All I Know About Management I Learned from My Dog: The Real Story of Angel, a Rescued Golden Retriever, Who Inspired the New Four Golden Rules of Management

by Martin P. Levin

When 91-year-old legendary management guru Martin Levin decided to adopt a dog by the name of Angel, he thought he was in for an interesting experience, yet not a challenging one. It didn’t take long for him to learn that he was wrong. Very wrong. Following one of the guiding mantras of his life to never stop learning, Levin found that each day with his dog brought new insights. Through interacting with Angel, he began to recall some personal adventures that added to this insight. And as it turned out, his journey led him toward realizing the Four Golden Rules of       Rule 1: Trust and Leadership       Rule 2: Communication       Rule 3: Problem Solving and Decision Making       Rule 4: Perseverance In the end, Levin found that his Four Golden Rules of Management were so simple that even Angel understood them. Thus, if a manager can develop trust, it will lead to corporate excellence, provided he or she is able to communicate effectively, make the right strategic decisions, and, above all, persevere. Levin’s book is one to entertain, inspire, and educate business executives (and dog lovers).

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Leadership

129 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Bob Wallner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I picked up this audiobook as it was free to me as a member of Audible. I had no real expectations of what was contained within the book. Prior to deciding whether or not to listen to it, I read some fairly negative reviews. I'm glad that I listened to this short audible book.


The author is a former CEO who is in his 9th decade of life. After losing a spouse he decides to pick up an older rescue dog with issues. He uses his journey to rehabilitate the dog as the canvas for reflection on his leadership style through the years and the four principles he feels are critical to leadership.


Many books will discuss how to lead, but the text is very sterile. His story, with Angel his service dog, is heartwarming and provides a very human metaphor for his management style. Additionally I think the addition of the dog makes his story on how to treat people more understandable to non-managers.


Contrary to some of the reviews, I did enjoy this audiobook. My one critique seems a bit trite, but I would have liked to have it narrated by an older voice. The book was written from the perspective of a 91-year-old man, the younger reader did not bring the sound of experience that I feel an older voice could have brought. Again this is not a showstopper but simply a recommendation that would have brought me value.


Very easy and worthwhile listen.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frankly, I was disappointed in this book. Some, but not a lot, of management wisdom, and few links from the dog to management. The 4 lessons given were good ones: trust and leadership, communication, problem solving and decision making, and perseverance. But, there is so much more one needs to know to be a good manager. And the timeline is reversed: Martin Levin was in management for decades before he acquired his dog rather late in life.

While I found Angel's story to be interesting, I found Martin Levin's story to be even more interesting: starting and succeeding in several careers, and continuing to work into his 90's. I would have liked to learn more about him and why he decided to do certain things, rather than hear stories of others who persevered, etc.

I wish I could recommend this book as it has lots of cute dog photos in it.

[Nancie Lafferty · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Free from Audible. The title grabbed me and then I was intrigued by the age (91) and experience of the author. A short (2hours+) listen, the book contains some good management pointers and many excellent references for future reading. There are a few cute anecdotes concerning Angel the dog. I guess the printed version has some good illustrations. I would have preferred an older, more seasoned narrator.

[Dani Kimlinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good takeaways, insights, and case studies. A cute story about his dog and the parallels were something I would have put together on my own. I do feel like a newer leader would get the most out of this book but even a seasoned will take away a few things.

[Wesley · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been an interesting dog book or an interesting book about management principles. But instead it tried to combine two unrelated things and it ended up feeling really forced. The author didn't learn principles from his dog, instead, looking back he saw how things he had learned over decades of corporate experience related to his interaction with his dog.

[chippyvale · Rating 5 out of 5]

I see doggo book > I borrow > I read > I give 5 stars <3

jokes aside, I'm glad I didn't look at the ratings prior to reading this because the ratings would probably have stopped me from flipping the first page and I would have missed out on what had been a wonderful and concise read.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dogs know. Dogs teach us so much but how do they do this? We slow our lives down when we interact with them, and because of this we learn so much more about who we are, the world around us, and what is truly important.

[Tony Creech · Rating 1 out of 5]

Besides him not learning management from his dog, but rather an old man reading years of management into dog training - this book is as lifeless as the principles are broad and useless.

[Katarzyna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Otrzymuje ode mnie nominacje do najgorszej książki przeczytanej w tym roku

[Jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book about management, but doesn't quite measure up to the greats. It's a bit difficult to follow at times.

[AttackGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing about his dog and correlation towards management. Terrible format and you would think the editor would have suggested a better format example my dog does this and I apply it this way…