Winning Ways: Four Secrets for Getting Great Results by Working Well With People

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: "Winning Ways" by Richard I. Lyles is about a recent computer science graduate who is having people problems with his coworkers. His manager introduces him to a football coach who claims to know the "Winning Ways" -- the secrets of getting along with other people. Over the course of several meetings, the coach teaches our hero four principals of working well with others: Making others feel stronger, collaborating with others, avoiding two-valued thinking, and influencing for the future.

The book is easy reading, however, I recommend you check the book out of your local library before purchasing it. It's useful for recent college grads who are having problems dealing with other people.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: "Winning Ways" by Richard I. Lyles is about a recent computer science graduate who is having people problems with his coworkers. His manager introduces him to a football coach who claims to know the "Winning Ways" -- the secrets of getting along with other people. Over the course of several meetings, the coach teaches our hero four principals of working well with others: Making others feel stronger, collaborating with others, avoiding two-valued thinking, and influencing for the future.

The book is easy reading, however, I recommend you check the book out of your local library before purchasing it. It's useful for recent college grads who are having problems dealing with other people.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: "Winning Ways" by Richard I. Lyles is about a recent computer science graduate who is having people problems with his coworkers. His manager introduces him to a football coach who claims to know the "Winning Ways" -- the secrets of getting along with other people. Over the course of several meetings, the coach teaches our hero four principals of working well with others: Making others feel stronger, collaborating with others, avoiding two-valued thinking, and influencing for the future.

The book is easy reading, however, I recommend you check the book out of your local library before purchasing it. It's useful for recent college grads who are having problems dealing with other people.

Rating:
Summary: Winning Ways is already giving us good results
Review: A friend who knew about my "challenging" work situation recently gave me a copy of Winning Ways. This engaging and extremely practical book is already helping my work group. After taking the "short" one hour to read it, I immediately purchased copies for my coworkers. The author, Dick Lyles, explained some complex concepts in a very easy to understand business parable. But, the story hit close to home. Very close to home. I have two "Alberts" in my work group. The 4 secrets in the book were discussion items that helped move us out of "interpersonal" squabbles and refocus our energies toward our work. People who avoided each other before reading the book are now working together collaborately. The book helped us all realize that we needed to solve problems for the future instead of for the past or the present. It also helped us realize we all had different strengths and needed to share what we were doing with each other. The secret about Camels are OK was particularly helpful, because it allowed us to move on without having to have everything perfect all of the time. It's still early but my group's negative performance trend has definitely been reversed. Surprisingly, not everyone at work was taught these four fundamental secrets in school or earlier in their careers. But, with Winning Ways, those who needed to, learned them quickly. And the rest enjoyed the helpful reminders. All will reflect upon what they are doing. And be mindful going forward in the future. Winning Ways will motivate anyone who reads it. It's that good!

Rating:
Summary: Winning Ways is already giving us good results
Review: A friend who knew about my "challenging" work situation recently gave me a copy of Winning Ways. This engaging and extremely practical book is already helping my work group. After taking the "short" one hour to read it, I immediately purchased copies for my coworkers. The author, Dick Lyles, explained some complex concepts in a very easy to understand business parable. But, the story hit close to home. Very close to home. I have two "Alberts" in my work group. The 4 secrets in the book were discussion items that helped move us out of "interpersonal" squabbles and refocus our energies toward our work. People who avoided each other before reading the book are now working together collaborately. The book helped us all realize that we needed to solve problems for the future instead of for the past or the present. It also helped us realize we all had different strengths and needed to share what we were doing with each other. The secret about Camels are OK was particularly helpful, because it allowed us to move on without having to have everything perfect all of the time. It's still early but my group's negative performance trend has definitely been reversed. Surprisingly, not everyone at work was taught these four fundamental secrets in school or earlier in their careers. But, with Winning Ways, those who needed to, learned them quickly. And the rest enjoyed the helpful reminders. All will reflect upon what they are doing. And be mindful going forward in the future. Winning Ways will motivate anyone who reads it. It's that good!

Rating:
Summary: Exception to the Blanchard team¿s typical excellence
Review: A simple, easy to follow book about building teamwork and advancing your career through 'soft' skills. However, I thought the book fell far short of the quality and rigor Blanchard's more popular works on management and team building. While Lyles' ideas work on some level, they seem to fall short when looked at analytically through tested and effective management models.

For example, "Make people feel good about themselves" sounds good on the surface. But what if someone is engaging in unacceptable behavior at work? The assertion "Make people feel good about themselves" is a weakened version of the very effective advice offered in the 'One Minute Manager:' "Be tough on the problem, easy on the people."

What about the advice to 'build camels,' with consensus ideas being better than individual ideas? In my experience, a team's ideas are often better than an individual's. But, think of pork-barreled legislation, and camels seem less appealing; there is a little known clause in the Homeland Security Act that absolves drug companies currently producing the MMR vaccines, linked to childhood autism, from lawsuits springing from its faulty product. So, to vote against the bill because of this clause would make a senator seem un-American, even if it were a vote against pork-barreled protection for unethical drug companies.

I have loved Blanchard's ideas for years, and this one a rare exception to the team's typical excellence. For a better treatment of teamwork, pick up"Gung-Ho,"another book from the Blanchard management training mill.

Rating:
Summary: Exception to the Blanchard team?s typical excellence
Review: A simple, easy to follow book about building teamwork and advancing your career through `soft' skills. However, I thought the book fell far short of the quality and rigor Blanchard's more popular works on management and team building. While Lyles' ideas work on some level, they seem to fall short when looked at analytically through tested and effective management models.

For example, "Make people feel good about themselves" sounds good on the surface. But what if someone is engaging in unacceptable behavior at work? The assertion "Make people feel good about themselves" is a weakened version of the very effective advice offered in the `One Minute Manager:' "Be tough on the problem, easy on the people."

What about the advice to `build camels,' with consensus ideas being better than individual ideas? In my experience, a team's ideas are often better than an individual's. But, think of pork-barreled legislation, and camels seem less appealing; there is a little known clause in the Homeland Security Act that absolves drug companies currently producing the MMR vaccines, linked to childhood autism, from lawsuits springing from its faulty product. So, to vote against the bill because of this clause would make a senator seem un-American, even if it were a vote against pork-barreled protection for unethical drug companies.

I have loved Blanchard's ideas for years, and this one a rare exception to the team's typical excellence. For a better treatment of teamwork, pick up"Gung-Ho,"another book from the Blanchard management training mill.

Rating:
Summary: Winning Ways
Review: At my work, we read this book to enhance our skills as a company and as individuals. I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it to others. What this book said to me, was that in order to work efficiently, one needs to work well with others. Positions do not necessarily matter, as long as everyone feels that he or she is contributing all he or she can into the project. People need to be on the same wavelength as far as the goal for the project, because everyone can have different ideas on what the goal is. Another thing is to work together, not compete. If two people have different ideas in mind, they would both more likely succeed if they combined efforts. Lastly, if you boost each other's self esteem you will feel more comfortable working together.

Rating:
Summary: Winning Ways
Review: At my work, we read this book to enhance our skills as a company and as individuals. I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it to others. What this book said to me, was that in order to work efficiently, one needs to work well with others. Positions do not necessarily matter, as long as everyone feels that he or she is contributing all he or she can into the project. People need to be on the same wavelength as far as the goal for the project, because everyone can have different ideas on what the goal is. Another thing is to work together, not compete. If two people have different ideas in mind, they would both more likely succeed if they combined efforts. Lastly, if you boost each other's self esteem you will feel more comfortable working together.

Rating:
Summary: Learn how to build "energizing" and productive relationships
Review: Hi! I'm Dick Lyles, and I'd like to thank you for your interest in my book, WINNING WAYS: FOUR SECRETS FOR GETTING GREAT RESULTS BY WORKING WELL WITH PEOPLE.

For more than twenty-five years I've worked with some of the top organizations and best people throughout the world. The challenges have been diverse and interesting. But one thing has been constant. Among all the thousands of people I've worked with, some have been exceptionally adept at working well with other people, while some have not. And there have been a lot of people in between - they work well with some people and not with others, or they do okay in some situations and not so well in others. But almost everyone shared a common desire - to be more effective in producing results with other people, in every situation.

I sincerely believe that this book makes it possible for anyone - regardless of ability - to work more effectively with other people. However, the four secrets will help push you beyond the threshold of effectiveness in interpersonal relationships - they will help you create truly energizing relationships with the people around you. That's one thing that makes this book unique.

Before I sent the manuscript off to my publisher, I solicited feedback from more than a hundred people from all walks of life. Their reactions to those early drafts were both helpful and extremely motivating to me. Here are just a few of their responses:

· A Director of Human Resources decided to give every new employee a copy of the book as part of her company's New Employee Orientation program. She thinks that if everyone in the company practices the four secrets of Winning Ways, her company's culture will soar.

· A business owner I know is giving a book to everyone in his company for the same reason.

· A marriage and family counselor has decided to use it with her clients and is strategizing a way to get a copy of the book to every therapist in the country!

· Another friend who works with high school coaches is trying to figure out how to get every coach in her state to read the book.

And there are more. But you should read the book and decide for yourself how these principles might best be used to make a positive difference in your world. Before you do, however, there is one more dynamic I'd like to share.

Almost everyone who has read the book (about three out of four) reacts by saying, "..... and I hope you didn't mind, but I shared your book with ___________ ." The people named in the blanks have included "my son (or daughter)," my niece (or nephew)," "my neighbor," "a colleague," "my best friend," and "this person at work."

Because of this "buzz factor," I'm confident this is a book you will enjoy on two levels. Your first round of enjoyment will come when you read it yourself. You'll experience your second level of joy when you share the book with someone else.

I chose to write about these ideas using a parable for several reasons. The first reason is because parables are fun and easy to read. The second is because I think it's easier for the reader to relate the points to real life when they are presented in the context of a story. And the final reason is because I had the opportunity to work with and receive guidance from all three masters of the modern day parable - Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson (who wrote THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER), and Sheldon Bowles (who co-authored RAVING FANS and GUNG HO! with Ken). They taught me that the most valuable and powerful learning can often times be gleaned from a few fundamental truths presented in a simple and easy-to-comprehend format.

Most days I feel like I'm sitting on top of the world because of the exciting opportunity I have to serve The Ken Blanchard Companies and our clients as President and Chief Operating Officer. I'd like to think that part of the reason Ken and Margie Blanchard (and family) have afforded me this honor is because I try my best to practice the four secrets of Winning Ways.

It is my sincere desire that in the same way these secrets will help you achieve the success and happiness you want out of your life and career. Please let me know how well they work for you.