Book Review: First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

This book review is part of a series that covers the topic of Management Skills, those skills which allow one to manage either their personal time, plans, and goals, or professionally manage a group of people, deadline, or project. Meryl Runion is the Official Guide to Management Skills.nnFirst, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently, by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, is a valuable resource for people interested in Management Skills, and it is available through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.nnAmazon.comnMarcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman expose the fallacies of standard management thinking in First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently. In seven chapters, the two consultants for the Gallup Organization debunk some dearly held notions about management, such as "treat people as you like to be treated"; "people are capable of almost anything"; and "a manager's role is diminishing in today's economy." "Great managers are revolutionaries," the authors write. "This book will take you inside the minds of these managers to explain why they have toppled conventional wisdom and reveal the new truths they have forged in its place."nnThe authors have culled their observations from more than 80,000 interviews conducted by Gallup during the past 25 years. Quoting leaders such as basketball coach Phil Jackson, Buckingham and Coffman outline "four keys" to becoming an excellent manager: Finding the right fit for employees, focusing on strengths of employees, defining the right results, and selecting staff for talent--not just knowledge and skills. First, Break All the Rules offers specific techniques for helping people perform better on the job. For instance, the authors show ways to structure a trial period for a new worker and how to create a pay plan that rewards people for their expertise instead of how fast they climb the company ladder. "The point is to focus people toward performance," they write. "The manager is, and should be, totally responsible for this." Written in plain English and well organized, this book tells you exactly how to improve as a supervisor. --Dan Ring nnNewsdaynIf you're a manager wracking your brain for ways to find and retain good people...this book is worth paying attention to.nnAbout the AuthorsnMarcus Buckingham is the leader of The Gallup Organization's twenty-year effort to identify the core characteristics of great managers and great workplaces. He is also a senior lecturer in Gallup's Leadership Institute.nnCurt Coffman is the global practice leader for The Gallup Organization's Workplace Management Practice. He consults regularly on the development of productive, customer-oriented workplaces.