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Why Managing Sucks and How to Fix It: A Results-Only Guide to Taking Control of Work, Not People
Change the way you think about work (and life) by focusing on results - and only results
Why Managing Sucks and How to Fix It shows how the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) mindset can make you or your organization more entrepreneurial, more connected with the broader trends in your industry, and more willing to take smart risks. It explains how to set clear expectations and focus on the endpoint as opposed to managing the process that gets you there. With eyes set on getting rid of distractions, long meetings, and unnecessary updates, this book offers quick, everyday strategies to experience huge increases in productivity (without adding resources) and dramatic drops in turnover.
Authors Ressler and Thompson began their work together at Best Buy where they are credited with revolutionizing the workplace
Reframes thinking away from counting on general availability (Where's Bob?) to creating clear expectations (Does Bob know exactly what's expected of him?) Explains how to reduce the number of meetings while increasing their quality Shows how to eliminate scheduled events in order to increase critical thinking and improve communication ROWE is a bold, cultural transformation that permeates the attitudes and operating style of an entire workplace, leveling the playing field and giving people complete autonomy - to manage their measurable results using adult common sense.
Why Managing Sucks and How to Fix It shows how the Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) mindset can make you or your organization more entrepreneurial, more connected with the broader trends in your industry, and more willing to take smart risks. It explains how to set clear expectations and focus on the endpoint as opposed to managing the process that gets you there. With eyes set on getting rid of distractions, long meetings, and unnecessary updates, this book offers quick, everyday strategies to experience huge increases in productivity (without adding resources) and dramatic drops in turnover.
Authors Ressler and Thompson began their work together at Best Buy where they are credited with revolutionizing the workplace
Reframes thinking away from counting on general availability (Where's Bob?) to creating clear expectations (Does Bob know exactly what's expected of him?) Explains how to reduce the number of meetings while increasing their quality Shows how to eliminate scheduled events in order to increase critical thinking and improve communication ROWE is a bold, cultural transformation that permeates the attitudes and operating style of an entire workplace, leveling the playing field and giving people complete autonomy - to manage their measurable results using adult common sense.
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First published January 22, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 17, 2013
I liked this book better than "Why Work Sucks" (it's predecessor). WWS was a bit too conceptual for me at the time and this one was more relevant and concrete, providing more specific examples and case studies. Or maybe it is just that now that I have worked in a ROWE for 2+ years, I think about what is being presented differently. Definitely a lot of the information is similar to WWS, so someone reading both might not get as much out of one or the other. I liked WMS because even though I do not manage people, I manage projects and I did have some good takeaways about how to approach my interaction with customers differently. I was very inspired by reading about ROWE successes in other industries, particularly education, where I felt that people needed to think even MORE outside the box than my industry (software). I was also pleased to see the reference to The Atlantic article "Why Women Can't Have It All" at the end because I think in response to that article, ROWE is a game-changer.
"We'd walk by the corporate cafeteria... see people who had not transitioned to a ROWE yet and say to each other, "Look at all of them in there. They're still sleeping. By sleeping, we meant that they hadn't been awakened yet to this world, one where they were free to make their own decisions, own their own time, feel attached to the ultimate outcome, and contribute to the organization and society the way they really wanted to."
"We'd walk by the corporate cafeteria... see people who had not transitioned to a ROWE yet and say to each other, "Look at all of them in there. They're still sleeping. By sleeping, we meant that they hadn't been awakened yet to this world, one where they were free to make their own decisions, own their own time, feel attached to the ultimate outcome, and contribute to the organization and society the way they really wanted to."
March 14, 2016
"Manage the work, not the people"
It seems so obvious, but when I was made a managers I had all kinds of concerns about how to 'motivate and empower people'. Further reading has shown me that all motivation that matters is intrinsic anyway; so all you can really do is create an autonomy supportive environment with clear metrics for success, provide encouragement, and maintain that environment. Then let people get on with their work. Any confusion still going on in my brain about what it meant to be a manager was cleared up with those 6 words.
I wasn't very fond of the style of the book (tedious use of dictionary definitions for one thing), but it is a quick read, and there are some gems.
It seems so obvious, but when I was made a managers I had all kinds of concerns about how to 'motivate and empower people'. Further reading has shown me that all motivation that matters is intrinsic anyway; so all you can really do is create an autonomy supportive environment with clear metrics for success, provide encouragement, and maintain that environment. Then let people get on with their work. Any confusion still going on in my brain about what it meant to be a manager was cleared up with those 6 words.
I wasn't very fond of the style of the book (tedious use of dictionary definitions for one thing), but it is a quick read, and there are some gems.
June 19, 2013
This is an infomercial for the consulting firm the authors created. The ideas are great. I wish they spent more time showing how their work environment would work in different sectors but they only scratched the surface.
March 13, 2023
The book is about the idea of Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) - the employee to be free to perform their work, whenever they want as long as they get the expected work done within the given deadlines. I wish the book had concrete examples on how to best set measurable goals and discuss/ track those with the employees. I am also missing some negative examples of how the concept helped in those and when it didn’t work. It is a good concept but the book needs to be read more from upper management to allow such change in a company and from the micromanagers. The main takeaways for me are:
As a manager you need to manage the work not the people.
Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) each person is free to do whatever they want, whenever they want as long as they get the work done. 13 guidepost to realize ROWE:
1. People at all levels stop doing any activity that is waste of their, customer’s time or company money. This means that people don’t spend time in unproductive meetings, they manage communication effectively and respect other people’s time, remove low priority tasks.
2. Employees have the freedom to work anywhere they want.
3. Every day feels like a Saturday - integration of work and personal pursuits without regard to time, place or schedule - only results.
4. People have an unlimited amount of paid time off (pto) as long as the work gets done.
5. Work isn’t a place where you go, it is something you do, everyone works when and where it makes sense. People spend more time focused on the work and less time in traffic or other useless time-sucking activities.
6. Arriving at work or leaving at 2pm is not considered late or early. Here the focus is on the results not the clock.
7. Nobody talks about how many hours they work. Managers focus instead on measurable outcomes and recognize the outcome the employees achieve not how hard someone appears to work or spent at the work place.
8. Every meeting is optional.
9. It is ok to do leisure activities also throughout the work days because with ROWE people get more of what is important done in all aspects of their lives and managers are setting clear and measurable goals on a continuous basis not annually.
10. There are no work schedules, flexibility doesn’t need to be managed it manages itself. People make good decisions on how to spend their time and meeting business needs in a fluid manner.
11. Nobody feels guilty, stressed out or overworked. People are taking care of their own and business’s needs, which means they feel better about everything.
12. There aren’t any last minute fire drills. This promotes a culture that is proactive instead of reactive. Fire drills are the result of poor planning.
13. There is no judgement about how you spend your time. Time is negotiable, non-renewable commodity, which prompts a greater level of respect to grow both for the work and the people who do it. Showing up is about the work not a place.
For users of ROWE deadlines aren’t just suggestions but important and if you think some is set unreasonably, you need to inform well in advance of that deadline otherwise your manager is confident that you are managing your projects, work and time so you can meet deadlines precisely when needed, regardless where you are working from as long as you get your work done and meet your goals against the defined outcome.
A meeting invite should have the following elements to answer why you should spend time there: 1) The outcome the meeting intends to create (convincing why a meeting is the best way to accomplish what you are asking) 2) The role the person you are inviting has in the meeting 3) What each person or the group needs to do to prepare or come prepared to contribute and how it affects the outcome or need for the meeting. If you receive a meeting invite that doesn’t answer those questions you can ask the organizer: what is the desired outcome of this meeting? What’s my role? What can I do to prepare? Is there a better way to achieve the outcome?
Hypothesis of the authors for Engagement = Employee empowerment + Accountability in environment of communication, feedback and recognition
As a manager you need to manage the work not the people.
Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) each person is free to do whatever they want, whenever they want as long as they get the work done. 13 guidepost to realize ROWE:
1. People at all levels stop doing any activity that is waste of their, customer’s time or company money. This means that people don’t spend time in unproductive meetings, they manage communication effectively and respect other people’s time, remove low priority tasks.
2. Employees have the freedom to work anywhere they want.
3. Every day feels like a Saturday - integration of work and personal pursuits without regard to time, place or schedule - only results.
4. People have an unlimited amount of paid time off (pto) as long as the work gets done.
5. Work isn’t a place where you go, it is something you do, everyone works when and where it makes sense. People spend more time focused on the work and less time in traffic or other useless time-sucking activities.
6. Arriving at work or leaving at 2pm is not considered late or early. Here the focus is on the results not the clock.
7. Nobody talks about how many hours they work. Managers focus instead on measurable outcomes and recognize the outcome the employees achieve not how hard someone appears to work or spent at the work place.
8. Every meeting is optional.
9. It is ok to do leisure activities also throughout the work days because with ROWE people get more of what is important done in all aspects of their lives and managers are setting clear and measurable goals on a continuous basis not annually.
10. There are no work schedules, flexibility doesn’t need to be managed it manages itself. People make good decisions on how to spend their time and meeting business needs in a fluid manner.
11. Nobody feels guilty, stressed out or overworked. People are taking care of their own and business’s needs, which means they feel better about everything.
12. There aren’t any last minute fire drills. This promotes a culture that is proactive instead of reactive. Fire drills are the result of poor planning.
13. There is no judgement about how you spend your time. Time is negotiable, non-renewable commodity, which prompts a greater level of respect to grow both for the work and the people who do it. Showing up is about the work not a place.
For users of ROWE deadlines aren’t just suggestions but important and if you think some is set unreasonably, you need to inform well in advance of that deadline otherwise your manager is confident that you are managing your projects, work and time so you can meet deadlines precisely when needed, regardless where you are working from as long as you get your work done and meet your goals against the defined outcome.
A meeting invite should have the following elements to answer why you should spend time there: 1) The outcome the meeting intends to create (convincing why a meeting is the best way to accomplish what you are asking) 2) The role the person you are inviting has in the meeting 3) What each person or the group needs to do to prepare or come prepared to contribute and how it affects the outcome or need for the meeting. If you receive a meeting invite that doesn’t answer those questions you can ask the organizer: what is the desired outcome of this meeting? What’s my role? What can I do to prepare? Is there a better way to achieve the outcome?
Hypothesis of the authors for Engagement = Employee empowerment + Accountability in environment of communication, feedback and recognition
February 28, 2020
Not entirely practical, or at least few companies have been able to implement it well, but the idea is sound and the future, like it or not, working from outside the traditional office or place of business is in many occupations already happening and going to happen more as time moves on. It's a physical reality that commuting to and from work places wastes a lot of time and resources that could be, must be, used in more environmentally and employee centric ways. This is one blue print for how to do that. But extreme care must be taken in implementation for the protection of both employer and employee.
October 5, 2017
Pretty similar to the first book, focused only slightly more on the management angle. The concept of ROWE is so different for me to think about though that reading another book with such similar themes was still helpful
December 24, 2017
This book had a powerful impact on how I manage people. Figuring out how to be results oriented freed me from a lot of bad habits I'd formed
August 12, 2020
Another awesome book
ROWE is a revolution and more companies are catching on. I can’t wait to put these concepts to use. Well done, CultureRX.
ROWE is a revolution and more companies are catching on. I can’t wait to put these concepts to use. Well done, CultureRX.
December 17, 2022
Maybe if I read this ten years ago when it was published, then it would have blown my mind. I didn't take away anything new from this that I hadn't already gotten from other sources over my career.
November 18, 2013
The book has a very conversational format, which does not appeal to me personally as I would prefer something that is straightforward. I like the idea behind the Results-Only Working Environment (ROWE) but due to the format I perceive this to be more of a sales pitch than a need to change. The ideas presented may not be culture-independent as the examples raised in the book tend to be in the Western context, and rarely (if none) from the Asian perspective.
October 22, 2015
Intriguing vision for the future of management
This provocative book asserts, and then proves, the power guiding a work environment only through results focus. They eschew all time tracking, presence tracking, and "flexibility" in favor of an exclusive measurement on the important goals. Interesting and worth considering.
This provocative book asserts, and then proves, the power guiding a work environment only through results focus. They eschew all time tracking, presence tracking, and "flexibility" in favor of an exclusive measurement on the important goals. Interesting and worth considering.
November 3, 2013
A good book about the success of ROWE and why it can work in almost any field right now. The only thing I wish was covered more deeply was the the chapter about measuring the results. Overall a good book.
December 13, 2013
Cuts through the day-to-day ceremonies around managing human beings and focuses completely on results. Clearly articulates why results are the only true measure of success and how you can build a ridiculously free and healthy culture at the same time.
August 13, 2014
It's a really long sales pitch for their consulting services with very little to actually DO to "become a ROWE".
It was a decent book to generate a new way of thinking about things but I picked that up by chapter two. I wish they had actually put some meat in the book.
It was a decent book to generate a new way of thinking about things but I picked that up by chapter two. I wish they had actually put some meat in the book.
June 21, 2013
A lot of repeating messages and customer input but the message is loud and clear. And - most important - worth hearing. Please do not only ead it ... but also apply some of its content.
June 25, 2013
Must read for all employees, whether you supervise anyone or not.
July 18, 2013
Couple of helpful pointers. Could have been shorter (to not include all those testimonials from companies).
January 22, 2014
Good message, some memorable quotes. But I don't believe measurable goals are the solution.
September 11, 2016
Interesting insights but really hard to implement without Top Management / HR buy-in.
September 12, 2016
Good refresher to why work sucks and how to fix it
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews