Tough Management

Chuck Martin has written a straightforward book predominantly based upon data gathered by his company, NFI Research, in two years of research involving 2,000 managers and executives worldwide. The business world portrait he paints isn’t rosy: companies continually ask managers to do more with less. Most managers and executives work more than 50 hours a week, and the marketplace constantly heats up the pressure to perform better. Under such difficult circumstances, Martin advises managers to get tough by exercising a solid set of seven specific skills. Ironically the list ends with, "Don’t be a tough guy," meaning that stressed-out managers should strive for work-life balance. The book would be even stronger if it cited prior work on the pros and cons of being tough in the workplace. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X and Y, and William Ouchi’s subsequent Theory Z are two classics that come to mind. getAbstract.com finds that this book provides useful - albeit bleak - insights into contemporary corporate management, and recommends its sound advice to managers.