Player Manager: The Rise of Professionals Who Manage While They Work

by Philip Augur, Joy Palmer

Continual downsizing and pressure on the bottom line are forcing companies to replace full-time managers with revenue-generating professionals and asking them to take on management roles. This book shows a fundamental change taking place in the workplace. It gives detailed case studies on professionals who are currently in these situations and how they are handling themselves and their careers.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 2003

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 2 out of 5]

The authors have "changed personal details, amalgamated certain chanracters, conversations and events, and created new settings" to the poin I have my doubts on whether this book should be classified as non-fiction. Like a movie "based on a true story", I found myself approaching at entertainment, not science. There is such a reproduction of detailed dialogue in settings of invention that I think wea re detailing here with wanna-be playwrights, not career advisors.

Briefly touched on is this largely American corporate history that has led to middle managers that are producers too, the theme of this book. I would have liked more of that. The only thing I would refer to here again is Table 9.1 "Taking Command" with such tings as:

A Rookie Asks: What do they nned to know?
A Veteran Asks: What do they nned to understand?

I'll photocopy that, and ditch the book. On their "Rookie" type they at least twice list as a "Strength" bneing new to the complex arena of managing and producing. This is one of the things they should have amplified in detail instead of filling pages of imagined conversation and email exchanges.

[Mark Lacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

[2006] My manager loaned this to me after we discussed some of the challenges of my job, and clarifying my role in the group. I had a hard time seeing where I fit in with the authors' player-manager stereotypes. And none of their work or challenges felt quite like mine. So I didn't get as much out of it as I would've liked. But, if nothing else, apparently people recognize that being a player-manager is a very hard thing to do, and do well.