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First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently (精装)
by Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman
| Category:
Management, Leadership, Strategy |
| Market price: ¥ 318.00
MSL price:
¥ 258.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Based on Gallup Group's in-depth interviews of over 80,000 successful managers, this book reveals the core characteristics of great managers and great workplaces. |
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AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 14 items |
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Colle Davis (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-15 00:00>
For the last 23 years I've been an executive coach working with mostly upper level managers and when this book first came out in 19999 one of my clients sent me a copy. Within two months I was using it as the basis for a class I've been teaching to companies ranging from logistics to manufacturing to entertainment to retail. It is simply the best management book ever written. Nothing before or since comes close. I recommend it to all of my clients and prospect and anyone else who will listen.
This book carefully details exactly what's needed to be a top level manager and how to get the maximum performance from all of your people on a consistent basis. You'll love the fact that you get to break all the rules to make your job work better for you and your people. Yes you can have favorites, yes you can treat people differently and yes you can even be grumpy sometimes. When your people trust you they will follow you even at a high cost to themselves.
If you're currently in a management position you can learn how to become far more effective in working with your people and what they need from you to excel and to enjoy their time at work.
If you'll soon to be a manager or desire to soon be one then this is the fastest way to make the transition to excellence.
If you're an employee here's your chance to retrain your boss/manager to become more effective and more fun to work with.
If you're the boss or owner you need to make sure everyone in your organization has a copy of this book AFTER you've read it and begin to implement the suggestions. |
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D. Luffineuse (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-15 00:00>
The book is based on the results of two research studies undertaken by the Gallup Organization over the last 25 years. The first study was about finding what top performing employees need from their workplace. Once this study revealed that one of the most important needs was to have a great manager, Gallup focused the second study on discovering the traits of great managers.
The book then goes about summarizing the results of these two studies. In my view it doesn't really break all the rules as the title leads to believe but it does highlight a few interesting points that do indeed challenge conventional wisdom about people management.
One of the key messages of the book is that a good manager should select for talent (not just skills and/or knowledge as we sometimes do by focusing on the resume and the experience), define the right outcomes (in other words provide a specific and measurable definition of the targets and not of the means to achieve those targets), focus on strengths (and not try to fix the weaknesses per se), and find the right fit (the role that fits the talents and doesn't require the non-talents - what the authors call a good casting). The manager then becomes a catalyst whose main role it is to transform those talents into performance and excellence that is aligned with the business strategies.
It does also make a plea for favoritism, i.e. spend the bulk of your time with your top performers and not with your `problem' employees. The reasons for this are that a) it is the fairest thing to do (obviously those people put in the work, they perform, and therefore they deserve the attention), b) it is the best way for you as a manager to learn (you learn by observing your top performers), c) it is the only way to stay focused on excellence.
Other than those two messages the book also talks briefly about career development, handling of poor performers, and interestingly also how to handle a not-so-great boss. Overall the book is interesting, an easy read, and it does provide some good insights. It does also provide a few easily applicable ideas that you can take back to your work environment and experiment with. |
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Michael Gordon (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-15 00:00>
When did we lose our common sense? In college? Whenever this happened (and whatever the cause), this book helps to reclaim our common sense when applied to the world of managing employees of small, medium, and large-based companies.
This book is essential reading for economics majors, MBA students, and those working in management. It cuts through the jargon and helps people realize that management requires an understanding of human nature. It returns us to psychology. After all, the business world is bound by the rules of psychology. Violate the rules and you may harm your business.
The book delivers harsh facts. Not all employees are going to do well at every task. Managers: stop thinking that everyone can do anything. They can't. It's unreasonable to believe it. It's better to create incentives - both monetary and prestigue - on the idea that someone may want to continue working in a similar capacity. The book cites attorneys who start out at a law firm at junior associate, associate, senior associate, and then work on to junior partner, partner, and senior partner. Throughout the process, the attorney does not radically change what he or she is doing. Instead, their work merely becomes more interesting and their pay (and equity in the firm) rises over time. That is, rather than promote someone to a position that is radically different from what they are doing, offer perks and monetary advantages as time goes on to your employees.
The book says to promote strengths rather than overcome employee weaknesses. Some people are just never going to be able to do well at certain tasks. The book's realistic edge says we ought to understand this and move on. We can't strive for perfectin in every avenue. Make sure that your employees are doing what they do best at. Therefore, the goals of the firm - and the employees' morale, will coincide, allowing harmony to exist in the firm. This book has many golden nuggets of wisdom, and it definitely is a keeper.
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Gregory Blencoe (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-15 00:00>
Overall, the book is a pretty good read. Among other things, I especially enjoyed the discussion about focusing on the strengths of employees and finding the right fit for them. An employee who is mediocre at one job function can excel in another position. This is something that very few other management books discuss even though it is an extremely important principle.
I did have a problem with a few things the authors said. I personally don't believe that good managers consistently violate the golden rule. This gives readers the impression that good managers don't care about treating people well and I don't think that's true.
Also, the authors recommend that managers should spend most of their time with good employees since they are the ones who are getting things done. Although I understand the point they are trying to make, they never said that unproductive behavior should be confronted. It's almost as if they are suggesting that poor employees should be ignored. If an employee always shows up late, makes mistakes, and doesn't work well with others, is ignoring the problem the best thing to do? I believe that the best managers tactfully confront the behavior, give the employee a fair chance to improve, and then replace them with a much better employee if things don't change.
In addition, the section on "The Art of Interviewing for Talent" is bothersome. A list of "good interview questions" always has to be taken with a huge grain of salt. The reason is simple: people can lie. Anybody who has done a lot of interviews knows that there are people who can say all the right things in an interview and still end up being a dud. Please keep this in mind!
Aside from these issues, the book is very solid. I'd recommend checking it out.
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1 2 Total 2 pages 14 items |
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