The One Thing You Need to Know: ... about Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success

I thought that *First, Break All the Rules* was brilliant, and this book builds well on the line of thought that Buckingham and his collaborator started there. Plus it's succinct, well-written, and generally a pleasure to read -- which you can't say about a lot of business books! Some points that particularly struck me were these. 1. The distinction between "management" and "leadership" skills, which are far too often confused: if someone shows leadership potential, their managers assume that the best place for them to exercise it is in a supervisory position. But a visionary leader isn't necessarily a "people person"; so they become frustrated, their direct reports aren't getting the management they need to best express their strengths, and far too much time and energy is wasted in trying to re-form the leader into someone he/she isn't instead of capitalizing on what he/she IS. 2. Why it's hard to learn skills/behaviors that don't build on your strengths (I think he gives just enough neurological information to be convincing and not overwhelming). Of course everyone has to learn *some* things that don't come naturally to them; but if someone with leadership qualities has mastered basic social and interpersonal skills, why try to make them into a mother hen when they could be making a greater contribution as a soaring eagle? 3. Many people have trouble with the One Thing he recommends for everyone: Work, they say, is not supposed to be Fun, and you can't blithely blow off the parts you don't like. However: (a) Using your strengths to their fullest extent is not always "fun." Challenging, inspiring, and offering the greatest potential for success, yes; but often frustrating, and a whole lot of hard work too. But feeling that you've tapped into your strengths can give you the energy to blow past obstacles that, if you were also fighting your natural tendencies, would seem insurmountable. (b) If you feel that your job forces you to constantly battle your weaknesses rather than building on your strengths, you're in the wrong job. This often happens when someone is promoted: e.g., the charismatic classroom teacher who becomes a principal, or the brilliant laboratory scientist who's made an administrator. The best thing you can do -- not only for yourself but for the people who have to work with you -- is push to be restored to the position where you can be most effective. (c) Consider becoming a Free Agent. I was always excellent at my actual job (technical writing), while office politics and climbing the management ladder were highly uncongenial to me -- but, in most companies, that's the only way I could improve my pay/status. I became an independent contractor, work through an agency that handles billing/invoicing et al. (which I'm not good at either), and am paid well for doing what I do best -- and I highly recommend it. One final comment: I've recently read a couple of graduation addresses, by Steve Jobs and Billy Joel respectiv

Marcus Buckingham discusses the one thing that distinguishes great managers, leaders, and sustained individual successes. His hypothesis based on extensive Gallup data is that there *is* one such thing for most aspects of life. Most management books focus on aspects that if absent would result in management failure. These include hiring well, setting clear objectives, providing accurate feedback, etc. If present, these aspects may make for a good manager, not necessarily a great manager. Per Marcus' analysis, the aspect that truly separates great managers is their need to nurture growth amongst their employees, and their sensitivity to seemingly incremental growth in their employees. This tunes the manager to deeply understand the strengths and weaknesses of each direct report and craft an environment where each person plays to his / her strength. An analogy is chess where each player has different moves and they need to be orchestrated into an overall whole that moves the team towards its objectives. Similarly, the one thing underlying successful marriages is the spouses' portraying the reality as reality plus - slightly warmer than the actual reality. The one thing underlying successful leaders is the need to find the principle / theme that applies and appeals to the masses. The one thing you need to know for individual sustained success is to continuously identify things that you don't like doing and stop doing them. As folks become successful, their scope expands to include work that they may not be as passionate about. Several ways of working with this reality are suggested including modifying your role, seeking partners with complementary skills, seeking a new job, etc. The author was not succinct - hence, the four stars.

REVIEW: The title of this book was an immediate turn-off for me because of the hyped-up nature of the phrase, "The One Thing". I'm always on the look out for charlatans who tend to make use of such exaggerated claims more often than the average author. However, I decided to read this book anyway since I read the two books that Marcus Buckingham is coauthor of, First Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths, and those two books are two of my favorites. I'm glad I read this book and I now have a third favorite book having Marcus Bucking ham as an author. In short, the knowledge I gained from this book will help make me a more successful manager. The author has a clear and concise theory and uses the right amount of practical advice on managing and leading people and organizations. Perhaps the most important thing I learned from The One Thing is the difference between managing and leading. These terms are thrown around all the time in mass market business books, but this is the first one that I have read which very clearly defines the distinction between the two and concisely and practically explains how the roles differ in an organization. The book is well worth the read for this insight alone. Also, the book is fairly well organized and is written in an easy to read style typical of similar business books. STRENGTHS: Easy to read; fairly well organized; contains the right mix (for me) of theory and practical advice (which is very good). Knowledge gained will help make you a better leader and/or manager of people. WEAKNESSES: I thought a couple of the chapters were too long and I was disappointed that the book does not have an index. Also, Buckingham cites numerous studies in the book, but does not give enough information for the reader to find and review those sources for herself. However, none of these weaknesses should deter you from reading this book. WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Anyone who liked Buckingham's previous coauthored books. Anyone who likes books written by authors such as Jim Collins and Peter Drucker. Anyone who considers themselves a manager of people or a leader in an organization needs to read this book. It may be somewhat more useful to more experienced managers.

Marcus Buckingham is quickly setting himself apart from the current pack of management and leadership gurus out there. He isn't yet in the same league as Peter Drucker or Tom Peters, but he's young and he's headed in their direction. His latest effort, "The One Thing" joins two instant classics he's already written, "First, Break all the Rules" and "Now, Discover Your Strengths." This book starts with a premise that sounds obvious once you hear it, but that I've never seen used before. Buckingham approaches the complex topics of management, leadership and sustained individual success and asks, "If you wanted to excel in any of these areas, but could focus in on just one single idea, what would be the most important and effective things you could focus on?" Buckingham then goes on to give you "The One Thing" in each of those areas. His points aren't arrived at frivolously. Buckingham spent years and years working with Gallup, studying and interviewing thousands upon thousands of managers, leaders, and individual contributors, some good and some bad; he knows what separates the wheat from the chaff. The book is so filled with great insights and "Why didn't I think of that" moments that my copy is all dog-eared and marked up and some of the things I've learned are going into practice as I type this. Very highly recommended.

It's difficult to evaluate a book like this so shortly after reading it, since it doesn't give you time to actually apply the insights the author is pushing. However, it's clear that Buckingham has written another excellent management guide, one that cuts through the frivolity to provide actual answers. What I liked about this one is that it doesn't use generalities, or vague concepts that are open to various interpretations. As usual, Buckingham gets right to the heart of the matter, in terms that will help managers (and others) apply the lessons he presents. I'm always skeptical of these types of management books, as there are so many that are poorly written and completely useless. This is neither of those - instead, it's a useful, practical guide that should help many people both in an out of the workplace.