I'm nearly halfway through a galley of Bob Sutton's masterful new book, Good Boss, Bad Boss. This is going to be a blockbuster. It's a book we'll all want to devour and use. I'm already thinking about some bosses who'll want this book and planning it as a gift for them. These are men and women who are trying to become better bosses and I know they'll find this very helpful.
You could, I suppose, think of this as a sequel to his last blockbuster, The No Asshole Rule. But here, he sets out to contrast the differences between the best and worst bosses.
I really like the way Bob's wife set this up for him. A boss herself, she wants to know what a great boss looks like.
Some of you might be tempted to say that you know what a good boss is and what he/she would look like. I'm very, very skeptical of those comments. It's like saying you know what a good marriage or a good relationship looks like. I've been around the barn enough times to know that what a good marriage or a good relationship looks like to one person is not what it looks like to another. Instead a good marriage or a good relationship is good for both parties. Same with a good boss. She's a good boss for herself and a good boss for her subordinates.
You'll find a good boss spelled out in detail with plenty of evidence backing up the conclusions, and many highly useful recommendations.
Stay tuned. I'll be writing about this book on several occasions, teasing you with reasons to add it to your bookshelf and start putting its recommendations to work for yourself.
Good Boss, Bad Boss will be available on September 7.