The greatest managers in the world seem to have little in common. They differ in sex, age, and race. They employ vastly different styles and focus on different goals. Yet despite their differences, great managers share one common trait: They do not hesitate to break virtually every rule held sacred by conventional wisdom. They do not believe that, with enough training, a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to. They do not try to help people overcome their weaknesses. They consistently disregard the golden rule. And, yes, they even play favorites. This amazing book explains why. Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman of the Gallup Organization present the remarkable findings of their massive in-depth study of great managers across a wide variety of situations. Some were in leadership positions. Others were front-line supervisors. Some were in Fortune 500 companies; others were key players in small, entrepreneurial companies. Whatever their situations, the managers who ultimately became the focus of Gallup's research were invariably those who excelled at turning each employee's talent into performance. In today's tight labor markets, companies compete to find and keep the best employees, using pay, benefits, promotions, and training. But these well-intentioned efforts often miss the mark. The front-line manager is the key to attracting and retaining talented employees. No matter how generous its pay or how renowned its training, the company that lacks great front-line managers will suffer. Buckingham and Coffman explain how the best managers select an employee for talent rather than for skills or experience; how they set expectations for him or her -- they define the right outcomes rather than the right steps; how they motivate people -- they build on each person's unique strengths rather than trying to fix his weaknesses; and, finally, how great managers develop people -- they find the right fit for each person, not the next rung on the ladder. And perhaps most important, this research -- which initially generated thousands of different survey questions on the subject of employee opinion -- finally produced the twelve simple questions that work to distinguish the strongest departments of a company from all the rest. This book is the first to present this essential measuring stick and to prove the link between employee opinions and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction, and the rate of turnover. There are vital performance and career lessons here for managers at every level, and, best of all, the book shows you how to apply them to your own situation.

Based on the largest worldwide study of employee engagement and more than a decade of research, Gallup explains the 12 elements essential to motivating employees and features the inspiring stories of 12 managers who succeeded in these dimensions. More than a decade ago, Gallup combed through its database of more than 1 million employee and manager interviews to identify the elements most important in sustaining workplace excellence. These elements were revealed in the international bestseller First, Break All the Rules. 12: The Elements of Great Managing is that book’s long-awaited sequel. It follows great managers as they harness employee engagement to turn around a failing call center, save a struggling hotel, improve patient care in a hospital, maintain production through power outages, and successfully face a host of other challenges in settings around the world. Gallup’s study now includes 10 million employee and manager interviews spanning 114 countries and conducted in 41 languages. In 12, Gallup weaves its latest insights with recent discoveries in the fields of neuroscience, game theory, psychology, sociology and economics. Written for managers and employees of companies large and small, 12 explains what every company needs to know about creating and sustaining employee engagement.

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.

Strengths movement founder Marcus Buckingham answers the ultimate question: How can you actually apply your strengths for maximum success at work?

The search for Mr. Right starts here. This simple set of dating dos and don'ts-combining The Rules and The Rules II-will teach you how to find (and keep!) a man who treats you with the respect and dignity you deserve. You are a creature unlike any other (Rule #1)-that's why you need... The Rules. Refreshingly blunt, astonishingly effective, and at times hilarious, All the Rules will lead you to where you want to be: in a healthy, committed relationship. These commonsense guidelines will help you: Lead a full, satisfying, busy life outside of romance. Accept occasional defeat and move on. Bring out the best in you and in the men you date. Whether you're eighteen or eighty, these time-tested techniques will help you find the man of your dreams.

Forget what you know about the world of work You crave feedback. Your organization's culture is the key to its success. Strategic planning is essential. Your competencies should be measured and your weaknesses shored up. Leadership is a thing. These may sound like basic truths of our work lives today. But actually, they're lies. As strengths guru and bestselling author Marcus Buckingham and Cisco Leadership and Team Intelligence head Ashley Goodall show in this provocative, inspiring book, there are some big lies--distortions, faulty assumptions, wrong thinking--that we encounter every time we show up for work. Nine lies, to be exact. They cause dysfunction and frustration, ultimately resulting in workplaces that are a pale shadow of what they could be. But there are those who can get past the lies and discover what's real. These freethinking leaders recognize the power and beauty of our individual uniqueness. They know that emergent patterns are more valuable than received wisdom and that evidence is more powerful than dogma. With engaging stories and incisive analysis, the authors reveal the essential truths that such freethinking leaders will recognize immediately: that it is the strength and cohesiveness of your team, not your company's culture, that matter most; that we should focus less on top-down planning and more on giving our people reliable, real-time intelligence; that rather than trying to align people's goals we should strive to align people's sense of purpose and meaning; that people don't want constant feedback, they want helpful attention. This is the real world of work, as it is and as it should be. Nine Lies About Work reveals the few core truths that will help you show just how good you are to those who truly rely on you.