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	The Launching Pad Volume 2, No. 1 Winter/Spring, 2008 Exclusively online at www.EducationHall.com Book Review In The One Thing You Need to Know...About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success, Marcus Buckingham leads off with an investigation of FOCUS. As a leader, a manager, or simply someone striving to be successful, one's focus, rather than well-roundedness, will lead to greater success. Buckingham, formerly with the Gallup Organization and co-author of bestsellers First, Break All the Rules and Now, Discover Your Strengths, stays true to his deep belief in the talents that we naturally hold as individuals. He takes us artfully through many interesting scenarios of people who have responded successfully to their own (as well as others') talents and strengths. Through these scenarios and a compilation of survey-based research, Buckingham shares the lessons we can learn about our strengths, focus, clarity, and discipline...and how they relate to our continued success. Great Managers Buckingham explains to us succinctly that the manager begins by focusing on the individual employee. The manager's mantra is "Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it" (p.83). This requires us, as managers, to have a sound picture of what talents are needed for the job - so we can select good people to begin with. A great manager does not try to mold each employee into a cookie-cutter version of the perfect worker. Instead, the great manager understands that individuals have unique talents and strengths. Buckingham teaches us how to know our employees and what actions great managers take in order to foster growth in people - in other words, how to transform talents into performance. Great Leaders The leader, by contract, starts with his image of the future. Rather than look for individual differences in employees, the great leader examines what all employees have in common, and uses that information to rally the troops towards a better future. The leader's mantra is "Discover what is universal and capitalize on it" (p.132). This necessitates that the leader has a vivid image of what the future could be, and compels the followers to ambitiously pursue that vision. This requires focus and clarity: clarity of the vision, clarity of the actions, clarity of reflection, clarity of communication, and clarity of success. According to Buckingham, "clarity is the preoccupation of an effective leader" (p.146). Sustained Individual Success In the third section, Buckingham brings us back to our strengths by suggesting that "The secret to sustained success lies in knowing which [actions] engage your strengths and which do not, and having the self-discipline to reject the latter" (p.218). Surprisingly, this philosophy is not unlike that which rules most toddlers: it's the "I don't want to do it" concept. In Buckingham's words, our mission is to cut out of our lives all of the activities or people that pull us off our strengths path. In complete support of this theory, the more we follow and capitalize on our talents and strengths, the more successful we will be for an increasingly enduring amount of time. Last take Marcus Buckingham, in the next installment of what has become a profoundly impactful series of leadership, management, and personal growth guides, has again fulfilled our expectations. Despite the fact that none of the ideas expressed in this volume are new and groundbreaking, we are again wowed by the readability, the anecdotes, and the common sense approach to some rather complicated ideas. As school leaders and lifelong learners, the messages are legitimate and practical. This is another text that merits a spot on your shelf. You can find The One Thing You Need to Know...About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success by Marcus Buckingham, and dozens of other school leadership and instructional titles, at the secure online bookstore: http://www.EducationHall.com/resources.htm.