Everybody Matters

Magazine Starting in 1997, Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller have pioneered a dramatically different approach to leadership that creates off-the-charts morale, loyalty, creativity, and business performance. The company utterly rejects the idea that employees are simply functions to be moved around, “managed” with carrots and sticks, or discarded at will. Instead, Barry-Wehmiller manifests the reality that every single person matters, just like in a family. It’s not a cliché on a mission statement; it’s the bedrock of the company’s success. It’s natural to be skeptical when you first hear about this approach. Every time Barry-Wehmiller acquires a company whose team members have experienced more traditional management practices, the new team members are skeptical too. But they soon learn what it’s like to work at an exceptional company where the goal is for everyone to feel trusted and cared for—and where it’s expected that they will justify that trust by caring for one another and putting the common good first. Chapman and coauthor Raj Sisodia show how any organization can reject the traumatic consequences of rolling layoffs, dehumanizing rules, and hypercompetitive cultures. In this tenth anniversary update to Everybody Matters, Chapman and Sisodia share new statistics and analysis on the leadership crisis that continues to plague modern businesses and that only Truly Human Leadership—pioneered at Barry-Wehmiller—can fix. Packed with additional insights gained over a decade as the company has evolved, weathered a pandemic, and grown from $1.7 billion in annual revenue with 100 acquisitions to $3.6 billion with more than 140 acquisitions, this updated classic is needed now more than ever. As Chapman says, “The way we lead impacts the way people live.” Once you stop treating people like functions or costs, disengaged workers begin to share their gifts and talents in service of a shared future. Uninspired workers stop feeling that their jobs have no meaning. Frustrated workers stop taking their bad days out on their spouses and kids. And everyone stops counting the minutes until it’s time to go home. This is the journey documented in Everybody Matters; now it’s time to transform your own workplace.