Customer Reviews

A Pirate Captain's Guide To Leadership: How To Turn "Workplace Pirates" Into Motivated And Productive Employees

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4 star:		(2)
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This title is a must-have resource for anyone who manages people. Offers step-by-step guidance and realistic dialogues for dealing with those employees that intentionally or not, can bring down the ship.

This is an excellent resource filled with practical solutions and strategies for dealing with problem employees and becoming a leader in the workplace. It is easy to read, insightful, humorous, and well-written. Whether you are new to supervising, a long-time manager, or just one of the crew, you are sure to find treasure in this book!

A very insightful book into workplace management and dealing with tough issues. Even for those who are not currently in positions of leadership, this would be a great resource for learning how to deal with others and tackle issues before climbing the next rung on the ladder. Just a great book.

A Pirate Captain's Guide to Leadership is a management book that's actually fun to read! The author presents a spot-on analogy between pirate captains and business managers, explaining how a good leader can turn "workplace pirates" into successful and productive employees.

The book provides great practical techniques on how to set goals, communicate well, inspire commitment, resolve conflicts and celebrate success. What's more, the author's wit, sharp writing, and clever analogy turns what can be a dry topic into an interesting and compelling read. When you're at the helm of a pirate ship, learning management skills becomes infinitely more entertaining and memorable!

I recommend this book to anyone who is in a management or supervisory role--be it in a workplace, a classroom, or your own household. It's also a great resource for those who aspire to a leadership position; acquire these skills now, and you'll accelerate your climb up the corporate ladder.

The thing that struck me the most about the Pirate Captain's Guide to Leadership was that you can tell it was written by someone who works in the trenches.

The author gives many details on how to deal with employees in a number of situations. For anyone in a leadership position, there is a wealth of information here that could be very helpful.

Reading from the perspective of a long-time educator, I was delighted to find ideas for management that will work with "student pirates" as well as with my coworkers. Dr. Heatherly's positive motivational strategies tickled my imagination; I was entertained by the historical information and analogies. More importantly, almost every section triggered a memory of a situation that might have been improved with this caliber of leadership. I am currently using some of the steps provided with adolescents who have a skewed understanding of what makes a good employee - and the pirate captain plan seems to be productive. (Someday soon, I hope these students are productive, too!)

It might not seem obvious, but managers and supervisors can learn a few things from the pirate captains who sailed the high seas. Think about this: A pirate captain had to manage a crew made up in large part of uneducated misfits, many of them not qualified for their jobs. Not much to work with, it would seem. And yet, some of these captains managed to achieve successful careers--with methods that managers and supervisors in today's business world would find useful.

The book shows you how to identify the factors that motivate each individual. As the author points out, people are motivated by their own reasons, not yours. Heatherly writes about setting goals, teambuilding, communication and a number of other topics, showing not only how to do each effectively, but also why he's suggesting what he suggests. The book is written with the approach of working with people and bringing out their strengths, not authoritatively trying to force everyone into the mold of a good little drone worker.

Even if you're not a workplace manager, chances are you can find concepts that would be useful in, say, running a household, coaching a team, or any number of other situations. And, as a bonus, you'll learn a few interesting things about pirates.

A Pirate Captain's Guide to Leadership is a sound, practical manual on a necessary subject. What organization of any size does not have insubordinate workers with bad attitudes and rude behavior? Most employees and co-workers are great, but a few "workplace pirates" can ruin productivity and cooperation.

Heatherly's comprehensive manual makes an important distinction between managing such people and leading them. I especially profited from reading the sections on asking wisely, apologizing gracefully, and communicating skillfully. I also appreciated the section about eliminating "time robbers."

I think the manual's greatest strength is its concrete advice and practical recommendations. As a former department head, I know the strains of trying to lead diverse personalities--not all of whom are pulling in the same direction. A Pirate Captain's Guide to Leadership will help a leader solve some tough workplace situations.

This is a fun and useful resource for supervisors who face the challenges of working with difficult people every day. As a vice president of human resources, I find one of my biggest challenges is helping managers find simple solutions to complex, interpersonal problems. Never would have though of using pirate metaphors, and Heatherly nailed it.

Doug Heatherly has taken the same-old, same-old management topics of leading, motivating, human resources, and corporate values, and shown a fresh way to manage. I've read many a linear feet of books for my management career and teaching, and this is a one-of-kind approach that has made me stop to think how I might improve my own style. The book is enjoyable, too -- not the typical sawdust/boring/just reworded management book. I love the pirate analogy and can see where I could use this in team-building exercises or even in staff meetings. I esp liked the section on Communication and found many useful suggestions. I hope he writes more, and maybe a workbook or suggested in-meeting idea-starters. DFT who is managing 8 part-timers and a squad of volunteers--so I need different approaches with this group than when I had hard-core company lifers.