Introduction
One of the more daunting tasks assigned to managers is influencing the behavior of others in a direction that is favorable to their organization: getting a group of individuals, each of whom is psychologically complex and highly idiosyncratic, to work together toward a common goal. In essence, management is managing behavior, and it's a critical first step to understand human behavior itself. That is the primary lesson of this book.
Harnessing Energy
The authors refer to management as "harnessing the energy" of people as in the present day management is about guiding people toward a destination. This is a significant shift from previous ages in which managers commanded and controlled workers in a very granular fashion and it's evident that a good many traditional managers need to be directed, themselves, toward a more productive method of dealing with their subordinates and even their peers.
To that end, the authors mean to guide the reader to the following behaviors:
- Understand the theories of human behavior and motivation
- Recognize that each person is unique and a standard pattern will not be effective in all cases
- Consider your own behaviors and the underlying causes
- Investigate the motivations of others to explain their behavior
- Identify the manner in which people in an organization are interconnected and interdependent
- Develop an "action plan" to modify behaviors that may be hindering progress and empower workers to be productive.
The authors will present a number of methods for doing so, including tools and worksheets, but concede that this is merely one methodology and other tactics may be as effective or more effective.
The Course Design
The authors consider this book to be a "self-study course" that teaches practical skills to managers, who look to leverage the theory of human behavior to motivate others to behave in functional and productive ways. They promise to avoid delving into the finer points of theory, but encourage readers to explore it in other sources.
The book is organized around three guiding principles for management, motivation, and influence:
- Understand the individuals (yourself and others)
- Influencing behavior effectively
- Regarding the organization as a complex system
These principles form a basis for management that will be presented in the course, but are merely a starting point and a foundation on which a manager should continue to build throughout his career.