Behind Closed Doors
I just finished reading perhaps the most honest and streamlined book on management I’ve ever read. Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management is amazing.
It works through the story of a Director of Software starting his new position at a new company and all of the challenges he faces with while starting to work with his team.
Some great principles are covered, and the book provides examples and tools for communication and working through the day-to-day challenges that management presents.
While it’s focused on a high-tech, the fundamentals provided can be applied to any industry. While reading, I kept going back to what I’ve learned from Manager Tools for reference, and reflecting what the authors of the book were saying to what Mike and Mark discuss on their outstanding podcasts.
While a lot of the content was familiar ground, the book offers a little bit more of a relaxed feel to giving feedback and executing one-on-ones that I preferred. The Manager Tools is very, very good - but I’ve always found it to be a little bit more formal and targeted towards large-scale organizations; not start-ups, which is the world I’m from.
In any event, I encourage everyone to buy the book and subscribe to the Manager Tools podcasts. After (even 2 weeks) you’ll have a better foundation for management.
