Marcus Buckingham

I have now gone through his three books -

(1) First break all the rules
(2) Now discover your strengths
(3) One thing you need to know

All his books say the same these - "Focus on your strengths"

Its one idea i always have adored and was in my mind before reading the book. So when i read the book, my initial thought was - hope many would read it!!! ( because majority tried to fix weakness in themselves and in others, and does not try capitalizing on theit strengths).

"First break all the rules" is one book everyone should read. It talks about what great managers have in common - they capilatilize on each person's unique strengths.

It talks about the different roles Managers have to perform efficiently.
1. selecting right people
2. defining right outcomes
3. Focussing on their strengths
4. Rewarding

Bad managers spend most of their time with their most unproductive employees, but good managers do the reverse. They spend the best time with their best ones.

So can weakness can be left untouched. Perhaps no.......
1. may be you can stop doing that activity, and reassign someone else
2. may be partnership helps
3. some workarounds may help etc etc . some tution :) perhaps
4. put some of ur strengths in place to work around weakness ( my writing skills are not that good, but i do follow-up regularly with chat or phone and make sure that acknowledgements are received when its necessary, also have no hestitation in saying apology wherever unnecessary. so i have never had an uncomfotable moment except in appraisals where my communication skills are put to low :) )

The 12 questions Marcus/Gallop has derived for their polls is excellent. It gives you a clear picture whether your employees enjoy their work:

"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? 3) At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? 4) In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise 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 like my work is important? 9) Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? 10) Do I have a best friend at work? 11) In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress? 12) At work, have I had the opportunities to learn and grow?"

I tried interviewing people in my last company during my IIM project and it gave me a clear picture on what happened ( will talk about that sometime later )

This is one book you should read, definitely.

The second one: Now discover your strengths is attractive since you will get a "key" for doing a StrengthFinder test. I did mine - see the results.

The book is not very attractive. You better read "first break all the rules a second time".

The third one - "One thing you need to know - about great managing, great leading, sustained individual success" is a great read. I liked his writing, his examples. It does not much, but still its more worth than the 300 odd Rs i paid for it.

The one things are:
Managing: "Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it." Leading: "Discover what is universal and capitalize on it." Sustained individual success: "Discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it."

I liked the third one........ I have never done that. May be i should try!!!!! The "one things" may not be that attractive.., but read the book to get his perspective.. it has real work-life stories, perspectives and how they achieve excellence and statisfaction at work place.

Time is the most constraint resource we have - perhaps moving away from what we dont like, may be a good idea!