A manifesto on managers and hierarchy that bucks the trend of the lean, flat, leaderless organization As business struggles to adapt to a rapidly changing world, managers are bombarded with a bewildering array of schemes for how to be a boss and make an organization tick. It’s tempting to be seduced by futurist fantasies where every company has the culture of a startup, and where employees in wacky, whimsical office settings, liberated from hierarchies and bosses that oppress them, are the foundation for breakthrough performance. “Get real,” warn Nicolai J. Foss and Peter G. Klein. These fads ironically lead to micromanaging and, often, to disaster. Companies and societies, they show, need authority and hierarchy to coordinate work, including creative work. And, counterintuitively, Foss and Klein illustrate how the creative use of authority and hierarchy helps companies to be more agile and flexible, enabling educated, motivated people and teams to thrive. And not a moment too soon: Foss and Klein provide evidence that global challenges such as the proliferation of artificial intelligence, economic disruption, empowered knowledge workers, and black swan events such as the pandemic actually make hierarchy and the job of the manager more important than ever.

How do you motivate the disengaged, and further engage the engaged? The answer is to foster meaning at work and give work a greater sense of personal significance, thus making work matter. The startling truth is that 70% of the workforce is disengaged - their bodies may put in long hours, but their hearts and minds never punch in. This is a terrible dilemma for organizations trying to motivate employees to do more with less. Make It Matter is the antidote to crisis levels of disengagement and the first book that serves as a practical, yet inspiring how-to guide for motivating by creating meaning?- the?motivational force of our times. Distilling research, case studies, stories, and interviews with managers at great companies to work for, leadership expert Scott Mautz unveils 7 essential Markers of Meaning that can be triggered to create meaning in and at work. You'll get dozens of tools and learn about the power of: Direction - Reframe work to add meaning and motivation, and help people find a sense of significance and purpose in what they do Discovery - Craft the richest kind of opportunities to learn, grow, and influence, while helping people feel valued Devotion - Cultivate an authentic, caring culture, master meaning-making leadership behaviors, and drive out corrosive behaviors that can unknowingly drain meaning at work When people feel that they matter, they give their all. Channel that power and everyone profits.

Instant Wall Street Journal Bestseller! Congratulations, you're a manager! After you pop the champagne, accept the shiny new title, and step into this thrilling next chapter of your career, the truth descends like a fog: you don't really know what you're doing. That's exactly how Julie Zhuo felt when she became a rookie manager at the age of 25. She stared at a long list of logistics--from hiring to firing, from meeting to messaging, from planning to pitching--and faced a thousand questions and uncertainties. How was she supposed to spin teamwork into value? How could she be a good steward of her reports' careers? What was the secret to leading with confidence in new and unexpected situations? Now, having managed dozens of teams spanning tens to hundreds of people, Julie knows the most important lesson of all: great managers are made, not born. If you care enough to be reading this, then you care enough to be a great manager. The Making of a Manager is a modern field guide packed everyday examples and transformative insights, including: * How to tell a great manager from an average manager (illustrations included) * When you should look past an awkward interview and hire someone anyway * How to build trust with your reports through not being a boss * Where to look when you lose faith and lack the answers Whether you're new to the job, a veteran leader, or looking to be promoted, this is the handbook you need to be the kind of manager you wish you had.

A smart, small book for any manager’s pocket. In every manager’s career there are moments where decisions need to be made in order to achieve success and this smart, nicely packaged little book can be there to help each time. The trick to succeeding in these moments is to identify each of these situations ahead of time and understand how to act and what to do to reduce the chances of failure. That is exactly what The Little Black Book for Managers has done. The authors have listed a whole host of situations most managers face, based on thousands of personal experiences, and have mapped out how to deal with each situation. The book contains specific examples of words and phrases that can be used as well as illustrations and exercises to analyse your current performance. It is short on waffle and high on practical wisdom. It is designed to be dipped in and out of – reached for whenever a situation arises. This is a practical support tool for managers at all levels, from shop-floor supervisor to main board director. The Little Black Book for Managers explains how to deal with scenarios such as; Having a lack of confidence to deal with other people in the way that is needed Times when you have to assert your authority more Allocating critical work. Who to choose? Needing to get extra effort from the team when under pressure Incentivising Delegation Having to deal with under-performers Personality clashes between work colleagues Managing a meeting with senior leaders

When a person goes to the boss with a problem and the boss agrees to do something about it, the monkey is off his back and onto the boss's. How can managers avoid these leaping monkeys? Here is priceless advice from three famous experts: how managers can meet their own priorities, give back other people's monkeys, and let them solve their own problems.

Many proclaim the value of leaders. Many revere entrepreneurs, as if that's all that's needed. And yet someone – the manager – must embrace leadership and be entrepreneurial while building and running their firm to meet stakeholder expectations. The manager structures the firm and hires and organises the people. They develop necessary technology. They motivate, develop, and reward their people, while ensuring their wellbeing. And they drive change, ultimately securing their firm's productivity and sustainability. This book details how management of the firm should be done. It builds practical models that managers can follow to get the very best out of their people. This third edition considers recent international events such as the COVID pandemic that have changed the very nature of work itself.

“Bob Chapman, CEO of the $1.7 billion manufacturing company Barry-Wehmiller, is on a mission to change the way businesses treat their employees.” – Inc. Magazine Starting in 1997, Bob Chapman and Barry-Wehmiller have pioneered a dramatically different approach to leadership that creates off-the-charts morale, loyalty, creativity, and business performance. The company utterly rejects the idea that employees are simply functions, to be moved around, "managed" with carrots and sticks, or discarded at will. Instead, Barry-Wehmiller manifests the reality that every single person matters, just like in a family. That’s not a cliché on a mission statement; it’s the bedrock of the company’s success. During tough times a family pulls together, makes sacrifices together, and endures short-term pain together. If a parent loses his or her job, a family doesn’t lay off one of the kids. That’s the approach Barry-Wehmiller took when the Great Recession caused revenue to plunge for more than a year. Instead of mass layoffs, they found creative and caring ways to cut costs, such as asking team members to take a month of unpaid leave. As a result, Barry-Wehmiller emerged from the downturn with higher employee morale than ever before. It’s natural to be skeptical when you first hear about this approach. Every time Barry-Wehmiller acquires a company that relied on traditional management practices, the new team members are skeptical too. But they soon learn what it’s like to work at an exceptional workplace where the goal is for everyone to feel trusted and cared for—and where it’s expected that they will justify that trust by caring for each other and putting the common good first. Chapman and coauthor Raj Sisodia show how any organization can reject the traumatic consequences of rolling layoffs, dehumanizing rules, and hypercompetitive cultures. Once you stop treating people like functions or costs, disengaged workers begin to share their gifts and talents toward a shared future. Uninspired workers stop feeling that their jobs have no meaning. Frustrated workers stop taking their bad days out on their spouses and kids. And everyone stops counting the minutes until it’s time to go home. This book chronicles Chapman’s journey to find his true calling, going behind the scenes as his team tackles real-world challenges with caring, empathy, and inspiration. It also provides clear steps to transform your own workplace, whether you lead two people or two hundred thousand. While the Barry-Wehmiller way isn’t easy, it is simple. As the authors put it: "Everyone wants to do better. Trust them. Leaders are everywhere. Find them. People achieve good things, big and small, every day. Celebrate them. Some people wish things were different. Listen to them. Everybody matters. Show them."