New book review for Dr. Peeling's Principles of Management: Practical Advice for the Front-Line Manager, by Nic Peeling, Dorset House, 2003, reposted here:
The aspect of this text that originally drew my attention was that it is published by Dorset House, which has still yet to disappoint after reading several of their books, including "Waltzing with Bears: Managing Risk on Software Projects", by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister, as well as "The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully" and "More Secrets of Consulting: The Consultant's Tool Kit", both by Gerald M. Weinberg (see my reviews for all of these books). However, I admittedly was not sure what to expect from this text, even though it is subtitled "Practical Advice for the Front-Line Manager", because of the name "Dr. Peeling" within the title, a name of which I was not familiar.
Like me, the author works in a technical field, and although Peeling presents his management principles from the perspective of managing technical people, these principles can be applied to non-technical fields as well. Potential readers might want to keep in mind that this book is intended to be practical. The author explains in his introduction that after being thrust into management, he came up empty handed while searching for books that explain the basic theory and practice of management. "What I did not find were books that encapsulated best practice for someone facing management responsibilities for the first time. By the time I found such a book, I was well into my management career and had learned enough to know that I did not agree with much of what it contained."
The content of this book follows the journey of the author through management, and seeks to present what the author wishes he had known when he first found himself in a management role. Topics include managing people as individuals, managing problem staff and staff problems, managing people in teams - leadership principles, managing the practice of team leadership, project management, managing different types of staff, managing team culture, managing a failing team, organizing your team (and yourself), managing your universe, managing people outside your organization, revisiting common management themes, and managing in the real world.
While Peeling views himself to be a competent manager, he also views himself at best as only an average project manager, so the potential reader needs to keep in mind that although the advice that the author provides can be applied to a broader scope of individuals than originally envisioned, because there are substantial differences between management and project management not tied to a specific project, his chapter on project management is only a brief introduction. Plenty of books that focus on project management are readily available in the marketplace, so if the potential reader is looking for project management focus, it is advised to go elsewhere.
However, as a consultant who serves in leadership and project management roles while architecting and developing systems and software, I can attest to the fact that there is enough relevant material here to recommend to others seeking an alternative perspective to what might be found in other texts. And in addition, because the content of this book is shared by a manager, Peeling also provides a number of take-aways that the consultant might find useful to keep in mind when working with managers on client engagements. And somewhat reminiscent of Gerald M. Weinberg, Peeling periodically presents tangible rules throughout, such as "The Golden Rule of Management, which states that "You will be judged by your actions, not by your words, and your actions shall set the example of your team to follow."
Chapters that I especially appreciate include Chapter 9, "Organizing Your Team (and Yourself)" and Chapter 10, "Managing Your Universe". In the former, the author recommends, for example, to "reduce your level of perfectionism on appropriate tasks", and that "two roles you might want to delegate are those of operations manager and routine personnel manager." In the latter, the author offers, in his own words, "the hard-won experience of my own mistakes." He writes, for example, to "remember that managerial incompetence is much more prevalent than conspiracy", and offers several recommendations with regard to managing office politics. And his brief instruction to "accommodate benign neglect" is one of the best take-aways for me personally.