Enjoyable and Informative

Stern's Management Review, March 10, 1999

A to-the-point examination about why financially successful organizations are those that exhibit excellence in managing and motivating people. These contented cow companies meet three criteria: profitability, continuity and being regarded as a good place to work. Using lots of examples, the author's explore what such companies do. The book covers many subjects and offers a good deal of sound, practical advice. It also makes a convincing argument for thinking of people as the primary source of achieving the competitive advantage. Enjoyable, informative reading.

Terrific Primer

Across The Board Magazine, September 1998

Bookstores are swamped with indistinguishable volumes about employee motivation and commitment, so it's a pleasant surprise to find that Contented Cows has more than a catchy title and cover photo (a cow in a suit) to recommend it.   Consultants Catlette and Hadden begin by singling out companies ranked as desirable places to work and showing how their financial success is a direct result of their employees' satisfaction.  While good employment practices obviously aren't solely responsible for soaring profits, "it's impossible for any labor-intensive business to get to (let alone stay at) the top without having adopted such practices."

In bright prose, the authors go on to discuss pro-employee decisions of companies ranging from Chick-fil-A to the Dallas Cowboys, and the happy business results.  A few examples are overfamiliar (Malden Mills' Aaron Feuerstein, yet again) but most aren't, and all are useful.  Executives who have struggled with these issues may find Contented Cows a bit glib, with its quips, line drawings, brief chapter summaries, and short-attention-span layout, but it's a terrific primer - or reminder - of what Corporate America could be doing better with regard to workers.

Does Making Employees 'Happy' Pay Off?

What's Working in Human Resources, May 20, 1998

Most HR pros agree that, in their guts, they know it pays to get employees to really like coming to work.

Now there's a book that proves that point.

It's called "Contented Cows Give Better Milk". The title is cute, but the facts are plain. Companies that make employees happy outgrow competitors by a 4:1 margin and out-earn them by more than 2:1.

Treating Workers Well Pays

Max Jarman, Workplace, The Arizona Republic, May 31, 1998

Companies that have a reputation for treating their employees well not only have an easier time attracting the best workers, but they also do better financially.  That according to Human Resource Specialists Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden. ...  In the analysis, the contented cow group experienced revenue growth four times greater than the regular cows, as an aggregate, $40 billion more. Finally, while the regular cow group lost 61,000 jobs, the contented ones created 79,000 jobs.

Catlette and Hadden have also created a 'virtual' mutual fund comprised of companies that have earned reputations as 'employers of choice'.  When tracked over the past three years, the Contented Cow Fund outperformed the S&P 500 index by almost 20 percent!

Moo! Book tells how to create greener pastures

Gary Gosselin, published in newspapers throughout Michigan

Why would anyone name a business book 'Contented Cows Give Better Milk'?

Perhaps because the title relates to the fact that contented cows do give better, or at least more milk and that philosophy can be translated into the human experience.

No, not directly.  We can't make better employees by giving them more hay or whatever it is they eat.  But there are some different things to do to , or more aptly for, humans. ......

Now, before you dismiss the book and/or notion as namby-pamby liberal social experimentation, understand that the authors have nearly 30 years of experience in business. They spent two years researching and finding concrete examples to back up their thesis. ....

So, Contented Cows takes a decidedly capitalistic view of the benefits of rewarding employees, because it helps the business make money......

The tone of the book is informal and conversational, making this 201 pages easy and actually interesting to read.

Internet Reviews and Reader Comments

Contented Cows Give Better Milk : The Plain Truth About Employee Relations & Your Bottom Line — Bill Catlette, Richard Hadden - BUY IT!

This is a great new book that fits in very nicely with Paddi Lund's "Building the Happiness Centred Business". It puts Paddi's ideas to actual statistical numbers...and guess what? There's alot of profit in happy. An easy read with plenty of practical advice for having your own happy pasture with actual corporate stories. The "contented cows" include Southwest Airlines, FedEx, Hewlett-Packard, Wal-Mart, General Electric and 3M.

Review by Brenda Wiley

Review by National Association of Female Executives

Once you get past the bizarre photo of a cow on the book jacket—and the initially off-putting metaphor of employees as livestock—this is actually a good book. Human relations coaches Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden remind readers of a valuable management lesson: A person’s output is directly related to her satisfaction with work. Although the authors set about to prove their point using big-company examples, their advice is particularly useful for small ventures trying to compete in today’s tight labor market. Of course, there are employees who will never be happy (we all know a few of those). That’s why hiring people who are content with themselves is your first step. Thereafter, managers and small-business owners need to offer employees: 1) meaningful work, 2) high standards, 3) a clear sense of purpose and direction, and 4) an investment—that is, say the authors, “a winning company enables employees with internal systems that support rather than impede their efforts.” Give your workers training, tools, trust, and more tidbits from this book, and watch the “cows” come home.

Review by VitalWork

Contented Cows Give Better Milk : The...Contented Cows Give Better Milk, by Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden

If you are a member of the choir I am not sure you can be trusted when offering your opinion about the preacher.In the case of Contented Cows…, I am definitely among the previously converted but will offer my opinion nonetheless. It is the year 2000 and American businesses have been at this process of creating viable workplaces for several hundred years. From Reading Catlette and Hadden’s account of what is going on out there in the world of work it seems clear that we still have a ways to go but there is evidence that some of us employers are catching on….and many still are not.

…”Cows…” is the authors crack at the still pervasive mindset which has consistently produced non-human friendly work environments for over two centuries, and a mighty crack it is. It must be really hard to understand the concept that when people feel appreciated and have the opportunity to make an authentic contribution doing meaningful work, they will jump at the chance.

As documented by the authors,we keep missing the point and in the case of Catlette and Hadden,they offer inescapable evidence for anyone willing to be honest with themselves.

One way of reading …”Cows…” is to see it as a blue-print for Human Resource Strategy and in this regard it appears to be very comprehensive, pragmatic and most importantly capitalistic in it’s approach,a point they emphasize more than once. It is also nice to read something by guys who have been there and not just conducted experiments on college sophomores. Catlette and Hadden are no strangers to the workplace, having both paid their dues and now being willing to share the knowledge they have gained by successfully implementing the practices they are suggesting.

I think most readers will find the somewhat tongue in cheek tone very refreshing and thank goodness because if we couldn’t continue to laugh at ourselves as we attempt to get this workplace stuff right, it would all be too too tragic to deal with.

Don’t give this book to your HR managers,give it to the executive team and then sit down with them and discuss what you are going to do about your own situation. After you have done that visit our website http://www.vitalwork.com and take a look at our selection model and see if it doesn’t sound like what Catlette and Hadden are suggesting as a starting point for change. Well,right after you’ve had the major epiphany of course.

This book provides excellent information on how to transform your workplace into an environment where your employees will want to come to work and stay longer. Useful for large or small companies. The bottom line is if you treat people right, you will make more money.

--Angela Bernardoni, AB Associates

"It's a great book I wish every owner of a company and manager would read!"
--Sandra Sullivan

"Quantitative, yet qualitative employee satisfaction approach.
I have read hundreds of management books and found "Contented Cows" to be one of the most enlightening and refreshing, yet statiscally valid approaches to improving performance and productivity through improved employee relations. As a fellow management consultant, I like the way this book depicts the importance of creating a "healthy" environment starting at the top of the organization, yet at the same time showing ways that a front-line manager can make a grass roots change initiative.. I like your "No Excuse" type of mentality. I am a facilitator for accountability at all levels, and this book hits it right on the head. Thanks Richard and Bill for the fascinating and effective ways in which you present your methodologies for change. "
--Jacque Nelson, Salt Lake City, UT

"Talk about great Customer Service!! Outstanding !! Thank you. At our General Staff meeting, we discussed our expectations of your book. We are excited about an open discussion of salient points raised in the book, and will take action based on that discussion."
--Dave Ricker

"Half-way through the book, the light bulb didn't just come on...it exploded."
--Todd David

"Contented Cows Give Better Milk puts the numbers (profits) behind the principles that I have always believed.  Treating employees and customers "right" is good for business, maybe not this month or this quarter, but for companies that are in it for the long haul.   I work in the software business, where the main assets walk out the front door every day. When those assets are more productive (contented), the company (and its customers) receives maximum benefits.   I am so excited about this book, that I ordered one for the President of my company. I believe that the principles presented here can be the difference between a good company and a great company."
--Glenda Maloney, Logility, Inc.

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