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The Dream Manager
A business parable about how companies can achieve remarkable results by helping their employees fulfill their dreams Managing people is difficult. With disengagement and turnover on the rise, many managers are scratching their heads wondering what to do. It's not that we dont dream of being great managers, it's just that we havent found a practical and efficient way to do...more
Hardcover, 176 pages
Published
August 21st 2007
by Hyperion
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This book claims to be advice about managment, but it's that but is actually a self-help book. It should be two page pamphlet because that's all the practical advice it gives.
The bulk of the book is a completely fictional tale of a company that hires a team of financial/career/life coaches to fullfill the dream lists of its employees and why this makes the company hugely successfull & profitable, and how the fictional characters become the happy and successful people they always wished they...more
The bulk of the book is a completely fictional tale of a company that hires a team of financial/career/life coaches to fullfill the dream lists of its employees and why this makes the company hugely successfull & profitable, and how the fictional characters become the happy and successful people they always wished they...more
An organization can only become the best version of itself to the extent that the people who drive that organization are striving to become better versions of themselves.
People stop dreaming because they get caught up in the hustle and bustle of surviving. And once we stop dreaming, we start to lead lives of quiet desperation, and little by little the passion and energy begin to disappear from our lives.
There are places I want to go, things I want to see and relationships I want to improve....more
People stop dreaming because they get caught up in the hustle and bustle of surviving. And once we stop dreaming, we start to lead lives of quiet desperation, and little by little the passion and energy begin to disappear from our lives.
There are places I want to go, things I want to see and relationships I want to improve....more
Quick read which is good. I am starting to notice a pattern in many corporate management books where there is a new way of saying the same principles like efficient management, high impact communications. Then the rest of the book is repackaged drivel. Matt Kelly avoids this by telling a great story where he helps a friend transform his cleaning service by having more stock in the individual employees personal goals. He doesn't waste time with rolling out the same principles and attach the word...more
Good book. It's one of those rare books that really blends business with something as personal as ones dreams. The concept of the book, a company hiring a person to "manage the employees dreams" is somewhat far fetched for your everyday corporation, but the story of this particular company, a janitorial service, doing it, is a great story to follow. In saying that, the entire book is about the same company, kind of loses its luster, but does remain on track throughout.
What I truly did draw from...more
What I truly did draw from...more
"The Dream Manager" is a leadership fable in the same spirit as the excellent books written by Patrick Lencioni. The story part of the book takes the reader into the day to day operations of Admiral Janitorial Services. Like many companies today, they have serious difficulties with employee morale and rampant turnover. Simon, the general manager suggests an out of the box idea to improve the morale and turnover problems through helping their employees realize their dreams. Thus, the Dream Manage...more
This book took me in two different directions, often within the same page, paragraph, or sentence. At times I felt it's fictional narrative was designed to be emotionally manipulative on a scale even with drivel like Tuesdays With Morrie or Anna Quindlen books. The scenario consists of a simple problem in a simple organization with a familiar, non-complex hierarchical management structure. The rousing successes experienced from a business end and by those who find their dreams fulfilled are cont...more
Blech. Way too "touchy feely" and the company used as the main example is all fictional! Come on...give me some real data from real life examples. Basically I think I'm supposed to get my employees to fill out "dream journals" and envision their ideal future. Maybe I'll bring some incense to my next staff meeting too.
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I really loved this book! It reminded me of how important it is to DREAM! :) What is your dream???! :)
The book tells of a janitorial service business with such a high turnover rate that the organization is inefficient and beginning to be unprofitable. As they try to decide what to do to turn things around they decide they need to invest in their employees more and help them be more engaged. Through several company surveys and focus groups they discover that people are passionate about their dre...more
The book tells of a janitorial service business with such a high turnover rate that the organization is inefficient and beginning to be unprofitable. As they try to decide what to do to turn things around they decide they need to invest in their employees more and help them be more engaged. Through several company surveys and focus groups they discover that people are passionate about their dre...more
Another gem brought in by a fellow student in my unemployment course...this should be required reading for anyone who ever has been, is, or ever wants to be a manager of people. I am still having a tough time believing this isn't a work of fiction...I've worked for a huge corporation and a small one and neither was even remotely like this. In fact, the smaller one was even further off this mark than the gigantic one. I so believe in the founding principle here...that if you treat people with res...more
I'm not a huge fan of parable books. Nothing ever seems to go wrong and I'm left wondering about the real application of the system they propose.
There are a few good suggestions. Listen to your employees, help them plan their future by asking them about what their "dreams" (purpose) is and then suggest how they accomplish it.
I'm not so sure it's as simple as pointing people to college admissions to fulfill their education dream or showing them how they can buy a house for the home ownership dr...more
There are a few good suggestions. Listen to your employees, help them plan their future by asking them about what their "dreams" (purpose) is and then suggest how they accomplish it.
I'm not so sure it's as simple as pointing people to college admissions to fulfill their education dream or showing them how they can buy a house for the home ownership dr...more
"I highly recommend this book. Matthew Kelly uses a fictional story to make the point that the "new loyalty" between employee and company is the following "unspoken contract": "An employee is responsible for adding value to the life of the company, and a company is responsible for adding value to the life of an employee." For a company to add value, its leaders and managers must show interest in their employees' dreams and help them achieve them and become the-best-version-of-themselves. By doin...more
This book is another that presents it's concepts as a narrative story of a fictitious company. While this device effectively provides simultaneous example and concept, it comes off as "too perfect" in many places. Nevertheless, the book provides a powerful idea on a simple way to harness good will in relationships, business or personal.
What are your dreams? Have you given up on them? Have you even forgotten them? This book challenges us to not only remember our dreams but to seek them and help o...more
What are your dreams? Have you given up on them? Have you even forgotten them? This book challenges us to not only remember our dreams but to seek them and help o...more
The premise of this book is that building a great organization requires helping people achieve their highest potential. The storyline throughout is a fictional company that implements a "dream manager" program to help motivate people and to help them achieve their goals. I found the first half somewhat simplistic but it grew on me. I still think the concept of. having full-time dream managers for every employee is a stretch. There needs to be more personal accountability. It's still a worthy and...more
I didn't care for the first part of the book. The story was good, but because it was fictional it somewhat made me discredit what he was trying to convey. It would of been great if he had shared short stories/testimonies how dream management has impacted people personally and companies. This would of built a better foundation. The second part of the book was my favorite and I did get some nuggets. I'm going to try to set sometime aside this week and write down 100 dreams. Overall a good book and...more
This book had some good messages. I subscribe to the concept of taking care of your employees and they'll embrace their employer. The connection to helping them fulfill their dreams is an approach I hadn't thought of before and will be looking to somehow parlay into my business. I couldn't help but think though as I read the book that the it was about a fictional company. A lot of conclusions and results from implementing this were projected. How realistic are these results? I'd guess that many...more
I read this book upon the recommendation of a VP at work. Though it is a fictional story, it contains a lot of tips on how to challenge myself with goals to help me be more satisfied in both my work and personal life. I have been applying some of the things that I learned with family and co-workers to try to share the same positive attitude to give people a brighter perspective on their day to day lives and how they can impact others. It was a quick read, I finished it in about 2 days.
I really enjoyed this book for the practical application to both work and life generally. My favorite take-away was the simple reminder to define and write down your dreams, then ensure that you help others achieve those dreams, in addition to creating a path for your own. From a workplace perspective it's a great conversation starter with your colleagues as you get to know each other and also for your team -- but most importantly how to equip, enable, encourage, champion, and cheer others along...more
This was a recommended book to me when I was still taking classes and found that it was such a great motivational read! I gave it to my manager at work and it's one of those books that can change your whole outlook on your job, life, and inspire you to dream and dream big!!! All it takes is believing that your dreams are a possibility and moving in a direction to achieve them! AWESOME MUST READ for anyone needing a new perspective on their lives!
This book talks about one company's use of coaching techniques to make a real difference in their employees' lives. By simply being interested in their dreams and desires, and working with them to reach those goals, the company dramatically increased the overall well-being and satisfaction of their staff. They also increased profits by lowering turnover and client satisfaction increased as employees were happier and more dedicated to their work.
I received this from my last employer after they initiated a lesser version of the Dream Manager. I have since left that company, but decided to read the book anyway. I have to say it is an intriguing idea. It would be especially effective in a business that can't offer employees their ultimate dream job because it would provide value for them in another way with the hopes of keeping them a little longer than normal.
Although the author claims time and again that anybody can start a dream manager program at their place of work, it seems almost impossible to implement from the standpoint of a lone supervisor in a large library system. I think the premise is great, and I will definitely try to use parts of the program in the work that I do, but I don't know if it will ever go beyond that.
While the concept of the Dream Manager is a good one, and should be addressed in all companies.
However, the way it is presented in this book leaves a lot to be desired. Only the last 10-15 pages had any depth. The previous 100 pages of a fictional story could be thrown out. I'll look for my fiction on the fiction shelves not the business section,
However, the way it is presented in this book leaves a lot to be desired. Only the last 10-15 pages had any depth. The previous 100 pages of a fictional story could be thrown out. I'll look for my fiction on the fiction shelves not the business section,
Feb 09, 2010
Kendra Beth
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Kendra Beth by:
Mom
Shelves:
library-reads
Dream baby, DREAM!
Are you
* Unmotivated
* Negative
* Cynical
* stuck
* in a rut
* depressed
* uninspired
* clueless
* dunno what the next step is...
Then this IS the book for you!!! Read it, think about it, follow the directions it provides, but most of all, sit back in your chair, put your feet up, close your eyes and DREAM!
Are you
* Unmotivated
* Negative
* Cynical
* stuck
* in a rut
* depressed
* uninspired
* clueless
* dunno what the next step is...
Then this IS the book for you!!! Read it, think about it, follow the directions it provides, but most of all, sit back in your chair, put your feet up, close your eyes and DREAM!
What a surprising and outstanding read. Perhaps the simplest and most significant thing organization can do to revolutionize their embedded culture. What an empowering little book.
I'm definitely adding these brilliant insights to my strategic plan for our organization. A third-grader could do this - probably because they still remember how.
If the best ideas are the simplest, this is Einstein! Highly recommended!
I'm definitely adding these brilliant insights to my strategic plan for our organization. A third-grader could do this - probably because they still remember how.
If the best ideas are the simplest, this is Einstein! Highly recommended!
A revolutionary idea for anyone who manages people. Matthew Kelly is a better speaker than writer, but his message and passion for life is timeless. I didn't rate this book higher, perhaps because I'm suffering a bit of Matthew Kelly overdose. But if you've never encountered Matthew's work, I'd recommend this book, as well as "Rediscovering Catholicism." Better yet, listen to his speeches... in person or on CD.
Great ideas. Some cheesiness with the case study - would have been awesome to have used an actual case study instead of a fictional one - since that lends significantly more credibility to the ideas. That being said, there are great ideas here and you should take the hour or so needed to read the book. And then go dream!
This book is recommended to everyone, even though it essentially is a business book. All of us have an impact on the lives and dreams of those around us. For me, this was a life-changing book. I recognized myself in the manager who had stopped dreaming. Now I'm starting to dream and work to achieve those dreams.
I really enjoyed the book and found the story inspirational and very believable. The idea is to make dreams a goal. Kelly shows you how you can take steps to achieve goals, therefore live your dreams. I used this as inspiration to make my own dream of publishing my first novel The Ruby Tear Catcher, a reality.
The Dream Manager makes the argument for working for people who genuinely care about us. To some extent, I could have already argued the point, by doing a basic comparison of who I've worked for before, and how much I've enjoyed the experience.
Matthew Kelly goes deeper on that, to focus on how connecting our dreams to our work makes us better employees, because we are better people.
I'm reading this book at the behest of my current manager, and can admit to being intrigued. How do I find the time...more
Matthew Kelly goes deeper on that, to focus on how connecting our dreams to our work makes us better employees, because we are better people.
I'm reading this book at the behest of my current manager, and can admit to being intrigued. How do I find the time...more
Demonstrates the power of dreaming. It helped explain the feeling of "blah" and discord in my work life. This book helps provide hope and a road map to help determine dreams that we may have forgotten.
Dreams are power things. Learning how to track, plan and achieve, can chance lives. This book illustrates how a simple cleaning business turned itself around by investing in its employee's dreams, creating better leaders, better employees, better people, and rewards are so far reaching, it leaves...more
Dreams are power things. Learning how to track, plan and achieve, can chance lives. This book illustrates how a simple cleaning business turned itself around by investing in its employee's dreams, creating better leaders, better employees, better people, and rewards are so far reaching, it leaves...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Are employee dreams relevant to a business? | 1 | 4 | Nov 02, 2011 06:38pm |
Matthew Kelly was born in Sydney, Australia, where he began speaking and writing in 1993. Since that time he has travelled in more than fifty countries and spoken to over four million people. He has written twelve books which have appeared on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestseller lists and have been published in twenty-five languages. His titles include: The Rhythm of L...more
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Feb 17, 2013 05:38pm