Customer Reviews

Who Will Do What By When? How to Improve Performance, Accountability and Trust with Integrity

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This book really brings you back to basics in terms of your integrity in dealing with others - and yourself. We so often forget how frustrating it is to deal with people who make commitments, or who say they are commitments, but since there is no clarity about what specifically is going to be done and by when, then there is no clarity, there is no commitment at all. Should be read by everyone - and I don't care if your position is Chief Executive or Chief Washer of the Bathroom, it applies to both roles!

I practice Commitment Based Management in my consulting work. I wish I had this book when I started learning CMB. It is a fantastic piece of work. One of the best business books I've read in years.

"Who Will do What by When?" conveys a simple and valuable message. That message is to lead, manage and act in a manner that addresses the question that is the title of the book itself ("who will do what by when?"). Tom Hanson and Birgit Zacher Hanson do a good job of wrapping a story around this central message in the style of authors such as Patrick Lencioni.

While the book offers a holistic system for improving performance, accountability and trust, I found the central message of the book stands well all on its own. The storyline, while not as powerful or engrossing as those found in Lencioni's books, such as "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable," does add a lot to the message.

It might be...it could be...IT IS!...a tater, a dinger, a four-bagger, an immaculate salami! The Hanson's have brought the heavy lumber and jacked one deep over an organization's green monster of individual accountability. Who Will Do What By When? How to Improve Performance, Accountability and Trust with Integrity is a simple yet effective story set within the friendly confines of an easy two-hour read. It's rounding the bases to join the business and personal leadership literature hall of fame. Rarely does a text so easily present the allegory between baseball and the reality of business and personal performance in a way that's clear, concise and memorable.
If you or your organization is willing to step up to the plate and take it to the next level, then this book is your scorecard for success. So, today - right now, get out of whatever bush-league dugout you're in and be a big show player with confidence on the diamond-shaped field of organizational excellence and personal achievement and devour Who Will Do What By When?

If you are in need of team building tools, this is the product you need. Like a building, companies need strong foundations. This amazing piece of literature provides tools enabling you to build a solid foundation with your people. Best read I have encountered.

This has been a godsend to our little company and in our personal lives.
In light and often funny dialogue Dr. Hanson carries us along a path of enlightenment to see how our behaviors affect others in our organization.
He lays out a method by which we can interact productively with each member of our team. We gain respect by giving respect to all and honor each team member's value. It is a wonderful guide for honest and caring communication in our company.

The title of this book says it all. Getting work done with others requires the response to this simple question. Obvious, right? But as this entertaining book points out, in the real work world it's not at all that simple.

Tom and Birgit Hanson wrote this book in 2005 with the subtitle "How to Improve Performance, Accountability and Trust with Integrity". Rendered in a personal parable about very believable characters in familiar work settings, the authors lay out a system of practices that are at the heart of really answering the question - Who will do what by when.

The authors remind us that our common work norms are not reliable in squarely addressing the WWDWBW question. First of all, judgments and interpretations about other people's motives and abilities often create some blindness on the part of managers. Secondly, the discipline of clearly defining a task and obtaining an agreement and commitment from the intended performer is often glossed over. And third, even though most would agree that making and keeping promises is key to your reputation and the success of your organization, the practice of really making "promises" is rare.

The system they outline is at once common sense and familiar, but also rare in actual business practice. It involves the manager making a clear request and obtaining a clear response from the performer of agreement or a counter offer along with a promise to perform by a certain date. Clarity up front is key. Closing the loop is equally important. If the promise is not going to be fulfilled the performer is obliged to re-negotiate a new deadline before the due date. As the authors note "No one fulfills all their promises, but you can honor all your promises." After a delivery has been made, the manager is obliged to provide a clear acknowledgement (e.g. a simple thank you) or a well-considered "complaint". The authors also provide several helpful suggestions on how to structure and deliver complaints so that outcomes are improved and relationships are enhanced going forward.

One of the aspects of the book that I most appreciated was bringing the word "integrity" into our every-day work lexicon. Integrity in business is not always about the big decisions, big deals, and fraud. It's also important to notice the smaller behaviors that help to either build or erode one's personal integrity. The authors hold up a mirror to self-evaluate and disclose our own lapses of integrity in our business dealings. Integrity (doing what you say you are going to do) is a personal "tool" that helps you get things done. Even "small things", like habitually coming late to meetings, are noticed by your colleagues and erode your integrity which does translate into real dollar costs of doing business.

Conversely, the authors provide a road map for building up and maintaining one's integrity, and they provide a glimpse of the substantial positive, bottom line effects. They offer a specific list of "Integrity Tools". It's a simple idea they call "operating with integrity" which is a "system [that relies on] a series of familiar actions, such as request, promise, and acknowledgement, applied in a more rigorous, clearly defined way. We call the actions Integrity Tools because they help build, maintain and restore integrity to any interpersonal situation ... Integrity is the foundation of interpersonal excellence [that] determines the reliability, speed, and bandwidth of your team's performance."

The practices promoted by their system improve work norms and behaviors, but sustaining the changes only comes with practice. Doing it repeatedly is different than speaking about it. Software systems [...] can reinforce and instantiate the "integrity operating system".

Finally, as the authors advise..."if you only remember to say the title of this book several minutes before the end of your meetings, the book will have been a great investment!"

This book must be read by everyone! Tom & Birgit have creatively told a story that everyone will embrace and learn from. I thank them for defining the only way to live! Your life will change if you put these strategies into action!

Who Will Do What By When is a stellar little book with a BIG message we ALL need to hear and act on: Live in integrity and commitment and you'll achieve your every goal....it's that simple. Thank you Tom and Birgit for this easy but powerful read...a must for anyone who truly wants to go to the next level in life!

The Hanson's book is a great book for managers and team members. It focuses in on accountability, team playing and the importance of commitments. The book is a must read that applies to organizations big and small even to families. The authors offer many insights into interpersonal behavior and explain the need for clarity in communications as a way to help have expectations become realities. I would recommend this book to friends, family and colleagues.