Customer Reviews

Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance

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Business is about getting results. And "Getting results" gets down to business in a very direct fashion, using research and the authors' work with senior executives to construct basic guidelines for enabling and empowering managers and organizations. The survey results on the top twenty things a leader needs to do to be effective is probably worth the cost of the book. Some of the ideas and data went straight into my classroom. This might even work for many business faculty as a text for a basic graduate course in management or leadership.

The book lacked a little bit of the 'Tom Peters verve' that wins over large numbers of readers and gets books recognized by business magazines. But serious, thoughtful students of the science (and art) of business will not be disappointed.

This is one of the volumes which comprise the University of Michigan Business School Management Series. According to Longenecker and Simonetti, there are "five absolutes for high performance" and they examine each with both precision and eloquence. Few (if any) are original. The most effective managers probably practice them (and others) to achieve superior results. Whichever "absolutes" are embraced, they are obviously worthless without effective implementation in combination with both a determination and an ability to adjust to circumstances which can change quickly at any time. Here are the five absolutes:

#1 Get Everyone on the Same Page: Focus on the Purpose of Your Organization

#2 Prepare for Battle: Equip Your Operation with Tools, Talent, and Technology

#3 Stoke the Fire of Performance: Create a Climate for Results

#4 Build the Bridge on the Road to Results: Nurture Relationships with People

#5 Keep the Piano in Tune: Practice Continuous Renewal

No doubt each reader can easily rephrase each of the five or at least cluster several synonyms which suggest each absolute's key point. For example, #1 suggests the importance of agreement (or consensus) on which teamwork always depends whereas #5 suggests the importance of constant attention to the progress of any initiatives so that appropriate modifications can be made. The Japanese word "kaizen" means more than continuous renewal; those involved in such efforts must always be aware of maintaining proper balance (or proportion), especially when responding to a crisis of some kind.

For whom will this book be most valuable? The authors wrote it for "managers at all levels who are looking for ways to improve the performance not only of themselves but also of the people they are directly responsible for." I presume to suggest that this book would also be valuable to recent graduates who have only recently begun a business career. Every organization (including non-profits and family-owned businesses) needs to have an easily understood system (as well as sound strategies) by which to achieve the desired results. Longenecker and Simonetti provide such a system in this book. It remains for decision-makers, especially, "at all levels" to modify the system to their organization's specific needs and objectives. In the Afterword, Longenecker and Simonetti suggest how to "get the ball rolling" toward getting results: Always start with the end in mind, build a model of the absolutes to your organization to be effective as a leader, identify the practices that are most critical to your success, and develop the talents needed to implement and sustain the absolutes for high-performance. Heard all this before? Probably. Are you satisfied with the results you and your organization are now achieving? If not, here is a source to help clarify and assist your initiatives in weeks and months to come. Longenecker and Simonetti conclude their book and I conclude this review with an especially appropriate observation by Henry David Thoreau: "This time, like all time, is a great time, if we simply know what to do with it."

Gettings Results is an insightful and easy to read book that shows managers how to attain high performance by improving their personal performance and having a positive effect on both their people and processes. It is a cumulation of advice from over 2000 high-performing managers that simplifies a hands-on approach to getting results that all managers can find useful. The book made me ask myself the question: "Am I a result-oriented manager?" and I quickly realized that the answer to this question is "Yes" and "No." I found that I am currently doing many of the key practices mentioned in this book. But, I am not doing them as systematically as I need to and some of the practices simply need a lot of work on my part for me to get better results. The biggest benefit of the book is that it's interactive and makes you compare yourself to the practices of results-oriented leaders, which is an excellent exercise for personal improvement. I found the book easy to read and repletet with lots of examples that I could relate to on both a professional and personal level.
This book is a must-read for anyone who must do more with less and get better results to keep their career on track. I strongly recommend it to my friends.

This product was in better shape than what they said. Product was recieved quicker than what predicted. Would buy from again.

"Getting Results" is the name of the game in business. At the end of the day, your efforts are graded, calculated, and measured to judge overall performance and efficiency within your organization. The studies included in "Getting Results" are from REAL managers in REAL organizations. By reading this book, you will be guided from the wisdom of over 2,000 high-performing managers that show you how to improve not only your performance, but also the performance of the people for whom you are directly responsible.

This book is the most effective tool that you (the manager) can have when it comes to improving your performance at work, and maintaining an effective balance in your personal life. You will instantly find ways to improve your processes, your people, and your performance, because this book opens your mind to "Big Picture" thinking. If you want to stand out in your company and discover ways to take your organization to the next level, "Getting Results" is a must read!

Timothy Revard

Financial Analyst - Global IT

Dana Holding Corporation

Having read through "Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance" all I can say is "REALLY?" None of the advice given within the book seems to be anything revolutionary, or anything that would not seem to be common sense. Yet, in my humble opinion, there is not a manager around who would not benefit from reading this text. I do not even see stopping at management, as an employee I read the book and was inspired enough to write up a proposal for my employer's offering suggestions to improve our business. I can honestly say no business book has ever made me want to do that before.

No one ever wakes up in the morning and says, "I want to do a poor job at work today" or "I want to be a bad boss." Quite the opposite from my experience. This book makes it so that one can pinpoint both their strengths and weaknesses as a manager / coach and will guide you in the direction of improving both. Sometimes it identifies areas that you did not even find relevant to being a good leader.

I have already offered to lend the book to all of my bosses. That should tell you something about how much I wish people would adhere to what the book says.

I recently read Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance by Clinton O. Longenecker and Jack L. Simonetti.

Everyone of course is interested in getting results, so although the book does have a short chapter on why we need results, I don't think we need to be sold.

The book comes up with five absolutes to get results:

1. Get everyone on the same page - Focus on the purpose of your organization.

2. Prepare for battle - Equip your operation with tools, talent and technology.

3. Stoke the fire of performance - Create a climate for results.

4. Build bridges on the road to results - Nurture relationships with people.

5. Keep the piano in tune - Practice continual renewal. This one is one that definitely resonates. My version is "be a constant learner - always study and prepare".

It had one interesting section on 8 common planning mistakes to avoid:

1. Being too busy or too undisciplined to plan.

2. Doing the wrong kinds of planning for your level in the organization.

3. Planning with inadequate information and input from your boss.

4. Planning in a vacuum without input from those who have to implement the plan.

5. Develop plans that are unrealistic or too sophisticated to get off the ground.

6. Failing to implement plans

7. Planning without accurate data.

8. Planning without a clear direction or real purpose. (I would have put this one first - know your goals)

It also had a chapter summary that dealt with habits:

"It has been said that "bad habits develop a day at a time and are broken a year at a time," which is undoubtedly true for most people. If an organization and its members do not break bad or dysfunctional organizational habits and practices they will quickly go out of tune. Managers must make renewal and development a way of life if they are truly desirous of better performance.

Developing and improving processes and people is essential for long term success. Developing yourself as a manager just might be the key to every other management practice that we have discussed in this book."

Lastly, a quote from the book: "90% of failures are the result of bad management".

Good book - I enjoyed it and it reinforced what needs to be done for high performance.

In Getting Results, all logical arguments are backed by solid research studies. What is more impressive, in most cases the raw numbers are included, allowing the reader to analyze the data themselves. The author recognizes the need to substantiate all of his claims with measurable facts. The book also includes real world examples of how each of the 5 steps to getting results works in practice. This book is a solid foundation from which any manager should be able to develop a business strategy that will truly make their business get results! What is better, the book could easily be completed in a week; arming you with the tools you need to combat poor performance in a timely manor.

Getting Results: Five Absolutes for High Performance is a must read for every manager. It is an excellent book and it gets every mamager ahead of the game. I got real understanding of performance monitoring amongst many other issues. Thanks

This is a wonderful book. I would recommend it highly to anyone interested in reading how most of the successful companies are getting the job done. The survey and follow-up interviews from thousands of companies are well documented. It is easy to read and easy to ferret out solutions to specific problems that you may be experiencing in your business. What was striking to this reader was the general lack of the use of self-directed work teams in the businesses that were surveyed, and the continued reliance on the use of individual performance reviews and appraisals to motivate and direct employees. Successful businesses today are still following the basic rules of top down management that have been in place for many years. One must draw their own conclusion about whether this is the BEST way to do business. It certainly appears to be THE most popular and maybe the easy way to do business.