Contents

Managing your team  1

• Get them emotionally involved  4
• Know what a team is and how it works  6
• Set realistic targets - no, really realistic  9
• Hold effective meetings - no, really effective  11
• Make meetings fun  15
• Make your team better than you  17
• Set your boundaries  19
• Be ready to prune  21 
• Offload as much as you can – or dare  23
• Let them make mistakes  25
• Accept their limitations 27
• Encourage people 29
• Be very, very good at finding the right people  31 
• Take the rap 33
• Give credit to the team when it deserves it  35 
• Get the best resources for your team  37
• Celebrate 39
• Keep track of everything you do and say  41
• Be sensitive to friction 43
• Create a good atmosphere 45
• Inspire loyalty and team spirit  47
• Fight for your team  49
• Have and show trust in your staff  51
• Respect individual differences  53
• Listen to ideas from others 55
• Adapt your style to each team member  57
• Let them think they know more than you (even if they don't)  59
• Don't always have to have the last word  61
• Understand the roles of others  62
• Ensure people know exactly what is expected of them  64
• Use positive reinforcement motivation  66
• Don't try justifying stupid systems  68
• Be ready to say yes  70
• Train them to bring you solutions, not problems  72

Managing yourself  75

• Get it done/work hard  78 
• Set an example/standards  80
• Enjoy yourself  82
• Don't let it get you down  84
• Know what you are supposed to be doing  85
• Know what you are actually doing  88
• Be proactive, not reactive  89
• Be consistent  91
• Set realistic targets for yourself - no, really realistic  92
• Have a game plan, but keep it secret  94
• Get rid of superfluous rules  96
• Learn from your mistakes  98
• Be ready to unlearn - what works changes  100
• Cut the crap - prioritize  102
• Cultivate those in the know  104
• Know when to kick the door shut  106
• Fill your time productively and profitably  108
• Have a Plan B and a Plan C
• Capitalize on chance - be lucky, but never admit it  112
• Recognize when you're stressed  114
• Manage your health  116
• Be prepared for the pain and pleasure  118 
• Face the future  120
• Head up, not head down  122
• See the wood and the trees  124
• Know when to let go  126
• Be decisive, even if it means being wrong sometimes  128
• Adopt minimalism as a management style  130
• Visualize your blue plaque  132
• Have principles and stick to them  134
• Follow your intuition/gut instinct  136
• Be creative  138
• Don’t stagnate  140
• Be flexible and ready to move on  142
• Rememeber the object of the exercise  144
• Remember that none of us has to be here  146
• Go home 148
• Keep learning - especially from the opposition  150
• Be passionate and bold  152
• Plan for the worst, but hope for the best  154
• Let the company see you are on their side  156
• Don’t bad-mouth your boss  158
• Don't bad-mouth your team  160
• Accept that some things the bosses tell you to do will be completely wrong  162
• Accept that the bosses are as scared as you are at times  164
• Avoid straitjacket thinking  166
• Act and talk as if one of them  168
• Show you understand the viewpoint of underlings and overlings  170 
• Don’t back down - be prepared to stand your ground  172
• Don’t play politics  174
• Don’t slag off other managers  176
• Share what you know  178
• Don’t intimidate  179
• Be above interdepartmental warfare  181
• Show that you'll fight to the death for your team  183
• Aim for respect rather than being liked  185
• Do one or two things well and avoid the rest  187
• Seek feedback on your performance  189
• Maintain good relationships and friendships  191
• Build respect – both ways – between you and your customers  193
• Go the extra mile for your customers  195
• Be aware of your responsibilities and stick to your principles  197
• Be straight at all times and speak the truth  199 
• Don’t cut corners – you’ll get found out  201
• Be in command and take control  203
• Be a diplomat for the company  205

End game  207

Author

Richard Templar is the author of the international bestseller Rules of Work. Richard's later career has included both senior managerial roles in different sectors and starting up businesses. His managerial experiences have been dissected and analysed enabling him to pick out the secret rules that separate the brilliant managers from the average and the downright poor.

Reviews

“…a noble attempt to cut through this complexity and distil it down to some simple, memorable axioms… Could serve as a wake up reminder to a manager caught in the drama and complexity of a difficult managerial situations.”

- Management Today

"As a writer, he has a literary charisma that jumps off the pages and is sure to win round the hardest of rule breakers with its sheer hilarity. Whether your a manager yourself or have one, Templar's advice is relevant to all who work with people or deal with customers" - Accounting Technician