This is an excellent book about "managing people" (I prefer "leading people") with 63 short myth-dispelling "truth" chapters. By the way, Charlie "Tremendous" Jones said, "You are the same today as you'll be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read."
Here's how this book will change you. It's time for the weekly staff meeting--and your interruptions have been interrupted by interruptions. Your job is to lead, inspire and motivate--and you need something fresh, but quick. This book is your CliffsNotes for all things management. Pick from 63 two-page chapters--and get this--the memorable content is not just opinion--the insights are all research-based.
Does Barack Obama (or Sarah Palin) have enough experience to be U.S. president? Eventually, yes/maybe. Author Stephen Robbins writes, "Even in the most complex jobs, real learning typically ends after two years." His research says that "experience, per se, is not a very good predictor of effectiveness. Just because a (job) candidate has 10 years of previous experience is no assurance that his or her experience will transfer to a new situation. What is relevant is the quality of previous experience and the relevance of that experience to the new situation that the leader will face." He adds, "Too often, 20 years of experience is nothing other than one year of experience repeated 20 times!"
The 63 mini-chapters are listed under 10 sections: The Truth About...Hiring, Motivation, Leadership, Communication, Building Teams, Managing Conflict, Designing Jobs, Performance Evaluation, Coping With Change and Managing Behavior. They fit well with the 20 buckets in my book, Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit.
The well-researched conclusions/chapter titles are compelling: Truth #4: Want Pleasant Employees? It's in the Genes! Truth #16: Not Everyone Wants to Participate in Setting Their Goals; Truth #28: Effective Leaders Know How to Frame Issues (he suggest five ways: metaphors, jargon, contrast, spin and stories); Truth #31: Charisma Can Be Learned; Truth #36: Hearing Isn't Listening (he gives eight behaviors associated with effective listening--like making eye contact); Truth #45: Not Everyone Is Team Material; and Truth #62: People Aren't Completely Rational: Don't Ignore Emotions!
"Personal references are easy to acquire but they're essentially worthless," says Robbins in the chapter, "Don't Count Too Much on Reference Checks." He says friends of applicants won't be honest with you. I tend to agree with him.
Some teams lower productivity, says the author. According to his research, "The truth is that teams often create negative synergy. Individuals expend less effort when working collectively that when working individually, so 2 + 2 can equal 3!" He calls it "social loafing." We need to look deeper at this research--it might dramatically change how we organize work
About the Author
Stephen P. Robbins (Ph.D., University of Arizona) is professor emeritus of management at San Diego State University and the world’s best-selling textbook author in the areas of both management and organizational behavior. His books are used at more than a thousand U.S. colleges and universities and have been translated into 19 languages.
In Dr. Robbins’ “other life,” he participates in masters’ track competitions. Since turning 50 in 1993, he has set numerous indoor and outdoor age-group world sprint records. He has won more than a dozen indoor and outdoor U.S. championships at 60m, 100m, 200m, and 400m, and won eleven gold medals at World Masters Track Championships. In 2005, Dr. Robbins was elected into the USA Masters’ Track & Field Hall of Fame.