First, Break All the Rules Quotes

“Talent is the multiplier. The more energy and attention you invest in it, the greater the yield. The time you spend with your best is, quite simply, your most productive time.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“People leave managers, not companies”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“The talented employee may join a company because of its charismatic leaders, its generous benefits, and its world-class training programs, but how long that employee stays and how productive he is while he is there is determined by his relationship with his immediate supervisor.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“People don't change that much. Instead of trying to put in what God left out, try drawing out what God left in!”
― Curt Coffman, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“You cannot learn very much about excellence from studying failure.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“True individuality can be lonely.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“The hardest thing about being a manager is realizing that your people will not do things the way that you would. But get used to it. Because if you try to force them to, then two things happen. They become resentful — they don’t want to do it. And they become dependent — they can’t do it. Neither of these is terribly productive for the long haul.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“In most cases, no matter what it is, if you measure it and reward it, people will try to excel at it”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“Great managers play favorites and spend most of their time with their most productive people. Not because they discriminate, but because they deserve the attention and have so much to teach you.”
― Curt Coffman, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“MICHAEL: Maybe just this: A manager has got to remember that he is on stage every day. His people are watching him. Everything he does, everything he says, and the way he says it, sends off clues to his employees. These clues affect performance. So never forget you are on that stage.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“The world you see is seen by you alone. What entices you and what repels you, what strengthens you and what weakens you, is part of a pattern that no one else shares. Therefore, as Mr. Wilde said, no two people can perceive the same "truth," because each person's perspective is different.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“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.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“everyone can probably do at least one thing better than ten thousand other people.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“to encourage people to take responsibility for who they really are. And it is the only way to show respect for each person. Focusing on strengths is the storyline that explains all their efforts as managers.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“...every time you make a rule you take away a choice and choice, with all of its illuminating repercussions, is the fuel for learning.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“The Four Keys, select for talent, define the right outcomes, focus on strengths, find the right fit, reveal how they attack this goal.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“Measuring the strength of a workplace can be simplified to twelve questions. These twelve questions don’t capture everything you may want to know about your workplace, but they do capture the most information and the most important information. They measure the core elements needed to attract, focus, and keep the most talented employees. Here they are: Do I know what is expected of me at work? Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work? Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? Is there someone at work who encourages my development? At work, do my opinions seem to count? Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important? Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? Do I have a best friend at work? In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress? This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow? These twelve questions are the simplest and most accurate way to measure the strength of a workplace.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“As with all catalysts, the manager's function is to speed up the reaction between two substances, thus creating the desired end product. Specifically, the manager creates performance in each employee by speeding up the reaction between the employee's talent and the company's goals, and between the employee's talent and the customer's needs.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“Managers are encouraged to focus on complex initiatives like reengineering or learning organizations, without spending time on the basics.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“Persistence is useful if you are trying to learn a new skill or acquire particular knowledge...but persistence directed primarily toward your non-talents is self-destructive.”
― Gallup Press, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“Great managers disagree. Acquiring varied experiences is important but peripheral to a healthy career. It is an accessory, not the driving force. The true source of energy for a healthy career, they say, is generated elsewhere.”
― Gallup Press, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“No manager can make an employee productive. Managers are catalysts. They can speed up the reaction between the talent of the employee and the needs of the customer/company. They can help the employee find his path of least resistance toward his goals. They can help the employee plan his career. But they cannot do any of these without a major effort from the employee. In the world according to great managers, the employee is the star. The manager is the agent. And, as in the world of performing arts, the agent expects a great deal from his stars.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“These four characteristics — simplicity, frequent interaction, focus on the future, and self-tracking — are the foundation for a successful “performance management” routine.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“You will have to manage around the weaknesses of each and every employee. But if, with one particular employee, you find yourself spending most of your time managing around weaknesses, then know that you have made a casting error. At this point it is time to fix the casting error and to stop trying to fix the person.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“As a manager your job is not to teach people talent. Your job is to help them earn the accolade “talented” by matching their talent to the role. To do this well, like all great managers, you have to pay close attention to the subtle but significant differences between roles.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“You have a filter, a characteristic way of responding to the world around you. We all do. Your filter tells you which stimuli to notice and which to ignore; which to love and which to hate. It creates your innate motivations — are you competitive, altruistic, or ego driven? It defines how you think — are you disciplined or laissez-faire, practical or strategic? It forges your prevailing attitudes — are you optimistic or cynical, calm or anxious, empathetic or cold? It creates in you all of your distinct patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. In effect, your filter is the source of your talents.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“Even more than the rest, these five questions are most directly influenced by the employee’s immediate manager. What does this tell us? It tells us that people leave managers, not companies.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“How can we all grow?”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“Focus on each person’s strengths and manage around his weaknesses. Don’t try to fix the weaknesses. Don’t try to perfect each person. Instead do everything you can to help each person cultivate his talents. Help each person become more of who he already is.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently

“that all salespeople are different, that all accountants are different, that each individual, no matter what his chosen profession, is unique.”
― Marcus Buckingham, First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently