What do you think?
Rate this book
Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations
Gold Award Winner (2024) for Independent Thought Leadership in Business Books (AXIOM) and Finalist (2024) for Business Books (National Indie Excellence Awards)
Written for leaders and managers of complex, project-driven organizations like agencies, consultancies and dev shops. Former RAND researcher, Jack Skeels, shares game-changing insights on managing, drawn from his transformational work with over 200 companies, helping them master the art of making great teams and delivering well on projects.
From Kirkus
A bracing, standard-resetting approach to doing management right. Skeels champions the idea of “unmanaging,” which cuts down on managerial overhead and encourages managers to get out of the way of their teams. The needs of workers and teams, the author insists, take precedence over one’s own managerial workflow; a manager’s most important goal is to enable employees to maximize their productivity. Throughout, the author delivers his insights with an effective combination of readable prose and clear-eyed pragmatism. His experience is evident on every page and should prove invaluable to readers in any managerial roles. He sympathizes with how these readers may feel they’re swimming against the tide of popular “If you are a manager who came up through the ranks as a specialist, then most of what you mastered will point you away from great managing,” he cautions, firmly but good-naturedly. “You’ll need to toss out that old compass.” This book will do very nicely as a new one.
Description (from the publisher)
Former executive, two-time Inc 500 award-winning entrepreneur, and think-tank management scientist Jack Skeels, in his new book, Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations, lays out the blueprint for how to make agencies – and many other types of organizations run better, faster and happier.
Drawing on more than a decade of applied research with over 200 agencies and other high-performance organizations, Skeels presents a compelling case that managing less can be the key to managing better. In its six-part structure, the book takes leaders and managers through the origins of why we manage the way we do today, and how a new style of managing—within which one can see the echoes of Agile methods—boosts everything from project success rates to organizational productivity, profitability and happiness.
In its 300 pages, Unmanaged both provides not only the rationale, but also a large number of battle-tested methods for implementing better managing, proven both within his consultancy and in prior work. The book is laced with real-world vignettes that often make managers and leaders laugh (or cringe) in recognition of their own managerial faux pas. There are over ten practical new models of managing that the reader and their organization can make, ranging from better ways to kick-off and scope projects, boost team skills growth, align better with stakeholders and clients, and ensure worker and team productivity. Leaders will be drawn to several topics that explain the power of Unmanaged’s techniques to reduce the cost of meetings, enhance DEI initiatives, and implement better organization models and metrics.
While Unmanaged has its origins in digital and marketing agencies, Skeels, who spent much of his career in technology and management consulting, makes a compelling argument that the project-driven workthat they perform (complex, unique, innovative or complex projects) represents the future of human work as AI and other forms of automation displace simpler factory and service style workers. The future of knowledge work is project work.
The book is written from a manager-centric perspective, informing many managerial roles found in agencies and elsewhere, including a significant focus on the discipline of project management, its many challenges and failures. At its heart, the book preaches a gospel that hints of Buddhism, urging that managers and leaders can do better by being more aware and less reactive.
Written for leaders and managers of complex, project-driven organizations like agencies, consultancies and dev shops. Former RAND researcher, Jack Skeels, shares game-changing insights on managing, drawn from his transformational work with over 200 companies, helping them master the art of making great teams and delivering well on projects.
From Kirkus
A bracing, standard-resetting approach to doing management right. Skeels champions the idea of “unmanaging,” which cuts down on managerial overhead and encourages managers to get out of the way of their teams. The needs of workers and teams, the author insists, take precedence over one’s own managerial workflow; a manager’s most important goal is to enable employees to maximize their productivity. Throughout, the author delivers his insights with an effective combination of readable prose and clear-eyed pragmatism. His experience is evident on every page and should prove invaluable to readers in any managerial roles. He sympathizes with how these readers may feel they’re swimming against the tide of popular “If you are a manager who came up through the ranks as a specialist, then most of what you mastered will point you away from great managing,” he cautions, firmly but good-naturedly. “You’ll need to toss out that old compass.” This book will do very nicely as a new one.
Description (from the publisher)
Former executive, two-time Inc 500 award-winning entrepreneur, and think-tank management scientist Jack Skeels, in his new book, Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations, lays out the blueprint for how to make agencies – and many other types of organizations run better, faster and happier.
Drawing on more than a decade of applied research with over 200 agencies and other high-performance organizations, Skeels presents a compelling case that managing less can be the key to managing better. In its six-part structure, the book takes leaders and managers through the origins of why we manage the way we do today, and how a new style of managing—within which one can see the echoes of Agile methods—boosts everything from project success rates to organizational productivity, profitability and happiness.
In its 300 pages, Unmanaged both provides not only the rationale, but also a large number of battle-tested methods for implementing better managing, proven both within his consultancy and in prior work. The book is laced with real-world vignettes that often make managers and leaders laugh (or cringe) in recognition of their own managerial faux pas. There are over ten practical new models of managing that the reader and their organization can make, ranging from better ways to kick-off and scope projects, boost team skills growth, align better with stakeholders and clients, and ensure worker and team productivity. Leaders will be drawn to several topics that explain the power of Unmanaged’s techniques to reduce the cost of meetings, enhance DEI initiatives, and implement better organization models and metrics.
While Unmanaged has its origins in digital and marketing agencies, Skeels, who spent much of his career in technology and management consulting, makes a compelling argument that the project-driven workthat they perform (complex, unique, innovative or complex projects) represents the future of human work as AI and other forms of automation displace simpler factory and service style workers. The future of knowledge work is project work.
The book is written from a manager-centric perspective, informing many managerial roles found in agencies and elsewhere, including a significant focus on the discipline of project management, its many challenges and failures. At its heart, the book preaches a gospel that hints of Buddhism, urging that managers and leaders can do better by being more aware and less reactive.
- GenresNonfictionLeadership
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 9, 2023
17 people are currently reading
3183 people want to read
About the author
Jack Skeels
2 books12 followersJack Skeels, a former think-tank researcher at RAND, is an award-winning author and Inc. 500 entrepreneur. His recent book, UNMANAGED: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations, has received accolades from industry and reviewers, most recently winning the Gold Medal for Independent Thought Leadership in the prestigious Axiom 2024 Business Book Awards. As CEO of AgencyAgile, he has been published and featured over 35 times including: Wall Street Journal, Ad Age, Entrepreneur.com, AdWeek, Campaign, PR News, Business Horizons, Training, and numerous other publications.
http://unmanagedbook.com
https://jackskeels.medium.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackaskeels/
http://unmanagedbook.com
https://jackskeels.medium.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackaskeels/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 4, 2024
This review is from a goodreads giveaway! Thanks for the opportunity to read it!
"Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations by Jack Skeels is an enlightening and practical guide for leaders and managers. Skeels provides actionable strategies to foster a culture of empowerment and happiness within organizations. His insights are grounded in real-world experience, making the advice relatable and implementable. The book is well-organized, engaging, and filled with valuable tips. It's a great resource for anyone looking to transform their workplace into a thriving and positive environment. Highly recommended!"
"Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations by Jack Skeels is an enlightening and practical guide for leaders and managers. Skeels provides actionable strategies to foster a culture of empowerment and happiness within organizations. His insights are grounded in real-world experience, making the advice relatable and implementable. The book is well-organized, engaging, and filled with valuable tips. It's a great resource for anyone looking to transform their workplace into a thriving and positive environment. Highly recommended!"
July 17, 2024
"Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations" by Jack Skeels is a transformative read that redefines leadership and organizational success. Skeels expertly combines insightful theory with practical advice, making the complex world of management accessible and engaging. His innovative approach to creating empowered and happy workplaces is not only inspiring but also highly actionable. This book is a must-read for any leader seeking to foster a culture of autonomy, collaboration, and joy within their team. Skeels' wisdom and experience shine through every page, making "Unmanaged" an indispensable guide to modern management.
March 3, 2024
If you work in a project based organization, this book is a masterpiece. Well written and well researched it breaks down the components of the modern work structure and its fallacies while then giving a framework for a better work environment and process. I've worked in marketing and tech services for 20 years and always felt that it was a uniquely challenging business model, this book highlights why.
August 14, 2024
"Unmanaged: Master the Magic of Creating Empowered and Happy Organizations" by Jack Skeels shows new ways to manage work and teams more effectively. I found the advice to be practical and easy to understand. Overall, it's a great read for learning how to make a company work better.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews