The Supermanager: A Short Story About the Secrets of an Extremely Successful Manager [Paperback]

Greg Blencoe (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2011

What are Leon Cook's secrets to managing employees? What does he do to get such high levels of employee morale, motivation, and productivity? These questions are answered in THE SUPERMANAGER as Leon teaches new manager Andrew Hernandez the seven principles that he follows starting with the first principle which is to surround yourself with high-quality employees. This short story should take most people just an hour or two to read.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Greg Blencoe is the author of THE SUPERMANAGER. He is the former CEO of the alternative energy start-up company Hydrogen Discoveries, Inc. and graduated with high honors from the Indiana University (Bloomington) School of Business in 1996.

Product Details

• Paperback: 102 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (April 2, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1460980328
• ISBN-13: 978-1460980323
• Product Dimensions: 0.2 x 5.4 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Greg Blencoe is the author of THE SUPERMANAGER. He is the former CEO of the alternative energy start-up company Hydrogen Discoveries, Inc. and graduated with high honors from the Indiana University (Bloomington) School of Business in 1996.

(Photo courtesy of Mike Naney)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book For New Managers June 14, 2012

By Carl Cogdill

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was a little apprehensive when I first purchased this book, but it turned out to be one of the better books on management that I have seen in a long time. This is a great book for new managers that do not want to spend a lot of time reading very boring books on the theory of management. Greg provides seven principles that every successful manager needs to master. He presents them in a very entertaining story that can be read in one sitting. Pick this book up and I promise you are likely to finish it before ever setting it down. It is a very practical guide for managers. I highly recommend it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Using storytelling to illustrate seven key elements to successful leadership May 7, 2012

By Tanveer Naseer

Format:Paperback

When it comes to communicating your message, storytelling is one of the most effective vessels you can use to impart your ideas to your audience. It's no doubt for this reason why Greg Blencoe uses the story of a new manager seeking the mentorship of a seasoned leader to understand what it takes to successfully lead those under your care.

Although the points are straight-forward, Greg's use of imparting them within a story framework helps to illustrate their use and importance to ensuring your team achieves the goals you set out for them to attain. The fact that the book is a quick read also helps in making this book a useful tool to remind both new and seasoned leaders of what it takes to help your team get on board and succeed.

4.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for New Managers April 18, 2013

By David M. Dye

Format:Paperback

The Supermanager is a short read that provides managers with 7 essential skills.

As with The One Minute Manager and Pat Lencioni's books, The Supermanager is written in a fable format with a brief story where the protagonist discovers the 7 skills.

These 7 skills are essential, but they are also rudimentary. If you've been in management for any length of time, you have almost certainly encountered these. (Now - that DOESN'T mean you're doing them...but, you should know them.)

I recommend new managers and aspiring business leaders read this first, then something like The One Minute Manager.

Happy Reading!

5.0 out of 5 stars Common Sense, not Common Practice March 23, 2013

By Nick McCormick

Format:Paperback

Oh, if only there were more managers that read and practiced the concepts in this book! In Supermanager, author Greg Blencoe sticks to the fundamentals of sound management. It's unfortunate that more managers don't stick to them.

The book is written in short story form. A young, entry level manager quickly becomes overwhelmed in his new position. At lunch he encounters a successful fast food restaurant manager and is smart enough to reach out to him for advice. Over the next week or so, the fast food manager takes the young man through a series of lessons corresponding to the seven principles below:

-Surround yourself with high quality employees
-Train employees well
-Communicate the end result your want, then empower employees to achieve it
-Lead by example
-Listen to employees
-Praise good work
-Manager each employee differently

Stories are great learning tools. Wrapping the 7 principles around a story allows the author to easily support the principles with practical examples, and it makes for a more engaging and memorable read.

Supermanager can be read in under an hour, but it's probably best if read in small chunks (a chapter a day), so the concepts can be fully absorbed and the reader can learn at the same pace as the character in the book.

Once the principles are learned and put in practice, this is a book that managers should return to frequently to ensure they remain on the right track.

Nick McCormick, Author, "Acting Up Brings Everyone Down"

4.0 out of 5 stars Almost short enough for the non-reader March 14, 2013

By Jim Estill

Format:Paperback

Cute little book.

It is written "story" style with a fictitious new manager learning the secrets of management.

The busy person could get 90% of the book by reading the 7 principles.

I liked principle 3 - "Communicate the end result you want, then empower employees to achieve it". I believe good leaders share vision but allow staff to decide how to do it. When people know the goal, they do a much better job than when they are just told what to do. I have found from running larger companies - the larger the company, the more the CEO's job is simply coach on culture but let everyone else make decisions.

Principle 6 = Praise good work. I have found high self esteem people achieve more. New managers sometimes think their job is to find fault. Really it is to find the good.

Worth the read for any new manager.

4.0 out of 5 stars A Quick & Easy Read. March 8, 2013

By Monty Rainey VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Mentoring allegories have long been a favorite of mine. I believe writers are able to convey great points using this technique and make a story interesting, even if not always totally believable. I also believe some of the great lessons of the power of mentoring have been displayed through allegories in recent years. Patrick Lencioni's famed Death By Meeting taught us how to make meetings more productive and enjoyable. Sprout! Everything I Need to Know About Sales I Learned From My Garden, gave a simple and logical approach to sales to thousands who struggled with their career choice. Jon Gordon has made a career out of writing some great business allegories such as Soup and The Seed. Then there is one of my all-time favorite books by Andy Andrews, The Noticer, which puts everything in our lives into the right perspective.

THE SUPERMANAGER by Greg Blencoe is one of the latest of business allegories which focuses on team building and first time leadership roles. In this book, Andrew Hernandez reflects back on the lessons his mentor, Leon Cook had taught him years earlier that helped him build a successful career in management. At the age of 22, fresh out of college, Andrew found himself thrown into a management role with no idea how to build and maintain a successful team. A chance meeting with a successful restaurant owner would be a turning point in Andrew's career and life. Andrew reaches out to the restaurant owner for guidance and Leon Cook is happy to mentor the young manager. The story takes us through the seven management lessons Leon lived by.

This is a diminutive book of under 100 pages and is a quick read. I read it during a 2 hour flight. That is my only knock on this book.... I would have liked to have seen the seven principles discussed developed much deeper than they were. The author gets his points across, but only on a base level. But, you may be looking for a quick and easy read to jump start you with some new management ideas and if so, this is a good choice for you. Read more ›