First, Break All the Rules - What the Worlds Greatest Managers Do Differently - Book Report/Review Example

Book Review: “First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently” is a highly insightful and riveting book ed by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman. Both writers dig with acute intelligence into many secrets and popular beliefs about management. In this journey, they fearlessly discard many globally accepted management concepts and instead advocate some new and controversial practices. It is the tendency to try hand at new things which makes the world’s most successful managers stand ahead of others. After extensive research based on 400 companies and interviewing thousands of managers, Buckingham and Coffman deduce in their book that the probability of success depends on the extent to which managers are willing to become invested in their relationship with employees. What the world’s greatest managers do differently is that they treat every employee as an individual. No amount of compensation packages can take the place of conscious and responsible managers in turning raw talent into reliable performance. One of the most important concepts contained in the text is that the role of managers cannot be overlooked ever. Good managers are extremely important for success of an organization. When people leave companies, they leave their managers and not their companies. So many investments are made in the areas of better packages and training opportunities etc. to retain employees when the real issue in context of turnover is related to managers (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, p. 33). So, to say that the role of managers is becoming less and less important in the present economy is empty mockery. It is effective management which matters the most in extracting maximum talent out of employees. A great manager can be a revolutionary and hugely responsible for how his/her company’s image is perceived by the world. It is the manager and not any other factor like a charismatic leader or amazing perks who plays the critical role “in building a strong workplace” (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, p. 32). Actually, the road to becoming an excellent manager can be divided into four parts. First part involves finding the right kind of employees for which the skill to recognize talent is very important. Talent is always stressed more than experience by the authors. Second part is related to noticing strengths of employees. Every strength should be brought to light and it should be tried and tested. This is only possible if managers make an effort to become reasonably involved with potential candidates. Third part is based on defining the right priorities. Many times expectations of managers are not interpreted in the right way by workers. This is why carefully defining those priorities is hugely important to avoid waste of time and financial resources. Final part concentrates on finalizing selections based on talent mostly. Selections should not be made based on skills only because talent is far more important. Each manager should be held accountable by the leaders for respecting each one of these four parts (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, p. 36). The authors’ central lessons in seven chapters of their book are based on explaining the philosophy of management and what managers can do to stand out. All efforts are invested in the area of demonstrating what is implied by the concept of a different kind of management. For example, breaking the rules of conventional wisdom is important (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, p. 17). The authors also attempt to convey this message that management is not only about increasing profit margins or improving productivity. Rather, the ultimate criteria of management should be extended to a viable social system in which the workers and the system itself become more capable over time. The research conducted over a period of many years is carefully analyzed in an order to convey the most thorough meaning of management. The central lesson is that despite many arguments and discussions, many of the world’s dearest held beliefs about management are based on fallacy. This is why, the criteria of management should be properly understood to acquire grasp over its true meaning. Understanding the true meaning of management is very important because the whole integrity of an organization depends upon this knowledge. This matters because those managers who are not conscientious enough to explore the doctrine of this philosophy make many mistakes. They think that many practices related to human resources (HR) management are only related to productivity and sales. Actually, managers are revolutionaries who are entrusted with many responsibilities other than increasing monetary gains of a company. Improving on productivity margins and sales can help you gain entry into the game, but that cannot help a company gain a competitive edge over others (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, p. 29). Then what can? The book claims that it is the managers and the role played by them which can help a company win. This role should never be left unacknowledged in the dark. This is because whenever a definite change is brought in the motivational level of employees, there is presence of leadership behind that change and managers should be given credit for that. Developing the ability to distinguish different management styles from one another also matters a lot because this can help a person aspiring to become an excellent manager to appreciate how the world’s best managers become able to accomplish tasks which others cannot. For me, the merit of different ideas presented by the authors is enormous because they are all backed by very reliable and massive research. Selection of candidates is a critically important HR issue. Putting talent before everything else when selecting a candidate is an idea suggested by the authors which makes complete sense despite the fact that this approach contradicts the popular or traditional selection criteria. But then again, this book tells that the greatest managers in the world despite differing on many subjects share one trait which is that “they first break all the rules of conventional wisdom” (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, p. 11). Focus should not be laid on lack of weaknesses, rather it should be assessed that who is more talented among a group of potential employees. I believe that this approach can make for a very reasonable strategy to dealing with many complex issues at workplace. This is because talent is a factor which has more power than any other factor and the research conducted by the authors also advocates the same thought. After selecting employees, their individual talents should be polished. Eyes should be focused on their strengths. This is a common mistake made by managers that they very often concentrate on their workers’ weaknesses. In order to be successful, they should do their job in a different way. Doing job according to conventional wisdom is easier, but it is not the solution. Thinking that the best way to help a worker is by fixing his/her weaknesses is a wrong strategy, though a popular idea. Such conventional wisdom is described by the authors as “seductively easy” (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, p. 12). This is the lesson of the book which preaches on taking a little detour from tradition, discarding the Golden Rule, and exploring new concepts (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, p. 11). Every manager can relate to many situations described in the book which validates the merit of ideas presented by the authors. For example, negotiating problems is an important part of every manger’s life for which a tip given by the book is that advice should be given in plain language. Straight talk is promoted by the authors because it helps employees to understand their managers’ expectations. The things I learned from research findings of Buckingham and Coffman are critically relevant to me in context of both personal and professional development. This is because they frequently lay stress on what important qualities must a manager possess in order to be different in a good way. I understood that a good manager cannot establish a good reputation unless he/she first dares to come out of his/her comfort zone and eagerly take up all challenges. These challenges include interacting with employees from all kinds of diverse backgrounds and leading them from front. Mutual respect, trust, and communication should be established to let the workers know that they are an asset to the organization. More than anything else, talent should be recognized and valued. Management style should be such that workers should not think of themselves as expendable commodities, rather they should be made indispensable organizational members. For example, one of the many ways by which this book has helped me is that it has given me confidence to interact with my colleagues. I used to prefer my comfort zone and hesitated from initiating communication with colleagues belonging to different backgrounds. This book made me realize how important it is to leave personal comfort zone because this helps you grow and also familiarizes you with amazing experiences. It has also helped me prepare for professional life. For example, it has inculcated this lesson in me that every employee should be treated as an individual, which I will care to remember as a responsible professional. Reference: Buckingham, M. & Coffman, C. (1999). First, Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently. 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