The Truth About Managing People and Nothing But the Truth

by Stephen P. Robbins

"Stephen Robbins does it again! A prolific scholar and writer, he cuts through the research and theory to deliver immediately useful and essential insights for the effective management of people. I have never seen anything quite like The Truth. Excellent for all of us who don't take the time to keep up with leading edge thinking and practice in the field of management."- Eric G. Stephan, ProfessorOrganizational Leadership & StrategyMarriott School of Management, Brigham Young University"The wide gap between management practice and behavioral research has finally been bridged. Steve Robbins' book translates what researchers currently know about managing people into clear and useful prescriptions for effective management. It should be the benchmark for anyone seeking advice on how to manage people."- Thomas G. CummingsProfessor and Chair of the Department of Management and OrganizationMarshall School of Business, University of Southern California"Steve Robbins has truly pulled off what he said he would. Robbins has written a superb book that assembles evidence about some of the most useful information for managing people to achieve higher productivity and morale. Instead of belaboring and embellishing one concept throughout the book, Robbins presents the best evidence from many of the leading management researchers. The book is eminently practical, yet common sense is contradicted where it is proved to be wrong. In synthesizing the most useful information available on 63 key topics, Steve Robbins has made a substantial contribution to practicing managers. Researchers too should dig into this book to find out what is really known about managing people."- Andrew J. DuBrin, Ph.D.Professor of Management and Industrial PsychologistRochester Institute of Technology"What a service! The premiere writer of management textbooks has sifted through the research to extract the real nuggets-the (often-surprising) truths that every manager should know. This book is an antidote for the unsupported opinions handed out in many popular management books. Robbins lays out the rock-solid foundation for managing people-those central truths that are consistently supported by research. Ignore them at your peril!"- Kenneth W. ThomasProfessor of Management, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California;author of Intrinsic Motivation at Work"This is an important book for any manager, no matter the type of organization. Steve Robbins has combined two ingredients seldom found together in the typical business First, he speaks in language clearly understandable to managers. Second, he backs up his pithy discussions and conclusions by anchoring them in solid behavioral research findings. Definitely an interesting and highly informative read."- Lyman W. PorterUniversity of California, Irvine"If someone wants to unleash the truth of people management, read this book. Author Robbins addresses the most critical challenges organizations face today in a concise and entertaining way." - Subir ChowdhuryExecutive Vice President, American Supplier InstituteAuthor of the best-selling THE POWER OF SIX SIGMA and The Talent Achieving High Return On Talent"This is a clever book. Stephen Robbins has put together a book I wish I had written. It's a quick reference written for practicing managers, social scientists, and anyone interested in managing people. Robbins' 'best of' approach, as well as the reference materials each section draws on, make this book a 'must have' for practical, reliable, and valid information on the important leadership/management/people topics of the day."- Randall P. White, Ph.D.Principal, The Executive Development Group LLCCo-author, Relax, It's Only Uncertainty

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Leadership, Reference, Self Help, Audiobook

240 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Downloaded on a lark because it was free, I actually found this book useful and interesting, even though I am not yet a manager. Suddenly I was justified in every complaint I've ever had about a boss, and now I know that the things I was asking for and not getting were not unique to me, but rather things every employee needs. It's given me confidence to speak up for the resources I'm lacking, and I'm able to frame it in a way that makes it less about me and more about best practices. I also found some tips that have helped me tweak my communication style and the best way to give and accept constructive criticism. Very useful and a nice simple quick read for anyone interested in going into management or improving their own productivity and performance.

[Cigdem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very insightful book, organized as tips in different categories. The titles I related most based on my experience as both an employee and a manager were:

1. The Truth about Hiring
Forget traits; its behavior that counts
When in doubt, hire conscientious people

2. The Truth about Motivation
Telling employees to do their best isn't likely to achieve their best.
Not everyone wants to participate in setting their goals
When giving feedback: criticize behaviour, not people
You get what you reward
It's all relative

3. The Truth about Communication
Choose the right communication channel
Men and women do communicate differently

4. The Truth about Building Teams
One bad apple spoils the barrel

5. The Truth about Performance Evaluation
Don't blame me! The role of self-serving bias.
6. In final thoughts
People aren't completely rational: don't ignore emotions.
Employee turnover can be a good thing.

Especially the part that explained men and women do communicate differently was enlightening for me, and clued me in why certain things happen that way. The book says men talk to emphasize status, while women talk to create connection. Women tend to be less boastful than men, which might be misinterpreted as being less confident and competent than they really are. Women apologize more, but this is not a sign of weakness. They do not do it to accept the blame, they do it to level with the person, because it is a sign of understanding and caring rather than an apology! Although I lived through these experiences, when put so bluntly,things started to make more sense.

I recommend to his book to all people that see themselves as managers - I think it contains a "Aha! I never thought of it this way!" moment for all.

[Dharwiyanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

short references on single issues that do not really correlate with each other.
so they can be read separately and non-sequentially, depending upon which issue you are currently interested in or experiencing yourself.

some of them are new for me, but some are kind of obvious though.

[Bryan Downey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is interesting because it provides ways to handle different situations in management. I see it as a guidebook that you could pull out an glance at when needed. Lastly I liked the format in which the information is presented, in truths.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its not as bad as I thought! Does gives some good insight and ideas about how to manage and lead. Though not a fast read unless you can trek through stuff that doesn't grip you.

[foroogh · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتابی کاربردی‌ست. همان طور که از عنوان مشخص است، حاوی نکاتی مهم است که در هیچ مورد چندان عمیق نشده ولی باز هم تلنگر و یاداوری خوبی برای یک مدیر خواهد بود .
بعد از خواندن آن در هر موردی که احساس ضعف داریم، باید آموزش ببینیم.
برای من خیلی مفید بود و بسیاری از موارد را های لایت و بازخوانی کردم.

[Sayed Hisham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise and very well sorted book on organizational behaviour.

[Nick Nystrom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just pithy and anecdotal little chapters. Some good truths and observations in there for sure, but I didn't find much of it new or helpful.

[Hussein Gamal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good

[Divyesh Sheth · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good management principles

This book provides good management practices for corporate management. Some of the points are counter intuitive, but I think they are practical.

[Jessica F Fin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this book had research to back up its claims. There was not a lot of new information that I didn’t already know or had just read recently, but it was a good reminder.

[Kelly Schuknecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have supervised people in some capacity in my professional life for about 7 years now. Early on, when I was put into a role that involved supervising 2-3 people, I learned that managing people can be challenging. Over the years, as that number has grown, I have learned that "one size" does not fit all when it comes to working with a variety of different personalities and skill sets.

This book is a great resource for any manager, whether brand new or a veteran. Robbins discusses every aspect of management from the initial interview (what type of person to look for and hire) to motivating workers, team building, communication, how organizations deal with change, etc. I learned new things about myself and about people in general that will help me in my role as a supervisor.

I took notes furiously as I was reading and there are many great quotes I could share, but I want to share one particular quote that absolutely blew me away:

What percentage of rank-and-file workers actually desire higher order need satisfactions and will respond positively to challenging jobs? No current data is available, but a study from the 1970s estimated the figure at about 15 percent.

Robbins, Stephen P. (2007-09-20). Truth About Managing People, The (2nd Edition) (p. 166). Pearson Education (US). Kindle Edition.

If you are a manager, you are likely part of that 15%, so don't treat your role lightly. Embrace the challenge and learn how to hire, motivate and work with your employees for the greatest outcome for your company/organization.

[Tania · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephen P Robbins lays it all out in this latest version of his book The Truth About Managing People. He provides a blueprint for management, that if followed, can pull you out of many a bind. From tips on how to spot the right candidates at time of hire to advice on how to connect with those you already manage, his "truths" are sometimes common sense and sometimes a new way to approach an old problem. They all add up to a very comprehensive look at the challenges you face when managing people and a guide to overcoming those challenges.

I have been supervising people for a few years now, and aspire to management, and found the information presented in this book to be useful both for my current position and for my future goals. I like the way the content is organized and it flows well as you move from one topic to the next. There are plenty of real-world examples fed to the reader throughout the text which make it easy to see how these principles can be applied, or what the results are when they are not. The ending could be improved on, as I felt it was just one more truth rather than a true summary of the book as a whole. I can see myself referring back to this book in the future.

[Leader Summaries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde Leader Summaries recomendamos la lectura del libro La verdad sobre la dirección de personas, de Stephen Robbins.
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: recursos humanos, atraer, motivar y retener a los empleados.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro La verdad sobre la dirección de personas, Principios esenciales de la gestión de recursos humanos en las empresas: La verdad sobre la dirección de personas

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for anyone who has to manage people, whether as individuals or teams. It is organised into a number of topic areas which means it is not necessary to read the entire book, but one can just select the chapters are of interest or relevant to you. It covers many areas including dealing with conflict, diversity, dealing with teams, working with individuals, negotiation, digital distraction and more. Overall very readable and useful.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everybody benefits from learning some leadership skills.

Excellent book meant to be used as a quick reference to help you respond well to a wide variety of personal issues. Useful for more than just managing people, as it also can apply to coworkers, bosses, children, spouses and parents.

[John Weibull · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple but useful book of how to manage people. Easy to read.

[Nikita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one is an easy read for those just getting into management!

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very Good; 63 short tips on various management topics

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very quick read and made a lot of sense. Though targeted toward managers, it was still useful as a lens to view myself through.

[Vladimir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda boring and trivial, but oh well.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good advice, some obvious, some won't apply to you. Don't read it at one sitting; read a truth a day and skip those not applicable to you. You'll find some useful nuggets.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good tips. A lot of it was common sense. Also, if you have experience with counseling, it will sound familiar.

Not bad for a freebie.

[Jimming Cheng · Rating 2 out of 5]

not much insight here. Just read this because it happened to be free on my Kindle (and short)

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good starter book that needs more idea to action examples.

[Gerald Kinro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robbins lists 59 truths about managing people. Each one is short, simply written and easy to read. While many may not be applicable 100 percent of the time, I find to be helpful and a good read.

[Mildred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Básico y práctico en ideas, recomendable para gerentes y directores

[Simon Gianoutsos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful content, in an easily digestible format. I had come across many of the points raised in this book previously, but it was good to have references to back up some of the recommendations.

[Burçak Demirtaş · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has really useful and useable knowledges

[Kemal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oustanding laah.....