Summary of First, Break All the Rules Book by Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman

Contrary to popular belief, great managers all over the world have very little in common. If you were to have them all file into a straight line, you would see different sexes, races, ages, and physiques. Each of them has different styles of motivation, direction, and relationship building.

Great managers don't have much in common at all.

Deep within all these variations, however, there is one thing they all have in common. After interviewing tens of thousands of great managers, Buckingham and Coffman discovered that there was one insight, one shared wisdom, to which all of these managers kept returning.

Here is the revolutionary insight that distinguished the best managers from their less successful colleagues who follow conventional rules:
• People don't change that much
• Don't waste time trying to put in what was left out
• Try to draw out what was left in
• That is hard enough

Great managers break all the rules.

They ignore the conventional school of thought that says a manager's job is to identify worker weaknesses and work out a plan to correct and overcome those weaknesses. Instead, they operate on the belief that people don’t and probably can’t change most of the traits they carry. Good managers know that it's futile to demand change or perfection and concentrate instead on developing employee strengths.

For a company to succeed in developing great managers, it has to begin by breaking the conventional rule that managers are just leaders in waiting.

The difference between a manager and a leader is much more profound than most people believe. Any company that overlooks this difference will suffer for it. Great managers need to be recognized for what they do best: reaching inside employees and encouraging excellent performance. That is not the same as being a great leader.

Great managers look inward. They look inside the company, into each individual, into the differences in style, goals, needs, and motivation of each person. They then find the right way to release each worker's unique talents into great performance.

By contrast, great leaders look outward. They look out at the competition, out in the future, and seek alternative routes forward. They are visionaries, strategic thinkers, and activators. Undoubtedly, the role of a leader is critical in any company. But it doesn't have much to do with the challenge of turning people's individual talents into performance.

The core activities of a manager and a leader are very different.

Great managers are not mini executives waiting for leadership to be thrust upon them. Also, great leaders are not simply managers who have developed sophistication. It is entirely possible for someone to be a brilliant manager and a terrible leader. In the same vein, it is just as possible for someone to excel as a leader and fail as a manager.

If your company wants great managers, it must stop expecting every manager to be a leader, and stop defining “leader” as simply a more advanced form of “manager”. Managers must be allowed to concentrate on their tasks as catalysts that turn employees' talents into performance.

Key points:
• Great managers share a revolutionary insight that distinguishes them from their peers.
• Good managers understand the futility in demanding change or perfection. Instead, they concentrate on developing employee strengths.
• Any company that overlooks the difference between a great “manager” and “leader” will suffer for it.
• Great managers look inside the company and find the right way to release each worker's unique talents into great performance.
• Great leaders look outward, at the competition, out at the future, and seek out alternative routes forward.