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Harvard Business Review on Managing Yourself
Before they can effectively manage others, managers have to be adept at managing themselves. That requires truly understanding their own passions, motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. This guide offers sage advice from business greats, including Peter F. Drucker and John P. Kotter, on how managers can improve personal performance and productivity and, in the process, become better managers of those they lead.
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 410 reviews
July 9, 2016
A lot of the essays in this book might be ones that any regular reader of HBR might have read before such as, "How Will You Measure Your Life?" or "Managing Oneself" but I would encourage anyone to read this book. There's a lot of tips and tricks that even if one has read an essay before, might have gone missed or might need to be picked up again. While it may seem that this book is something that seems to be directed at executives, this is a book that should be read by high school students, college students, junior staff, and senior staff. In fact, it probably should be re-read at regular intervals because so much of the book is focused on developing the habits of success and not indulging in small, seemingly innocuous choices that ultimately undermine what we would like out of life. 5 stars. If you haven't read it, do so. If you haven't read it recently, I highly recommend a re-read.
February 13, 2014
Pick what works best for you. Some stories will resonate more with you than others. In my case, 2 out of 10 did.
March 8, 2018
The article about monkeys and delegation is worth the price alone....loved it.
November 25, 2019
If you read a lot of self development books, you do not need to read this one. It serves as a good reminder, but no huge benefit out of it. Maybe, I was having high expectations since its from HBR.
December 4, 2012
I just invested in myself with the HBR’S 10 Must Reads Collection by Harvard Business Review Press. This series is really good because each book has 10 of the best articles published by Harvard University on each topic. I think it is a must read for any ambitious manager, new or experienced leader.
It is easy to read, each book has approximately 300 pages. Each chapter is an article from great authors such as Peter F. Drucker, Theodore Levitt, Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton and others. One of the things that I liked on these books is that each chapter has a box called Idea in Brief, which gives you an idea of the basic concept of the chapter and most of them has very interesting case studies as well.
I highly recommend you to get this collection because will inspire you with ideas and knowledge that will accelerate both your own growth and company. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever-changing business environment. The titles include: Leadership, Managing Yourself, The Essentials, Change Management,Managing People and Strategy.
One of my favorite articles were:
What Makes an Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker (HBR’S 10 Must Reads On Leadership)
Putting the Balanced Scorecard to Work by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton (HBR’S 10 Must Reads The Essentials)
Managing Oneself by Peter F. Drucker (HBR’S 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself)
The Real Reason People won’t Change by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey (HBR’S 10 Must Reads On Change Management )
What Great Managers Do by Marcus Buckingham (HBR’S 10 Must Reads On Managing People)
The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution by Gary L. Neilson, Karla L. Martin, and Elisabeth Powers (HBR’S 10 Must Reads On Strategy)
“Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes “ Peter F. Drucker
“The ability to change constantly and effectively is made by high-level continuity.” Michael E. Porter
It is easy to read, each book has approximately 300 pages. Each chapter is an article from great authors such as Peter F. Drucker, Theodore Levitt, Robert S. Kaplan, David P. Norton and others. One of the things that I liked on these books is that each chapter has a box called Idea in Brief, which gives you an idea of the basic concept of the chapter and most of them has very interesting case studies as well.
I highly recommend you to get this collection because will inspire you with ideas and knowledge that will accelerate both your own growth and company. Each title includes timeless advice that will be relevant regardless of an ever-changing business environment. The titles include: Leadership, Managing Yourself, The Essentials, Change Management,Managing People and Strategy.
One of my favorite articles were:
What Makes an Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker (HBR’S 10 Must Reads On Leadership)
Putting the Balanced Scorecard to Work by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton (HBR’S 10 Must Reads The Essentials)
Managing Oneself by Peter F. Drucker (HBR’S 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself)
The Real Reason People won’t Change by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey (HBR’S 10 Must Reads On Change Management )
What Great Managers Do by Marcus Buckingham (HBR’S 10 Must Reads On Managing People)
The Secrets to Successful Strategy Execution by Gary L. Neilson, Karla L. Martin, and Elisabeth Powers (HBR’S 10 Must Reads On Strategy)
“Knowledge has to be improved, challenged, and increased constantly, or it vanishes “ Peter F. Drucker
“The ability to change constantly and effectively is made by high-level continuity.” Michael E. Porter
September 11, 2013
"The need for managing one's self is creating a revolution in human affairs." Peter Drucker (1999)
This collection of articles by HBR is excellent! The article authors leave lasting impressions upon the reader in terms of ways to self-manage.
It is so appropriate that the first chapter On Managing Yourself is written by Peter Drucker and the focus is on knowing yourself. "One cannot build performance on weaknesses, let alone on something one cannot do at all." You need to understand your strengths - what you are good at - and focus your efforts on improving your strengths.
"Do not try to change yourself - you are unlikely to succeed. But work to improve the way you perform. And try not to take on work you cannot perform or will only perform poorly."
The book contains ten chapters - a collection of articles written by world renown thought leaders - on what it takes to effectively manage yourself. Each chapter covers a different lesson or concept. In each chapter there is a summary of the concept, called "Idea in Brief" and a short summary of how to implement the idea, called "Idea in Practice." Both summaries are very helpful as refresher but should not be used in lieu of reading the entire chapter.
This collection of articles by HBR is excellent! The article authors leave lasting impressions upon the reader in terms of ways to self-manage.
It is so appropriate that the first chapter On Managing Yourself is written by Peter Drucker and the focus is on knowing yourself. "One cannot build performance on weaknesses, let alone on something one cannot do at all." You need to understand your strengths - what you are good at - and focus your efforts on improving your strengths.
"Do not try to change yourself - you are unlikely to succeed. But work to improve the way you perform. And try not to take on work you cannot perform or will only perform poorly."
The book contains ten chapters - a collection of articles written by world renown thought leaders - on what it takes to effectively manage yourself. Each chapter covers a different lesson or concept. In each chapter there is a summary of the concept, called "Idea in Brief" and a short summary of how to implement the idea, called "Idea in Practice." Both summaries are very helpful as refresher but should not be used in lieu of reading the entire chapter.
August 28, 2011
A critical book for self realization and improvement. It captures the fruit of proper academic research on self management.
August 25, 2014
Some good tips, but mostly theories, presumptions and platitudes from a group of contributors who have never had to meet a payroll.
December 31, 2017
A lot of really good stuff in here but some that has more to do with managing others than managing yourself.
May 19, 2019
Wish to read Peter Drucker brings me to this book. It is collection of articles published in HBR. Few best articles are:
1. Managing Oneself - To manage oneself is need to know types of one's self such as what is one's strength, giving importance on the strength and increasing it day by day, to know whether one is reader or listener and loner or team worker and decision maker or adviser etc.
2. Management time: who is got the monkey? - Here monkey means responsibility. Often subordinates or colleagues pass their monkey on their boss or manager, which in turn free themselves of duty, but bogs down the boss or manager. Hence, productivity goes down.
3. Why smart people under-perform? - Due to recent information explosion, people are suffering from attention deficit trait (ADT) and suffering from attention deficit disorder (ADD). The article describes symptoms and mitigating measures, by organizing oneself, to control ADT.
The world of business management is vast and there are plethora of good books. For a quick read, this book can be considered as good option.
1. Managing Oneself - To manage oneself is need to know types of one's self such as what is one's strength, giving importance on the strength and increasing it day by day, to know whether one is reader or listener and loner or team worker and decision maker or adviser etc.
2. Management time: who is got the monkey? - Here monkey means responsibility. Often subordinates or colleagues pass their monkey on their boss or manager, which in turn free themselves of duty, but bogs down the boss or manager. Hence, productivity goes down.
3. Why smart people under-perform? - Due to recent information explosion, people are suffering from attention deficit trait (ADT) and suffering from attention deficit disorder (ADD). The article describes symptoms and mitigating measures, by organizing oneself, to control ADT.
The world of business management is vast and there are plethora of good books. For a quick read, this book can be considered as good option.
January 2, 2018
Managing Yourself was the best book to start the year 2018.
I have always enjoyed the articles compiled by HBR editors. Managing Yourself was an eye-opener. Every essay was thought provoking. Some made me wonder if I could do better professionally, another made me question if I would thrive in a different profession that focuses on my strengths, another provided some techniques to evaluate my values and if I am spending the right amount of money, time and energy on them.
There is a newer version of this book with some different articles by different gurus. I can’t wait to start on that one. I borrowed this book from the library; I would recommend getting a copy for your reference and thumb through it to serve as a reminder; else these nuggets tend to get buried in the sands of ‘being busy’.
I have always enjoyed the articles compiled by HBR editors. Managing Yourself was an eye-opener. Every essay was thought provoking. Some made me wonder if I could do better professionally, another made me question if I would thrive in a different profession that focuses on my strengths, another provided some techniques to evaluate my values and if I am spending the right amount of money, time and energy on them.
There is a newer version of this book with some different articles by different gurus. I can’t wait to start on that one. I borrowed this book from the library; I would recommend getting a copy for your reference and thumb through it to serve as a reminder; else these nuggets tend to get buried in the sands of ‘being busy’.
February 6, 2024
There are three gems of essays on self-management in this book. Namely, Drucker, Hallowell, and Goleman. Some of the other ones are a bit dated. However, these three made the book a worthwhile read for me.
September 3, 2018
A lot of truth and insight. Interesting and quick way to read ten views on the subject. Yet feels like in 2018, many of the “insights” are common practice in the games industry, at least in Finland.
August 13, 2014
Very disappointed by this book. I thought it would be a collection of complex ideas and new solutions, but it is only a handful of dated articles, only a couple of which gave me any novel insight.
The introduction "How Will You Measure Your Life" is the best chapter and deserves a star to itself.
"Managing Oneself" is a classic article with the humorous idea of managers getting stuck with problem "monkeys" and offers some practical examples of how to empower the managed to solve their own problems instead of doing it for them. Sadly the follow-up by of "Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey" points at the subordinates as the monkeys and makes their problems seem unimportant.
The topic of resilience is important but "How Resilience Works", instead of providing strategies for building resilience undermines itself by likening resilience to some sort of magic.
"Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time" is a great concept and neatly represented in the title and in depth. I particularly liked the ideas of changing perspective to see situations with a "reverse lens" (how might the other person see this?), "long lens" (what will I think about this in 6 months, a year etc?), and "wide lens" (regardless of the outcome, how can I grow and learn from this?)
I didn't learn anything from the other articles
The introduction "How Will You Measure Your Life" is the best chapter and deserves a star to itself.
"Managing Oneself" is a classic article with the humorous idea of managers getting stuck with problem "monkeys" and offers some practical examples of how to empower the managed to solve their own problems instead of doing it for them. Sadly the follow-up by of "Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey" points at the subordinates as the monkeys and makes their problems seem unimportant.
The topic of resilience is important but "How Resilience Works", instead of providing strategies for building resilience undermines itself by likening resilience to some sort of magic.
"Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time" is a great concept and neatly represented in the title and in depth. I particularly liked the ideas of changing perspective to see situations with a "reverse lens" (how might the other person see this?), "long lens" (what will I think about this in 6 months, a year etc?), and "wide lens" (regardless of the outcome, how can I grow and learn from this?)
I didn't learn anything from the other articles
May 7, 2022
Basically a collection of self-help articles aimed at the executives and managers. Even though I can say three or four articles in the collections were quite useful and insightful, most of them are reiterating same old statements about values, feedback, finding where you want to go and on and on. This only gets worse due to some strange affinity of the writers to repeat same things over and over rewording or even saying the same example or part of the story again in basically the same words. Moreover, the second time the same thing is repeated may be just a few paragraphs away which is just irritating, That might work well for retention, but for Christ sake, not when it is done in such a blunt way.
In short: there are good parts, but the book is borderline not being worth reading just because of how much water and obvious advise it has in the majority of articles. If you want to give it a try, start with Managing Oneself, How Resilience Works, Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey? and Overloaded Circuits and then move on to the others. High chance is that you won't need any other article in the book.
In short: there are good parts, but the book is borderline not being worth reading just because of how much water and obvious advise it has in the majority of articles. If you want to give it a try, start with Managing Oneself, How Resilience Works, Management Time: Who’s Got the Monkey? and Overloaded Circuits and then move on to the others. High chance is that you won't need any other article in the book.
April 22, 2022
The first three essays or pieces are worth reading. I feel like I read parts of the first two in the past, but it was good review. The article on managing monkeys was very helpful.
The other articles are less detailed iterations of the Power of Full Engagement. I would recommend that book over this, but it was good that HBR confirmed the Power of Full Engagement. See here for my full write up https://medium.com/@Dave.Nash.33/the-...
I used to subscribe to HBR but I stopped for two reasons - one they watered down the articles to be less scholarly and MBA continuing ed to more like one step above a popular medium or linked in post. The articles here fit that bill (except Drucker). Second they have TWO double issues - January -Feb and July-August. It seems that they are focusing more on books like this and headed into US News & World report land. That's too bad. Here too I saw a lot of overlap between articles.
The other articles are less detailed iterations of the Power of Full Engagement. I would recommend that book over this, but it was good that HBR confirmed the Power of Full Engagement. See here for my full write up https://medium.com/@Dave.Nash.33/the-...
I used to subscribe to HBR but I stopped for two reasons - one they watered down the articles to be less scholarly and MBA continuing ed to more like one step above a popular medium or linked in post. The articles here fit that bill (except Drucker). Second they have TWO double issues - January -Feb and July-August. It seems that they are focusing more on books like this and headed into US News & World report land. That's too bad. Here too I saw a lot of overlap between articles.
September 6, 2017
This is a set of essays curated by HBR to give insights on being a good manager, being a positive influence on others, overcoming obstacles and living a balanced life. My favorite essay was on How Resilience Works. This 3 step process includes, facing down reality, finding meaning and continually improvising. Another fascinating essay was titled Moments of Greatness. We all have faced challenges either personal or professional, at one point in our life. It's important to remember how we overcame it, for this will give us the confidence needed in the future. Whether your in a management role or not, this book is a great guide on navigating/overcoming challenges.
February 9, 2012
Gives great insight and perspective on how to be efficient, productive and live a fulfilling life.
February 13, 2019
Has a lit of insights worth reading if you are manager or business owner. However as a student I could spend my time for books that better suit my needs.
June 27, 2021
This book by Harvard Business Review is a collection of about 11 articles curated on “Managing Yourself”. Out of the presented 11 articles I can say I enjoy reading about 50%, while the rest I had to struggle through.
The book is meant to be read slowly, as I think we are meant to practice the things we learn from it (tons of exercise materials to go through, if you like things like that, this book is for you).
I gotta say that about 50% of the book is about self management on its own, while the rest of it is about Self Management in relation to leadership. Therefore, I think this book will be more useful for those who already have leadership positions.
For me the self management articles were very enjoyable, but the leadership articles always feel like a slap on my face—when I read books like this I always end up wondering. How the hell does one become a good person. I read all this, but there’s no way I can practice this.
The book is meant to be read slowly, as I think we are meant to practice the things we learn from it (tons of exercise materials to go through, if you like things like that, this book is for you).
I gotta say that about 50% of the book is about self management on its own, while the rest of it is about Self Management in relation to leadership. Therefore, I think this book will be more useful for those who already have leadership positions.
For me the self management articles were very enjoyable, but the leadership articles always feel like a slap on my face—when I read books like this I always end up wondering. How the hell does one become a good person. I read all this, but there’s no way I can practice this.
April 24, 2020
Lately I have really struggled through fiction, so I thought it might be time to pick up a business book on a whim, like “hey, nothing can be as bad as the fiction I’ve been reading lately, let’s buy some total crap business book! “.
So imagine my surprise when I’m about halfway through the book and I read the article on “Managing your Energy”, when my perspective on my entire life and my relationship with “work” completely changed. I have never had such a shocking personal revelation from any article or book or movie. I read the article three times, journaled about it, thought about it for days, and then literally wrote myself a set of rules (guidelines, really) on what my life would now look like. And I embraced it immediately and with profound results.
I bought a few copies of the book and distributed to friends/colleagues. So. That was interesting.
So imagine my surprise when I’m about halfway through the book and I read the article on “Managing your Energy”, when my perspective on my entire life and my relationship with “work” completely changed. I have never had such a shocking personal revelation from any article or book or movie. I read the article three times, journaled about it, thought about it for days, and then literally wrote myself a set of rules (guidelines, really) on what my life would now look like. And I embraced it immediately and with profound results.
I bought a few copies of the book and distributed to friends/colleagues. So. That was interesting.
April 6, 2023
Dated advice
A lot of the practices that this book recommends are those that have become mainstays of the modern corporate culture and environment. On average the essays are at least 16-20 years old.
Some of the advice on personal management and organization can be relevant but is now also managed through a lot of journaling apps, therapists and other support communities. There's also a sense of Serving the Corporation's interests which underlies some of the essays, and that attitude hasn't necessarily aged well in a business climate geared towards more entrepreneurship.
A lot of the practices that this book recommends are those that have become mainstays of the modern corporate culture and environment. On average the essays are at least 16-20 years old.
Some of the advice on personal management and organization can be relevant but is now also managed through a lot of journaling apps, therapists and other support communities. There's also a sense of Serving the Corporation's interests which underlies some of the essays, and that attitude hasn't necessarily aged well in a business climate geared towards more entrepreneurship.
November 22, 2020
Interestingly structured and largely intended more for an “executive“ audience, nonetheless I found tidbits to be useful.
In particular, several sections align and examine evaluating time usage in accordance with priorities and tips on validating that you present to peers in the same way that you feel. Additionally, tips for mental roadblocks that prevent top performance are spread throughout.
I’ll also add that the book lends itself particularly well to ongoing and inconsistent reading as it has very helpful summaries of each chapter and asides. It would be easy to maintain as an ongoing reference when anecdotes/strategies are needed for situations you may face.
In particular, several sections align and examine evaluating time usage in accordance with priorities and tips on validating that you present to peers in the same way that you feel. Additionally, tips for mental roadblocks that prevent top performance are spread throughout.
I’ll also add that the book lends itself particularly well to ongoing and inconsistent reading as it has very helpful summaries of each chapter and asides. It would be easy to maintain as an ongoing reference when anecdotes/strategies are needed for situations you may face.
February 19, 2019
Quick collection of essays detailing ways to improve your professional and personal lives.
"Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey?" is well worth reading for the insight there alone. After being challenged in "Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life", I'm going to implement a small life experiment. There were a few other essays in this book that are strong (but not as revelatory as the other two).
I'd recommend this to anyone looking to improve their work/personal life. Solid all around
"Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey?" is well worth reading for the insight there alone. After being challenged in "Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life", I'm going to implement a small life experiment. There were a few other essays in this book that are strong (but not as revelatory as the other two).
I'd recommend this to anyone looking to improve their work/personal life. Solid all around
September 6, 2021
So were I reading this as a corporate head, per the design, it probably would have been a 5-star experience. But I'm not and it was useful - at least the initial articles were, but the last three or four were for scanning. Can't hate on them providing the rundown of each in brief so one knows what is useful or worth reading in depth. I'd still recommend it because it is about directing one's actions in meaningful, self-owning ways. To say there's a shortage of that in business is the understatement of understatements.
April 3, 2023
All very good articles. I was torn between a 4 and 5 for this compilation. Some articles were clearly 5's for me some 4's. Only one 3.
Ultimately this had many great concepts to apply to your professional and personal life and even gave me some new insights into how my own mind functions at work.
Ultimately this had many great concepts to apply to your professional and personal life and even gave me some new insights into how my own mind functions at work.
August 27, 2024
çoğu örnek c-level ve üzeri için olsa da delegasyon, psikoloji ve zaman yönetimi, ruh hali üzerine düşünceler gerçekten iyiydi.
hbr'yi pop-business kitapları olarak konumlandırmıştım ve ön yargılıydım. konuyla ilgili olanlar gönül rahatlığıyla okuyabilir.
hbr'yi pop-business kitapları olarak konumlandırmıştım ve ön yargılıydım. konuyla ilgili olanlar gönül rahatlığıyla okuyabilir.
February 24, 2018
People say you can only choose one realm of your several realms in life, choosing your work or your social life. That's wrong based on this book. Completed with how to, makes this book as the right choice. Looking forward to grabbing other HBR's 10 Must Reads series.
July 28, 2019
Loved it as much or even more as I’ve enjoyed this edition. All the information is pilled up in useful and relatable/applicable schemes for upgrading our work efficiency and company contribution.
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