This book is extremely easy to read from cover-to-cover and a lot of it is written depicting personal conversations between a new manager called Sam and his staff. Sam joins a Company and establishes himself as one of their best managers. He ensures the departments under him run properly and he interacts with others professionally. The book details meetings being held, review processes, goal setting and all manner of things that overall make this book a must-read for employees and employers alike within a large IT organisation.

My one gripe about the book is the number of references to other books at the end of every Chapter. This could perhaps have been left to the end of the book, thus making an easier read.

This book takes you behind closed doors, literally, and explains how to

• handle one-on-one meetings
• be a coach and mentor
• delegate effectively
• use feedback and goal-setting
• develop influence within an organization

The authors explain that, "Poor managers create the illusion of productivity through busy-ness; great managers accomplish goals and develop people. A great manager makes a huge difference in the bottom-line results and the quality of your work-life."

Pesonally, I found this book describes and provides effective solutions to common problems for new managers within an organization. And, as I have already said, the story format is great ... you take the journey with Sam and its a compelling read. In fact, I think the last time I couldn't put a book down it was "Silence of Lambs" ... not that Sam deals with his employees in the same manner as that book ... both books were very absorbing, in their own way.

This is my first Pragmatic Bookshelf book, so I found out a little about them ... The Pragmatic Bookshelf features books written by developers for developers. The titles continue the well-known Pragmatic Programmer style, and continue to receive awards and rave reviews ... A new resource for me and one I feel every developer should be tapping into.