The One Thing You Need to Know

In this summary you will learn

• What makes someone a great leader
• What makes someone a great manager
• How to sustain your success

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Why you should read The One Thing You Need to Know

Many soothsayers pontificate sonorously about leadership to anyone who will listen, but over time they gradually lose touch with their subject matter. You may at first wonder if best-selling guru Marcus Buckingham has stumbled into this very ditch after he devotes eight pages early in the book to what makes great marriages (FYI: he says it’s always interpreting everything your spouse does in the warmest possible light, whether or not that is logical). Well, not to worry - Buckingham is just warming up. An original thinker who lets his intellect roam, he brings sharp insights to the evergreen topic of leadership. Although this book is essentially creative in nature rather than intellectually rigorous, you’ll come to respect the powerful perceptions it has to offer. Buckingham must navigate a perilous balance between clarity and oversimplification, and he pulls it off rather well. While getAbstract.com wouldn’t say this is the only book you need to read to understand leadership, we highly recommend it.

About the Author

A 1987 graduate of Cambridge University, Marcus Buckingham spent 17 years with the Gallup Organization leading research into the characteristics of the world’s best leaders, managers and workplaces. He is an authority on employee productivity and leadership. His work led to two books: First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Best Managers Do Differently and Now, Discover Your Strengths. Buckingham is an independent consultant, author and speaker.