Rating: 
Summary: Effective but too wordy
Review: The ideas in this book are derived from comprehensive research by well known business intellectuals. The ideas in this book are not only insightful, but highly credible. This credibility is what sets this books apart from other business books which tends to be highly subjective and speculative. On the downside, the author could have been far more succinct. His writing style is reserved for college textbooks which are purposely written to be verbose so students will pay more for the thick hard cover textbooks.
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Summary: Boost your productivity
Review: The title sounds overpromising, but is not. I personaly dislike books that promotes the one-size-fits-all type of models. Instead, the author has demonstrated that cognitive, personality and interpersonal factors are not the ones that separates the stars from average performers. While these factors are important they do not create a critical advantage once you pass a certain level. The core of the book is focused on the 9 strategies that separates the star from the average. As a great consultant, Robert Kelley leads a process of self-discovery, with you being able to recognize tactics and discover new ones as you read the book. I am lucky to read this book, early in my career.
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Summary: Why Smart People aren't necessarily Smart Workers
Review: This book helped answer why I could be a brilliant student but a so-so employee. I started reading this book a few months ago during my lunch break -- it was a gift from my boss. It started to open my eyes to the common sense skills that you need to succeed in the workplace. I began to take things like networking and problem solving skills seriously instead of thinking of them as just jargon. And it made a difference! I just received the biggest raise in my company's history and my boss (who is notorious for focusing on the negative) praised me for new levels of initiative and confidence. I recommended this book to all my friends and co-workers and I recommend it to you. I also suggest the newly released "The 2000 Percent Solution" by Don Mitchell for people who really want to shine at work.
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Summary: Absolute Must Buy
Review: This book is a must for most of the people in a typical s/w development/engineering kind of job profile. The book very aptly points out some of the common mistakes that almost every new employee makes and goes to point out that doing your work well is not enough to have a sucessful career. The book definately helped me and my friends a lot to be more successful at work.
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Summary: Don't fall for it!
Review: This book is a snow job. Okay, sure, if you didn't know that showing initiative and networking with people will help you be more productive, this book will clue you in. For those who happen to be more productive than a tree stump, you won't learn anything new. Kelley consistently creates straw dogs that he easily knocks down with his "exhaustive" research. For example, Kelley states he wrote this book because of his "distress over the proliferation of misguided approaches to productivity improvement. Some are harmless (for example, if you take time each day to let your workers tell fables and stories to one another, they will be more productive). Others are just flat out wrong (for example, some racial groups have higher intelligence and are therefore destined to be more productive). With it solid research base, this book sets the record straight on what leads to higher productivity and what does not." (p. xi) Spare us. When was the last time someone promoted "telling fables" or hiring certain racial groups as a way to boost productivity? The most disturbing aspect of the book is the deliberate misuse of statistics. Throughout to book Kelley reminds us that "stars are made, not born," that we can have staggering increases in our productivity, that we can become ten-for-one-ers. These claims are based on the research that compared productivity ratings that managers gave two groups of employees, one group that used the Star@Work approach, and the other that didn't. At the end of the eight-month period, those who used Star@Work had ratings that were about 10% higher than at the beginning of the period. In other words, if they were rated a 5 before, they were rated a 5.5 after. Those who didn't use Star@Work received ratings that were about 5% higher after the 8 months (i.e., from 5 to a 5.25). Since 10% divided by 5% equals 2, the Kelly claims that "you can double your rate of productivity increase." When you realize the results aren't based on actual increases in productivity, it suddenly isn't very impressive. Oh, and the managers knew which group had taken the training. Another eye-popping claim by Kelley is the potential 400% increase in productivity by women and minorities. But this is also lacking when it comes to the numbers. The group of women and minorities who applied Star@Work had the same 10% increase in productivity rating as the non-minority group. The reason the 400% number is used is because the minority group that didn't use Star@Work only increased their rating by about 2.5%. Thus, 10% divided by 2.5% = 400%. Ho hum. I'd bet most of the excitement for this book stems from the false expectation that you are going to double your productivity by applying its principles. Most likely, you will be more productive if you skip reading the book and spend the extra time in the office.
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Summary: A Role Model for Those Without Role Models
Review: This book is excellent for attacking misconception stalls (bad thinking habits based on a misunderstanding of the circumstances) that retard almost all careers. Everyone I know who had a fast rising career used the principles in this book: But they had to figure out some of the principles for themselves. As a young person, many lack the experience and judgment to derive these principles. For example, many will see conforming to the views of co-workers (many of whose careers are going nowhere) as the way to get ahead. Not! As your first step toward becoming a star at work, read this book and apply its principles. If you want to go further and be a Superstar at work, read on for more instructions you will need. Careers are also plagued by other flawed thinking habits not explored in this book including poor communications (assuming the message is received and understood without checking), disbelief in promising new ideas and technologies (check these new perspectives out carefully before you dismiss them), tradition (habits that have outlived their usefulness), bureaucracy (having people involved unnecessarily), harmful procrastination (delaying when the situation is deteriorating), and avoiding ugliness (everyone else avoids it also, so the best opportunities are often in the most unattractive aspects of your operations). To be most successful, you need to be able to create better solutions. The way to do this is to (1) learn the value of measurements (nothing improves that is not measured) (2) measure everything you can about important processes in your key activities (each measurement will teach you something you need to know) (3) identify the best practices anyone has ever done in these areas (especially by looking outside your industry), and anticipate where these best practices will be in 5 years (4) assemble best practices together in new ways that no one has ever done before to exceed the future best practice (5) identify the ideal best practice (the best people will ever be able to do -- for communications this will be having everyone get the message in one second, like shouting "fire" in a crowded theater where smoke and flames are evident) (6) find ways to approach the ideal best practice by applying the analogy of where humans do it almost perfectly now to your situation (7) assemble the right people, resources and incentives to get the job done and (8) repeat the process (you will get better at it and find better ideas, each you time you do this again). Further, a lot of people are oblivious to the powerful trends around them. The most effective people will find ways to turn these trends to their advantage, regardless of how the trend shifts. If you teach someone else these ideas, you will learn them even better, and proven yourself as a leader. NOW YOU CAN REALLY BE A SUPERSTAR AT WORK! Good luck! Don't forget to be a superstar in your personal life, as well.
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Summary: not helpful for the political workplace
Review: This book is fine and wonderful, but it doesn't really talk about the 'dark side' of work. You can be a star, but don't be politically naive either. Know that some people have no problems spreading unfounded rumors, bullying, harrassing, and ostracizing anyone who is competent and a perceived 'threat' to them and their desired managerial position. Go ahead and buy this, but then also buy a book about mobbing or bullies in the workplace.
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Summary: How to be effective in the workplace!
Review: This book tells you how to be effective in the workplace! This is not just another book that touts theories, it is based upon research. The original hypotheses on how to be effective at work were not statistically valid, so the research team generated new hypotheses until they found what was effective. Few success books have ever done research!
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Summary: Good Reference for 'Brainpowered' Workers
Review: This is a good guide to success in the workplace for engineers and other 'brainpowered' workers. Dr. Kelly, professor at Carnegie-Mellon's business school, writes of nine 'breakthrough' strategies to move ahead of the pack, into the 'A player' ranks. While the somewhat cheesy title implies that this is a guide for lazy people (the 'C players') to sneak their way up the ladder, this is in reality a well-written and well-researched book that is strictly for highly-motivated workers that just need a little added 'edge'. The tips Dr. Kelly provide seem to be common sense, but we all see hard-working 'B players' every day that neglect these at their own peril. (If it were as easy to spot one's own faults as it is to spot faults in others, this book wouldn't be necessary.) It doesn't cover everything, of course, and the strategies aren't necessarily easy to implement, but it's a good starting point for someone truly motivated to improve their promotability. To that end, I'd personally recommend reading Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People", and this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Reference for 'Brainpowered' Workers
Review: This is a good guide to success in the workplace for engineers and other 'brainpowered' workers. Dr. Kelly, professor at Carnegie-Mellon's business school, writes of nine 'breakthrough' strategies to move ahead of the pack, into the 'A player' ranks. While the somewhat cheesy title implies that this is a guide for lazy people (the 'C players') to sneak their way up the ladder, this is in reality a well-written and well-researched book that is strictly for highly-motivated workers that just need a little added 'edge'. The tips Dr. Kelly provide seem to be common sense, but we all see hard-working 'B players' every day that neglect these at their own peril. (If it were as easy to spot one's own faults as it is to spot faults in others, this book wouldn't be necessary.) It doesn't cover everything, of course, and the strategies aren't necessarily easy to implement, but it's a good starting point for someone truly motivated to improve their promotability. To that end, I'd personally recommend reading Stephen Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People", and this book.
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