{"product_id":"9781781191309","title":"Can You Manage?","description":"\u003cp\u003e“You’ve written nine or ten books”, a friend said to Ivor Kenny. “Any chance you could put them through a mangle and squeeze out some of the lessons you’ve learned? Put them in a short book a manager can read and think about on a transatlantic flight.”\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHe has tried to distil into a slim volume lessons learned working with managers for 40 years – 20 in the Irish Management Institute, where he became familiar with theory, and 20 in UCD where I work with managers in international companies. He has plundered earlier books and added new material, about half-and-half.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe point of the book is that, since few things are black and white, clear-cut, either\/or, we have to manage in a way that accepts the existence of contradictory phenomena without trying to resolve them. His hope is that it can be a reminder, timely or otherwise, that brings to the surface thoughts buried under the press of events.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe lessons include:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhy do some businesses give the impression that they hate the customer? Is it because people are in the wrong jobs?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe secret of efficiency is enthusiasm. Compulsion doesn’t work.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA macho manager goes like a bull at a gate.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAvoid using a sledgehammer when a feather will do, but keep the hammer handy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eManagement by slogan is good only for pub-talk.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrue humility is knowing yourself and the effect of your actions on others.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLeadership is a combination of character (who you are) and Competence (what you can do).\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA good boss is tough but fair.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA leader who has sorted out his inner conflicts will convey a sense of optimism and hope. Cheer up.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStrategy is the step by step removal of removable constraints.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDoes our lack of enthusiasm for strategy come from the fact that the future is unpredictable or that we are simply going about strategy the wrong way?\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe essence of strategy is to build an arsenal of capabilities to meet whatever the future throws at us.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBudgets are coffins.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne of the greatest barriers to change is lack of cohesion in the top team.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeople do not resist change. They resist loss.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt’s not what’s ahead – today is the golden time.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Oak Tree Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47170420277488,"sku":"9781781191309","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781781191309_p0.jpg?v=1763715285","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781781191309","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}