Book Review: “The One Thing You Need to Know”, Marcus Buckingham

I have issues with this book. First, are we really expected to take management advice from someone who looks like a shoo-in for the next James Bond? Second, the title reads as if it were generated by a computer that analyzed data to come up with a hot-selling title - content obviously secondary.

But as with Buckingham's other books, it's a compelling read: beautifully written, entertaining and thought-provoking. Makes you step back and question what you do and how you do it. Speaks to the big questions - how to be more productive, valuable, fulfilled and successful. You don't even have to worry about having to dig through the entire book to find the author's "one thing." No, the entire book presents, prods and then asks you to question conventional wisdom. Takes you on journeys that lead down, down, and then just when you think you've reached the end, down further to another "ah ha" moment.

The One Thing You Need to Know is chock-full of interesting and useful insights, all of which unfold around Buckingham's research-based answers to three key questions:

Question 1: What is the one thing you need to know about great managing?

Answer:     Discover what is unique about each employee, and capitalize on it for the good of the organization.

Great managers make each employee feel he or she is the manager's highest priority. Make each feel supported, challenged and understood. They're great one-on-one coaches blessed with tact, timing and an instinct for human relations. Good at hiring right; making expectations clear; assessing strengths and weaknesses; identifying what each employee responds to best and how each learns most effectively.

Question 2: What is the one thing you need to know about great leading?

Answer:     Rally people to a better future.

To do this, the leader must clearly see the future and how the organization will get there. Then, communicate it to the troops with vividness and clarity. Find and then practice the words, images and stories that clearly and compellingly paint the picture.

Great leaders know that every person faces fear - of death, loneliness, uncertain future, chaos and insignificance. Great leaders speak to these and provide clarity, reassurance and a reason to get excited.

Great leaders provide clarity about whom the organization serves. After all, how will the employees know what to do?

Great leaders make clear how each employee will be judged; how the entire organization will measure success (i.e., the one thing you need to measure); and what organizational strengths will enable the shared vision to be reached.

Question 3: What is the one thing you need to know about sustained individual success?

Answer:     Avoid the tasks that are not right for you.

Know your own strengths and weaknesses and have the self-discipline to say no to opportunities that are not a good fit. From all the possibilities for your life, filter and find the few that will enable you to excel to the highest degree. Stick to the things that give you power, energy and enthusiasm. Stop doing the things that bore, frustrate and drain.

Target your learning to areas where you have some comparative advantage over everyone else. You want to be unique - unique means the only one.

Avoid focusing deeply on past struggles and instead focus on your achievements and replicate them. You'll find energy and enthusiasm.

How do you spot and eliminate your dislikes? All dislikes are not created equal. You need to get to the cause of your dislikes to know where to turn.

Specialization means you often need to partner with others. Bill Gates' true genius lies in his ability to find just the right partner at just the right time. Effective partnering is the quiet secret of the successful.

Buckingham's The One Thing You Need to Know will probe deep within you and could cause discomfort, but it's a journey worth taking. It might even make good on its mission to make you more happy, productive and fulfilled. Is this hard to believe? Read the book and see for yourself.