The Neil Johnston Book
This book is currently in development. If you would like to know when it’s released please leave your email address using the form to the right and I will notify you when its available for purchase.
Introduction
This book is unique among management books. It deals with management techniques learned from actually dealing with troubled workgroups. This book did not originate from an academic approach. It came from my dream to get better results in the shortest possible time, it is a summary of my trial and error and my persistent challenge to learn and improve.
In a long career addressing management and problems in management I have had projects that failed and some that succeeded. It is from the failures and the recovery that I have learned the most about good workable management strategies and that is the source of the material in this book.
This material works. It works because I struggled in my younger days to find why my projects based on my ‘perfect plan’ (using techniques based on orthodox management principles) did not work to my expectations. Even when my projects worked but did not work the way I intended, I still struggled to find why my expectations were not fulfilled.
Secondly, the material works because I have avoided following the leader. Think about this; most problems in management arise in a situation where both management and staff are following some order of management principles. The outcome is all too frequently a mess, but why?
The answer for me has come from wrestling with the problems of dysfunctional groups and persisting with analysis until the true causes of the problems are exposed and remedied. In some instances the analysis uncovers adverse or malignant behaviour in one or more group members and that may or may not involve the manager. If the adversary cannot be educated or persuaded to contribute positively to the group enterprise then the solution is: The negative impact is going to cease now! and this may mean ‘Your time is up! Square pegs in round holes should be relocated to square holes - either somewhere else in your organization or in another organization.
That means that I’m realistic; I don’t advocate trying to change the person who cannot be changed. But that’s rarely the case. Most people can be helped to new levels of contribution to the work group and in so doing become more fulfilled persons. Such people are the focus if this book.
I hope you enjoy this book and after experiencing what I have seen, felt, experienced, learned and, yes, suffered, you will have new impetus to build your own style of management, a style that really works for you.
Throughout the book I will include simple flowcharts of the steps I take and provide you a dot point summary of what I include at that step.
