Cleveland-based manufacturer Lincoln Electric has thrived for more than a century. It survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, the decline of industrial America, and the recent credit crash with impressive profits. While factories across the Midwest fired employees and shuttered their doors, Lincoln Electric fulfilled its promise of “Guaranteed Continuous Employment,” a company pledge to avoid layoffs for economic reasons. By promoting loyalty, trust, and flexibility, Lincoln Electric has built a company of committed, hard-working employees and a reputation of excellence.
In this insightful and spirited investigation, journalist Frank Koller digs deep into Lincoln Electric's inner workings—revealing surprising lessons about what happens when managers view their employees as valued assets rather than costs.
covers the workplace for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Over a twenty-seven-year career with CBC, he has worked and lived around the world as a foreign correspondent, including seven years in the United States. He holds a Master's Degree in Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He lives in Ottawa.
Publishers Weekly“A fascinating glimpse into this remarkable yet, in many ways, ordinary organization, which survives, even thrives, in a sunset industry where overseas outsourcing is the norm.... Instructive and heartening, this book offers a proven model for companies that not only want healthy bottom lines but also satisfied, dedicated employees”
Richard Freeman, Professor of Economics, Harvard University“In a time of recession, massive layoffs, and Wall Street bailouts,
Sparktells the remarkable story of the better side of American capitalism: Lincoln Electric, the billion dollar manufacturer that succeeds by treating its employees the right way. This book should be required reading for everyone who wants to make the economlc“
![Spark: How Old-Fashioned Values Drive a Twenty-First-Century Corporation: Lessons from Lincoln Electric's U [Paperback]](/itemImage/2/0/2/3/2_6589621.jpg "Spark: How Old-Fashioned Values Drive a Twenty-First-Century Corporation: Lessons from Lincoln Electric's U [Paperback]")