Brilliant Manager: What the Best Managers Know, Do & Say

by Nic Peeling

Brilliant Manager is the book that sets out the guiding principles of great managers, in an easy-to-read form. It reminds you of what's essential and what's optional, when to get involved and when to step back.

Genres: Business

Paperback

First published June 1, 2005

Reviews

[Svetlio Blyahoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book to let you know what you should and should not do! :)

[Ken Lê · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuốn sách chỉ ra việc làm thế nào để trở thành một nhà quản lý tài ba thay vì là một nhà quản lý giỏi.
Bạn sẽ biết quản lý làm sao đối với nhân viên, công việc, làm sao để phát triển chiến lược, nhân viên cũng như tránh các vấn đề gây hại cho bạn và nhân viên của bạn.
Mình không thực sự thích cuốn này lắm vì nó chỉ đưa ra các vấn đề và giải thích một cách chung chung chứ chưa đi sâu và làm rõ vẫn đề đó. Tiếp theo là nó khá lan man, không đi vào vấn đề chính thực là quản lý làm sao tốt nhất . Có một số điểm cộng đi kèm là về phần cuối sách có đưa ra một số tình huống chung chung và cách giải quyết đối với tình huống đó để mọi người dễ hình dung.

[Bob Selden · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Brilliant Manager, the author Nic Peeling suggests that this book is “the first book to try to distil the hard-won experience of the best managers and set it down as practical things you need to know, say and do”. To say this is the “first book” might be a little presumptuous as there have been many of similar ilk in this genre – see for example “Becoming a Manager” by Linda A. Hill, “Inspirational Manager” by Judith Leary-Joyce, “The First 90 Days: Critical success factors for new leaders at all levels” by Michael Watkins and “50 DOs for Everyday Leadership” by John Barrett, David Wheatley & Lynn Townsend.

Further, I did not see evidence of reports from the “best managers” merely self reports from Peeling. Not that there is too much wrong with some of the advice given by the author – there are some very good points made about:• Drawing a line between work and home and sticking to it• Delegation – the right and wrong ways• Play to your strengths• Business tipsto name just a few.

However, I found the negative tone of the book put me off much of the good pieces of advice it contains. For example, there are a number of references to avoiding a “blame culture”, but little on how to avoid it. The author even uses the term blame himself when talking about handling poor performance “If the person is to blame …” Even handling key staff (high performers) is handled this way with comments about “drop hints about grievances” and “do not yield to threats” (on the assumption that key staff will threaten the manager).

I also disagree with some of the advice given, for example Peeling proposes delegating staff problems to others in your team if this is not a strength of yours. Peeling suggests “organise your team to include someone who has responsibility for staff development” and adds that this person can be a great source of feedback on the attitude within your team and alert you to serious concerns. My contention is that the manager cannot delegate staff matters – he or she is solely responsible for the performance of the people they manage. Full stop.

This book will suit a certain style of manager, but is not for everyone.

[Filipe Bernardes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um excelente livro para gestores e estudantes, onde os princípios base da gestão são apresentada de forma simples e bastante prática.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book I've read on the subject, so not much to compare it to. Still, I found it helpful and readable enough.

Liked it.

[Sérgio Monteiro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A realistic book. The concepts are a little bit common sense...
The language used is really direct and easy to understand.

[Ken]

Useful for my job :)
Managing as a boss is difficult work for me, I just want to manage the group as a friend.