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94 reviews for:
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
Curt Coffman, Marcus Buckingham
3.87 AVERAGE
94 reviews for:
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
Curt Coffman, Marcus Buckingham
3.87 AVERAGE
If you have a detailed understanding of the Gallup survey for employee engagement, you can generally skip this book. That said, it's a good book.
Absolutely fabulous. Not only is this book data driven (always a favorite of mine) but it offers a refreshing and challenging new way of looking at the employee/manager relationship. Breaking some of the conventional "rules" (ie: spend more time with your best people, don't try to fix weaknesses), they offer explanations for what really works to drive super star performance.
This book was pretty benign for a leadership/management book which I usually steer clear of. There was some good advice in here but nothing revolutionary. The main “keys” the book focused around, my notes in parentheses:
1. Select for talent (there is a difference between talent and skills - skill is being able to use Excel, talent is waking up every morning excited to do something in Excel. You want to select for the people that naturally love doing whatever the job requires)
2. Define the right outcomes (jobs should have measurable outcomes that determine excellence and success. This shouldn’t be set by the “average”, but by what the talented employees are doing)
3. Focus on strengths (don’t try to fix people’s weaknesses. People are who they are and rarely does swimming against the current to fix a weakness actually work, and even if it does, having someone excel in their strengths is better)
4. Find the right fit (someone may not be made for management and they should be allowed to be excellent in their individual contributor role, with raises, for as long as they are willing to stay. Likewise, firing someone can be the right choice for both the company and the person if the job just isn’t a match)
1. Select for talent (there is a difference between talent and skills - skill is being able to use Excel, talent is waking up every morning excited to do something in Excel. You want to select for the people that naturally love doing whatever the job requires)
2. Define the right outcomes (jobs should have measurable outcomes that determine excellence and success. This shouldn’t be set by the “average”, but by what the talented employees are doing)
3. Focus on strengths (don’t try to fix people’s weaknesses. People are who they are and rarely does swimming against the current to fix a weakness actually work, and even if it does, having someone excel in their strengths is better)
4. Find the right fit (someone may not be made for management and they should be allowed to be excellent in their individual contributor role, with raises, for as long as they are willing to stay. Likewise, firing someone can be the right choice for both the company and the person if the job just isn’t a match)
Confirmed most things I've personally thought over the years, at the very least. If you buy either physical or ebook you get survey codes to try out the Gallup traits, which I think, are pretty broadly similar to what you can get out of the PrinciplesYou survey. Or least that's how both readings came out for me (which, yes, I know, backed by science and all, but feels distressingly similar to astrology in some ways).
informative
informative
I remember loving this book since I read it as a first time EPICS manager, but don’t remember specifics. I think it was about personalizing your leadership?
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
informative
slow-paced
I liked that this was based on data, trying to unpick the common thread between many different managers, and understand what employees want and need. Much of it remains common sense, and it makes very clear that there is no one true path to being a good boss. Because a lot of it is common sense, this felt a bit repetitive/obvious, but I definitely appreciate the data-driven approach.
I read this book for a management class, and it changed my views on being a manager and what I expect from a manager! it really had me analyzing my current workplace and past experiences with managers. they make some really excellent arguments backed up with research - unlike some of the many books we were told we could read (that seemed based on one person's experience rather than data from thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of employees and their managers). an excellent read if you are/will some day become a manager, or if you want to think deeply about your workplace and how you could ask your manager(s) to change things up.
(I must note I don't buy the arguments surrounding strengths vs talents and what can be taught)
(A 2022 Review. 2023 Note: Made it on my top books of 2022 list, with this review: I read First, Break All the Rules for a class on management. The books they offered for the assignment were all biographies, and while there's worth in biographies, I wanted cold, hard data. Gallup Press came through, with 80,000 interviews with the world's best managers, as well as some with their employees. The book provided a lot of insight into why people leave companies (bad managers, not bad companies), what makes a good manager (facilitation, standing up for their employees, listening to employee perspectives, etc.), and how, instead of trying to teach new skills, managers should draw out talent. It really made me think about how I like to be managed and the qualities my best (and worst) managers have had. I'd recommend this book both to managers and to anyone thinking about how they like to be managed/what they're looking for in a workplace. )
(I must note I don't buy the arguments surrounding strengths vs talents and what can be taught)
(A 2022 Review. 2023 Note: Made it on my top books of 2022 list, with this review: I read First, Break All the Rules for a class on management. The books they offered for the assignment were all biographies, and while there's worth in biographies, I wanted cold, hard data. Gallup Press came through, with 80,000 interviews with the world's best managers, as well as some with their employees. The book provided a lot of insight into why people leave companies (bad managers, not bad companies), what makes a good manager (facilitation, standing up for their employees, listening to employee perspectives, etc.), and how, instead of trying to teach new skills, managers should draw out talent. It really made me think about how I like to be managed and the qualities my best (and worst) managers have had. I'd recommend this book both to managers and to anyone thinking about how they like to be managed/what they're looking for in a workplace. )
informative
inspiring