In July of 2011, the final Space Shuttle flight landed safely at the Kennedy Space Center. For NASA (and in particular, the Human Resources community), we faced the most significant workforce transition since the Apollo era. Our Director of the Johnson Space Center, Mike Coats, liked to say that Shuttle Transition was about three things, “1. People. 2. People. And 3. People.” He would’ve appreciated the book I read recently called Treat People Right! by Edward E. Lawler III (2003)…that describes Mike Coats’ leadership.
I recognized Lawler’s name from my days in graduate school for HR Management. Dr. Lawler has been studying, teaching and writing about HR management and organization effectiveness for more than 40 years.
In this book, he outlines seven principles for how organizations and individuals can propel each other into a virtuous spiral of success.