H.I.M.M. - High Impact Middle Management: Solutions for Today's Busy Managers [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

As a middle manager, you are a key player responsible for delivering organizational results. You hold the title of manager, director, or even vice president. You manage a staff, budgets, operational processes, and support senior management's strategic initiatives. Yet, until now, there was no distinct system that addresses corporate execution from your unique perspective. H.I.M.M.-an acronym for High Impact Middle Management-explains how to manage the unique challenges and responsibilities of middle management, including:

A workforce whose skills and desires are not aligned with management objectives

Organizational objectives that cannot be implemented with current processes

Strategic goals that seem to contradict one another, for example: "cut overhead costs" and "reduce turnover of high performers"

H.I.M.M., a one-of-a-kind work that redefines the role of middle manager, gets you results-even in the most high-pressure work situations.

About the Author

Lisa Haneberg is a management trainer and coach, as well as an expert in one-on-one management coaching and organizational development. Ms. Haneberg has worked with companies such as Amazon.com, Black & Decker, Intel, and Mead Paper. A resident of Port Orchard, WA, she has done graduate-level coursework in industrial psychology and business at Johns Hopkins and Ohio State University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media Corporation; illustrated edition edition (January 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593371586
• ISBN-13: 978-1593371586
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #906,058 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of practical advice for veterans and newbies alike, February 19, 2005

By	Brendon J. Connelly (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First things first: I love this book and it's going into my regular reference shelf. But it took me a little while to really get into it.

First, there's the title. I mean, there's a certain stigma attached to the phrase "middle management." Reminds me of the boss from the movie Office Space. And once you've got an unhealthy notion of middle management as bumblers or control freaks, you become very reluctant to self-identify with that group.

Next, the first couple of chapters are slow going. Once you press on, though, you realize that the author was just setting the stage for what's to come.

If you make it over those two roadblocks, you ought to find great value in H.I.M.M. (I know, that's awkward, too). The book is divided into 14 chapters in five parts, which I'll paraphrase here:
1) The role of middle management
2) Performance planning and results management
3) Structure and time
4) Performance optimization and leadership
5) Fine tuning yourself
6) Appendix-not really a formal part of the book, but this section contains a wonderful selection of reference information.

In addition to solid advice from the field, the book contains liberal doses of lists, diagrams and personal anecdotes that all help structure the ideas the author is trying to convey. Also, our old management friend the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) makes frequent appearances throughout the book

I marked up the book pretty liberally, especially in later chapters. The author presents some great ideas for better management performance that really hit home for me. Among these were the H.I.M.M Playbook. Haneberg parallels management with sports and offers up a customized version of a management playbook (templates available at haneberg-management.com), which ought to be reviewed daily. I've been successful in getting my team to use a wiki on a regular basis, and it occurred to me that the playbook would be right at home there-this is a takeaway that I'll be using immediately.

She also invents a new management phrase that's sure to take the business world by storm: "mucky muck." Mucky muck is exactly what it sounds like. All the junk that prevents managers from being effective or moving ahead. She outlines sixteen (!) variations of mucky muck to keep an eye on. The ones that hit closest to home for me were "undiscussables" "learned helplessness" and "contradictory information." All of which you can probably understand just by their titles. She also offers up eleven techniques for navigating mucky muck. My favorites among these are #4: Over communicating, inclusion and follow-up; #9: Get organized; and #10: Lighten up!

Chapter eight offered a good beginners overview of the Theory of Constraints. Haneberg didn't delve too deeply into TOC, but she did give it an appropriate amount of space in the book, considering its importance in modern management practice. And she gave a nice tip of the hat to Eli Goldratt along the way.

Chapter nine was most intimidating and challenging to me personally. This chapter went over time management and offered a very comprehensive format for a formal time audit. I'm afraid to even try filling this out, but I know I'll reap rewards from doing so.

Chapter twelve and thirteen addressed the issues surrounding coaching others and being coached ourselves. This was probably the section of the book that I was personally least familiar with, so I greatly appreciated the insights, especially with respect to coaching others.

I was a little disappointed with the final chapter, which was titled Putting It All Together For Maximum Managerial Flow. While it adequately referenced the rest of the book and H.I.M.M. system, it just seemed too short and abrupt an ending (that's probably a testament to the quality of information throughout the book). I would liked to have seen a more comprehensive outline of a "typical" manager's week. Where the various bits of information would come into play as the manager moved throughout her day.

Overall, High Impact Middle Management is a great book. I'd recommend it to both new and experienced managers alike, since the contents are both broad and deep enough for both groups.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Read!, April 18, 2005

By	Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract.com" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

If you're in middle management or aspire to be, Lisa Haneberg's book is a must read. It is practicality incarnate. Haneberg helpfully explains specific ways to be more productive and offers techniques to help your employees become focused, fulfilled and fruitful. Her energetic book codifies the steps you should take to grow into middle management, shine and advance to upper management. Along the way, you'll learn how to improve your organization, identify trouble spots and implement changes in your corporate culture. We can envision this book as a part of a college management curriculum or of any firm's ongoing middle management development program. It's practical, lively and thorough. If you want to be sure you've got a good grip on management from the middle, read on.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You're a Manager, You Need to Read this Book, February 10, 2005

By	J. Fuqua (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are many good books on management, but this author gets management. You'll learn how to get the best from yourself and those who work for you. It's an easy read and you can put it to work immediately.