I was required to read 4 management books for work this year (see previous post). The second book that I read was First Break All The Rules. This was a decent book that tries to answer the question “what do great managers do differently”. I don’t have the time to write a thorough review of the book, many others already have. A couple of items that I noted:
- In the minds of great managers, every role performed at excellence deserves respect.
- Most employees are promoted to their level of incompetence. It’s inevitable. It’s built into the system.
- In most cases, no matter what it is, if you measure it and reward it, people will try to excel at it.
- If you can’t spend four hours a year with each of your people, then you’ve either got too many people, or you shouldn’t be a manager.
The book is a little dry and slow in places, but overall is a good read with some excellent tips and insights. I can recommend it.