First, Break All The Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do DifferentlyMarcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman (Simon & Schuster, May 5, 1999Reviewed by admin Mon 24 Nov 08 Bob's Rating: Other than present the findings of the research studies by the Gallop organisation, I’m not sure what aim the authors had for “First break all the rules”. The title sounds like a “how to” book, yet the introduction does not suggest this. Chapter one sets out the research results, Chapter two debates what the authors term “conventional wisdom”. The remaining chapters, based on the “4 keys” to successful management, do indeed become a “how to”. Chapter one is excellent. The 12 questions developed from the research study with over 105,000 managers are practical and make good common sense. However, they are not new. If one looks at the work of writers such as Frederick Herzberg, these pointers have been around at least since the 1970s. In fact, they can be quite well mapped to Herzberg’s theory of motivation (motivators and satisfiers). I had a real problem with chapter two. I’m not sure where the authors have been for the last 30 years and I’d also question whether they have ever been managers themselves. Their description of “conventional wisdom” (which they do quite correctly proceed to debunk) could not be further from reality. The authoritative writers, management teachers, trainers and indeed managers that I know of would hardly describe any of the following as “conventional wisdom”: • Treat all people the same, do not differentiate • Anyone can be anything they want to be if they just try hard enough • The manager must “seize opportunity, using his smarts and impatience to exert his will over a fickle world.” And there are more examples which are not worth repeating. What Buckingham and Coffman suggest managers do in chapters, 3,4,5,6 & 7 which they call “breaking the rules” has been taught in all the enlightened management training organisations and by experienced management trainers for at least the last 30 years. There is nothing new here, though if a manager wants a very good checklist of the things he or she should be doing, buy the book for chapter one. |
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