First, Break All the Rules：What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

Thegreatestmanagersintheworldseemtohavelittleincommon.Theydifferinsex,age,andrace.Theyemployvastlydifferentstylesandfocusondifferentgoals.Yetdespitetheirdifferences,greatmanagersshareonecommontrait:Theydonothesitatetobreakvirtuallyeveryruleheldsacredbyconventionalwisdom.Theydonotbelievethat,withenoughtraining,apersoncanachieveanythinghesetshismindto.Theydonottrytohelppeopleovercometheirweaknesses.Theyconsistentlydisregardthegoldenrule.And,yes,theyevenplayfavorites.Thisamazingbookexplainswhy.MarcusBuckinghamandCurtCoffmanoftheGallupOrganizationpresenttheremarkablefindingsoftheirmassivein-depthstudyofgreatmanagersacrossawidevarietyofsituations.Somewereinleadershippositions.Otherswerefront-linesupervisors.SomewereinFortune500companies;otherswerekeyplayersinsmall,entrepreneurialcompanies.Whatevertheirsituations,themanagerswhoultimatelybecamethefocusofGallup'sresearchwereinvariablythosewhoexcelledatturningeachemployee'stalentintoperformance.Intoday'stightlabormarkets,companiescompetetofindandkeepthebestemployees,usingpay,benefits,promotions,andtraining.Butthesewell-intentionedeffortsoftenmissthemark.Thefront-linemanageristhekeytoattractingandretainingtalentedemployees.Nomatterhowgenerousitspayorhowrenowneditstraining,thecompanythatlacksgreatfront-linemanagerswillsuffer.BuckinghamandCoffmanexplainhowthebestmanagersselectanemployeefortalentratherthanforskillsorexperience;howtheysetexpectationsforhimorher--theydefinetherightoutcomesratherthantherightsteps;howtheymotivatepeople--theybuildoneachperson'suniquestrengthsratherthantryingtofixhisweaknesses;and,finally,howgreatmanagersdeveloppeople--theyfindtherightfitforeachperson,notthenextrungontheladder.Andperhapsmostimportant,thisresearch--whichinitiallygeneratedthousandsofdifferentsurveyquestionsonthesubjectofemployeeopinion--finallyproducedthetwelvesimplequestionsthatworktodistinguishthestrongestdepartmentsofacompanyfromalltherest.Thisbookisthefirsttopresentthisessentialmeasuringstickandtoprovethelinkbetweenemployeeopinionsandproductivity,profit,customersatisfaction,andtherateofturnover.Therearevitalperformanceandcareerlessonshereformanagersateverylevel,and,bestofall,thebookshowsyouhowtoapplythemtoyourownsituation.