This book catches the crest of the post-empowerment, post-New-Leadership wave and is highly recommneded reading for anyone who wants to know about modern management ideas and practices. It has perhaps the best available description of the role of leadership in new, team-based, flat-org-chart work environments.

Among its virtues are terseness, practical aids, and reference to empircially based research. While its use of acronym-style models may not appeal to everyone, the authors mercifully do not push this aspect excessively. Page for page, its ideas are sound, clear and made relevant and applicable.

The book thus quite lives up to its intention of providing a mental model and practical support for "grassroots leadership". Even so, one can expect further advances in such thought, as well as even more popularization capable of absorption by actually "everyone".

Fourteen years have passed since the original publication of this book, and we are now in what is called the post-empowerment era. Nevertheless Block's text remains its fundamental status, and its relevance and value have in no way diminished.

"The Empowered Manager" would be on any short list of the most important management books ever written if only on account of its classical exposition of one of perhaps the most significant idea in late twentieth century management practice. In addition, every page contains sage practical advice of benefit to anyone who wants to be more than a slave or a drone at work.

Check out Bergmann et al's "Everyone a Leader" and Hirschhorn's "Reworking Authority" for some more recent developments in this area. But do not fail to read this book: its wisdom is inspirational, and Block's fine style makes it a treat to read.

Maverick has a good claim to must read status for those interested in modern management in that it is probably the best exposition of a democratic workplace in successful practice. As both the story of a company and the autobiography of a unique business leader, it is of interest in various ways.

Semler's account of how he arrived at Semco's democratic organizational culture is a fascinating case of personal growth. Some readers, however, may be less interested in "how I got there" and some of the Brazilian background than in its account what Semco has actually achieved in workplace governance. In this respect, Maverick is a seminal book, because Semco's management style is so unusual. Just reading about it is a liberating experience!

As to practical application, the book has some very readable sections such as the excerpts from the famous Semco operating manual, its glossary (which has "valuably eccentric" ideas), and a test for employees to rate supervisors. These sections give a very good introduction to empowerment and workplace democracy that can be read usefully anybody.

Put Maverick's operating philosophy together with Tom Peter's reinventing work ideas (most particularly in his The Circle of Innovation). Then, add in some Greenleaf servant leadership and combine with some shared vision (a la Chapter 11 of Senge's Fifth Discipline). You then have an excellent recipe for best practice 21st century management. More books like this showing in detail how advanced ideas actually have been successfully implemented in the workplace are very much needed.