{"id":37724,"date":"2021-06-03T19:47:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T23:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=37724"},"modified":"2021-06-07T13:37:25","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T17:37:25","slug":"first-break-all-the-rules-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/first-break-all-the-rules-book\/","title":{"rendered":"First, Break All the Rules: Book Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is Marcus Buckingham’s First Break All the Rules<\/em> book worth reading? What are its key takeaways?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his book First, Break All The Rules<\/em>, Marcus Buckingham simply and clearly lays out proven management best practices. Then, he teaches how to hire<\/a> the right people<\/a>, create a productive working environment, and guide employees to success.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is a brief overview of First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently<\/em> by Marcus Buckingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Below is a quick summary of the main takeaways from the First, Break All the Rules<\/em> book by <\/em>Michael <\/em>Buckingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measuring the Strength of Your Workplace<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Most organizations know that their ability to find, engage, and maintain strong employees is essential to their success. However, few know how to gauge how well they\u2019re doing at that task. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Q<\/strong>12<\/sup><\/strong> Items<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To determine how well you\u2019re finding, engaging, and maintaining employees, you need a precise and thorough way to gauge the strength of your organization. The Q<\/strong>12 <\/sup><\/strong>Items are 12 question items to give to your employees that help you determine the strength of your organization.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees respond to the Q12 <\/sup>on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The items are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. I know what my company expects from me.<\/li>
  2. I have the tools to effectively do my job. <\/li>
  3. I have the opportunity to put my best talents to use every day.<\/li>
  4. In the past week, I have been recognized for strong work.<\/li>
  5. My manager, or someone else at work, cares about me as a human being.<\/li>
  6. Someone at work promotes my development. <\/li>
  7. My opinion matters.<\/li>
  8. My company\u2019s mission makes me feel like my job matters. <\/li>
  9. My fellow employees commit to doing good work.<\/li>
  10. I\u2019ve made a best friend at work.<\/li>
  11. Someone has talked to me about my development in the last six months.<\/li>
  12. In the last year, I\u2019ve had learning opportunities at work.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    To improve your Q12 <\/sup>scores and become a stronger manager, develop the four keys of management:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Hire Employees for Their Talents, Not For Their Skills or Knowledge<\/li>
    2. Define Goals, Not Processes<\/li>
    3. Build Up Talents and Navigate Around Weaknesses<\/li>
    4. Guide Employees Towards the Right Fit<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Key One: Hire Employees for Their Talents, Not For Their Skills or Knowledge<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Talent is not a magical gift. Talent is a recurring feeling, thought, or behavior that can be used in an effective way. <\/strong>Every job lends itself to a unique set of talents and, therefore, requires a person with those talents to fill the role. For example, great lawyers have a talent for debating. Great accountants have a talent for organizing. Great caregivers have a talent for empathy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Talent can\u2019t be taught. <\/strong>Talents are developed at a young age and can\u2019t be changed after your teenage years because of the way the brain works. Therefore, while you can give someone the tools to grow in their talents, you can\u2019t teach talents like empathy or confidence. You need to hire people that already possess the necessary talents for the position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      How to Find Talent<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      How do you find talent to fit the positions that you need filled?<\/strong> When searching for new employees, clearly define the talents that describe the ideal worker<\/a> for the position you\u2019re trying to fill. Think about the following tips as you\u2019re creating your list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Tip #1: Think about the structure of your company. <\/strong>The talents associated with any given role will change based on the way your company is run. This is because your expectations and the way you interact with the person in that position are both unique to your organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Tip #2: Think about your current team members.<\/strong> Consider what talents you can add to your team to increase performance. Make sure that the people you hire have the appropriate talents to interact with your team effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Tip #3: Look at your best employees. <\/strong>When coming up with your list of talents, think about the best employee you\u2019ve ever had in that role or a closely related role. Then, consider the talents that they possess that allow them to succeed. Use these talents to inform your search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Key Two: Define Goals, Not Processes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Contrary to popular belief, you don\u2019t have direct control over your employees as a manager. <\/strong>While you can suggest specific ways to approach the work, your employees ultimately decide how they\u2019re going to do their jobs based on their talents. However, despite the differing approaches, you need to ensure that everyone is performing to standard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      With this in mind, how do you get people to perform to expectation without having to micro-manage every aspect of their work? You need to define your team\u2019s goals, then allow each employee to discover the best way to get there. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Don\u2019t Micro-Manage<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      Many managers make the mistake of micro-managing their employees. <\/strong>They come up with a variety of excuses to justify their need to control every aspect of the work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Excuse #1: I know the best way to approach the work. <\/strong>While it\u2019s tempting to believe, there\u2019s no one \u201cbest\u201d approach to any position. Everyone has different talents that inform how they work effectively. While you can offer suggestions and resources to assist your employees, trying to dictate every step of their process ignores the talents that make them effective in the first place. Embrace the uniqueness of your employees and allow them to approach the work in a way that plays into their talents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Excuse #2: My employees aren\u2019t talented enough to work on their own. <\/strong>If you believe this, then you didn\u2019t hire the right people<\/a> for the job. In contrast, if you hire people based on their talents, then you should be able to step away with the knowledge that your employees are capable of doing the work<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Excuse #3: They need to earn my trust before I allow them to work on their own. <\/strong>If you think that you can\u2019t trust your own team, you may be allowing your own insecurities to dictate the way that you run your team. Yes, sometimes, people will let you down. However, you need to embrace that this is the exception, not the rule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      How to Define Your Team\u2019s Goals<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      Defining your team\u2019s goals instead of their process helps you avoid micromanagement<\/a> by giving your employees a unified objective to work towards without stifling their processes or talents. <\/strong>Every organization has different goals. For example, a retail store may focus primarily on customer satisfaction whereas a medical organization may focus primarily on patient safety. While these goals aren\u2019t mutually exclusive, these organizations have different priorities because they have different purposes. When defining your organization\u2019s goals, think about the following three questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Question #1: What do your customers need? <\/strong>This is the first question you need to ask because, without customers or clients, your company has no value. Use focus groups or customer surveys to ask your clientele what they want and expect from their experience with you. Use this information to inform your organization\u2019s goals by zeroing in on the items that your customers feel passionate about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Question #2: What does your company need?<\/strong> While a company\u2019s core mission typically remains the same over time, the strategies you use to execute that mission change. Adapt your goals as you change your strategies. This adjusts the focus of your desired outcomes toward your new approach to fulfilling your company\u2019s mission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Question #3: What do your employees need? <\/strong>As you now know, every employee has a unique set of talents that inform the way that they work. When you set goals, you need to keep these talents in mind to adapt to each employee. While this is more challenging with larger or more standardized teams, you need to adjust as much as possible to ensure a more effective result. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Key Three: Build Up Talents and Navigate Around Weaknesses<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Once you\u2019ve hired for talent and defined your goals, build up the talents of your employees and figure out how to navigate around their weaknesses. As discussed, people don\u2019t change that much. With this in mind, the talents and weaknesses of your employees are pretty much set. Instead of trying to fix your employees, help them build their talents by offering skills and knowledge, and navigate around their weaknesses by placing them into the appropriate positions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Build Up Talents<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      You only have so much time and energy. Great managers believe that it\u2019s better for employees to put their time and energy into building their talents instead of trying to change the unchangeable.<\/strong> Great managers use the following rules to help employees develop their abilities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Rule #1: Put people in the proper roles.<\/strong> When placing people into roles, know the talents associated with each role as well as the talents of each individual employee. Watch your employees over time to see how they work and how they interact with other team members. If you like being more direct, ask them about their strengths, weaknesses, and goals. Note: this doesn\u2019t refer simply to hiring.<\/strong> You can use this principle even if you have no power over hiring or need to shuffle an employee to a different position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Rule #2: Break the Golden Rule.<\/strong> The \u201cGolden Rule\u201d\u2014treating everyone the same\u2014isn\u2019t efficient. You need to relate to your employees based upon their individual needs. <\/strong>Here are examples of questions you can ask to get a better sense of what your employees need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n