Unleashing Human Energy: From a Toxic Culture to a High Energy, High Performance Organization

Organizations of all types have been plagued by low productivity and poor engagement of workers. At a time when international competition is strong, and hiring and retaining workers is a challenge, companies need to invest in creating a positive culture if they are to remain economically viable.

In "Unleashing Human Energy Through Culture Change" authors Donald Rust and Alan Weinstein recount the story of how General Motors’ largest engine plant moved from being on the brink of being shut down, to becoming the top-producing engine plant within the GM organization. Decades later, the plant remains one of the company’s most productive facilities.

Don Rust’s values—fostered growing up on an Upper-Midwest farm—led him to challenge the way workers were treated at the company’s Tonawanda, New York, engine plant. As plant manager, he became the change agent who energized both management and workers to partner, leading to positive and profitable culture changes—no small feat given the animosity that existed between managers and union workers.

Using Rust’s experiences as a benchmark, the authors identify the reasons for poor performance at any organization, not just those in the manufacturing sector:
• industrial warfare (employee/management conflict)
• industrial depression (employee disengagement)
• bully management
• overemphasis on short term profits
• lack of job security
• dull and uninspiring work and working conditions

"Unleashing Energy Through Culture Change" is a practical guide to culture change based on a set of three core values:
• faith that workers want to be productive
• trust between workers and management
• respect for all employees
The book shows readers how they can bring real, transformational change to their own organizations.

“Alan and Don have cut though theory and conjecture to communicate a real-world guide for executives to address the challenges of changing a culture head on. This is a must read for leaders who find themselves handicapped by unproductive culture”
—Sam Reese, Chief Executive Officer, Vistage International

“Your culture activates your people; your people drive your success. Alan and Don use a real-world manufacturing environment to teach us how to develop and use a positive employee-focused workplace culture to unleash employees’ energy, activate their engagement, and amplify their performance. They demonstrate how caring, connection, and communication can change even the toughest workplaces into high-performing successes. This is practical wisdom that will benefit every organization and should be the focus of business leaders everywhere.”
—Jay Forte, MBA, CPC, ELI-MP, Executive Coach, Author, Consultant and President of The Forte Factor

“While the story Rust and Weinstein share is about the auto industry and GM in particular, it’s a far more universal story than that. It’s a story that shows the very real impact—on people, on productivity, and on profits—of creating a positive workplace culture. It’s a story that more leaders need to know.”
—David Friedman, CEO of High Performing Culture, and author of "Fundamentally Different" and "Culture by Design

Donald L. Rust spent four decades as a manager in General Motors. He demonstrated his willingness to break the managerial mold at GM and become a change agent, showing positive results at every position he held and culminating in what may be the largest and most impactful culture change within the GM organization. Alan G. Weinstein is an organizational psychologist who has taught courses and consulted for companies in organizational change. As a PhD student, he interned at General Motors. He was also a consultant at the Tonawanda Engine Plant both before and after Don Rust became plant manager there, witnessing firsthand the changes to the culture of the plant as they occurred.