Editorial Review
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.
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Customer Reviews
I did, and it works! 
2008-09-18
Definitely on my recommended book list. A must read for women in business.
Susan Bock
The Success Coach for Women in Business
www.SusanBockSolutions.com
It's not really about breaking any rules, but it's a good reading 2008-09-15
Outstanding managers know intuitively that one can obtain more from practicing and enhancing our stengths than by trying to overcome our weaknesses. This is the principle of this excellent book and the result of a survey done to a pool of outstanding managers. I bought the book just because it was the result of a Gallup study and it did not dissapoint me. The book contains an interesting but brief explanation of how the study was conceived and performed.
The introduction of this book led my interest to neurosciences, since the author made an analogy between brain circuitry and roads. He mentioned that each brain has differently developed neuronal links, which are developed in early childhood. Those links that are stronger (superhighways compared to small roads) represent our strengths. Access and communication using the superhighways will always be easier for us than struggling through unlevelled sidepaths (our weaknesses) or even to try to broaden these narrow roads, which requires tremendous effort and might be even imposible, since they were set in early childhood. Reading about neurosciences I found out about the plasticity of the brain's circuitry (which years ago was thought to be rigid and set), so with a lot of effort and practise we might overcome some weaknesses, but we would need to really evaluate the effort vs. the result. (See A User's Guide to the Brain: Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain.
I recently found out that had I read the classics, and specifically Aristotle, this idea would not have appeared new to me (so apparently Aristotle broke the rules long time ago), but since I haven't read him, it was good to read this book. Although one always prefers to do things at which one is good at, we sometimes force ourselves to do things at which we are not so good at, to improve our weak spots.
The content of the book is so good, that it makes you forget about the management book writing style and its being repetitive.
The sequel, Now, Discover Your Strengths is also quite good, it makes a summary of the main strengths that people have and to what type of work they can best be applied. It even contains a test (both inside the book or online) to help you discover your strengths.
Best book ever about leadership! 2008-07-17
Of all the books I've read about leadership, this is the one that gave me the most. I've been able to use the information in this book every single day and guess what? It really works. If you're interested in management and leadership, start here!
First Break All The Rules 2008-07-07
Very interesting perspective on how top managers operate. Plants seeds of change and presents how why what has been done in the past and currently practiced may have not been effective and ultimately successful as we have all been told it would be. Highly recommended reading for those wanting tho think out of the box.
Good but long winded 
2008-06-14
Nutshell review - a good book with good insights and advice but, as is the norm for this type of book, filled lots of case studies as page fller.
More Profound than its Title Suggests 2008-06-13
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.
Who you work for is more important than which company you work for 2008-06-09
I'd recommend First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently to all new managers - well, to all managers for that matter. The first point the book makes is that who you work for is more important than the company you work for, your job description or even your paycheck. I agree, 100%. "We have said that an employee may join a company because of its prestige and reputation, but that his relationship with his immediate manager determines how long he stays and how productive he is while he is there. We have said that the manager is the critical player in turning each employee's talent into performance. We have said that managers trump companies."
The next main point they make is that everyone is different and you should spend your time finding the perfect role for them and the perfect way for them to accomplish their goals. Don't waste your time trying to improve your employees' weaknesses. Get them the skills they need or find them the resources or partnerships they need, and put them in the right roles - where their talents and drives match the job they have. They break talents and skills into skills, knowledge and talents. The first two are teachable but "talents" are inherent. I saw their talents more as drivers. A talent was more than just what you are good at but what motivates you do what you do well.
The authors define 12 questions that measure the key things needed to attract and keep good employees:
What do I get?
1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
What do I give?
1. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?
2. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
3. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
4. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
Do I belong here?
1. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
2. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
3. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
4. Do I have a best friend at work?
How can we all grow?
1. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
2. This last year have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
According to the authors, managers should spend their time making sure the first two sets of questions are answered: "what do I get?" and "what do I give?" They also point out that most organizations aren't set up to treat people like individuals (in the sense that we all have different talents) - instead they try to get everyone to do a job well in the same way - nor to reward people in their current role without promoting them out. They offer suggestions for how managers can work within existing company policies. They also provide a section on what to do if your manager is still working on becoming a perfect manager - a section how to manager yourself and help your manager work best with you.
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently is well worth reading for anyone who is a manager, aspiring to be a manager or frustrated with their current manager.
Great book for managers of people 2008-05-18
This is a great book for anyone who manages people, be it one or many. The concepts in this book could flow over into your personal life as well.
Great Book for Managing Yourself and Otherr 2008-05-17
I use this book in combination with StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths in my MBA courses. First Break All the Rules is terrific for overcoming the myths that stymie managers, chief among them, fix your weaknesses and those of others. Instead, First Break All the Rules correctly advises managers to focus on their strengths, and to develop their subordinates' strengths, in order to maximize performance. Their finding that strengths-based management is better than overcoming weaknesses remains highly relevant a decade later, and I'm sure will be so decades hence.
Aneil
Managerial Companion to "Now Discover Your Strengths" 
2008-04-27
Having read and enjoyed Buckingham's "Now Discover Your Strengths" and having accepted his central premise that we're all gifted and gifted differently, this book felt intuitive. It introduces this main idea of unique giftedness ("talents" in Buckingham's vernacular), accepts it, and then asks how we ought to manage accordingly. This conclusion is built on a massive amount of Gallup research, and a number of helpful quotes and anecdotes result.
The four keys that the authors identify are: (1) Select for Talent; (2) Define the Right Outcomes; (3) Focus on Strengths; and (4) Find the Right Fit. Again, these are just build on the recognition that we're all unique: we can't do all jobs equally well (though we can adjust to certain things and learn other skills); we're going to reach the outcome in a way suited to our talents so don't try to micromanage the process); our greatest potential lies in leveraging our talents; and don't promote someone into a role that doesn't fit. Hints and tips (to be applied in your own, personal way) are littered throughout.
Whether you manage or are managed (or both), this is a good, helpful read.
