ART OF MANAGING PEOPLE

Rating:
Summary: Management made understandable!
Review: Finally! A book that puts managing in perspective. Cudos to Dr. Phillip Hunsaker and Dr. Anthony Alessandra. This book is well written and easy to absorb all the principles and theories. It covers all the bases and is up to date.

Rating:
Summary: Solid, balanced, smooth. Great for Techies
Review: Have you ever been to a sporting event where every player on one team was a half step faster, a wee bit stronger and a heartbeat quicker to recognize opportunities than their counterpart on the other team? You had no doubts that the better team won the contest, but it was very difficult to articulate why you believed that. The reviewer of this book has the same problem.

It is difficult to identify the one or two things that make this book outstanding. I think The Art of Managing People is a great textbook because it covers all topics very solidly. Sure, there are other books that go into greater detail in specific areas, but they do it at the expense of other topics. The Art of Managing People is great for growing good, competent managers....the other books are more appropriate for addressing known, specific pathologies.

The Art of Managing People is smoothly written. It is an easy read. Topics flow effortlessly for the reader. The authors have my undying admiration because I know effortless reading is the result of unstinting effort on the part of the writers.

I think that The Art of Managing People is a particularly good choice for Techies making the transition to management. The authors are explicit about the roles of technical expertise and people smarts. They tell you WHY you need to know this stuff. Many other books will teach you theories of human behavior. They are elegant theories but they fail to tell you how to modify your behavior to elicit the desired behavior in the subordinate. The Art of Managing People tells you what you need to do to get the desired behavior. Also, much of the "smoothness" discussed earlier is due to careful organization. There is nothing random or hodge-podge about this book.

A final note: Some readers might be leery because the book was published in 1986. I don't think this is an issue. How to Win Friends and Influence People was first published in 1937. It is still a useful book. TAOMP is similar to HTWFAIP, but it is smoother, more sophisticated and far less mechanical in its approach. Consequently, your subordinates will feel less manipulated.

Rating:
Summary: a juvenile piece of tripe
Review: I purchased this book because in my job I encounter various personalities every day. Some of these personalities are something else and make work difficult for everyone. I wanted some ideas on what to do and how to help everyone involved with these difficult people. This book has offered some good ideas that I am willing to put into practice...who know where it could lead.

Rating:
Summary: Shelf Help
Review: I purchased this book because in my job I encounter various personalities every day. Some of these personalities are something else and make work difficult for everyone. I wanted some ideas on what to do and how to help everyone involved with these difficult people. This book has offered some good ideas that I am willing to put into practice...who know where it could lead.

Rating:
Summary: A comprehensive, effective guide to interrelating at work
Review: I really like and heavily rely on this book - it's a classic. It drives home the value of relating to the people who work for you (and around you) as a necessary component of getting work done. Then it goes, chapter by chapter, into the details of understanding your co-workers in terms of personality traits. Finally, it discusses essential interaction skills including listening skills, getting feedback, and using body language (there's more to it than you might think). I go back to this book again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Helps me understand myself so I can better manage others
Review: I've read at least 7 other books on managing others: the motivating team leader, how to supervise people, the 10 steps to empowerment, team building is not a one-minute ..., but this book is unique in that it doesn't only provide some checklists for how to proceed, but it also covers behavioral, personality, and decision making styles. It helped me identify my styles and preferences, and told me what to watch out for when interacting with others. I spent weeks reading other guides, but this I highly recommend.

Please feel free to email me if you'd like more insight into this book.

Rating:
Summary: a juvenile piece of tripe
Review: This book is appropriate for grade-schoolers learning to work in groups/teams. The text offers little in terms of strategies, methods or techniques for managing people and instead focuses on identifying personality traits and working with personal space. A disappointment in all regards (It's also a very boring read).