Managing From the Heart [Hardcover]

Hyler Bracey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1991

From the profit-minded managers who make up the brain trust at The Atlanta Consulting Group comes a simple new method hailed as a revolutionary management practice: learning to care.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

If the four SNAGs (sensitive New Age guys) responsible for this pretentious bosh had not included a closing pitch for their Atlanta-based consultancy, many readers might conclude they were lampooning the caring/sharing subgenre of management guides. In deadly earnest fashion, unfortunately, Bracey and his three colleagues offer sanctimonious precepts through a set-piece narrative that logs a year in the fictive life of a senior corporate executive unblushingly christened Harry Hartwell. Hard- driving Harry (known to subordinates as the ``abominable no man'') runs a domestic oil refinery in notably autocratic fashion for Ramoco, a multinational energy enterprise. During a near-death experience following (surprise!) a heart attack, however, Harry converses with a disembodied voice who answers to the name of Selena, giving himself a second chance at life--if he can change his ways. With the patience of a saint, the muselike creature tutors her recalcitrant pupil in the fine art of (yes, folks) managing from the heart. By the numbers, the hitherto impatient patient's do-or-die recovery regimen consists mainly of abiding by five responsive principles (whose initial letters spell out heart). The words Harry chooses to live by are: ``Hear and Understand Me. Even if you disagree, please don't make me wrong. Acknowledge the greatness within me. Remember to look for my loving intentions. Tell me the truth with compassion.'' At the happy ending of this saccharine parable, Harry has become a prince of a fellow--an inspiration to employees; a kinder, gentler family member; and a man of respect to his peers as well as superiors. Awesomely smug claptrap whose teachings amount to little more than trendy restatements of the golden rule. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

"Five powerful principles so simple they are arresting. Their application by every manager can catapult a company to new heights of greatness." -- Don M. Schrello, Chairman, Schrello Direct Marketing, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 198 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press; First Edition edition (August 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385304250
• ISBN-13: 978-0385304252
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,088,371 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons for Your Heart and Head, February 5, 2004

By 

B. Swinney (Flower Mound, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Managing from the Heart (Paperback)

This book was really good. It was moving and it was right-on in my opinion. The real-life application through Harry's story made the principles more meaningful. I continue to learn daily how important these principles are. Truly being on your employee's side, listening to them, trusting them and helping them grow and achieve. You'll never go wrong. I re-read this book to help me remember these truths when times get tough. Also, the professional editorial Amazon includes for this book is a bunch of hogwash in my opinion. The guy who wrote it must have had a block of ice for a heart and just a regular old block for a head!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You've Gotta Have Heart!, February 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Managing from the Heart (Paperback)

As a manager who has had to lay off employees during the recent economic downturn, I am glad I discovered this book. I applied the recommendations on dealing with employees and I feel it enabled both my staff and me to face the reality of business issues with mutual respect and understanding. I would recommend it to any level of manager.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Managing from the Heart, January 9, 2012

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Managing from the Heart (Paperback)

Once upon a time, in the early '90s, a quartet of Atlanta organizational consultants - Hyler Bracey, Jack Rosenblum, Aubrey Sanford and Roy Trueblood - wrote this business management parable about a manager who grows from sour and crusty to sweet and caring. Their book caught the corporate world's imagination and gave life to a "kinder, gentler" management style. Today, as authoritarian management tactics continue to fade and collaborative, empathetic leadership proves increasingly productive, their five axioms merit revisiting. These principles call for being understanding, supportive, perceptive, honest and compassionate. The story may be a bit schmaltzy, and it draws to a predictable conclusion; yet, because it departs from typical leadership tales and because it has hardily weathered the test of time, getAbstract recommends it to managers who want to succeed as leaders by being both effective and empathetic.