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Hard-Won Wisdom: True Stories from the Management Trenches
From dealing with underperformers to fighting off lawsuits, employee problems are the bane of a manager’s existence. So what do most do? Ignore them!
And that’s a recipe for more problems. Written by a seasoned HR expert and employment attorney, Hard-Won Wisdom takes you inside the messy reality of situations gone wrong, including:
● A joking comment taken as a command
● An email exchange that escalates ridiculously out of control
● A request for confidentiality that backfires in a big way
● The right employee…fired the wrong way
● The wrong employee…hired the right way
These sometimes funny, always cautionary tales reinforce crucial lessons for managers. From failing to give feedback and withholding key information to exercising poor judgment and making faulty assumptions, every story highlights the role management plays in exacerbating (or easing) trouble.
And each story suggests simple strategies to turn the situation around. The memorable lessons help managers motivate underachievers, defuse angry employees, discipline without inviting legal action—and handle every tricky-people issue they simply can’t avoid.
And that’s a recipe for more problems. Written by a seasoned HR expert and employment attorney, Hard-Won Wisdom takes you inside the messy reality of situations gone wrong, including:
● A joking comment taken as a command
● An email exchange that escalates ridiculously out of control
● A request for confidentiality that backfires in a big way
● The right employee…fired the wrong way
● The wrong employee…hired the right way
These sometimes funny, always cautionary tales reinforce crucial lessons for managers. From failing to give feedback and withholding key information to exercising poor judgment and making faulty assumptions, every story highlights the role management plays in exacerbating (or easing) trouble.
And each story suggests simple strategies to turn the situation around. The memorable lessons help managers motivate underachievers, defuse angry employees, discipline without inviting legal action—and handle every tricky-people issue they simply can’t avoid.
240 pages, Paperback
Published November 15, 2016
12 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Jathan Janove
4 books1 followerJATHAN JANOVE, J.D. is principal of Janove Organization Solutions. A contributor to HR Magazine and a popular management blogger, he has 25 years’ experience litigating workplace relationships and is author of Managing to Stay Out of Court.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 24, 2018
A couple of good ideas surrounded by words....
OK, let me be more fair than that. This is mostly a collection of stories that you too likely have had direct experience with in the corporate world....reading this it is hard not to try to "top" the author's story with your own version. That said, the author does have a few quick and do-able tips to navigate around difficult and potential litigation-driven situations.
OK, let me be more fair than that. This is mostly a collection of stories that you too likely have had direct experience with in the corporate world....reading this it is hard not to try to "top" the author's story with your own version. That said, the author does have a few quick and do-able tips to navigate around difficult and potential litigation-driven situations.
August 17, 2024
Great advice that I'd love to start presenting!
December 11, 2016
An entertaining and very useful book about a variety of workplace situations, related in a very clear and engaging manner. "Hard-Won Wisdom" is replete with methods Jathan Janove has developed over his many years in his fascinating and varied professional life. While the primary market for this book comprises HR departments, managers, employment lawyers, and CEOs, its lessons and tools (for example, The Star Profile, the Same Day Summary, the MIDAS touch (how to apologize), and the Triple Two) can apply to all kinds of interactions and relationships.
Each story comes with a moral, which illustrates much of the hard-won wisdom Mr. Janove has garnered in his long experience working in virtually every kind of conflict situation in the workforce. A great read: I recommend it highly!
Each story comes with a moral, which illustrates much of the hard-won wisdom Mr. Janove has garnered in his long experience working in virtually every kind of conflict situation in the workforce. A great read: I recommend it highly!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews