It was about eleven years after I started Business Navigators that I read chapter five and suddenly it all made sense.
It’s the third key. And that focus has more power than almost anything else.
One day Marcus Buckingham said to his boss, “I wonder if the Harvard Business School’s rules for Managers still are valid?”
His boss said, “How would you find out?”
Marcus replied, “Well, I’d interview some successful Managers and they would tell me.”
Marcus’ boss was Donald O’Clifton, the head of the Gallop poll organization with enormous interviewing resources who said, “Good Idea, Go Ahead”.
Over eighty thousand Managers in more than four hundred companies were interviewed.
What did Buckingham discover about ‘The Rules for Managers’? The title of his book says it all, “First, break all the rules”.
Great managers concentrate on four keys after they understand this ‘Revolutionary Insight’.
- 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
The first key: Select for Talent
The second key: Define the Right Outcomes
The third key: Focus on Strengths
The fourth key: Find the right fit.
It’s that third key that clarified my focus in consulting.
I have been behaving that way since before I started this business. But, Buckingham’s chapter five and his following book, “Now, Discover Your Strengths” supported, with facts, something I really believe.
Multiplying a person’s strengths is more valuable than trying to reduce their weaknesses and, oh yes, a lot more fun!
There is so much of value in this book. Chapter seven: ‘Turning the Keys: A Practical Guide’ is an wonderful summary and call for action.
I’ve used the twelve questions, first mentioned in Chapter 1, with many of the companies I’ve served. Those questions are remarkable and the answers from those associates are extremely telling and most useful.
I’ve had to purchase new copies of this book over three times because they keep wearing out.
In two weeks we will explore Buckingham’s wonderful book, “Now, Discover Your Strengths
