For a generation of "corporate guerillas" in the 1970's, Robert Townsend was gadfly-in-chief. The phenomenally successful CEO, who turned around troubled Avis Rent-a-Car, wrote a runaway bestseller titled UP THE ORGANIZATION: How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits that railed against fat-cat complacency, bureaucracy, and bad leadership.

Celebrated by Betty Friedan for encouraging females to enter the executive ranks (when there were no female Fortune 500 CEO's) and Ralph Nader as "a creative business iconoclast and human relations genius," Townsend's original book returns to print by Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint (June 2007). Now 21st century business citizens can learn just how many of Townsend's corporate battles are still to be won, and which of his assertions ring true today.

This new version of UP THE ORGANIZATION is edited by celebrated leadership thinker Warren Bennis -- a lifelong friend of Townsend -- who adds his own heartfelt tribute; the book is also part of his bestselling series of thought- provoking titles. For this printing, he collected essays from many of the best and brightest who worked personally with Townsend. Tributes include "Up the Publisher," by former New Yorker editor and Knopf Editor-in-Chief Robert Gottlieb, USC professor Jim O'Toole, Radica Game's founder and former CEO Bob Davids, and a short bio written by his son, Robert Townsend, Jr.

This edition returns to the original format, which is an A-Z handbook beginning with "Advertising" and ending with "Wearing Out Your Welcome."

Although many of the names and faces in business have changed since 1970, Townsend's prescriptions for more transparency, honesty, and humanity in business still ring true. Above all, Townsend believed that businesses must abandon the idea that people naturally hate work and must be pressured or punished into getting things done. In essence, UP THE ORGANIZATION presents a deceptively simple plan for allowing employees to have fun and create their own motivation for work. Then again, Townsend also warned: "Don't blame me if that doesn't solve any of your problems."

About the Author

Robert C. Townsend (d. 1998) drew upon his early experiences as a banker at American Express Co (1948-1962) to redirect Avis Rent-a-Car as president and chairman. Under his leadership, Avis experienced a celebrated turnaround, fueled by the "We Try Harder" advertising campaign (1962-1965). Townsend was a celebrity in his own right, and a frequent lecturer and talk-show guest.

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UP THE ORGANIZATION:
How to Stop the Corporation from Stifling People
and Strangling Profits, Commemorative Edition
By Robert Townsend
Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint
June 2007; ISBN: 978-0-7879-8775-6; $22.95/Cloth