Any Book Suggestions On The Topic Of Managing People?

crackp0t said:
If you're hiring programmers disregard a lot of this. If you're hiring creative social people listen to this.

As a programmer I could care less about the vision you have for your company unless it's directly related to the software I'm writing. Then I care, because it's my job to care. I also already know what cog I am. I make software that is my job. Reiterating that is demeaning. Celebrating when I do my job correctly is also demeaning. Of course I hit the deadline that's what I get paid to do. Celebrating that I did it implies you didn't think I would. A thank you or good job is generally enough. Freedom is the biggest thing you can give your tech workers. If you can't trust them to hit their deadlines without micro-managing them you should fire them.

If you don't believe me go hide a tape recorder or microphone next to your developers. You'll hear them bitching about being bothered by someone from XYZ department. If they're being micro-managed you'll also hear them bitch about that as well. Constant meetings are another thing you'll hear them bitch about. Meetings are importing, but for ever hour a meeting lasts that means one hour of development time that has to be made up that week.

Also, don't have multiple systems developers have to login to. It's a pain in the ass to have to have one system for bug reports, one system for task delegation, another z, another y. Keep it in one system or you'll find people not using all of them like they should. I know it sounds silly, but I've seen places have numerous systems and then wonder why some don't get used.
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This is actually a great lesson in individual motivational factors since my experience has been the opposite of the above, and it's all been in tech and programming.

So no easy answer.
 


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Unarmed Gunman said:
Understanding psychology will better prepare you for managing people than any management/business books. The better you understand a persons desires and motivations the better you can manage them.
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This x1000. First year in management was the most difficult year of my career. So much to learn about what makes people tick.

>> First Break All The Rules
>> Sales Dogs
 
Thanks guys for the valuable input. Now, let me go back creating my Management Success Principles info product.
 
From my experience the #1 component of managing people is communicating expectations.

You need to establish very clearly what you expect of your people. In terms of their responsibilities, behaviors, goals, etc.

Make sure they understand exactly what you are trying to communicate and everything is much easier after that. It usually takes a couple conversations about it to sink in but once the person understands they will usually meet/exceed or leave.

Also, never be a dick. It's fine to be blunt and express dissatisfaction, but do it tactfully.
+1 for How to win friends and influence people
 
[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Managing-Humans-Humorous-Software-Engineering/dp/1430243147]Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager: Michael Lopp: 9781430243144: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1118009126/sofa-20/ref=nosim"]Leadership Lessons from West Point (J-B Leader to Leader Institute/PF Drucker Foundation): Major Doug Crandall,Jim Collins: 9781118009123: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385472560/sofa-20/ref=nosim"]The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization: Peter M. Senge,Art Kleiner,Charlotte Roberts,Rick Ross,Bryan Smith: 9780385472562: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

AdHustler said:
Anyone have Book Suggestions On The Topic Of Managing People/leading people?

Thanks
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*ahem*

I have still not found any really good books in the topic. The Effective Executive is a good read with some good points, however its aimed on upper management (CEO / CFO level) which is something that most of us do not have to deal with. (my book notes on it: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s63/...02b395933505/e06a2a21639cabe86a88aecea379a1e1)

Having said that I manage a team of 8 people for work. Everyone that works with my group feels that we are one of the best groups in the company, this spans from people in Network Operations, Help Desk, Field Teams, upper management, Networking Engineering, NMS Systems, Quality Assurance...we just rock. What I also like is that my team really cares about me, which tells me I am not a dick boss that makes them perform well but hate me.

(please don't take this as being self-deceived....I just had to show my team's value before I give my input)

Here is a condensed version of my knowledge, if you need me to elaborate on something let me know.


  • Managing is like parenting. You cannot be their best friend, that leads to them not respecting you or personal issues getting in the way of business. At the same time you want to be available enough that they can trust you when things get tough.
  • Realize that no one can work continuously with no breaks. Cultivate an environment where people know that if they do everything you ask them to they can relax. At the same time promote and praise people that go the extra mile and do extra work. The trick is to make people want to work more not forcing them. The video that was linked about rewards, I employ that idea a lot after watching it a few years back. Which leads to my next point
  • Give people projects that they like doing. One of the things I do every year is ask people about which projects they liked and which ones they disliked and why. It gives me an idea of what makes them enjoy work and give them projects that relate to that style. Some guys like more physical type stuff, others like working on computers/networking. In your case it might be blogging vs copy writing vs graphics work...you get the point
  • Don't assume that other people have the same work ethic as you do. Most people have horrible work ethic. Some of them can be fixed, others need to be let go. I always give one or two chances to people. Luckily I have not had to go down this path because I am good at interviewing people so I pretty much get really good people to begin with
  • When you add a new person to your team experience is not everything. The main things you want to look for is how they work / learn and how your team would interact with them. A team with drama and issues will always under-perform
  • Always say thank you. Yes you are their boss and yes they are doing their job but saying thank you when they do what you ask them to shows that you appreciate them
  • Force time management on people by being sneaky. Most people suck at time management. I tried to educate them by sharing my book notes of Eat That Frog and Getting Things Done, they read it but never implemented it. I later found Agile Results (Its fee and amazing, I highly recommend it...my book notes on it are in this forum somewhere). So I adapted Agile Results but how did I force it to the group? Simple. Everyday I give them the 3 daily goals they need to complete. I do it daily because the line of work I am in everyday is a new issue or project so I have to remain light on my feet. In your case it might make sense to give them 3 weekly goals. I stick to 3, sometimes 4 if one of the goals is quick. I find out that if you give people a list of 15 things to do they will only do 10, but give people 3 things to do a day they will do 15 things in a week.
  • Don't micro-manage people. People hate it and it takes too much time to do as a manager. Establish a mindset and what you expect, then let people do it their own way. If you are working on something complicated create a checklist for them and have them fill it out while they are doing their thing. For example lets say you are using a guy to create ads on facebook your checklist might say "Pic of X size", ad copy 1-15, submit to FB, check approvals, check CPC. Now do you care if they write ad copy first or work on the pic sizes...you should not as long as they do things their way but they fulfill what you need them to do let them work.
  • Have meetings once every six months to just discuss what you like about what they do. Always praise them on their strengths and then give them one thing to work on and improve. Also let them tell you the one thing they think they need to improve on. You will be surprised by the clarity that some people have and how deceived others are
  • Don't punish people for trying something. We live in a work environment that if you make a mistake you get punished. That's stupid. How can people innovate when they are not allowed to make mistakes. I have something called Wacky Wednesday basically that day I let people work with whoever they want and work on a project they have thought about. Some people shine when you do that. Others don't do anything...you will notice a correlation the people that shine are the best people you have. Facebook has Hackathons, which is the same idea. You just allow people to work on what they want. In my case I have seen amazing things take place, even things that I never even thought or imagined. Now if you want people to work for you on a heavily moderated industry then perhaps that is not a good idea...for example if its for heart monitors for ER patients then you need to make sure everything is steady and there is no innovation without heavy testing

I kind of wrote this while working so it probably does not flow very logically but it should give you some ideas.
 
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