First, Break All the Rules
First, it resolves the great manager’s dilemma. All of a sudden her two guiding beliefs — that people are enduringly different and that managers must focus people on the same performance — are no longer in conflict. They are now in harmony.
Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, • First, Break All the Rules
ROAD warriors — the army’s pithy phrase for those sleepy folk who are happy to “retire on active duty”?
Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, • First, Break All the Rules
A note
“A truth ceases to be a truth as soon as two people perceive it.” All right, so Mr. Wilde was better known for his wit than for his management advice; nonetheless, every manager should be required to remember this one remark. Although he phrased it in the extreme, Mr. Wilde simply meant that the only truth is your own. The world you see is seen by
... See moreMarcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, • First, Break All the Rules
But it does mean that great managers are aggressive in trying to identify each person’s talents and help her to cultivate those talents. This is how they do it: They believe that casting is everything. They manage by exception. And they spend the most time with their best people.
Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, • First, Break All the Rules
Do I know what is expected of me at work? Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? Is there someone
... See moreMarcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, • First, Break All the Rules
It is better to work for a great manager in an old-fashioned company than for a terrible manager in a company offering an enlightened, employee-focused culture.
Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, • First, Break All the Rules
Striving talents explain the why of a person. They explain why he gets out of bed every day, why he is motivated to push and push just that little bit harder. Is he driven by his desire to stand out, or is good enough good enough for him? Is he intensely competitive or intensely altruistic or both? Does he define himself by his technical
... See moreMarcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, • First, Break All the Rules
Great managers look inward. They look inside the company, into each individual, into the differences in style, goals, needs, and motivation of each person.
Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman, • First, Break All the Rules
An employee may join Disney or GE or Time Warner because she is lured by their generous benefits package and their reputation for valuing employees. But it is her relationship with her immediate manager that will determine how long she stays and how productive she is while she is there.