"First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently” was written by Marcus Buckingham and Court Coffman. It’s based on in-depth interviews by the Gallup organization of over 80,000 managers in over 400 companies to help managers as well as talented employees who have the potential and plan on eventually becoming great managers. The book is mainly branched into "four keys" that are vital to proclaim the potential and perplexity of human resource development in organizations of all sizes. These keys consider the capacity of a manager to select the optimum personnel based on talents, results, strengths, and fit. It’s an excellent book that turns the conventional wisdom about managing people upside down and provides great insight on how to assess the performance of an organization in general.
I personally found this book very interesting, at this point in my life I’ve decided that I want to make a career out of working in Higher Ed and that is the reason I’ve started my MBA. I yearn to be a manager at some point in my life and this book has a great deal of useful knowledge and material to help me become a great manager. The first concept that is introduced in the book is The Measuring Stick which breaks down into 12 important questions about measuring the strengths of a workplace. Yet these questions are not dealing with pay, benefits, and or organizational structure since these are important to every employee. The questions are actually in regards to recognition, progress, and development which can truly measure a strong workplace and if workers can answer them with certainty that manager has efficiently created an environment where the best employee can be retain and attract. “...the manager - n...
... middle of paper ...
...s not only about learning how to be a great manager, but also about what I as the employee should be doing to improve my work experience with my manager and how to evaluate my job in terms of growth. It’s a tremendous concept to be able to have a great manager, leader, or mentor to learn from, but unfortunately that’s not always the case and this book will come in extremely handy and useful to learn more about becoming a great manager.
Works Cited
Buckingham, Marcus, and Curt Coffman. First, break all the rules: what the world's greatest managers do differently. New York, NY.: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
"First, Break All the Rules" - Review of an Outstanding Management Book By Susan Koval." http://ezinearticles.com/. http://ezinearticles.com/?First,-Break-All-the-Rules---Review-of-an-Outstanding-Management-Book&id=1295014 (accessed November 15, 2013).
Bohlander, George, and Scott Snell. Managing Human Resources. 15th. Mason, OH: South-Western Pub, 2009. 98-147. Print.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2014). Fundamentals of human resource management (5th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter. M. (2014). Management (12th ed.). Retrieved from: Colorado Technical University eBook Collection database.
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2007). Management (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Dr. Sutton highlights what it takes to be a good boss. People that work for a good boss are 20 percent less likely to have a heart attack (Sutton, 2010). Dr. Sutton wrote that teams with stronger leaders cost the company less money and achieved their work better (Sutton, 2010). Engagement and performance of employees were based upon their direct boss and not if the company was good or bad (Sutton, 2010). Most bad bosses have employees who have check-out: actively disengaged, and undermine their co-workers accomplishments. Managers have to find the balance between performance and humanity to be successful. Performance is about doing everything possible to help followers do great work; while humanity is about employees experiencing dignity and pride. Treating managerial work as an endurance race instead of a sprint race with small wins will lead one to becoming a good boss called grit by Sutton. Sutton believes that good bosses walk a constructive line between being assertive and not assertive enough with guidance, wisdom, and feedback that he called Lasorda’s law (Sutton, 2010).
Though a little dry to read at times, I found this book to be an excellent beginner’s guide to leadership. Although the idea of “corporate” can be a bit dull after a while, Bennis and Nanus continuously attempt to liven it up with real-life examples of their strategies put into practice. They make it clear that the strategies are not what they came up with out of nowhere, but have been determined from years of various case studies. One of my favorite aspects of the book is its ability to imbue an “I can do this!” attitude to the reader.
Noe, Raymond A., et al. Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. 7th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2010. Print.
I personally found this book to be an excellent read, and while I haven’t read to many business management books. I can feel safe to say that I think this one does an excellent job in conveying key management principals for today’s workplace. It also appealed to me due to my fascination with the way in which our military operates. I believe he did a great job of staying clear of getting too detailed in either is leadership model and military jargon. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels intimidated by management books that read more like a textbook, who want to learn but also enjoy the reading too.
Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2009). Management (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Robbins, S, DeCenzo, D, Coulter, M and Woods, M 2014, Management: The Essentials, 2nd ed, Pearson, Frenchs Forest, NSW.
Robbins, S., Decenzo, D., & Coulter, M. (2013). Fundamentals of management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Robbins, S, DeCenzo, D, Coulter, M & Woods, M 2011, Management: The Essentials, Pearson Australia, NSW, Australia, 1st Edition
Knouse, S. B. (2005). The Future of Human Resource Management: 64 Leaders Explore the Critical HR Issues of Today and Tomorrow. 58(4), 1089-1092.
Tracey, W. R. (1994). Human resources management & development handbook. Amacom books. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Bateman, T.S., & Snell, S.A. (2011).Management: Leading and collaborating in a competitive world (9thed). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Irwin.