The One Thing You Need to Know: … About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success
by Marcus Buckingham
ISBN: 9780743261654
Publication Date: January 2005
Publisher: Free Press
Table of Contents
1: A Few Things You Should Know About the “One Thing“
“Get me to the core”: “If you dig into a subject deeply enough, what do you find?”
A lifetime of “why”s: “What drove this book?”
The tests for the “one thing“: “Why are some explanations more powerful than others?”
One controlling insight: “What is the One Thing you need to know about happy marriage?”
Part I
The One Thing You Need to Know
Sustained Organizational Success
2: Managing and Leading: What’s the Difference?
A vital distinction: “Are they different? Are they both important? Can you do both?”
A view from the middle: “What do great managers actually do and what talents do you need to do it?”
A view from the top: “What do great leaders actually do and what talents do you need to do it?”
3: The One Thing You Need to Know: Great Managing
The basics of good managing: “What skills will prevent you from failing as a manager?”
Great managers play chess: “What is the One Thing you need to know about great managing?”
A walk through a Walgreens: “How does one truly great manager do it?”
Great managers are romantics: “What are the benefits of individualization?”
The three levers: “What are the three things you need to know about a person in order to manage him or her effectively?”
The most useful questions: “How can you identify these levers?”
4: The One Thing You Need to Know: Great Leading
A leader wins our loyalty: “What did Giuliani say to calm our fears?”
Five fears, five needs, one focus: “What are the universals of human nature?”
The points of clarity: “Where are your followers crying out for clarity?”
The disciplines of leadership: “How do the best leaders achieve this clarity?”
Part II
The One Thing You Need to Know
Sustained Individual Success
5: The Twenty Percenters
Dave, Myrtle, and Tim: “What does sustained individual success look like?”
The early contenders: “What explanations seem like the One Thing, but aren’t?”
What is sustained success?: “It’s a broad term. How do we define it?”
6: The Three Main Contenders
Contender 1: “Find the right tactics and employ them.”
Contender 2: “Find your flaws and fix them.”
Contender 3: “Discover your strengths and cultivate them.”
7: So, How Do You Sustain Success If…?
You’re bored
You’re unfulfilled
You’re frustrated
You’re drained
Conclusion: Intentional Imbalance
Acknowledgments
The Most Useful Questions.
For strengths:
1. What was the best day at work you’ve had in the last three months? What were you doing? Why did you enjoy it so much?
For weaknesses:
2. What was your worst day at work in the last three months? What were you doing? Why did it grate on you so much?
For triggers:
3. What was the best relationship with a manager you’ve ever had? What made it work so well?
4. What was the best praise or recognition you’ve ever received? What made it so good?
And for unique style of learning:
5. When in your career do you think you were learning the most? Why did you learn so much? What’s the best way for you to learn?
I recommend asking these questions of each new hire. You can also ask them of each existing employee at the beginning of your financial year. This mini-interview will take only about half an hour, but it should be a rich half hour. Ask these five questions, listen closely, and then act on this information in the same way that Michelle, Judi, Russ, and Alison did, and you will see extraordinary results. You will discover the power of capitalizing on what is unique about each of your people.
Five Fears, Five Needs, One Focus
Below, I’ll briefly describe the five [human universals] - al lof them have some relevance to your efforts at leading people - and then identify which of the five should command your greatest attention as a leader.
1. Fear of Death (our own and our family’s) - The Need for Security.
2. Fear of the Outsider - The Need for Community
3. Fear of the Future - The Need for Clarity
4. Fear of Chaos - The Need for Authority
5. Fear of Insignificance - The Need for Respect
The Points of Clarity
1: Who Do We Serve?
2: What Is Our Core Strength?
3: What Is Our Core Score?
Gallup’s Q12 survey to measure employee engagement (used by Best Buy, Ann Taylor, etc)
Do you know what is expected of you at work?
Do you have the materials and equipment you need ot do your work right?
At work do you have an opportunity to do what you do best every day?
In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
Does your supervisor, or someone at work seem to care about you as a person?
Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
At work do your opinions seem to count?
Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?
Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality work?
Do you have a best friend at work?
In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?
This last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?
The Disciplines of Leadership
1. Take Time to Reflect
2. Select Your Heroes with Great Care
3. Practice
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