Book Description
DO YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO WHAT YOU DO BEST EVERY DAY?
Chances are, you don't. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths.
To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book spent more than five years on the bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder helped millions to discover their top five talents.
In its latest national bestseller, StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular assessment, language of 34 themes, and much more (see below for details). While you can read this book in one sitting, you'll use it as a reference for decades.
Loaded with hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths, this new book and accompanying website will change the way you look at yourself -- and the world around you -- forever.
AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY IN THE NEW & UPGRADED EDITION OF STRENGTHSFINDER 2.0
(using the unique access code included with each book)
* A new and upgraded edition of the StrengthsFinder assessment
* A personalized Strengths Discovery and Action-Planning Guide for applying your strengths in the next week, month, and year
* A more customized version of your top five theme report
* 50 Ideas for Action (10 strategies for building on each of your top five themes)
* The more user-friendly StrengthsFinder 2.0 companion website, with a strengths community area, library of downloadable discussion guides and activities, a strengths screensaver, and a program for creating display cards of your top five themes
Customer Reviews:
Dinamic Strengths.......2007-10-01
I found the Strengths Finder 2 to be a great, dinamic tool to helping my team find their talents. The good thing about this version, compared to Now Discover your Strengths is that it has guidelines and activities you can do to change the talents into strengths.
Find and Maximize your strengths...fast.......2007-09-24
Great product for anyone wanting to know themselves better. Especially helpful for job seekers or people in transition.
StrengthsFinder Opinion.......2007-09-23
This is great investment! The price is very low and value of the information provided is very high. The best $15 I ever spent.
Optimal Solution for Understanding Yourself.......2007-09-23
I've been a senior leader of several organizations, and consequently have been exposed to a gauntlet of industrial psychologists, personality tests, intelligence tests, leadership training, cultural orientations, yada yada.
This book/body of knowledge/tool does 2 things extremely well. By well, I mean in an optimal way measured by the degree of understanding relative to the time investment. First, for an investment of maybe an hour at minimum, and an additional few hours to explore the guidance and begin to consider the implications and choose new behaviors, etc. you get, in my opinion, the best single, and correct perspective about yourself than any combination of the other methods mentioned above, period. It is not just directionally correct, like a horoscope type paragraph that would be true for anyone who read it, but rather a set of desciptions of your strengths that just "nail it" and descibe you as you know yourself. It tells you about yourself in a way that you can understand, regardless of whether you or anyone who is around you has ever articulated it.
The second thing it does well is offer a rational and empirically validated framework that is just long overdue. It is a simple truth that has been so elusive. It addresses a major reason why leadership is so rare in business - the modern organization strangles out your ability to contribute by trying to fix what you will likely never be much good at, or hate doing even if you end up with some level of proficiency at it.
Get it, read it (25 minutes) and take the online test (35 minutes). If you are like me and the 50 people around me who've infectiosuly taken and immediately recommended this thing to their inner circle of friends and family, you will absolutley find value in it. But like anything, an idea or a tool is only as good as it is put to use. A master craftsman never blames his tools. Remember to act on it and that is something for which only you can be responsible.
Fascinating but Now What?.......2007-09-19
This was an in depth test that I think actually produced accurate results. It was interesting to see where I fell and to read the descriptions of the categories. I think the test was most likely right. So, it was fun and it was somewhat informative...now what? Overall the book didn't give me that much insight on the different categories and the suggestions in some cases contradicted each other. I think it is useful to use in conjunction with additional career books or counselors. It is important to understand your strengths and this may or may not help. Alone, however, I do not think it is enough to give much to the reader.
Amazon.com
Disciplines like strategy, leadership development, and innovation are the sexier aspects of being at the helm of a successful business; actually getting things done never seems quite as glamorous. But as Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan demonstrate in Execution, the ultimate difference between a company and its competitor is, in fact, the ability to execute.
Execution is "the missing link between aspirations and results," and as such, making it happen is the business leader's most important job. While failure in today's business environment is often attributed to other causes, Bossidy and Charan argue that the biggest obstacle to success is the absence of execution. They point out that without execution, breakthrough thinking on managing change breaks down, and they emphasize the fact that execution is a discipline to learn, not merely the tactical side of business. Supporting this with stories of the "execution difference" being won (EDS) and lost (Xerox and Lucent), the authors describe the building blocks--leaders with the right behaviors, a culture that rewards execution, and a reliable system for having the right people in the right jobs--that need to be in place to manage the three core business processes of people, strategy, and operations. Both Bossidy, CEO of Honeywell International, Inc., and Charan, advisor to corporate executives and author of such books as What the CEO Wants You to Know and Boards That Work, present experience-tested insight into how the smooth linking of these three processes can differentiate one company from the rest. Developing the discipline of execution isn't made out to be simple, nor is this book a quick, easy read. Bossidy and Charan do, however, offer good advice on a neglected topic, making Execution a smart business leader's guide to enacting success rather than permitting demise. --S. Ketchum
Book Description
The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results . . . whether you’re running an entire company or in your first management job
Larry Bossidy is one of the world’s most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they’ve pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.
After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world’s most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn’t just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.
Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a “vision” and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.
The leader’s most important job—selecting and appraising people—is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there’s a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.
Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He’s been putting the ideas he writes about in
Execution to work in real time.
Download Description
The book that shows how to get the job done and deliver results... whether you're running an entire company or in your first management job
Larry Bossidy is one of the world's most acclaimed CEOs, a man with few peers who has a track record for delivering results. Ram Charan is a legendary advisor to senior executives and boards of directors, a man with unparalleled insight into why some companies are successful and others are not. Together they've pooled their knowledge and experience into the one book on how to close the gap between results promised and results delivered that people in business need today.
After a long, stellar career with General Electric, Larry Bossidy transformed AlliedSignal into one of the world's most admired companies and was named CEO of the year in 1998 by Chief Executive magazine. Accomplishments such as 31 consecutive quarters of earnings-per-share growth of 13 percent or more didn't just happen; they resulted from the consistent practice of the discipline of execution: understanding how to link together people, strategy, and operations, the three core processes of every business.
Leading these processes is the real job of running a business, not formulating a "vision" and leaving the work of carrying it out to others. Bossidy and Charan show the importance of being deeply and passionately engaged in an organization and why robust dialogues about people, strategy, and operations result in a business based on intellectual honesty and realism.
The leader's most important job -- selecting and appraising people -- is one that should never be delegated. As a CEO, Larry Bossidy personally makes the calls to check references for key hires. Why? With the right people in the right jobs, there's a leadership gene pool that conceives and selects strategies that can be executed. People then work together to create a strategy building block by building block, a strategy in sync with the realities of the marketplace, the economy, and the competition. Once the right people and strategy are in place, they are then linked to an operating process that results in the implementation of specific programs and actions and that assigns accountability. This kind of effective operating process goes way beyond the typical budget exercise that looks into a rearview mirror to set its goals. It puts reality behind the numbers and is where the rubber meets the road.
Putting an execution culture in place is hard, but losing it is easy. In July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International (it had merged with AlliedSignal) to return and get the company back on track. He's been putting the ideas he writes about in Execution to work in real time.
Customer Reviews:
Universal truths presented but people views flawed.......2007-10-05
I thought there were many good take-aways in this book. Was it all original? Of course not. Most management books are saying the same things with a slightly different twist. I've got a bookshelf full of them. However, it seems that humans are so often incapable of remembering the fundamentals and have a tendency to overcomplicate things thus history repeats itself over and over.
The tone of the book regarding people gave me a little pause. Although I do think they were spot on in their assessment of how many companies do succession planning (not at all or incorrectly), it does seem to advocate that everyone needs to be a mini-Jack Welch type persona. I've worked in a company managed by ex-GE guys and believe me, they don't have it all figured out. I think organizations will benefit by having a mix of skills. Some people are better doers and others are better thinkers. Some superstars are good at both. It takes all types.
execution 101.......2007-08-22
I did receive this book in an executive seminar; read it over couples of nights, a simple book with day to day tips to make things happen.
A must read for any one how dreams to become a successful executive and a reality check for those already there.
Beyond Talk.......2007-08-20
So many times in this marketing-focused world, we do very well at the talking but not very good at the walking. Many of us have seen amazing sales presentations . . . only to realize that the promises would never be met.
This book engages us in the discussion about how to do what we promise. It helps us to go beyond the sales presentation and really design a process by which we can follow through, build relationships and live a life that is full of integrity and trustworthiness.
Prime Example of Mediocraty .......2007-08-11
This book did very little for me. Largely, the book is unoriginal and simply restates ideas already presented in tons of business leadership books. This book might as well have been written for the sole purpose of patting prominent CEOs, namely Jack Welch, on the back. You would be better served to bypass this one and just go read something by Welch on leadership.
Practical business.......2007-07-27
I teach MBAs. Its well known in the field that MBAs are very competent in analysis but not so good in implementation. The reason for this is that most professors who teach business have never actually worked in business and are research analysts. They teach analysis because they are excellent in that area. I worked in business 10 years before becoming a professor. I teach my students about implementation and they are interested. This is a book about implementation at the CEO level. I'm thinking of using it as a supplementary executive MBA text.
Amazon.com
Here's another management parable that draws its lesson from an unlikely source--this time it's the fun-loving fishmongers at Seattle's Pike Place Market. In Fish! the heroine, Mary Jane Ramirez, recently widowed and mother of two, is asked to engineer a turnaround of her company's troubled operations department, a group that authors Stephen Lundin, Harry Paul, and John Christensen describe as a "toxic energy dump." Most reasonable heads would cut their losses and move on. Why bother with this bunch of losers? But the authors don't make it so easy for Mary Jane. Instead, she's left to sort out this mess with the help of head fishmonger Lonnie. Based on a bestselling corporate education video, Fish! aims to help employees find their way to a fun and happy workplace. While some may find the story line and prescriptions--such as "Choose Your Attitude," "Make Their Day," and "Be Present"--downright corny, others will find a good dose of worthwhile motivational management techniques. If you loved Who Moved My Cheese? then you'll find much to like here. And don't worry about Mary Jane and kids. Fish! has a happy ending for everyone. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
Imagine a workplace where everyone chooses to bring energy, passion, and a positive attitude to the job every day. Imagine an environment in which people are truly connected to their work, to their colleagues, and to their customers. In this engrossing parable, a fictional manager is charged with the responsibility of turning a chronically unenthusiastic and unhelpful department into an effective team. Across the street from her office is Seattles very real Pike Place Fish Market, world famous and wildly successful thanks to its fun, bustling, joyful atmosphere and customer service. By applying ingeniously simple lessons learned from the actual Pike Place fishmongers, our manager learns how to energize those who report to her and effect an astonishing transformation in her workplace. Addressing todays work issues (including employee retention and burnout) with an engaging metaphor and an appealing message that applies to any sector of any organization, Fish! offers wisdom that is easy to grasp, instantly applicable, and profoundthe hallmarks of a true business classic. Based on a bestselling ChartHouse training video which has been adopted by corporations including Southwest Airlines, Sprint, and Nordstrom.
Download Description
In this engrossing parable, a fictional manager is charged with the responsibility of turning a chronically unenthusiastic and unhelpful department into an effective team.
Customer Reviews:
Quick Read...Makes some GREAT points!.......2007-08-13
This book is a quick read for anyone...the story was interesting enough to keep my attention all the way through. Even though this book was depicting more severe circumstances than I have faced, I could still find ways to relate to the information. It's a nice reminder to practice good work habits every day!
Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results.......2007-07-16
The book is good for the use as a morale booster in the workplace. It is easily adaptable to a variety of environments.
Fish!.......2007-02-26
Received complete order in a reasonable amount of time and without any problems. Would order from them again.
Fish! .......2007-02-20
Good, and a light read. The ideas are powerful and worth taking time to think about.
Fun, Fun, Fun.......2007-01-30
This book is a super quick read and you'll find yourself able to not only grasp but also implement the key concepts the very same day in any organisation - if you chose to. This book has been so successful it's spawned a whole series of other similar books - but start with this one. Not only does this book help you to make your work fun, it's a fun read itself.
Book Description
Beginning with the million-copy bestsellers First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham jump-started the strengths movement that is now sweeping the work world, from business to government to education. Now that the movement is in full swing, Buckingham's new book answers the ultimate question: How can you actually apply your strengths for maximum success at work?
Research data show that most people do not come close to making full use of their assets at work -- in fact, only 17 percent of the workforce believe they use all of their strengths on the job. Go Put Your Strengths to Work aims to change that through a six-step, six-week experience that will reveal the hidden dimensions of your strengths. Buckingham shows you how to seize control of your assets and rewrite your job description under the nose of your boss. You will learn:
• Why your strengths aren't "what you are good at" and your weaknesses aren't "what you are bad at."
• How to use the four telltale signs to identify your strengths.
• The simple steps you can take each week to push your time at work toward those activities that strengthen you and away from those that don't.
• How to talk to your boss and your colleagues about your strengths without sounding like you're bragging and about your weaknesses without sounding like you're whining.
• The fifteen-minute weekly ritual that will keep you on your strengths path your entire career.
With structured exercises that will become part of your regular workweek and proven tactics from people who have successfully applied the book's lessons, Go Put Your Strengths to Work will arm you with a radically different approach to your work life. As part of the book's program you'll take an online Strengths Engagement Track, a focused and powerful gauge that has proven to be the best way to measure the level of engagement of your strengths or your team's strengths. You can also download the first two segments of the renowned companion film series Trombone Player Wanted.
Go Put Your Strengths to Work will open up exciting uncharted territory for you and your organization. Join the strengths movement and thrive.
Customer Reviews:
How to take charge of your work.......2007-10-03
Marcus Buckingham is passionate about helping you identify your unique strengths and unleash their power. As you read and work your way through the program in this book, you will become convinced that growing through your strengths is the ticket to your future happiness, effectiveness and success. He refutes the approach of improvement by fixing mistakes as a dead end that cannot help you discover how you can be exceptional. The book constantly refers you to its associated Web site for materials that will help you work through the exercises. Buckingham wants you to act rather than just read a theoretical tract. Nothing presented in this book will help you without action and implementation. However, if you take up the challenge, you will become empowered as you take charge of your work through your strengths. We recommend this book because it contains just a few simple ideas that could change your life.
Follow-up book, much overlap with earlier books.......2007-09-30
Marcus Buckingham discusses six steps to identifying and putting your strengths to work:
1. Convince yourself that exercising your strengths is more fun and productive that spending your time shoring up your weaknesses.
2. Identify specific activities that exercise your strengths. For example, mine include
a. Determine true value
b. Learn and apply new and useful skills, knowledge
c. Creative problem solving
3. Build your job towards your strengths.
4. Stop / reduce time spent shoring up your weaknesses
5. Build a strong team by enabling each member to exercise their strengths towards delivering business value
6. Make a habit of ensuring that each person's activities around you are aligned with their strengths (including yourself :-)
The book could have been much shorter - the concept was repeated multiple times. More specifics on step 3 would also have been more useful.
Excellent book and great team activity!.......2007-09-13
I manage a team of Sales Professionals and found this book to be a great tool to help them stay focused on the positive aspects of their job. I really like the message and appreciate the fact that it does not immediately say that if you are not happy right now, you need a new job. It points them back to their current position and helps them be more productive and utilize their strengths where they are at.
While he also wants to sell you other stuff, the book is a good way to build your own positive deviance.......2007-09-13
If you really look at what is holding you back, from really using your best qualities and talents, you will almost surely find that most of it are the images and thoughts you hold between your ears. You are so sure about what could go wrong, or about what you HAVE to do, or about what is just not possible, that you just don't even try to step out.
Well, to say it simply, stop it! This book provides you with a six step process to help you build on your strengths rather than chasing and fixing mistakes. It is based on the ideas you will find in the business philosophies of Appreciative Inquiry and Positive Organizational Scholarship (POS). The core idea in these movements is that you can't build on your strengths if all you see are your weaknesses. If you want to be a master of something, you have to study those who do it well, not focus on the mistakes of those who aren't very skilled. The term they often use is "positive deviance". That is, that area of performance that deviates ABOVE the norm. The goal is to learn how to create more positive deviance.
In the first step, Buckingham focuses you on giving up belief in three myths: 1) As you grow your personality changes. 2) You will grow in your areas of greatest weakness. 3) A good team member does whatever it takes to help the team. He says that the truths are: 1) As you grow you become more of who you already are. 2) You will grow in your areas of greatest strength. 3) A good team member deliberately volunteers his strengths to the team most of the time.
As he discusses each of these he asks you to examine what you are getting out of believing in these myths. What would it cost you to stop believing in it? Then think carefully about the benefits you would gain by believing the truth. If you sincerely do this, you will likely be shocked and then energized.
The purpose of this book is to help you take charge of your life and especially your work life. You will make it more rewarding, says the author, by centering your work on your strengths rather than just doing whatever comes to you as an assignment. It is a six step process. The first, as I noted above, is to bust the myths. Step 2 is to get clear about your strengths. Three is to free your strengths. Four helps you see and stop your weaknesses (not focus on fixing them). Five coaches you on how to speak up and get your boss supporting your strengths. Six is about keeping the process alive by building strong habits.
Now, Marcus Buckingham is a big-time, high-priced consultant. The book sends you to his website to use some free materials there (but also offers you others to purchase). Underneath this is the desire to sell your company consulting and seminar services with associated materials. It is interesting stuff, but the sheer "salesiness" of it detracts from it a bit for me.
Reviewed by Craig Matteson
A `how-to' book for understanding your Identity.......2007-09-05
I admire books that deliver as advertised! This is a `how-to' book for gaining clarity on a critical component - something Buckingham calls strengths - for individual performance success. As he did in previous books, Buckingham defines Strengths as being our blend of Talent, Skills, & Knowledge; then he goes farther with this book, noting that strengths are not just personality or talent profiles, even if done using the Clifton StrengthFinder profiling tool. What seems to be emerging in step-2 of this 6-step process for finding and using our strengths is the tapping of passion - what work actually gives you energy. If so, Buckingham may now be speaking more about understanding identity, than what gets heard as a traditional strengths and weaknesses assessment. Whatever the case, this, easy to read, understand, and do, book contains practical tools for learning about ourselves and using this understanding to improve personal performance.
Although a book devoted primarily to `how-to' steps, during Step-1, Bust the Myths, Buckingham does a summary of personality development that I particularly liked. He also included a nice bit about how strengths are used to build high performing teams - it is not necessary to lose your identity in order to become a team player! This book is recommended for any individual who is interested in living a happier and more productive life by appreciating who they are and the gifts they have to offer the world. Dennis DeWilde, author of The Performance Connection
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Effectively managing personnel--as well as one's own behavior--is an extraordinarily complex task that, not surprisingly, has been the subject of countless books touting what each claims is the true path to success. That said, Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton's Now, Discover Your Strengths does indeed propose a unique approach: focusing on enhancing people's strengths rather than eliminating their weaknesses. Following up on the coauthors' popular previous book, First, Break All the Rules, it fully describes 34 positive personality themes the two have formulated (such as Achiever, Developer, Learner, and Maximizer) and explains how to build a "strengths-based organization" by capitalizing on the fact that such traits are already present among those within it.
Most original and potentially most revealing, however, is a Web-based interactive component that allows readers to complete a questionnaire developed by the Gallup Organization and instantly discover their own top-five inborn talents. This device provides a personalized window into the authors' management philosophy which, coupled with subsequent advice, places their suggestions into the kind of practical context that's missing from most similar tomes. "You can't lead a strengths revolution if you don't know how to find, name and develop your own," write Buckingham and Clifton. Their book encourages such introspection while providing knowledgeable guidance for applying its lessons. --Howard Rothman
Book Description
Unfortunately, most of us have little sense of our talents and strengths, much less the ability to build our lives around them. Instead, guided by our parents, by our teachers, by our managers, and by psychology's fascination with pathology, we become experts in our weaknesses and spend our lives trying to repair these flaws, while our strengths lie dormant and neglected.
Marcus Buckingham, coauthor of the national bestseller First, Break All the Rules, and Donald O. Clifton, Chair of the Gallup International Research & Education Center, have created a revolutionary program to help readers identify their talents, build them into strengths, and enjoy consistent, near-perfect performance. At the heart of the book is the Internet-based StrengthsFinder® Profile, the product of a 25-year, multimillion-dollar effort to identify the most prevalent human strengths. The program introduces 34 dominant "themes" with thousands of possible combinations, and reveals how they can best be translated into personal and career success. In developing this program, Gallup has conducted psychological profiles with more than two million individuals to help readers learn how to focus and perfect these themes.
So how does it work? This book contains a unique identification number that allows you access to the StrengthsFinder Profile on the Internet. This Web-based interview analyzes your instinctive reactions and immediately presents you with your five most powerful signature themes. Once you know which of the 34 themes -- such as Achiever, Activator, Empathy, Futuristic, or Strategic -- you lead with, the book will show you how to leverage them for powerful results at three levels: for your own development, for your success as a manager, and for the success of your organization.
With accessible and profound insights on how to turn talents into strengths, and with the immediate on-line feedback of StrengthsFinder at its core, Now, Discover Your Strengths is one of the most groundbreaking and useful business books ever written.
Customer Reviews:
Strengthsfinder is a powerful tool.......2007-10-01
I have not yet read any of the book, but bought it for the key to taking the online Strengthsfinder assessment for a graduate class in career and workforce development. (NOTE: MAKE SURE TO BUY A NEW COPY OF THE BOOK IF YOU WANT TO GET AN "UNUSED" KEY TO TAKING THE STRENGTHSFINDER ASSESSMENT ONLINE.)
The assessment alone was well worth the price of the book. Structuring one's professional development or career pathing around one's strengths (instead of around one's weaknesses) is an energizing way to invest in one's work self. If you only take the assessment and never read the book, you will have gotten your money's worth.
Regarding the book, my professor tells me it goes a good job at applying the Strengthsfinder to the work world and management.
book.......2007-09-21
great product. exactly as stated it would be. great book. very uplifting!
If you want to know your strengths.......2007-09-21
I read this book and took a class on it, there are coaches that are trained all over the world that will help you discover and use your strengths in every day life. Loved this book. They even have a book for every age, (young students, adults, and college age)
Go straight to the last chapter and forget the rest.......2007-09-20
Very dissapointed as to what the title leads you to believe about the book. Though the authors have done a tremendous amount of research, it flaws in 2 major issues which it forgets:
a) the profile though quite specific, is similar to other profiles out there
b) 90% of the book is about why we should concentrate on our strenghts. Now lets face it, if you are a small business person like me who wants to grow his business, i already understand that i should be concentrating and exploring my strenghts and that of my organisation. I dont think i need to go thru the majority of the book to learn the concept.
If you are a small business owner like me who wants the "how to", just read chapter 7 which goes to practical issues. If on the other hand you have nothing else to do, then yes do go ahead.
Marketing Excellence-Yes! New Information-?.......2007-09-19
This book is an excellent illustration of the Gallup Organization's ability to market data as "knowledge". Today we seem to be so enamored of huge statistical databases that we assume better conclusions come from analyzing more information, in newer and more complex ways. When I finished reading this book, and taking the online "Signature Themes" profile evaluation I was struck by the enormity of my tranquilized obviousness. Everything I "learned" from this book I already knew, other than the valuable marketing lesson of how they got me to buy it!
Book Description
Monday Morning Leadership is a story that can help your career! Everyone likes a good story, especially if there are lessons that can be immmediately applied to life. This book is one of those stories - about a manager and his mentor. It offers unique encouragement and direction that will help you become a better manager, employee, and person.
Customer Reviews:
Dynamite.......2007-09-24
They say dynamite comes in small packages. This little book is jammmed full of helpful hints for any business. The applications are very real and necessary still today in order take care of our most important assets, our employees. And at the same time continue to grow ourselves as better leaders. I highly recommend this book.
Must buy.......2007-08-17
Easy to read and really pulls things together. I enjoyed this book so much I've ordered 4 more of Cottrell's management/leadership books.
Excellent mentoring.......2007-08-10
Monday Morning Leadership is short and easy to read. Actually you can read it in one sitting. However, that does not lesson the value. Because the lessons are presented in such condensed fashion, they stand out. The lessons do not get lost in excess verbage.
There are excellent tips on the value of having the right employees and the high cost of having the wrong employees. Tony, the mentor, give sage advise about time management, taking responsibility and the need for managers to be aware of the needs of the employees.
Some of the better tips are: Everything you (as a manager) do matters.
People quit people before they quit companies.
...the primary reasons most executives fail are arrogance, out-of-control egos, and insensitivity.
The book finishes by stressing the importance of continual learning. Tony suggest reading 10 minutes per day. Personally I think you need to spend at least an hour per day on self-improvement with at least 30 minutes devoted to reading.
An excellent book, it can and should be read and referred to often.
Good Content; Poor Presentation.......2007-08-01
This book was required reading for a leadership class I took. It has a number of good pearls, and I am glad I read it. However, the presentation is horrible. It is written as if it is the transcription of two people having a series of conversations over coffee. The dialog between the two people seems contrived and repetitive, even belittling at times. In the end, I could have gotten just as much out of the book if it had been condensed to a two-page list of bulleted items.
Monday Morning Leadership: 8 Mentoring Sessions You Can't Afford to Miss.......2007-07-30
Excellent book. Quck and easy to read; very insightful. I have recommended it to others.
Amazon.com
The lure of this book's promise starts with the assumption in its title. Possibility--that big, all-encompassing, wide-open-door concept--is an art? Well, who doesn't want to be a skilled artist, whether in the director's chair, the boardroom, on the factory floor, or even just in dealing with life's everyday situations? Becoming an artist, however, requires discipline, and what the authors of The Art of Possibility offer is a set of practices designed to "initiate a new approach to current conditions, based on uncommon assumptions about the nature of the world."
If that sounds a little too airy-fairy for you, don't be put off; this is no mere self-improvement book, with a wimpy mandate to transform its readers into "nicer" people. Instead, it's a collection of illustrations and advice that suggests a way to change your entire outlook on life and, in the process, open up a new realm of possibility. Consider, for example, the practice of "Giving an A," whether to yourself or to others. Not intended as a way to measure someone's performance against standards, this practice instead recognizes that "the player who looks least engaged may be the most committed member of the group," and speaks to their passion rather than their cynicism. It creates possibility in an interaction and does away with power disparities to unite a team in its efforts. Or consider "Being the Board," where instead of defining yourself as a playing piece, or even as the strategist, you see yourself as the framework for the entire game. In this scenario, assigning blame or gaining control becomes futile, while seeking to become an instrument for effective partnerships becomes possible.
Packed with such examples of personal and professional interactions, the book presents complex ideas on perception and recognition in a readable, useable style. The authors' combined, eclectic experience in music and painting (as well as family therapy and executive workshops) infuses their examples with vibrant color and sound. The relevance to corporate situations and relationships is well developed, and they don't rely on dry case studies to do it. Indeed, this book assumes the emotional intelligence and desire to engage of its reader, promising access to the rewards of that door-opening notion--possibility--in return. --S. Ketchum
Book Description
Presenting twelve breakthrough practices for bringing creativity into all human endeavors, The Art of Possibility is the dynamic product of an extraordinary partnership. The Art of Possibility combines Benjamin Zander's experience as conductor of the Boston Philharmonic and his talent as a teacher and communicator with psychotherapist Rosamund Stone Zander's genius for designing innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment.
The authors' harmoniously interwoven perspectives provide a deep sense of the powerful role that the notion of possibility can play in every aspect of life. Through uplifting stories, parables, and personal anecdotes, the Zanders invite us to become passionate communicators, leaders, and performers whose lives radiate possibility into the world.
Download Description
The Art of Possibility offers a set of breakthrough practices for creativity in all human enterprises. This inspirational book is a synthesis of Rosamund Stone Zander's knowledge of cutting-edge psychology and Benjamin Zander's experiences as the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Infused with the energy of their dynamic partnership, the book joins together Ben's extraordinary talent as a mover and shaker, teacher, and communicator with Rosamund's genius for creating innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment. In lively counterpoint, the authors provide us with a deep sense of the powerful role that the notion of possibility can play in every aspect of our lives. The Zanders' deceptively simple practices are based on two premises: that life is composed as a story ("it's all invented") and that, with new definitions, much more is possible than people ordinarily think. The book shifts our perspective with uplifting stories, parables, and anecdotes. From "Giving an A" to the mysterious "Rule Number 6" to "Leading from Any Chair"--the account of Ben's stunning realization that the conductor/leader's power is directly linked to how much greatness he is willing to grant to others--each practice offers an opportunity for personal and organizational transformation.
Customer Reviews:
inspirational.......2007-09-28
This book continues to change my life. I loved their key phrases to remember their ideas. I suggested it to many of my teacher friends and people on our board of education - where money is so tight and so many cuts are being made -this book inspires you to the many possibilities you can create.
Reshaping the "box".......2007-09-06
This book is thought provoking and stimulating. It is not an easy read, but definately gives you the tools to seek new ways of viewing almost any situation in a more positive light. I highly recommend this to anyone who is ready to not to merely think outside of the box, but reshape their box entirely.
No change without leadership.......2007-08-27
There is no change without leadership at all levels. This book is a good introduction into the principles of transformational leadership. Creating Possibilities for others such that they are touched moved and inspired. The leadership theory is based on leading oneself not others and focuses on who you are being not what you are doing. This is not a book about manipulative Machiavellian techniques rather it's about creating free choice for others where they are inspired by the possibility you have created.
A personal growth book for the nearly-jaded.......2007-08-16
I've been reading books for years now that are designed to inspire and lead one toward personal growth in relationships, in the workplace, in life in general. I'm a junkie for this kind of book, and therefore I've become somewhat jaded as well, never really expecting anything new but always hoping. What a delight, therefore, to be utterly surprised by THE ART OF POSSIBILITY. This book delivers! The Zanders' approach is revolutionary, shining real light amongst the plethora of jingoistic motivational books that abound these days. There is nothing self-centered or bumper stickerish or rah-rah cheerleady in this book. It has real depth, it never skims the surface or lets us off the hook. Benjamin is conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. Rosamund is a painter and therapist. They bring their stunning creativity and imagination into real life -- their lives -- and show us how we, too, can compose and conduct our lives, paint our future. It's an exciting book, one that I've now read three times and underlined and highlighted and excerpted onto sticky notes for my computer and mirror and calendar. No wonder they are being called on to speak to leading business and professional groups.
The Art of Possibility.......2007-07-10
I would recommend this book to anyone in a leadership position. It is not only inspiring, but practical. It offers insights into effective communication.
Average customer rating:
- Great Book
- A go-to book on coaching.
- What everyone needs to know
- the best coaching book
- Your Gate way to Coaching profession
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Co-Active Coaching, 2nd Edition: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and, Life
Laura Whitworth ,
Karen Kimsey-House ,
Henry Kimsey-House , and
Phillip Sandahl
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A newly revised edition of the book that helped define the coaching profession, Co-Active Coaching captures the essence of what it takes to design and maintain successful, collaborative, and empowering coaching relationships. The authors describe in detail their flexible and adaptive model-placing the client's agenda at the heart of the coaching partnership, define the skills required for success, provide dozens of sample coaching conversations, and a power-packed Coach's Toolkit of over 35 exercises, questionnaires, checklists, and forms to make these proven principles and techniques eminently practical and immediately actionable.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-09-16
This was a gift for my boss and he LOVED it! It arrived very soon after ordering. Thanks for everything.
A go-to book on coaching........2007-08-28
This is one of the few go-to books for coaches, or those who want to become coaches. Very, very helpful. Lots of ideas, tips, etc. The CD that comes with the book is worth the price alone!
Buy this book and read it! One of my favs on the topic of coaching!
What everyone needs to know.......2007-08-05
This book opened great ways to honor myself and others. It is well written and expanded my idea about coaching.
the best coaching book.......2007-06-29
This book is the best and most comprehensive coaching book I have on my shelfs.
Co-active coaching is what my profession is about and I've found so many answers to my questions about how-to and what-is-next .
Captures the wisdom of co-active coaching and it's a must read if you want to tap into the real power of coaching.
Your Gate way to Coaching profession.......2007-05-28
It's an amazing book that groups theories and practice for a profession that needs alot of practice. It's a necessity for all new professionals in the field.
Amazon.com
Book Description
Got carrotphobia? Do you think that recognizing your employees will distract you and your team from more serious business, create jealousy, or make you look soft? Think again.The Carrot Principle reveals the groundbreaking results of one of the most in-depth management studies ever undertaken, showing definitively that the central characteristic of the most successful managers is that they provide their employees with frequent and effective recognition. With independent research from The Jackson Organization and analysis by bestselling leadership experts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, this breakthrough study of 200,000 people over ten years found dramatically greater business results when managers offered constructive praise and meaningful rewards in ways that powerfully motivated employees to excel.
Drawing on case studies from leading companies including Disney, DHL, KPMG, and Pepsi Bottling Group, bestselling authors Gostick and Elton show how the transformative power of purpose-based recognition produces astonishing increases in operating results--whether measured by return on equity, return on assets, or operating margin. And they show how great managers lead with carrots, not sticks, and in doing so achieve higher
* Productivity
* Engagement
* Retention
* Customer satisfaction
The Carrot Principle illustrates that the relationship between recognition and improved business results is highly predictable--it's proven to work. But it's not the employee recognition some of us have been using for years. It is recognition done right, recognition combined with four other core traits of effective leadership.
Gostick and Elton explain the remarkably simple but powerful methods great managers use to provide their employees with effective recognition, which all managers can easily learn and begin practicing for immediate results. Great recognition doesn't take time--it can be done in a matter of moments--and it doesn't take budget-busting amounts of money. This exceptional book presents the simple steps to becoming a Carrot Principle manager and to building a recognition culture in your organization; it offers a wealth of specific examples, culled from real-life cases, of the ways to do recognition right. Following these simple steps will make you a high-performance leader and take your team to a new level of achievement.
"The Carrot Principle: How Great Managers Use Employee Recognition"
An Essay by Adam Gostick and Chester Elton
For organizations that do it right, it's a bit like discovering gold in your backyard. Employee recognition, long considered a benefit that costs money, can actually be a management tool that makes money. At first blush, the idea is counter-intuitive. As leaders, we've become accustomed to viewing recognition programs as a cost of doing business. But employee recognition is evolving. A groundbreaking research study of 200,000 employees, unveiled in our new book The Carrot Principle, presents a new paradigm: Applying employee recognition techniques within a context of goal-setting, open communication, trust and accountability, (what we have come to call the Basic Four) accelerates the impact of all of these critical management skills.
Continue reading "The Carrot Principle: How Great Managers Use Employee Recognition"
More to Explore
|
The 24-Carrot Manager |
Managing with Carrots |
Book Description
Got carrotphobia? Do you think that recognizing your employees will distract you and your team from more serious business, create jealousy, or make you look soft?
Think again.
The Carrot Principle reveals the groundbreaking results of one of the most in-depth management studies ever undertaken, showing definitively that the central characteristic of the most successful managers is that they provide their employees with frequent and effective recognition. With independent research from The Jackson Organization and analysis by bestselling leadership experts Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, this breakthrough study of 200,000 people over ten years found dramatically greater business results when managers offered constructive praise and meaningful rewards in ways that powerfully motivated employees to excel.
Drawing on case studies from leading companies including Disney, DHL, KPMG, and Pepsi Bottling Group, bestselling authors Gostick and Elton show how the transformative power of purpose-based recognition produces astonishing increases in operating results -- whether measured by return on equity, return on assets, or operating margin. And they show how great managers lead with carrots, not sticks, and in doing so achieve higher
- Productivity
- Engagement
- Retention
- Customer satisfaction
The Carrot Principle illustrates that the relationship between recognition and improved business results is highly predictable -- it's proven to work. But it's not the employee recognition some of us have been using for years. It is recognition done right, recognition combined with four other core traits of effective leadership.
Gostick and Elton explain the remarkably simple but powerful methods great managers use to provide their employees with effective recognition, which all managers can easily learn and begin practicing for immediate results. Great recognition doesn't take time -- it can be done in a matter of moments -- and it doesn't take budget-busting amounts of money.
This exceptional book presents the simple steps to becoming a Carrot Principle manager and to building a recognition culture in your organization; it offers a wealth of specific examples, culled from real-life cases, of the ways to do recognition right. Following these simple steps will make you a high-performance leader and take your team to a new level of achievement.
Customer Reviews:
More than the traditional Carrot!.......2007-08-21
While the title may sound like authors Gostick and Elton are espousing the positive half of the carrot and stick motivational model, the book actually demonstrates the performance improvement correlation when recognition of individual contribution and identity (purpose-based recognition) is applied to the four basics of leadership - goal setting, communications, trust, and accountability. Recognizing that the knowledge economy requires the harnessing of people's commitment, the authors advocate moving beyond a transactional management model into emotional-based management, using purpose-based recognition to build a Carrot Culture. Without using the "R" word, they espouse a relational management model, supported by recognition.
The authors do a good job of demonstrating the business performance benefits when employees are engaged with the goals of the organization. They then provide ample guidance for how to use recognition to enhance engagement, including an extensive list of ideas for use with each of their four basics of leadership. All in all, an easy read, recommended for managers who know they might do better at acknowledging the contribution of their people and are looking for something to help them get into action.
Enjoyable read *and* applicable.......2007-08-09
With all of the sales and managerial books out there, how to really discern which makes for a fun airplane read or which really offers applicable value? This book offers both. Both my husband and I read our library copy, and experienced it as so useful we bought our own copy.
Important Stuff in Depth, but Nothing New.......2007-08-02
Here are the big ideas from this book.
Positive consequences, such as praise and recognition, are great tools for encouraging people to try new things and to continue desired behaviors. They send a message about what managers value.
In work teams where people say they have been praised recently, productivity, morale, and measures of engagement are more likely to be high and people are more likely to stay with the organization.
In teams where people say they have not been praised recently, productivity, morale, and measures of engagement are more likely to be lower and people are more likely to want to leave.
Companies with high productivity, morale and engagement and low turnover are more profitable.
Managers rate themselves higher on giving praise and recognition than their subordinates rate them.
There are no breakthrough, thought-leader ideas here. There is nothing really new.
The jacket blurb implies that this is based on exciting new research. It's not. It's based on research by the authors' firm that reinforces other research, including Gallup, Blanchard, a boatload of academic researchers and my own study of top performing supervisors. So if you're looking for new or breakthrough stuff, you don't have to buy the book and you don't need to read any further.
That doesn't mean that you won't get value from the book. The points the authors make are worth making again and again. Praise in all its forms is the most powerful and most underused tool for growing great, engaged teams.
Because the book is devoted, essentially, to a single idea, you get lots of depth on that idea. Some of those are just small insights.
On page 84, the authors make the point that in service industries, the perceived value of the product is tied to the behavior of the person that the customer comes in contact with. I knew this at some level, but seeing it in print got me to reflect on it and what it means.
Other things are more substantive. The authors provide details on different types of recognition: Day-to-Day; Above and Beyond; Career; and Event. They offer forms and lists and charts.
If you haven't read much about the power of praise and recognition this is a good place to start. The book covers most of the basic research, puts it in context, and gives you tools for putting it to use.
Remember that the authors wrote this book to sell their services and products. Sometimes they try way too hard to stretch their single bed blanket of product over the double bed of the subject. Sometimes they struggle to name things "carrot" or paint them orange, when simple description would do just fine.
If you're looking for a tool to use with managers at our company or in your peer group to increase the amount and effectiveness of legitimate praise, this is a good book to buy and use. You may also want to investigate the authors' other products.
Good Idea - Doesn't Need an Entire Book.......2007-07-29
I found the overall message of this book good and for that I might give it 5 stars. However the book takes too long to try to prove itself, and is overly detailed. I found it boring and dry. I respect the authors for writing a book since that is hard to do, but it seems like too much writing for a simple message. I would rephrase the book here, except I'm not that good of a writer. My best attempt would be to say, money motivates senior management, but does not tend to motivate most employees. Focus on recognizing employees clearly for distinct behavior, and give personal rewards (not plaques, trophies, or candy), immediately, and publicly. Also have an altruistic attitude towards your employees. Most of the book is fairly obvious for progressive managers, and those who are not just won't get it. In the end I don't think it will have a earth shattering effect on your business. Instead I would recommend something, anything, by Seth Godin.
Great Book to Improve a Managers Team.......2007-07-25
This is an exceptional book on how managers and executives can use recognition to retain top talent, improve teamwork, and improve performance. Recognition of employee performance, accomplishments, and contributions to the team and company has a tremendous impact on the positive influence and profit outcome for a company.
A must read for every manager in every company.
Gary Perman
Professional Headhunter
Perman Technical Group
Book Description
Managing employees in today’s rapidly evolving workplace can sometimes feel like negotiating a minefield. Such recent new trends as flextime, telecommting, 360-degree feedback, the flattening of hierarchies, and the increased use of temps and contract workers present tough new challenges for supervisors in every field. This timely, completely revised and updated edition of Ferdinand Fournies’s classic management coaching "bible" shows you proven ways to get workers to perform at the highest level while eliminating the self-destructive kinds of behaviors that have become increasingly prevalent in recent years.
In this book, you’ll be taught specific face-to-face interventions you can use to enhance performance in every kind of workplace situation--from sales to creative brainstorming. There are also interventions uniquely suited to resolving problems ranging from low productivity to absenteeism to conflicts between individuals. You’ll learn precisely what to say and do so that each person you supervise will want to give you his or her best work--even when that person was previously thought to be a "problem employee." Packed with brand-new case studies from Fournies’s latest research into the dynamics of the modern workplace, this classic guide takes all the guesswork out of becoming the kind of inspired, "hands-on" manager that every company today is looking for!
Customer Reviews:
A valuable reference on an important skill.......2007-09-02
This is an excellent book on coaching. You will read other views here to the contrary, but that is largely due to the many interpretations of the word "coaching." My primary focus is coaching managers and salespeople in a highly demanding, very technical field. There are many useful and effective tools presented in Fournies' work. Not everything will be applicable in every situation, but this book will give you many ideas for respectful, empathic coaching. If you are a "life coach" or a "mentor" you may prefer other techniques, but you'll still find some good advice here. Looking for achievement and opportunities to provide reinforcement can hardly be considered bad advice. Many managers simply don't know how to make the transition from technical expert or great performer to someone responsible for the performance of others. Fournies gives some valuable tips on doing so.
My recommendation is to read several books on coaching, beginning with John Whitmore's 3rd edition of Coaching for Performance. If you coach salespeople, also read Managing Major Sales by Rackham and Ruff. And if you are coaching others, read Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman; coaching others requires, first and foremost, self-awareness, self-regulation, and empathy. Goleman's book will raise awareness of the importance of these qualities in business and in life.
Great Handbook for New Managers.......2007-04-03
I have been a sales manager for 10 years. In that time I have read close to 100 books on management and leadership. this is one of my favorites. It is an easy read, it makes solid points and it provides clear direction on what a manager needs to do to help get the most out of their people. I highly recommend this book.
Best business book EVER.......2006-11-10
This is a must have for anyone in a supervisory or managerial role. Simple concepts, easy read...with actual dialogues to help you practice the coaching techniques discussed. And best of all, IT WORKS.
One of the most useful management books yet.......2006-11-06
I wish I had found this book when I started managing people 20 years ago, it would have saved me a lot of painful trial and error. It is a remarkably practical guide that addresses the main problem that many managers face: how to confront performance issues in a way that will yeild a positive outcome, while not crushing or otherwise demotivating the employee. It includes examples of realistic conversations (including the extended silences that often happen, and the brush-off responses, the stalemates). It is also a book that can be constructively shared with your entire team - including those with performance issues - as it helps defuse all emotion and keeps the conversations on the actual and observable behaviors that are getting in the way of the business.
Most Disappointing.......2006-08-24
Having worked in the mental health community for sometime, I was already familiar with this technique and have been using it already. I felt the book was really droll and somewhat condescending in tone. I wouldn't purchase it again. His companion book "Why Employees Don't Do What They're Supposed to Do and What to Do about It" is a more practical read and enjoyable too--I would recommend that one.
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Books Index
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First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
The Personality Code
