Synopses & Reviews
Now with a new chapter that focuses on what great bosses really do. Dr. Sutton reveals new insights that he's learned since the writing of Good Boss, Bad Boss. Sutton adds revelatory thoughts about such legendary bosses as Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, A.G. Lafley, and many more, and how you can implement their techniques.
If you are a boss who wants to do great work, what can you do about it? Good Boss, Bad Boss is devoted to answering that question. Stanford Professor Robert Sutton weaves together the best psychological and management research with compelling stories and cases to reveal the mindset and moves of the best (and worst) bosses. This book was inspired by the deluge of emails, research, phone calls, and conversations that Dr. Sutton experienced after publishing his blockbuster bestseller The No Asshole Rule. He realized that most of these stories and studies swirled around a central figure in every workplace: THE BOSS. These heart-breaking, inspiring, and sometimes funny stories taught Sutton that most bosses - and their followers - wanted a lot more than just a jerk-free workplace. They aspired to become (or work for) an all-around great boss, somebody with the skill and grit to inspire superior work, commitment, and dignity among their charges.
As Dr. Sutton digs into the nitty-gritty of what the best (and worst) bosses do, a theme runs throughout Good Boss, Bad Boss - which brings together the diverse lessons and is a hallmark of great bosses: They work doggedly to "stay in tune" with how their followers (and superiors, peers, and customers too) react to what they say and do. The best bosses are acutely aware that their success depends on having the self-awareness to control their moods and moves, to accurately interpret their impact on others, and to make adjustments on the fly that continuously spark effort, dignity, and pride among their people.
Synopsis
The author of "The No Asshole Rule" now focuses his commonsense approach on what it is that truly distinguishes the great bosses of the world from the ones who are just good, so-so, or even worse.
Synopsis
If you have a job, chances are you have a boss. Indeed, everybody has a boss, whether it's someone at the supervisory, managerial, or executive level.
And if you're like everybody else, you know that keeping the boss happy with your performance is a major focus of your daily corporate life and career.
Problem is - and as Bob Sutton made clear in his classic THE NO ASSHOLE RULE - too many of us work for bosses who are jerks. And that's the starting point of BOSS. Based upon the thousands of letters, emails, and conversations Sutton has received since the publication of NO ASSHOLE RULE, he now focuses his common sense approach to what it is that delineates the great bosses in our world from the ones who are just good, so-so, or even worse.
Using real-life case studies, psychological research, and a thorough scan of the pertinent literature, Sutton delivers a pinpoint accounting of what the best bosses do. In short, Sutton delivers a blueprint manifesto for anyone who has been elevated into a position of authority, or would like to be.
About the Author
Robert Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford Engineering School. Sutton studies the links between managerial knowledge and organizational action, innovation, and organizational performance. Sutton is author of Weird Ideas That Work: 11 ¿ Practices for Promoting, Managing, and Sustaining Innovation (Free Press, 2002) and co-author (with Jeffrey Pfeffer) of both The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Firms Turn Knowledge Into Action (Harvard Business School Press, 2000) and of Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management (Harvard Business School Press, 2006).