Customer Reviews

From Bud to Boss: Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The day you have been dreaming of is here... you have just become the boss. NOW WHAT DO YOU DO?

If this is your dream, the answer is a very important one. If you are already a "boss" you know it is not a simple one. Making the transition from "bud" to "boss" can be a tricky one and sooner or later, as entrepreneurs and as leaders, it is a lesson we all must learn.

Experienced leaders will tell you this is an ongoing learning process. For first time supervisors, managers and leaders, knowing how to do it right is a key stepping stone on the road to success.

That's why this new book: Bud to Boss by Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris (Jossey-Bass, February 15, 2011) is one you'll probably want to have in your library. In the Amazon Video, co-author Kevin Eikenberry shares some highlights of what's inside and why it is importantalong with the 6 main points you will find in Bud to Boss.

So I thought you might enjoy seven great quotes I found inside when I read it.

On the impact you make as a leader:

...like a boat, you can tell a great deal about leaders,

even if you have never met them, by looking at their wake--their impact on the organization.

The two sides of a leader's wake are

1. The tasks or results he accomplishes

2. The people or relationships he impacts

On Control and Empowerment

You can't tell another person that he or she is empowered.

That person will not act empowered until he or she feels

that way.

On Change:

As a leader, how others experience change is as

important as how you experience it.

On Communication:

Communication style models are good guides for

understanding other people. They are not rules that

define other people.

On Coaching:

Coaching is more about ``we'' than ``me,'' more about

conversation and discovery than advice.

On Collaboration and Teams

The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime. --Babe Ruth, Baseball player

On Goals and Commitment

Goals help you look beyond the activity and get clear on what you really want to accomplish. In other words, though time management is great, goals put the focus on accomplishment.

So that's my sneak peek into Bud to Boss by Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris. It's a great book with lots of good information and tools, plus easy to follow guides and examples. If you know someone who is making the transition from Bud to Boss for the first time or the just the next time, you may want to pass this review along...or buy them the book. I'm certainly appreciative that someone shared it with me.

I was looking for a resource for a training for newly promoted staff in my organization. This book sounded perfect. In fact, it was a complete waste of time. It is nothing more than a list of platitudes that sound like, "It's lonely at the top," or "Choose your friends carefully," and then goes on to restate these cliches in as many ways as possible (which the author is very good at!). At 3/4 of the way through the book, which is where I closed it and placed it in the garbage can, it was clear that the author had not even done basic research on the topic of leadership transition. A quick internet search has yielded more useful, research-based, strategies than this book.

It is also clear that this book was simply intended to be an advertisement for the author's consulting service. This is understandable as all business consultants need a book to their name. However, this does not make for useful reading. It is 99.9% filler. For example, the first 38 pages (yes, THIRTY-EIGHT) are dedicated to introducing the topic and how to use the book. One section is titled "Read with a Purpose" and another is called "Read with a Pen." Interestingly, I learned these "strategies" in about 4th grade.

On a side note, the fact that "JOHN B. SPENCE", a self-proclaimed expert on business strategy books (he reads "100+ a year"!), highly recommends this book makes me suspect that Mr. Spence is in fact a shill for business consulting authors. I would suggest we take any of his recommendations with a bucket of salt.

Finally, if you are still considering purchasing this book, please CHECK IT OUT YOURSELF first. You can actually browse through the entire book using the "Click to Look Inside" option on the Amazon page. But, honestly, it's not even worth the time it takes to do that.

Because I read a LOT of business books, 100+ a year, I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of "From Bud to Boss" to review for my blog. I am a VERY tough critic of books -- and I truly LOVED this book. It is perfect for a person going through the "Bud To Boss" transition. It is an easy read, full of excellent ideas and tools - very focused and to-the-point. I wish I'd had a book like this when I was a young manager - it would have prevented a lot of headaches and missteps! If you are going through the difficult transition from being "One of the guys or gals" -- to being the manager, leader director...boss - this book will help you a GREAT deal. If you are already a leader - but are getting ready to promote someone on your team from a "Bud" to a "Boss" -- you need to give them a copy of this book - it will save you both a ton of time and energy. The authors have done a wonderful job making this book useful, focused and relevant -- I highly recommend it. John Spence

As an executive coach and consultant I talk to people who have been promoted from being an employee to being part of the leadership team frequently.

This requires a set of new skills and letting go of old ways of relating to your peers at work. Not an easy task.

This book is a clear map of what to do and how to do it, to be successful in your new role. This is a must for anyone getting promoted.

"From Bud to Boss" is geared specifically towards that novice leader, who may not even be certain what challenges lie up ahead yet. However, the lessons shared by Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris are applicable to life in general; not just leaders.

Broken into six parts, the book covers topics such as succeeding in your transition to leadership, the nature of change, working with various communication styles, providing effective feedback and coaching, transforming groups into teams, and developing a commitment to success.

For the novice leader, you'll find the guidance you need to navigate through difficult transitions related to your new position. Yet even more experienced leaders will find nuggets of information useful to improving their own leadership talents. Things like "Focus on controlling what you can, and influencing who you can." We control tasks, not people. We influence people, not tasks. Yet there are times when both novice and experienced leaders get their wires crossed, and try to control people and influence tasks. So, whether it's your direct report who used to be your best friend, or your two-year-old, remembering that it's easier to influence people than control them will always be helpful.

If these kind of lessons seem valuable to you, I strongly recommend that you get a copy of this book!

You can also see a more detailed review of this book at my website: [...]

The concept? Awesome. We need a good book that guides you through the developmental trajectory of leadership in a concrete and practical way.

The skill level of the authors? My sense is that they are really good at what they do.

The book as a resource? Sad to say I found it very disappointing. This is not what I was hoping for. I wanted to be able to recommend it to my clients. I don't feel I can.

1) It reads like a first draft or a script for a video interview. Not a book.

2) There were a few too many oversimplifications and platitudes.

3) While the authors are clearly drawing on numerous well researched sources their version feels like a poor cousin to other books already published.

4) So much of what is suggested is predicated on a path of personal self reflection and transformation that is passed off in a "just do it" kind of way. I think most leaders either don't know how to do this part alone or haven't figured out how to prioritize the time for that kind of inner work. This book will not help them in that arena.

I wish this had been a series of video interviews or conversations between the authors.

Maybe in its next iteration?

When I hear that Kevin Eikenberry has a new book coming out, I don't hesitate. I jump on Amazon and pre-order immediately.

Now that I've read some of "From Bud to Boss" I can assure you it's another winner.

It's been decades since I was first a boss, but I still recall the shock I got seeing my friends transform when they found out I was taking over the department.

I wish we'd had this book back then!

Instead, I'm doing the next best thing. Giving copies of "From Bud to Boss" to the up and coming stars I know.

This book takes the guesswork out of trying many things and failing at each one of them. You don't have to live in the world of trial and error. But as a reader your commitment to apply and do what the book says is important. At least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. While From Bud to Boss is a great book, it can't change things for you unless you want to give it a try. Only you can do that by applying what you learn. Go out and buy From Bud to Boss from Amazon.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who was recently promoted and people who are aspiring to be promoted. This book will help you immensely in your journey toward being a successful leader. For seasoned leaders or people in middle management, this book is also valuable because it provides you with a framework to guide your newly promoted people to be good leaders of tomorrow.

I really wanted to like this book. There is a desperate need for a resource to help guide the transition from worker to manager. Leadership is difficult and the cultural/emotional changes are rarely considered sufficiently. So while the authors have a good idea with Bud to Boss (love the title!), I just don't think they pull it off. The glaring weakness is that it's too general. Virtually all of the insights they cover are available at no cost from various websites and blogs, including their own. Where are the case histories, the stories of actual buds transforming into bosses? That's what I wanted to read. So if you want an elementary primer on good communication and listening skills, you can't go wrong here. It's certainly well organized. If you want something that gives you profound insight and actionable tools to excellent leadership, I suspect you will need to keep looking or attend one of the authors' workshops.

If I had not received a review copy of this book I very likely would not have purchased it.It actually took me a while to get past the title of this book to begin reading it. Once I did what I found was solid, not secret as the title would have us expect, direction, suggestions and counsel on how to develop yourself as a new member of management.

I am not a big fan of "cute" so terms like Remarkable and Bonus Byte tend to put me off. Unfortunately the book abounds with terminology like this. But I am one guy and not everyone has my preferences. This is a great addition to any library for new managers, sound, practical, grounded guidance. The writing is straightforward despite the "cute" I mentioned.

If it were me and I was looking for something virtually any of my new managers could grasp and work through on their own and then refer back to I'd be sure to get them a copy of From Bud to Boss.