Reviewed by Mary Case

If you are interested in selecting the right people, setting expectations, motivating, and developing them, this book provides revolutionizing new insights, supported by quantitative research only the Gallup Organization could muster. Over 25 years Gallup conducted two studies, the second leading from the first which surveyed more than one million employees, asking, "What do the most talented employees need from their workplace?" Once the informatics people did their ciphering, the data led to a blindingly simple insight: great employees need great managers.

This simple insight led to the second study which focused on the questions, "How do the world’s greatest managers find, focus, and keep talented employees?" The Gallop Organization, led by Buckingham and Coffman, interviewed 80,000 managers—some outstanding by all counts, some average—in business, government, and public sector organizations, large and small, privately held and publicly traded, profit and mission driven. Based on the performance measures provided by each organization and using meta-analytical techniques, they can now synthesize what great managers know about people:

• People don’t change that much.
• Don’t waste time trying to put in what was left out.
• Try to draw out what was left in.
• That is hard enough.

Great managers have four key things in common, regardless of their industry or the scale of the business. First, they select for talent which they understand is different from experience, skills, and knowledge. Second, they define the right outcomes by avoiding the temptations of average managers, understanding when to use procedures and when creativity. Third, they focus on the employees strengths. The book describes the recent brain research which supports this focus. And last, great managers find the right fit for their people, by understanding the heros in every role, the art of tough love, and by ignoring the myths of the career path or, as so aptly titled in the book, the blind, breathless climb.
Measuring the strength of the workplace, yours or any, can be known by the strength of the answers to just twelve questions, reduced from hundreds used over the years by Gallop. The questions are:

1. Do I know what’s expected of me at work?

2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?

3. Do I have the opportunity to do what I do best, every day?

4. In the last seven days have I received praise or recognition for good work?

5. Does my supervisor or someone at work seem to care about me as a person?

6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?

7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?

8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel that my work is important?

9. Are my coworkers committed to doing quality work?

10. Do I have a best friend at work?

11. In the last six months have I talked to someone about my progress?

12. Do I have opportunity to learn and grow at work?

The remainder of this readable book tells you more about what great managers know and do, how to align and sequence the four key commonalities of great managers along with the twelve questions above. And less you think there is anything "soft" about this approach to the workplace, the ultimate message of this book is that the only way to generate enduring profits or advance a social vision is to begin by building the kind of work environment that attracts, focuses, and keeps talented employees. This is one business book that can make a difference positive difference in any organizations. Buy it.