Tony Soprano on Management: Leadership Lessons Inspired by America's Favorite Mobst

I really enjoyed this book about leadership. The comparison to Tony Soprano's management and leadership ability makes it worth reading and it is not boring. I had some leadership classes and the fundamentals are there, the style is authentic...Tony Soprano makes leadership more interesting.

Schneider has mined nuggets of management wisdom from the first four seasons of Sopranos episodes, and he cleverly uses quotes, anecdotes, and vignettes from the show to illustrate his lessons about management skills such as delegating, negotiating, and giving praise. Tony Soprano on Management has additional attractions, if you're not a Sopranos fan. The book includes an excellent chapter offering advice on how to manage up (that is, how to influence people in management positions above you). There are also plenty of case studies and traditional advice on good management practices, along with worksheets to help readers identify their hot buttons or concerns and plan future corrective actions. Kathy Graden Society for Technical Communication November, 2004

I bought this book because I read articles the author wrote (on related subjects) in US News and the Toronto Globe & Mail. Like the articles, the book cuts through the crap and delivers the goods, while being fun to read. I'm using this book to help develop my team skills at work, communicate better and it's helped me in two negotiations so far. Tony Soprano may not be the nicest guy around, but I gotta say, he's a great management coach.

The first thing I have to say is that expertise in managing people or processes comes primarily from experience. Anybody who expects to get a complete education in management from a book should not be a manager. That said, I loved this book because it doesn't take management as seriously as other books out there do. Sure, there are serious lessons here, but they come in a funny package. Almost every other management book I've read takes itself way too seriously, treating management like it's brain surgery, and depicting whatever "system" it advances as the Holy Grail of management. This book gives you good tips, and makes you laugh in the process. Totally worth reading.

Anthony Schneider has given the world a new and important way to approach leadership. This book has everything, insight, humor, a deft eye toward pop culture and the wisdom it can lend, but most of all, the book keeps us reading and keeps us laughing, all due to Schneider's skill as a writer. This book is a must.