A Note to the Reader

“READ ME FIRST”

This book is written for everyone interested in the practice of managing—managers themselves, people who work with managers (in selection, assessment, and development, etc.), and others who want to understand managing better (scholars, teachers, students, other nonmanagers). All have different needs, so let me offer some guidance.

Please note first that I have highlighted key sentences throughout this book in boldface, to serve as a running summary of its main points. (There are no summaries in the introduction or conclusion to each chapter; in my view, these boldface sentences do it more effectively and no less efficiently, by being embedded in the text that they summarize.) If you are one of those busy managers described in Chapter 2, or anyone else short of time, you can use these sentences to follow the thread of the argument, probing around the points you find of greatest interest.

The first two chapters of this book are its shortest and sharpest: they set the tone. The next two are longer and more involved, because they address the substance of managing, which is no simple matter. And the last two, of intermediate length, are more applied and in places more fun—at least for me to write and I hope for you to read. A few words on each follow.

Chapter 1: Managing Ahead This introduces the book and my view of managing. I suggest you read all of this.

Chapter 2: The Dynamics of Managing This should be easy reading—or scanning, for that matter. You might wish to give special attention to the last section, on “The Impact of the Internet” (starting on page 34).

Chapter 3: A Model of Managing This is a more intricate chapter, presenting what I see as the essence of managing. You can get a good sense of it from the boldface sentences, but I cannot single out any special section; as I conclude, this is a model whose components cannot be isolated. Readers who know little about managing will find Chapters 2 and 3 the most helpful.

Chapter 4: The Untold Varieties of Managing This was the toughest chapter to write and perhaps also to read—because, I like to believe, of the sheer varieties of managing. Again, the boldface sentences can help. The second-to-last section, on the “Postures of Managing” (starting on page 133), pull the ideas of this chapter together. A number of controversial points in this chapter, especially about the failure of ostensibly key factors (such as culture and personal style) to explain much of what managers do (from pages 102 and 121, respectively), may be of special interest to researchers and specialists in management development.

Chapter 5: The Inescapable Conundrums of Managing I had a great time writing this chapter and suspect that you may especially enjoy reading it, particularly if you are a manager and so live with these things every day. This is the most applied chapter of the book; hence, managers, especially those who think there is some kind of magic bullet, should read this carefully.

Chapter 6: Managing Effectively Much of this chapter should be easy and enjoyable reading, especially the opening on “The Inevitably Flawed Manager” (starting on page 196) and the closing on “Managing, Naturally” (page 232), as well as the discussion of “Where Has All the Judgment Gone?” (page 225). People who advise and support managers may wish to pay special attention to the section on “Selecting, Assessing, and Developing Effective Managers” (page 219).

Appendix This describes a day in the life of eight of the managers discussed in the book. Full descriptions of all twenty-nine days observed, and my conceptual interpretations of them, are presented at www.mintzberg-managing.com.