Hard-Won Wisdom: True Stories from the Management Trenches

From dealing with underperformers to fighting off lawsuits, employee problems are the bane of a manager's existence. So what do most do? Ignore them!

And that's a recipe for more problems. Written by a seasoned HR expert and employment attorney, Hard-Won Wisdom takes you inside the messy reality of situations gone wrong, including:

• A joking comment taken as a command
• An email exchange that escalates ridiculously out of control
• A request for confidentiality that backfires in a big way
• The right employee...fired the wrong way
• The wrong employee...hired the right way

These sometimes funny, always cautionary tales reinforce crucial lessons for managers. From failing to give feedback and withholding key information to exercising poor judgment and making faulty assumptions, every story highlights the role management plays in exacerbating (or easing) trouble.

And each story suggests simple strategies to turn the situation around. The memorable lessons help managers motivate underachievers, defuse angry employees, discipline without inviting legal action--and handle every tricky-people issue they simply can't avoid.

About the Author

Jathan Janove, Principal of Janove Organization Solutions, describes himself as an “organizational interventionist.” He works with employers to identify their core needs and objectives, and helps plan and execute “interventions”—action plans that produce lasting positive change. Depending on the client’s goals, his services include strategic planning and consulting, executive coaching, facilitation, team building, leadership, management, and HR and conflict resolution skills training. More information can be found here: www.jathanjanove.com.

Jathan’s most recent book is HARD-WON WISDOM: TRUE STORIES FROM THE MANAGEMENT TRENCHES, about which Marshall Goldsmith, best-selling author and world-renowned business coach said, “If you want a front-row seat to observe workplace behavior in all its intricacy and variety, read this insightful book.” And of which best-selling author Daniel H. Pink said, “Jathan Janove has loads of stories to tell, and fortunately for us, he tells many of his best in HARD-WON WISDOM. By sharing his experiences, he creates a short-cut for us to the knowledge needed to become an empathetic, effective leader in the workplace. Let his wisdom work for you.”

Jathan’s other books include MANAGING TO STAY OUT OF COURT: HOW TO AVOID THE 8 DEADLY SINS OF MISMANAGEMENT, which Dr. Stephen R. Covey described as “Marvelous! Every manager will benefit immensely,” and which Richard Drezen of the Washington Post described as “an extraordinarily useful book for managers and workers.” He also wrote THE STAR PROFILE: A MANAGEMENT TOOL TO UNLEASH EMPLOYEE POTENTIAL, which won the Independent Publishers' Gold Medal for Business at Book Expo America 2009.