The little book of big management wisdom : 90 important quotes and how to use them in business

257 Pages·2017·5.76 MB·English

by  McGrath

THE LITTLE
BOOK OF BIG
MANAGEMENT
WISDOM
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James McGrath
THE LITTLE
BOOK OF BIG
MANAGEMENT
WISDOM
90 IMPORTANT QUOTES
AND HOW TO USE THEM IN
BUSINESS
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Pearson Education Limited
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Web: www.pearson.com/uk
First published 2017 (print and electronic)
© James McGrath 2017 (print and electronic)
The right of James McGrath to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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EC4A 1EN.
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ISBN: 978-1-292-14843-4 (print)
978-1-292-14844-1 (PDF)
978-1-292-14845-8 (ePub)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for the print edition is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for the print edition is available from the Library of Congress
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
20 19 18 17 16
Cover design by Nick Redeyoff
Print edition typeset in Helvetica Neue LT W1G 9.5 by SPi Global
Printed in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd, at the Dorset Press, Dorchester, Dorset
NOTE THAT ANY PAGE CROSS REFERENCES REFER TO THE PRINT EDITION
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For Tallulah and Finbar
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CONTENTS
About the author xii
Acknowledgements xiii
Introduction xiv
How to get the most out of this book xvii
SECTION 1 MANAGING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS 1
Introduction 3
1 Peter Drucker on why customers are more important than profits 4
2 Jack Walsh on the need for a competitive advantage 6
3 Marvin Bower on why more cohesion and less hierarchy is required
in organisations 8
4 Harold Geneen on why cash is king 10
5 Andrew Carnegie on taking care of the pennies 12
6 Sam Walton on why you should ignore conventional wisdom 14
7 Jeff Bozos on two ways to expand your business 16
8 Philip Kotler on creating markets 18
9 Laurence J. Peter on why people rise to the level of their own
incompetence 20
10 Warren Bennis on why failing organisations need leadership not
more management 22
Conclusion 24
SECTION 2 MANAGING YOURSELF AND YOUR CAREER 25
Introduction 27
11 Theodore Levitt on making your career your business 28
12 Henry Ford on pursuing your heart’s desire 30
13 Dale Carnegie on how people know you 32
14 Henry Ford on self-confidence and self-doubt 34
15 Molly Sargent on investing in your greatest asset – yourself 36
16 Andrew Carnegie on why you can’t do it all yourself 38
17 Thomas Edison on why persistence not inspiration leads to
success 40
18 Bill Watkins on why you should never ask management for their
opinion 42
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viii CONTENTS
19 Andrew Carnegie on investing 100 per cent of your energy
in your career 44
20 Thomas Edison on saving time 46
Conclusion 48
SECTION 3 MANAGING PEOPLE AND TEAMS 49
Introduction 51
21 Charles Handy on what management should be about 52
22 Peter Drucker and the manager’s job in 13 words 54
23 Peter Drucker on learning to work with what you’ve got 56
24 Robert Townsend on how to keep the organisation lean,
fit and vital 58
25 Warren Buffet on why integrity trumps intelligence and energy when
appointing people 60
26 Marcus Buckingham on managers and the Golden Rule 62
27 Theodore Roosevelt on why you should not micro-manage
staff 64
28 Dee Hock on why you should keep it simple, stupid (KISS) 66
29 Alfred P. Sloan on the value of management by exception 68
30 Jack Walsh on the three essential measures of business 70
31 Ron Dennis on supporting the weakest link 72
32 Zig Ziglar on why you should invest in staff training 74
Conclusion 76
SECTION 4 LEADERSHIP 77
Introduction 79
33 Warren Bennis on the making of a leader 80
34 Howard D. Schultz on why leaders must provide followers with
meaning and purpose 82
35 Peter Drucker on why results make leaders 84
36 Warren Bennis on why leaders must walk the talk 86
37 Edward Deming on building credibility with followers 88
38 Henry Mintzberg on why leadership is management
practised well 90
39 S.K. Chakraborty on the source of organisational values 92
40 Claude I. Taylor on vision building 94
41 Doris Kearns Goodwin on why leaders need people to disagree
with them 96
42 John Quincy Adams on how you know you are a leader 98
Conclusion 100
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CONTENTS ix
SECTION 5 MOTIVATION 101
Introduction 103
43 Robert Frost on disenchantment in the workplace 104
44 Kenneth and Scott Blanchard on explaining to people why their
work is important 106
45 Fredrick Herzberg on the sources of motivation 108
46 Tom Peters on self-motivation 110
47 General George Patton on motivation through delegation 112
48 John Wooden on why you need to show you care 114
Conclusion 116
SECTION 6 DECISION MAKING 117
Introduction 119
49 Robert Townsend on keeping decisions simple 120
50 Helga Drummond on why you should never chase your
losses 122
51 Kenneth Blanchard on delegating decisions to front-line staff 124
52 Bud Hadfield on the value of gut instinct in decision making 126
53 Mary Parker Follet on why there are always more than two
choices 128
54 Rosabeth Moss Kanter on why the best information does not reside
in executive offices 130
55 Warren Bennis on the vital difference between information
and meaning 132
56 Peter Drucker and the power to say no 134
Conclusion 136
SECTION 7 CHANGE MANAGEMENT 137
Introduction 139
57 Gary Hamel on why change should be from the bottom up 140
58 Michael Hammer and James Champy on why too much change
can kill an organisation 142
59 Peter Drucker on the need for continuity in a period of change 144
60 Daniel Webster on why it’s not the change that kills you, it’s the
transition 146
61 Niccolò Machiavelli on the enemies of change 148
62 Seth Godin on the need to make changes before you’re
forced to 150
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