying so long (at least for a while)
Fearless Collaboration, Free Communication, and Other Unnatural Acts	141	(22)
Peaceful, and prosperous, coexistence with your fellow citizens of the peacable kingdom
The Gentleperson's Guide to Making a Killing	163	(30)
Clients, agencies, and some proposals for how both can conduct the dance more gracefully - and successfully
Bizarre Practices of the Financial Kind	193	(12)
How we handle and discuss money is at the heart of our open workplace
Branding: The Secret to a Business without Barriers	205	(26)
Some discipline in managing your most valuable asset can turn your company into a single, unstoppable interest group
Turning the Barge	231	(8)
Some final thoughts before you set off to change your company's culture
As long as you're not expecting an instant turnaround, you might actually enjoy it
Acknowledgments	239	(2)
Index	241