First, break all the rules : what the world's greatest managers do differently / Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Buckingham, Marcus.

Contributor:

Coffman, Curt.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Executive ability.

Management.

Executives--Attitudes.

Executives.

Employees--Attitudes.

Employees.

Employer attitude surveys.

Employee attitude surveys.

Physical Description:

271 pages ; 24 cm

Other Title:

What the world's greatest managers do differently

Place of Publication:

New York, NY. : Simon & Schuster, [1999]

Summary:

The greatest managers in the world seem to have little in common. They differ in sex, age, and race. They employ vastly different styles and focus on different goals. Yet despite their differences, great managers share one common trait: They do not hesitate to break virtually every rule held sacred by conventional wisdom. They do not believe that, with enough training, a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to. They do not try to help people overcome their weaknesses. They consistently disregard the golden rule, And, yes, they even play favorites. This amazing book explains why.

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of the Gallup Organization present the remarkable findings of their massive in-depth study of great managers across a wide variety of situations. Some were in leadership positions. Others were front-line supervisors. Some were in Fortune 500 companies; others were key players in small, entrepreneurial companies. Whatever their situations, the managers who ultimately became the focus of Gallup's research were invariably those who excelled at turning each employee's talent into performance.

In today's tight labor markets, companies compete to find and keep the best employees, using pay, benefits, promotions, and training. But these well-intentioned efforts often miss the mark. The frontline manager is the key to attracting and retaining talented employees. No matter how generous its pay or how renowned its training, the company that lacks great front-line managers will suffer. Buckingham and Coffman explain how the best managers select an employee for talent rather than for skills or experience; how they set expectations for him or her--they define the right outcomes rather than the right steps; how they motivate people--they build on each person's unique strengths rather than trying to fix his weaknesses; and finally, how great managers develop people--they find the right fit for each person, not the next rung on the ladder. And perhaps most important, this research--which initially generated thousands of different survey questions on the subject of employee opinion--finally produced the twelve simple questions that work to distinguish the strongest departments of a company from all the rest. This book is the first to present this essential measuring stick and to prove the link between employee opinions and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction, and the rate of turnover.

There are vital performance and career lessons here for managers at every level, and, best of all, the book shows you how to apply them to your own situation.

For more than sixty years, The Gallup Organization has been a world leader in the measurement and analysis of human attitudes, opinions, and behavior. Although the company is best known for The Gallup Poll, most of Gallup's work is in providing measurement, consulting, and education to many of the world's largest companies. Gallup's clients include Audi, BankAmerica, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Carlson, Citigroup, Delta Air Lines, Fidelity, Marriott, Searle, Sears, Swissotel, and Toyota.

Contents:

Introduction: Breaking All the Rules 11

Chapter 1 The Measuring Stick

A Disaster Off the Scilly Isles 21

The Measuring Stick 25

Putting the Twelve to the Test 30

A Case in Point 37

Mountain Climbing 42

Chapter 2 The Wisdom of Great Managers

Words from the Wise 53

What Great Managers Know 56

What Great Managers Do 58

The Four Keys 66

Chapter 3 The First Key: Select for Talent

Talent: How Great Managers Define It 71

The Right Stuff 72

The Decade of the Brain 79

Skills, Knowledge, and Talents 83

The World According to Talent 93

Talent: How Great Managers Find It 99

A Word from the Coach 105

Chapter 4 The Second Key: Define the Right Outcomes

Managing by Remote Control 109

Temptations 112

Rules of Thumb 121

What Do You Get Paid to Do? 133

Chapter 5 The Third Key: Focus on Strengths

Let Them Become More of Who They Already Are 141

Tales of Transformation 144

Casting Is Everything 148

Manage by Exception 151

Spend the Most Time with Your Best People 153

How to Manage Around a Weakness 164

Chapter 6 The Fourth Key: Find the Right Fit

The Blind, Breathless Climb 177

One Rung Doesn't Necessarily Lead to Another 182

Create Heroes in Every Role 184

Three Stories and a New Career 193

The Art of Tough Love 206

Chapter 7 Turning the Keys: A Practical Guide

The Art of Interviewing for Talent 215

Performance Management 222

Keys of Your Own 230

Master Keys 235

Gathering Force 239

Appendix A The Gallup Path to Business Performance 245

Appendix B What the Great Managers Said 249

Appendix C A Selection of Talents 251

Appendix D Finding the Twelve Questions 253

Appendix E The Meta-analysis 255.

ISBN:

0684852861

OCLC:

40762827