First, Break all the Rules audiobook cover - What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

First, Break all the Rules

What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

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EntrepreneurshipManagement & Leadership

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First, Break all the Rules
The Foundation of Success+
The Nature of Talent+
Key 1: Select for Talent+
Key 2: Define the Right Outcomes+
Key 3: Focus on Strengths+
Key 4: Find the Right Fit+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 10
What is the primary foundation of a robust and sustainable business, according to the text?
  • A. Continuously innovating new products
  • B. Expanding to new locations and slashing prices
  • C. A consistently high-performing workplace driven by satisfied employees
  • D. Implementing strict company-wide policies and procedures
Question 2 of 10
According to the authors, what is the crucial difference between a great leader and a great manager?
  • A. Leaders focus on internal performance, while managers focus on external competition.
  • B. Leaders look outward toward the future, while managers look inward at what already exists.
  • C. Leaders act as mediators between employees, while managers dictate the company vision.
  • D. Leaders are highly empathetic, while managers must be strictly visionary.
Question 3 of 10
How do the authors define a 'talent' in the context of the workplace?
  • A. A rare and special ability possessed only by highly gifted individuals like Einstein.
  • B. The accumulation of highly marketable skills and industry experience.
  • C. Any recurring pattern of thought, feeling, or behavior that can be productively applied.
  • D. The capacity to easily adapt one's personality to fit any job role or management style.
Question 4 of 10
Which of the following is NOT one of the three types of talents mentioned in the text?
  • A. Striving talents
  • B. Thinking talents
  • C. Relating talents
  • D. Executing talents
Question 5 of 10
What interview technique do great managers use to discover a candidate's true talents?
  • A. Putting the candidate under high stress to see how they handle pressure.
  • B. Asking open-ended questions and looking for 'top-of-mind' responses.
  • C. Focusing heavily on the candidate's appearance and formal credentials.
  • D. Asking highly technical questions with only one correct answer.
Question 6 of 10
Why do great managers often reject the conventional career path model?
  • A. It fails to provide employees with regular salary increases.
  • B. It assumes that excelling in one role means an employee will automatically excel in a higher, different position.
  • C. It prevents managers from exercising 'remote control' over their staff.
  • D. It focuses too much on an employee's innate talents rather than their acquired skills.
Question 7 of 10
How should great managers approach the daily work processes of their employees?
  • A. By establishing strict, step-by-step methods for every task to ensure consistency.
  • B. By defining desired outcomes and allowing employees to find their own ways to reach them.
  • C. By constantly monitoring and controlling the employees' actions to prevent mistakes.
  • D. By delegating all goal-setting responsibilities directly to the employees.
Question 8 of 10
While managers should allow employees flexibility in how they achieve outcomes, in which areas MUST they enforce strict rules?
  • A. Selling styles and communication methods
  • B. Accuracy, safety, and industry standards
  • C. Work hours and desk organization
  • D. Team building and interpersonal conflict resolution
Question 9 of 10
Who should managers study to understand how to improve overall team performance?
  • A. Their average employees, to set realistic baselines.
  • B. Their worst employees, to learn from past mistakes.
  • C. Their most excellent employees, to discover the criteria for excellence.
  • D. Competitors' employees, to understand industry trends.
Question 10 of 10
What should a manager do if an employee's poor performance is caused by a 'non-talent' rather than a lack of skills?
  • A. Provide intensive training until the employee develops the necessary talent.
  • B. Try to 'manage around' it by building a support system or finding a complementary partner.
  • C. Punish the employee to motivate them to change their natural behavior.
  • D. Immediately fire the employee without analyzing the root cause.

First, Break all the Rules — Full Chapter Overview

First, Break all the Rules Summary & Overview

First, Break all the Rules (1999) shows how great management differs from conventional approaches. The authors demonstrate how some commonly held notions about career and management are actually misleading. Based on interviews conducted with successful managers (research that the authors did for Gallup) the book introduces its readers to the key notions that great managers – those who get their employees to achieve performance excellence – use in their jobs.

Who Should Listen to First, Break all the Rules?

  • Anyone who wants to understand what jobs they might be best suited to
  • Anyone who wants to better understand their manager’s staffing decisions
  • Unit leaders, managers, human resource professionals

About the Author: Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman both have a background in business consulting and business research. At the time the book was published, they worked for the Gallup Organization, a global performance management consulting company. Both Buckingham and Coffman have started consulting and management training companies of their own, and have written other bestselling business books.

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