Monthly Archives: June 2009

June 2009: Break All the Rules

First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, by Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, 1999

In this motivating book, the Gallup Organization sets the scene by presenting the findings of a 25-year study of 80,000 managers across a wide spectrum of business environments.

Their question was simple: “How do the world’s greatest managers find, focus and keep talented employees?”

Moving away from conventional wisdom which dictates a “treat everyone the same” approach, the authors urge us toward a highly customized approach, which is exciting but also challenging.

In this economic crunch, I had to ask, “How do we as leaders have time for an individualized management style?” Through revisiting this book, I came to ask a far better question, and that is: “How can we NOT make the time for customizing our management approach, especially when we know it works?”

This book is a classic and very timely. Enjoy!

Posted in Kits Book Review Archive | Leave a comment

June Tip: Working Smarter With Less

After the summer break and school starts up again, I think we’re going to see some real changes at all levels of business, and in firms of all sizes, too. We’ve all adjusted to upheavals and changes already, so you may be asking yourself, what more could there be?

The change is all about settling in, getting the work done and building the business – with fewer resources than ever before.

Already, every forward-thinking manager and leader is asking how it’s possible do more with less. The answer lies in management and in moving to a customized managerial style. A few tips to start you on the road:

  • See people (including yourself) as individuals with differing work styles.
  • Ask people what support they need in order to do their jobs well.
  • Listen to the answers (setting aside what you think the correct answer should be).
  • Provide whatever resources you can to help the individual succeed.
  • Move people around, matching jobs with talent.

No one can do it all alone. We need leadership to pull teams together and to get much more accomplished with much less.

We need to work smarter – much smarter.

Posted in Kits Tips Archive | Leave a comment