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Be A Great Boss In The Internet Age

by Andrew R. McCloskey

160 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); **** AVAILABLE NOW ****; catalogue #01-0038; ISBN 1-55212-636-6; US$19.50, C$22.99, EUR16.00, £11.00

This book provides a practical guide to leadership and management in the Internet Age. many topics are covered, including: Quick decision making, Creating a culture, Using technology effectively, Secrets to empowering others, etc.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpt      catalogue info

About the Book ~Quick Decision Making ~Defining, Creating, and Sustaining A Culture ~Using Technologies Effectively ~Secrets to Empowering Others ~Increasing Communication & Mutual Respect ~Identifying & Rewarding Your Star Associates ~Getting MAD ("Make A Difference" Attitude) ~Motivating Your Associates and Yourself ~Why Ping-Pong Tables Are Not Enough Building, fostering, and retaining a team of top performers offers a tremendous competitive advantage. Increased morale, productivity, and innovative thoughts lead to long-term prosperity for the organization and the associates who work there. Be A Great Boss shows how to achieve all of these things in the Internet Age via unique, real-world examples that apply to all lines of business. "This book is an excellent brief for all managers in today's challenging environment. Andrew's enthusiasm, experience, and style are a terrific combination and I've seen first hand that his techniques truly motivate and endear his employees. 'Be A Great Boss' is fact based and direct -- it's great!" -John Madigan, President/COO, Agate' Technologies Inc. "High turnover, job hopping, burnout. Many have come to accept these as 'par for the course' in the Internet age. This book dispels those myths by showing you how to create a culture that motivates, retains and rejuvenates your staff." -Greg Smith, Small Business Owner Visit the author's web site

About the Author Andrew has been at the front line of mid-level and executive management since before the Internet Age. He has led teams to great innovative solutions including one of the first Internet based applications for the health care industry and one of the first three-tiered web applications for the stock brokerage industry. Andrew's most recent innovative project was the introduction of a completely new Internet appliance product line for a large computer manufacturer. Andrew attributes his success to his talented team members and his ability to motivate and lead these associates to new heights of innovation, productivity, and teamwork. Andrew currently leads a research and development team of forty professionals is also president of his own consulting firm. Andrew occasionally teaches at a local university, is the co-inventor of several pending patents, and is the father of two wonderful children. Andrew may be reached at AndrewMccloskey@BeAGreatBoss.com.

Sample Excerpt

Introduction

Walt Disney once said, "It's fun to do the impossible." For him, "the impossible" was creating an amusement park that was different than anything else at the time and whose construction was against the advice of several financial advisors. For most of us who own companies or who are in management positions, "the impossible" will be less grandiose than what Walt Disney accomplished yet incredibly important to us just the same.

Maybe you are trying to get a small company off the ground. Maybe you are trying to get a large corporation to operate at maximum efficiency. Maybe you are working for a medium size company attempting to go from $50 million in annual sales to $500 million in annual sales. "The impossible" will be different for each of us, yet for any case, and for any role that we are playing, we all need to build and lead teams to heights few teams have ever reached for "the impossible" to be achieved.

There are many theories and hypotheses about how to build these great teams. "Being A Great Boss" does not define any new theories or discuss hypothetical situations. Rather, this book is about applying theories from a variety of very bright and proven individuals to the modern, Internet-age workforce of today. Real-life situations and experiences are recalled and discussed from my most recent management successes. These successes are measured by the low attrition that my teams experienced in the highly competitive software development business and the resulting innovative products that were the result of these highly talented teams staying intact for extended periods of time.

When I contemplate about the success I have had to date, reasons such as "attracting top talent," "creating a team environment" and "successfully empowering others" immediately come to mind. The more I consider this, however, the more I gravitate towards the real reason -- I truly think that continued success as a boss is due to taking leadership and management roles and responsibilities extremely seriously.

Most bosses today enjoy the power granted them and the usual additional salary that accompanies the increased responsibilities of their job but some do not really take these responsibilities seriously. Sure they will work very hard in getting everything accomplished that is required of them, but at what cost? Will budgets be overrun? Will employee attrition be high? Will the reputation of the organization suffer?

With great bosses however, an awakening occurs. This awakening is the realization what a tremendous difference an exceptional leader and manager can make within an organization. How morale, productivity and subsequently profits and security rise substantially under strong leadership and how they fall or at best stay even under mediocre leadership.

As a first hand example, let me share what I heard from team members during one-on-one conversations with them immediately after I started an executive management role at a large corporation:

~"I feel completely out of touch with what is going on."
~"It seems that people are leaving very frequently and I just don't see it stopping."
~"I want to work on something that is going to be used, not just work for work's sake."
~"I can't remember the last time we had a department meeting."
~"You have to learn to play 'the game' is you want to get ahead here."
~"I want to be part of a team, and I do not think that will ever happen here."

Morale was obviously down, but even more tragic was that attrition of very talented people was high and innovative ideas were, for the most part, non-existent. The same people had a definite shift in attitude and morale after just four months of hard work by the management team focused on doing our jobs right. Here is a sampling of what I heard during one-on-one conversations after four months:

~"Out of the ten years working as a software developer, I have never been more excited to come to work."
~"Our group has really gelled and are working great together."
~"I had a great idea over the weekend*"
~"I told my husband some of the things that have been implemented here and he is now trying to do the same at his work."
~"The team came in to work last weekend because we were falling a little behind on our schedule."
~"I saw an advertisement for a great seminar and I would like to attend, if possible."

Team morale was up, ideas were starting to flow, and the team wanted to grow professionally so they could increase their contribution to the company. After sixteen months, this group of highly skilled and now highly motivated engineers not only developed a new and innovative product, but a completely new product line!

How did this happen? That is what this book is about. This book is not just for those of us in the technical management role. It is broadly applicable for any individual who manages other individuals, in most any field. The processes described in the chapters that follow are repeatable in both a fast-paced, small company environment and in the more stable but more bureaucratic environment of a large corporation.

The first chapter will discuss why it is so important to be a great boss in the first place and will provide tangible numbers that can greatly affect your organization's bottom line. The remaining nine chapters will provide you with the tools required to become a great boss. Specifically, we will discuss:

~ Defining and Implementing A Culture
~ Motivating Associates And Yourself
~ Empowering Others
~ Excellent and Effective Communication
~ Quick Decision Making
~ Taking Care Of Your Associates
~ Effectively Using Technology
~ Make A Difference (MAD) Attitude Towards Your Role And Your Organization
~ Selective "Small Stuff" and Putting It All Together

Read on to learn how to make the people who work for you more productive, how to attract and retain the absolute best in your specific industry, and what obstacles may be in front of you to achieve this. The end result will be higher profits for your company, which in turn provide you and your associates more financial and professional opportunity and security. "The Impossible," as defined by you, will become "The Achievable."

Catalogue Information