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Hardcover
237 pages
ISBN 9781595629982 Published Dec. 2006
Gallup Press
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Posted May 12, 2011 10:16 a.m. by 800-ceo-read
We’ve come to expect good things from Gallup Press, and their latest release, Decade of Change, doesn’t disappoint. Unlike their past releases, books like Strengths Finder 2.0 and 12: The Elements of Great Managing that have very specific focus and takeaways, this book is an anthology of material from “Gallup’s most visionary people, as well as the great minds with whom Gallup regularly associates.” So, there is no one great takeaway from the book that I can give you here. Instead, you’ll find many different ideas, lessons, scenarios to consider, and actions to take in many different arenas. The one common focus throughout the book is on management.
The material ranges from interviews of “the father of the Internet” Vinton Cerf and Hurricane Katrina hero Lieutenant General Russel Honoré to an essay about “Global Migration and Job Creation” by Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup. And each piece has a focus on a particular way the changes of the last decade have brought change into our own lives and businesses—from the housing bubble to the shifting demographics of labor unions and how managers can engage them in today’s economy.
But why pay attention to all of these disparate issues? What does it mean for your business or career?
[W]hile 9/11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, turmoil in the Middle East and Asia, the warmest decade on record, and the collapse of global financial markets tend to be discussed as political and economic issues, they’re also management and leadership issues. For as any forward-thinking senior executive and organizational leader knows, the world’s problems very quickly become business problems.
And while Decade of Change delves into very large issues, such as if money does indeed make us happier and how that affects developing countries, the book also discusses very specific management issues you may be facing right now—how you engage and compensate employees, manage a retail store, lead change in your organization, and even how to improve your wellbeing at work.
This is a fascinating, entertaining and informative read, grounded in the research and statistics you’d expect from an organization like Gallup. Most importantly, Decade of Change is more than a rehashing of past events; it is a discussion about how we can move forward.
"[A]ll of us read too many business books."
Posted May 26, 2009 3:56 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Leadership - 800 CEO Read Blog
The question that caught our attention was:
Q. So you find that people make business more complicated than it is?What's interesting to me is that Castro-Wright blames one thing, when the problem is something all together different. Reading business books can cause people to hire their authors, but the inability to implement a vision/strategy/plan falls back on the leader.A. No doubt about it. I think that all of us read far too many business books. I’ve worked 30 years now in management roles, and a number of times I’ve seen a new C.E.O. come in, and the first act is typically to get the leadership team to an offsite. And you get a consultant - because you can’t do it without a consultant - and the consultant then helps the team design a vision. And then you’ve got all these words, and several thousand dollars and a couple of days of golf later, you go back to the company to actually try to communicate that vision throughout the organization. So you hire another consultant to do that. It shouldn’t be like that.
Later in the Q&A, Castro-Wright was asked about what he would change in business school education. He laments that everyone with an MBA has taken classes in accounting, operations, and strategy, and have had no exposure to the skills needed to lead and manage people. “How do you talk with the person who comes to your office late at night to tell you that her daughter is sick and she might not be able to come in the following day?,” he asks. Here is an example where business books do a great job of supplementing the knowledge of new leaders. Books like Quiet Leadership, 12, and Growing Great Employees are perfect for the task.
So, I am not sure this was really about business books, and if it was, then the problem is seeing business books in the right context: they deliver knowledge, not results.
Jack Covert Selects: StrengthsFinder 2.0
Posted April 17, 2007 3:25 a.m. by jack
StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath, Gallup Press, 192 Pages, $19.95, Hardcover, February 2007, ISBN 9781595620156
I have been writing about the Gallup Press a lot in the last six months. I reviewed Vital Friends in August and their book 12 in December. I am back to tell you there is another outstanding book from Gallup to start looking for on bookstore shelves.
StrengthsFinder 2.0 is an expansion of the franchise started by the book Now, Discover Your Strengths. Originally published in 2001, Now, Discover Your Strengths has become a mainstay on bestseller lists, spending 50 weeks on the Wall Street Journal list in 2006. If you have not read Now, Discover Your Strengths or used the first version of their online assessment too, the premise is that most people spend their professional lives trying to improve on their weakness instead of working within their strengths. The StrengthsFinder assessment is meant to help guide you toward optimizing your talents. Gallup has written other strengths-based books for salespeople, teachers, and faith-based groups.
StrengthsFinder 2.0 is meant to be the most accessible of all the books, to be used with employees at all levels of an organization. Gallup has identified 34 strengths for individuals ranging from "Achiever" to "Woo" (Winning Others Over). Each book comes with unique code which allows the reader to take the web-based self-assessment. The results from the assessment highlight your five talents in ranked order. Each strength is accompanied by an explanation, anecdotes from others with that strength, and a to-do list with actions you can implement to help you develop your talents.
I am a big believer in putting people where they can excel. StrengthFinder 2.0 is a great way to help find the right fit for the people in your organization or for yourself.
Business Books for January: Intro
Posted Jan. 15, 2007 8:00 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Lists - 800 CEO Read Blog
January is a big month for business books. There are at least a dozen books that have come out in January (or late December) that are worthy of consideration. The list below is a starting point. Which ones you will end up reading will clearly depend on your time and preferences. We have covered some of these titles in Jack Covert Selects and I plan to write about others as the month progresses.
Business books for January 2007:
- Running With The Bulls Without Getting Trampled by Tim Irwin
- The Three Tensions: Winning the Struggle to Perform Without Compromise by Dominic Dodd and Ken Favaro
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Other Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
- 12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd and James Harter
- Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform From Those Who Don't by Ram Charan
- Payback: Reaping The Reward of Innovation by James Andrew and Harold Sirkin
- Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear by Frank Lutz
- Accelerants: 12 Strategies to Sell Faster, Close Deals and Grow Your Business Faster by Michael Boylan
- Ego Check: Why Executives Hubris is Wrecking Companies and Careers and How To Avoid The Trap by Matthew Hayward
- Greating Great Employees: Turning Ordinary People Into Extraordinary Performers by Erika Andersen
- Exceeding Customer Expectations: What Enterprise, America's #1 Car Rental Company, Can Teach You About Creating Lifetime Customers by Kirk Kazanjian
- A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder by Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman
- The Mormon Way of Doing Business: Leadership and Success Through Faith and Family by Jeff Benedict
- What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful by Marshall Goldsmith
- Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams
P.S. You can keep up with stuff like this on the 800ceoread New Releases Blog.
Jack Covert Selects: 12: The Elements of Great Managing
Posted Jan. 9, 2007 2:11 a.m. by jack
12: The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner & James K. Harter, PH.D., Gallup Press, 200 Pages, $25.95 Hardcover, January 2007, ISBN 159562998X
Here are a few ways to get me to review your book: 1). Get Richard Florida—Rise of the Creative Class—to give you a blurb for the back of your book; 2). Position your book as the follow-up to First, Break All the Rules; 3) Have Gallup Press publish your book. Of course, you can do all these things and still write a piece of junk. Lucky for us, this book is brilliant. (And they are correct: it is the absolute logical follow-up to First, Break All the Rules, one of the best books ever.)
The name of the book is derived from the 12 elements revealed in that famous book and that emerged from Gallup’s research as those that best predict employee and workgroup performance. The 12 came from over 10 million employee and manager interviews. They are:
1. I know what is expected of me at work
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My superior, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the past six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
Copyright 1993 - 1998 The Gallup Organization, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.
Now I have been in business for more than a few years and I would have a very hard time arguing with any of these points. As you read through them, did they resonate with you? I thought so.
What the authors then do is make a chapter out of each of the elements with outstanding examples to support their premise. These examples are what make the book so enjoyable to read. You learn about making fiberglass…and staffing at Best Buy. I cannot stress enough how important this book will be to managers of every ilk.
