Last year I had the opportunity of reading several business focused books and in doing so gained a great deal of insight. Some of the books were great while others were tough to get through. One of the books that was an enjoyable and relatively easy to read is titled “First Break All the Rules” by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.

The book, based on 25 years of research by the Gallop Organization is the product of interviews with over a million employees and eighty thousand managers. The writing is easy to follow and doesn’t leave you feeling like you’re up to your eyeballs in the really heavy stuff. Its strategies are applicable and it doesn’t try to mold you into the author’s view of a good manager. Alternatively, it coaches you to take advantage of your innate abilities and grow them for your own managerial success.

In the introduction to the book the Author states “…great managers do share one thing: Before they do anything else, they first break all the rules of conventional wisdom. They do not believe that a person can achieve anything he sets his mind to. They do not try to help a person overcome his weaknesses. They consistently disregard the Golden Rule. And, yes, they even play favorites.”

We have all restated the phrase; our employees are our greatest asset. Yet many of us don’t consider the variety of strategies we could implement in order to make the most use of that investment. Sure, we purchase benefits and provide bonuses but what do we do in order to maximize that daily efficiency/output of that asset. Based on my meetings with several small businesses over the years I’m sorry to say that most of us do nothing but expect the person to show up because “I give them a paycheck every two weeks…they should be grateful for that.” The first truth is, most employees I speak with are grateful to be employed and are certainly grateful for the paycheck. The second truth is, most employees can and would gladly give more output if their direct supervisor would manage them individually instead of managing the group for which they are a part.

As I read the book I was almost constantly underlining sections and taking notes in the margins because the content was applicable and provided real and workable strategies. One that stood out to me was “spend the most time with your best people” because I’ve seen companies that do this and have witnessed their superior performance. But, that’s just one of several great points that made this book worth the money and the time.

Happy reading.

Jake Lunt is the General Manager of the Idaho office of A Plus Benefits, Inc.