Cambridge Business Association
The First-Time Manager
Book

The First-Time Manager

The First Step to a Brilliant Management Career

Michael Morris
Kogan Page, 2005
First Edition: 1988
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Editorial Rating

7

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  • Applicable

Recommendation

If you’re about to become a manager for the first time and aren’t really sure what you’re getting into, author Michael Morris’ book is required reading. It provides a wealth of information and insight into your new job. Likewise, if you are a first-time manager and you’re floundering a bit, read this to see how to turn your new career around and become successful. getAbstract.com also recommends it to anyone who is considering an executive career. Here’s a sneak peak into what you can expect as a member of management.

Summary

You’ve Been Promoted! Congratulations (Maybe)

As soon as you hear that you’ve been promoted to a managerial position, bone up on the difference between being an employee and being a boss. To make a smooth transition, you must understand that:

  • You are no longer responsible only for what you do; you are responsible for what others do individually and collectively, and for getting them to achieve the results that upper management expects. That’s what you’re getting paid to accomplish.
  • The acceptable ways of getting these results may change over time or differ between companies. Often these methods are not written policies, but are political, tacit "understandings" of "how things work around here."
  • Official written rules may be outdated, incomplete or very different from actuality.
  • You must acquire a basic knowledge of human relations and behavioral psychology.
  • Quickly ascertain and navigate the political arena. Corporate cultures vary, but before you try to change the culture, you must assimilate with the culture that exists.

Managers get paid for results, not hours. No matter how challenging, your job is to overcome...

About the Author

Michael Morris is a columnist for Better Business magazine and the author of Starting a Successful Business. An authority on management and other business issues, he consults with small companies, teaches college business courses and writes for business schools.

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