Book Summary: First, Break All The RulesThis article is based on
following book: First, Break All The Rules ‘What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently’ By Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman Simon & Schuster 271 pages
Based on a mammoth research study conducted by Gallup Organization involving 80,000 managers across different industries, this book explores challenge of many companies - attaining, keeping and measuring employee satisfaction. Discover how great managers attract, hire, focus, and keep their most talented employees!
Key Ideas: 1. The best managers reject conventional wisdom. 2. The best managers treat every employee as an individual. 3. The best managers never try to fix weaknesses; instead they focus on strengths and talent. 4. The best managers know they are on stage everyday. They know their people are watching every move they make. 5. Measuring employee satisfaction is vital information for your investors. 6. People leave their immediate managers, not companies they work for. 7. The best managers are those that build a work environment where employees answer positively to these 12 Questions:
a. Do I know what is expected of me at work? b. Do I have materials and equipment I need to do my work right? c. At work, do I have opportunity to do what I do best everyday? d. In last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? e. Does my supervisor or someone at work seem to care about me as a person? f. Is there someone at work who encourages my development? g. At work, do my opinions seem to count? h. Does mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important? i. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? j. Do I have a best friend at work? k. In last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress? l. This last year, have I had opportunity at work to learn and grow?
The Gallup study showed that those companies that reflected positive responses to 12 questions profited more, were more productive as business units, retained more employees per year, and satisfied more customers.
Without satisfying an employee’s basic needs first, a manager can never expect employee to give stellar performance. The basic needs are: knowing what is expected of employee at work, giving her equipment and support to do her work right, and answering her basic questions of self-worth and self-esteem by giving praise for good work and caring about her development as a person.
