

Ask HN: Do you know any good books on management? - greatergoodguy

I've been working on my video game start-up company for a while now. Our team is a diverse group consisting of developers, artists, designers and an audio person. I have a background in software so I understand how to handle developers.<p>A concern of mine lately is that I realize I'm not leveraging my team member's full potential, particularly the non-programming roles.  Do you know of any books where I can gain some insight in management?
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Ovid
Particularly for the non-programming roles, I recommend the One Minute Manager
([http://www.amazon.com/The-Minute-Manager-Kenneth-
Blanchard/d...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Minute-Manager-Kenneth-
Blanchard/dp/0688014291)). This was written long before agile became a
"thing", but it was a way of managing effectively with very little effort.
It's a bit dated (my copy had advice about briefly putting your hand on the
employee's shoulder to let them know you really care about them. Do not do
this!)

Aside from that, here was my experience with the book back in the 1980s: I was
managing a small family entertainment center and I was working too hard and
was on the verge of being fired. I was told to buy the book. When I got done
with it, I applied what it said, I dramatically reworked procedures to be
clearer and simpler and found myself with too much time on my hands and the
center was much easier to run. I wound up going from being on the verge of
getting fired to getting multiple promotions and transfers to better
locations.

Some people don't like the book, claiming it's too simplistic, but it's short,
and both easy to remember and apply.

~~~
greatergoodguy
Thank you for your suggestion! It seems like there is no private messaging
function and I couldn't find your email but I wanted to thank you for your
help.

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ayers
I could not recommend Drive by Dan Pink[1] enough. It is not a book on
management but is very insightful into what motivates people. I believe this
is a great book for someone in a management position.

[1]: [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-
Motivat...](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-
Motivates/dp/184767769X/)

~~~
greatergoodguy
I greatly appreciate your suggestion! This looks great for being able to
understand my team members better and allowing them to reach their full
potential. A personal thank you from me for taking time to give me that
suggestion.

~~~
joshux
you can also see his TED talk video:
<http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html>

