The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Description

As Subir Chowdhury makes clear, while improving a company's processes is vital, if you don't focus first on your people -- your employees -- the best processes in the world won't get you where you want to go. In the bestselling tradition of The Fred Factor and What the CEO Wants You to Know, bestselling author and quality guru Subir Chowdhury (The Power of Six Sigma), tackles a question that has haunted him in his consulting work with companies for years. Why is it that some companies improve 50x, while others improve only incrementally? The ideas and training, after all, is the same. What is the difference? That is the question he tackles in this compelling and empowering new book. In The Difference, Subir Chowdhury looks at what distinguishes a company that adopts his quality training processes, and improves 5x, versus a company that adopts the same training and consulting, but increases their profits and quality 50x. The difference, he claims, is this short, engaging, and insightful book, is the people in your workplace, on your staff, in your executive offices. The best processes and training programs in the world will not lead to world-class operations, unless a company first looks to the people who make up their workforce. Only by creating a "caring mindset" -- a culture built upon straightforwardness, honest and openness; a management structure that thinks about the concerns of their people; a workplace that inspires accountability and engagement; and managers and employees who tackle the challenges they face with perseverance and resolve, can companies flourish and excel.

Subir Chowdhury is an enormously successful management consultant and quality guru who works with major Fortune 500 companies to improve their processes, operations, quality and performance. He is the bestselling author of The Power of Six Sigma (Dearborn, 2003, 300, 000 copies), and The Ice Cream Maker (Crown Business, 2007, 50,000 copies). He lives in Los Angeles and Dearborn, Michigan.

"Only organizations driven by purpose and values will be fully able to shape and benefit from the seismic technological, social and economic transformations underway. Klaus Schwab compellingly outlines why all of us must work to ensure that the Fourth Industrial Revolution has at its heart the stakeholder principle, ensuring that the benefits of transformation are as much a public good as a private gain. This book is required reading for my entire leadership team." -Marc R. Benioff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce, USA: "In The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Professor Klaus Schwab puts forth a thoughtful framework for leaders to meet the challenge of maximizing the benefits of the profound technological, social and economic transformation reshaping society. Drawing on over four decades of bringing together governments, private sector and other parts of civil society, Schwab starts a wide-ranging discussion on how we can help to ensure that the Fourth Industrial Revolution drives progress for humankind." - Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and founder of LeanIn.Org "This book is essential reading for corporate leaders, policy makers and citizens interested in navigating the challenges and understanding the opportunities which lie ahead thanks to the impact of emerging technologies. Clearly, the profound shifts happening will leave no business model untouched and no society unshaken. Klaus Schwab reminds us of our individual and collective power to ensure that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a far more sustainable, empowering and inclusive one than the last three." - Muhtar A. Kent, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, USA: "From how we work and share information to how we address global crises like fresh water and climate change, we know that technology will define humanity's future. Here Klaus Schwab provides an excellent framework for thinking about how we can shape technology to deliver a future society in keeping with our deepest human values." - L. Rafael Reif, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA: "All of us are truly excited about the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the changes it will bring to our companies, industries and countries. History, however, tells us that major economic disruptions come with social and political challenges that demand new ways of thinking, organizing and working together. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is in equal parts an eye-opening assessment of emerging technologies, a sobering look at the potential negative impacts of transforming systems, and a hopeful call to action. - Carl-Henric Svanberg, Chairman, BP, United Kingdom