Customer Reviews

The One Thing You Need To Know

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Buckingham's book is very good overall; the practical anecdotes he provides of people actually DOING the "one thing" are compelling, and his style is entertaining, and yet no-nonsense.

In giving us "the one thing," Buckingham emphasizes the need for what he calls the "controlling insight" to provide a means not only for getting on to the field of play, but "how to win and keep winning the game."

Armed with this description, he unveils what, based on his considerable experience and research, he considers the controlling insight about great managing, great leading, and sustained individual success.

Here are the "one things" for each:
Managing: "Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it."
Leading: "Discover what is universal and capitalize on it."
Sustained individual success: "Discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it."

Along the way, Buckingham provides some excellent points of focus, including a very important differentiation between managing and leading that too many of his contemporaries have overlooked: "When you want to manage, begin with the person. When you want to lead, begin with the picture of where you are headed."

Predictably though, much of the argument for each of the three controlling insights is predicated upon strengths theory, which Buckingham and Clifton popularized with "Now, Discover Your Strengths." In the management chapter, the anecdotes more or less focus on individuals who are able to identify the strengths of their people, and put them to the best possible use. In the sustained individual success chapter, he takes strengths theory a step further, advocating not only discovering your strengths and cultivating them, but eliminating, or managing, those areas in which you are weak as a primary (where "Now" made it more secondary) pursuit.

It is primarily for these chapters that I say some of the material is recycled. However, when you have the research to back up the claims, as Gallup (for whom Buckingham no longer works) certainly does with the StrengthsFinder instrument, you can hardly deviate from it very far.

Another way in which the material is somewhat recycled, though, is in its similarity to Collins' "Good to Great." Buckingham praises the work of Collins in some points, but takes minor swipes at it in others. This is a strange irony in the book, as Buckingham's arguments are very similar to those of Collins, just phrased differently. For example: Collins' "level 5 leadership" entails what he calls "The Stockdale Paradox"--a willingness to look at the brutal reality of the situation, but remain hopeful and determined that one will overcome it. Now, from Buckingham: "When I say leaders are optimistic I mean simply that nothing--not their mood, not the reasoned arguments of others, not the bleak conditions of the present--nothing can undermine their faith that things will get better."

Buckingham's slightly different definition of words like optimism (which could easily be defined as hope) and humility cause him to see Collins in a slightly different light, in spite of the fact that their findings are almost exactly the same. I found myself slightly disappointed by this, but I would recommend this book nevertheless, as it is an excellent compendium of insights overall from a man that few would dispute has become a global leader in these areas.

One humorous note: I'm fairly certain Buckingham has signed a two book deal with Free Press, so I'm anxiously awaiting the second book, especially as he has already given us "The One Thing You Need to Know." :-)

Marcus Buckingham is quickly setting himself apart from the current pack of management and leadership gurus out there. He isn't yet in the same league as Peter Drucker or Tom Peters, but he's young and he's headed in their direction.

His latest effort, "The One Thing" joins two instant classics he's already written, "First, Break all the Rules" and "Now, Discover Your Strengths." This book starts with a premise that sounds obvious once you hear it, but that I've never seen used before. Buckingham approaches the complex topics of management, leadership and sustained individual success and asks, "If you wanted to excel in any of these areas, but could focus in on just one single idea, what would be the most important and effective things you could focus on?"

Buckingham then goes on to give you "The One Thing" in each of those areas. His points aren't arrived at frivolously. Buckingham spent years and years working with Gallup, studying and interviewing thousands upon thousands of managers, leaders, and individual contributors, some good and some bad; he knows what separates the wheat from the chaff.

The book is so filled with great insights and "Why didn't I think of that" moments that my copy is all dog-eared and marked up and some of the things I've learned are going into practice as I type this.

Very highly recommended.

I thought that *First, Break All the Rules* was brilliant, and this book builds well on the line of thought that Buckingham and his collaborator started there. Plus it's succinct, well-written, and generally a pleasure to read -- which you can't say about a lot of business books!
Some points that particularly struck me were these.
1. The distinction between "management" and "leadership" skills, which are far too often confused: if someone shows leadership potential, their managers assume that the best place for them to exercise it is in a supervisory position. But a visionary leader isn't necessarily a "people person"; so they become frustrated, their direct reports aren't getting the management they need to best express their strengths, and far too much time and energy is wasted in trying to re-form the leader into someone he/she isn't instead of capitalizing on what he/she IS.
2. Why it's hard to learn skills/behaviors that don't build on your strengths (I think he gives just enough neurological information to be convincing and not overwhelming). Of course everyone has to learn *some* things that don't come naturally to them; but if someone with leadership qualities has mastered basic social and interpersonal skills, why try to make them into a mother hen when they could be making a greater contribution as a soaring eagle?
3. Many people have trouble with the One Thing he recommends for everyone: Work, they say, is not supposed to be Fun, and you can't blithely blow off the parts you don't like. However:
(a) Using your strengths to their fullest extent is not always "fun." Challenging, inspiring, and offering the greatest potential for success, yes; but often frustrating, and a whole lot of hard work too. But feeling that you've tapped into your strengths can give you the energy to blow past obstacles that, if you were also fighting your natural tendencies, would seem insurmountable.
(b) If you feel that your job forces you to constantly battle your weaknesses rather than building on your strengths, you're in the wrong job. This often happens when someone is promoted: e.g., the charismatic classroom teacher who becomes a principal, or the brilliant laboratory scientist who's made an administrator. The best thing you can do -- not only for yourself but for the people who have to work with you -- is push to be restored to the position where you can be most effective.
(c) Consider becoming a Free Agent. I was always excellent at my actual job (technical writing), while office politics and climbing the management ladder were highly uncongenial to me -- but, in most companies, that's the only way I could improve my pay/status. I became an independent contractor, work through an agency that handles billing/invoicing et al. (which I'm not good at either), and am paid well for doing what I do best -- and I highly recommend it.
One final comment: I've recently read a couple of graduation addresses, by Steve Jobs and Billy Joel respectively, that urged students to follow their hearts and do what they love, because that's the only route to satisfaction in work and in life. "Easy for them to say," you might grumble; but, although both gentlemen had a modicum of luck in their lives, they're both prime examples of choosing work that capitalizes on their strengths AND working very, very hard to succeed in it -- and succeed they certainly did. Think about it.

One thing you need to know about this book is that it is extremely wordy and contains little substance to justify a 280 page book. Mostly, the author writes what are seemingly useless paragraphs to meander from the focal point of the book: just what is the that one "thing" you should know? For example, the author compares three movies, and concludes that one of the movie was annoying because it didn't answer the question of "what is the meaning of life". I didn't find his wanna-be movie critic analysis useful, intriguing, or entertaining.

Let me save you some money by saying that one thing you should know is to understand your and others' strengths and capitalize on that strength by making it even stronger and utilizing it as much as possible. Everyone should focus on the strengths, not weaknesses.

Marcus Buckingham discusses the one thing that distinguishes great managers, leaders, and sustained individual successes. His hypothesis based on extensive Gallup data is that there *is* one such thing for most aspects of life.

Most management books focus on aspects that if absent would result in management failure. These include hiring well, setting clear objectives, providing accurate feedback, etc. If present, these aspects may make for a good manager, not necessarily a great manager. Per Marcus' analysis, the aspect that truly separates great managers is their need to nurture growth amongst their employees, and their sensitivity to seemingly incremental growth in their employees. This tunes the manager to deeply understand the strengths and weaknesses of each direct report and craft an environment where each person plays to his / her strength. An analogy is chess where each player has different moves and they need to be orchestrated into an overall whole that moves the team towards its objectives.

Similarly, the one thing underlying successful marriages is the spouses' portraying the reality as reality plus - slightly warmer than the actual reality.

The one thing underlying successful leaders is the need to find the principle / theme that applies and appeals to the masses.

The one thing you need to know for individual sustained success is to continuously identify things that you don't like doing and stop doing them. As folks become successful, their scope expands to include work that they may not be as passionate about. Several ways of working with this reality are suggested including modifying your role, seeking partners with complementary skills, seeking a new job, etc.

The author was not succinct - hence, the four stars.

3 1/2 stars is what I would actually rank this.

I was a little disappointed by the book. This book lacks anything groundbreaking. His premise that there is "one thing" around success is simplistic and false. Much else of what he writes is fine, but has been said before by him and other authors.

The author spends time convincing us to focus on our strengths, not on fixing our weaknesses. Peter Drucker wrote that decades ago.

We should spend time reflecting. Didn't I learn that from Stephen Covey when he told me to "sharpen the saw"?

In explaining his "one thing" premise, Buckingham makes a reference to the Balanced Scorecard and views it as a good thing, but makes it secondary to the "one thing" that overrides all else. That's fluff. It's also wrong. It is vitally important to know what your mission is. It's also important to know what values that you espouse. But it's not always true that there is "one thing" that can be measured that will guide you to success. Life is often more complicated than that. (Incidentally, Kaplan and Norton's spent years creating the Balanced Scorecard framework, Kaplan and Norton developed a framework that is about as good as it gets in terms of business theories).

The examples in the book are overly simplistic. With respect to the team members at Walgreens, a 21st century book on leadership should discuss how to get the best out of a team of college graduates, not a team of store clerks. Can the scientist, the statistician, the engineer, the computer programmer, the stock broker, the salesman and the graphics designer all be motivated in the same ways that a Walgreens' manager leads store clerks?

This book relies heavily on anecdotal evidence and that's part of the problem. When you do that, your entire foundation begins to crack when your examples don't fit reality.

For example, he identifies Microsoft's "one thing" as its ability to form business partnerships. If Microsoft truly had a "one thing" it would be that they secured an early monopoly over the OS for the microcomputer industry and have leveraged that advantage ever since. Most of the rest of us don't have that opportunity so this example just doesn't work.

The Best Buy example is also misleading. Buckingham would have us believe that employee knowledge is what made Best Buy successful. If employee knowledge = aggressive sales tactics, then he is correct. Best Buy successfully figured out how to merge two models: the large price-driven retail store with the small sales-driven electronics store. They beat the smaller electronics stores by offering lower prices and they beat Circuit City, because their sales tactics are much more aggressive (aka successful, if you like that sort of thing) than competitors. Best Buy makes a killing convincing you that you need a $30 insurance policy on a VCR that costs $70 even though all electronics has an implied warranty of 1 year.

In hindsight, I shouldn't have been as surprised to feel let down by the book. Most leadership/management authors do well in one book and some write a successful follow up, but it's rare that an author is able to find innovative and compelling reasons for writing 3+ books. The author's research in his previous works is highly detailed, however, this one is far less so. The One Thing You Need to Know is like most 4th leadership books - it breaks no new ground, rehashes existing ideas and relies too heavily on anecdotal evidence over hard facts.

If you're an avid reader and go through one leadership book a month, then by all means, pick this up. It's not awful, it's just mediocre. However, just make sure that you've already read Peter Drucker, Stephen Covey, Jack Welch, Goldratt, Deming, etc. before you pick this one up, because their work far exceeds The One Thing You Need to Know.

REVIEW: The title of this book was an immediate turn-off for me because of the hyped-up nature of the phrase, "The One Thing". I'm always on the look out for charlatans who tend to make use of such exaggerated claims more often than the average author. However, I decided to read this book anyway since I read the two books that Marcus Buckingham is coauthor of, First Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths, and those two books are two of my favorites. I'm glad I read this book and I now have a third favorite book having Marcus Bucking ham as an author.

In short, the knowledge I gained from this book will help make me a more successful manager. The author has a clear and concise theory and uses the right amount of practical advice on managing and leading people and organizations. Perhaps the most important thing I learned from The One Thing is the difference between managing and leading. These terms are thrown around all the time in mass market business books, but this is the first one that I have read which very clearly defines the distinction between the two and concisely and practically explains how the roles differ in an organization. The book is well worth the read for this insight alone. Also, the book is fairly well organized and is written in an easy to read style typical of similar business books.

STRENGTHS: Easy to read; fairly well organized; contains the right mix (for me) of theory and practical advice (which is very good). Knowledge gained will help make you a better leader and/or manager of people.

WEAKNESSES: I thought a couple of the chapters were too long and I was disappointed that the book does not have an index. Also, Buckingham cites numerous studies in the book, but does not give enough information for the reader to find and review those sources for herself. However, none of these weaknesses should deter you from reading this book.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK: Anyone who liked Buckingham's previous coauthored books. Anyone who likes books written by authors such as Jim Collins and Peter Drucker. Anyone who considers themselves a manager of people or a leader in an organization needs to read this book. It may be somewhat more useful to more experienced managers.

It's difficult to evaluate a book like this so shortly after reading it, since it doesn't give you time to actually apply the insights the author is pushing. However, it's clear that Buckingham has written another excellent management guide, one that cuts through the frivolity to provide actual answers.

What I liked about this one is that it doesn't use generalities, or vague concepts that are open to various interpretations. As usual, Buckingham gets right to the heart of the matter, in terms that will help managers (and others) apply the lessons he presents.

I'm always skeptical of these types of management books, as there are so many that are poorly written and completely useless. This is neither of those - instead, it's a useful, practical guide that should help many people both in an out of the workplace.

This book is typical Marcus Buckingham. It is insightful, well-written and based on research. It is also short and lean which is one reason I liked it.

The book lays out "one thing" you need to know about managing, leading, and individual success. That's actually three things, but you can think of the extra two as a bonus.

The secrets for managing and leading come under the heading of things you need to know for sustained organizational success. Buckingham, like most writers on leadership and management, seems compelled to come up with his own definitions for the terms. That's nice, but fortunately it doesn't affect your ability to get value from the book.

Read the section on organizational success to find out how to do two things that people who are in charge of groups and get great results seem able to do. The section on management gives you ideas about how to adapt to each individual who works for you. The section on leading tells you things you can do to provide focus and clarity of purpose for all the people who work for you.

Whatever you call those actions, you will do a better job as a boss if you understand them. Now, what about the one thing you need for sustained individual success?

The advice in this section includes the basic "discover your strengths" material that Buckingham has built a business upon. But there's more and the "more" is interesting.

Buckingham suggests that the one thing you need to do for sustainable individual success is: "Discover what you don't like doing, and stop doing it." It's the complementary principle to discovering and building on your strengths.

If you're a boss, someone who's responsible for the performance of a group, the sections on managing and leading will give you insights and tools to help you do a better job. Whether you're a boss or not, the third section will give you a great overview of potential strategies for sustainable success, including Buckingham's advice.

That makes this book a must-read for everyone who wants to do better as a boss and in their career.

First off, the one thing you need to know about "The One Thing You Need To Know" is that there are actually three things to know - one each for managing, leading, and personal success.

The three things you need to know:
For managing: "Discover What is Unique About Each Person and Capitalize on It"
For leadership: "Discover What is Universal and Capitalize on It"
For personal success: "Discover What You Don't Like Doing and Stop Doing It"

The ideas of the book are presented through stories of people the author knows. I normally don't like these types of books as they often suffer from an availability bias. For example the sports fan basing a leadership book on sports icons. But Marcus Buckingham has more experience than this, and his examples do seem to support his conclusions, which are general enough to be useful.

The one thing I didn't care for though was the similarity between this book and "Now, Discover Your Strengths," another one of Marcus Buckingham's books. That book covers the idea of focusing on your strengths much more in-depth than this one does. It also has coverage of becoming a strength based-manger.

This book is more of the "why" and Discover Your Strengths is more of the "how." Overall I feel that his previous book, Now Discover Your Strengths, is the better read of the two because of the extra detail and the ability to take the strength finder profile. But once you've read that, you already have 2/3 of this book down. This book is still a good read, especially for the leadership section, but it's more of a library checkout than a must have on your book shelf.