The Truth about Managing People: And Nothing But the Truth

This is an excellent book about "managing people" (I prefer "leading people") with 63 short myth-dispelling "truth" chapters. By the way, Charlie "Tremendous" Jones said, "You are the same today as you'll be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read." Here's how this book will change you. It's time for the weekly staff meeting--and your interruptions have been interrupted by interruptions. Your job is to lead, inspire and motivate--and you need something fresh, but quick. This book is your CliffsNotes for all things management. Pick from 63 two-page chapters--and get this--the memorable content is not just opinion--the insights are all research-based. Does Barack Obama (or Sarah Palin) have enough experience to be U.S. president? Eventually, yes/maybe. Author Stephen Robbins writes, "Even in the most complex jobs, real learning typically ends after two years." His research says that "experience, per se, is not a very good predictor of effectiveness. Just because a (job) candidate has 10 years of previous experience is no assurance that his or her experience will transfer to a new situation. What is relevant is the quality of previous experience and the relevance of that experience to the new situation that the leader will face." He adds, "Too often, 20 years of experience is nothing other than one year of experience repeated 20 times!" The 63 mini-chapters are listed under 10 sections: The Truth About...Hiring, Motivation, Leadership, Communication, Building Teams, Managing Conflict, Designing Jobs, Performance Evaluation, Coping With Change and Managing Behavior. They fit well with the 20 buckets in my book, Mastering the Management Buckets: 20 Critical Competencies for Leading Your Business or Nonprofit. The well-researched conclusions/chapter titles are compelling: Truth #4: Want Pleasant Employees? It's in the Genes! Truth #16: Not Everyone Wants to Participate in Setting Their Goals; Truth #28: Effective Leaders Know How to Frame Issues (he suggest five ways: metaphors, jargon, contrast, spin and stories); Truth #31: Charisma Can Be Learned; Truth #36: Hearing Isn't Listening (he gives eight behaviors associated with effective listening--like making eye contact); Truth #45: Not Everyone Is Team Material; and Truth #62: People Aren't Completely Rational: Don't Ignore Emotions! "Personal references are easy to acquire but they're essentially worthless," says Robbins in the chapter, "Don't Count Too Much on Reference Checks." He says friends of applicants won't be honest with you. I tend to agree with him. Some teams lower productivity, says the author. According to his research, "The truth is that teams often create negative synergy. Individuals expend less effort when working collectively that when working individually, so 2 + 2 can equal 3!" He calls it "social loafing." We need to look deeper at this research--it might dramatically change how we organize work. From Chicago to Orange Coun

I was very please with the condtion and timeframe that it took to receive the book.

This book is good! I recommend it to all managers and supervisors. it's worth the time to read. Rolando Alberto

Robbins's book is a pleasure to read. He presents multiple topics in a short, easily digestible modular format and then allows you to learn more by providing you with references that go into much further detail. Let's face it - most management books are worse than worthless and are either New Age fluff or bluster and swagger. Robbins instead avoids the know-it-all approach by supporting each of his 'truths' with empirical evidence from sociology, organizational psychology, assertiveness training, and literature on leadership and group dynamics. Unless you already have a Ph.D in Social Psychology, an MBA, and 10 years' worth of corporate experience, you will learn something new with this book. You'll do more than just 'manage' - you will succeed. Use this book as a springboard and a guide, as Robbins suggests, and you will almost certainly improve your workplace performance.

"The truth" is long overdue... I am a massage practitioner in Seattle and people having a massage tend to say what is on their minds. I often hear comments like "my manager didn't talk to me for a year" or "I think my manager is mad at me for something I did (when in fact she just spent an hour at the car repair shop). If only she would just tell me I did a good job".Or comments like this -"My assistant doesn't seem to work hard enough and she is starting to make mistakes that effect my work. I don't think I am doing anything wrong". Even if you are not in management, there is a lot to learn from Steve's hard work in "The truth..."The book is an easy read, with many examples. It presents common sense answers to everyday problems and issues. Please read it so my clients can rest during their sessions rather than worry.