First, Break All The Rules
What the world’s greatest managers do differently
M. Buckingham
“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.”
I picked up this book from the opp shop. It clearly came out quite a while ago but it is a good solid book on being the best manager. Unfortunately I read it over a long period of time, putting it down and picking it up again so it’s hard to review. It’s one of those books that need this though. You need to read a small section and then go away and think about it. I even found myself thinking about it while reading and required pausing a lot. The only issue with this is I need to read it again before I even finished reading it as I don’t remember the start already!
What I do remember is that it had a lot of good practice tips and tricks. The part I most enjoyed was on hiring “for talent”, you can teach skills and knowledge, but hire for their talent. This is something I have always resonated with when hiring staff. This book gives very practical examples and questions to ask in interviews and what answers you should be looking for. I loved the focusing on your strengths section as well.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is a manager, leader, or in a hiring team member’s role. I definitely need to re-read it. 5 stars.
