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

Drawing on a wide body of research, including extensive in-depth interviews, "The One Thing You Need To Know" reveals the central insights that lie at the core of: Great Managing, Great Leadership and Great Careers. Buckingham uses a wealth of relevant examples to reveal that at the heart of each insight lies a controlling insight. Lose sight of this 'one thing' and all of your best efforts at managing, leading, or individual achievement will be diminished. For great managing, the controlling insight has less to do with fairness, or team building, or clear expectations (although all are important). Rather, the one thing great managers know is the need to discover and then capitalize on what is unique about each person. For leadership, the controlling insight is the opposite - discover and capitalize on what is universal to all your people, regardless of differences in personality, race, sex, or age. For sustained individual success, the controlling insight is the need to discover what you don't like doing, and know how and when to stop doing it. In every way a groundbreaking work, "The One Thing You Need To Know" offers crucial performance and career lessons for business people at every level.

About the Author

Marcus Buckingham is the co-author of the best-selling books FIRST, BREAK ALL THE RULES and NOW, DISCOVER YOUR STRENGTHS. He is a renowned speaker and regular guest on American television. He lives in Los Angeles but was born in England and is a graduate of Cambridge University.

Reviews

Following up on his first two best sellers (First, Break All the Rules; Now, Discover Your Strengths), Buckingham continues in the same vein, this time trying to quantify what makes a successful manager, leader, or even spouse. While occasionally referencing his earlier works, he concentrates on three key areas: management, leadership, and personal success. Much of the text boils down to essential truisms that are not very helpful in themselves, e.g., "discover your strengths and cultivate them." However, by using well-chosen case studies to illustrate his points and by writing in an enjoyable fashion, Buckingham succeeds in creating another book that will connect with readers and encourage them to succeed in leadership positions. Recommended for business collections in both academic and public libraries.-Susan Hurst, Miami Univ. Libs. of Ohio, Oxford Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.