High Output Management

One of the best business books I've read in a long time. Short book, common sense and to the point. Written by Andrew Grove former CEO of Intel. I would challenge anyone to review their own workplace, their own work practices using some of Grove's ideas. Liked the simple idea on the manager's preparation for decision making: What decision needs to be made? English: Portrait of Andrew Grove. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) When does it have to be made? Who will decide? Who will need to be consulted prior to making the decision? Who will ratify or veto the dcision Who will need to be informed of the decision? Pity it does not happen more often. On meetings I think he is right: two types. Are we talking of a process oriented meeting (one-on-one, staff meetings, operations reviews) or a mission-oriented meeting? The discussion of hybrid organisations and dual reporting is straightforward and recognises the reality of how many businesses need to be structured. Liked the honesty of his section on performance appraisal. And his clarity on the importance of this process, the need for preparation and the rationale for the process in the first instance. Not sure I fully agreed with him on his views on trying to retain people who say they are going to leave. Finally - he is very clear on the manager's role and responsibility for training - including preparation and delivery of training. I would see this as a major failing with many managers in industry. And a major missed opportunity.

I came at this book from a different book and should have read this book first. The way Andy explains business is based in common sense and as a result it is so easy to understand. I can certainly recommend this book and once you have read this book try “Measure what matters” by John Doerr because it follows on from this book to explain about OKR’s, a tool that Andy Grove gave birth to!

A must read for anyone remotely interested in being a Leader. Despite Andy Grove's background in tech, this book is applicable in all areas of Management. If you are a leader in the tech industry you may be very familiar with OKR - the foundation of high performance culture at Google. Andy Grove is the father of OKR. Along with the many useful insights and examples, Andy introduces the reader to the MBO system - Management by Objectives. Understanding MBO will help you understand OKR. Rather than go on and on about all the valuable content jammed pack into this small book, I'm just going to tell you to pick it up and read it. It is worth every minute of your life!

I'm an avid reader, but this is the first book that has moved me to write a review. In summary it's brilliant and absolutely still 100% relevant. After finishing reading through the book, I immediately started re-reading it. In the forward by Ben Horowitz, he writes "First, in as little as one sentence, it lucidly explains concepts that require entire books from lesser writers. Second, it consistently uncovers brand-new management ideas or finds new insights into old standards. Finally, while most management books attempt to teach basic competency, High Output Management, teaches the reader how to be great." I think that's a really good summary. The first sentence is worth highlighting though. This book contains a ton of wisdom in 230 pages. If there's a flaw with the book, it's that it's too dense with wisdom. It's like an amazing teacher has condensed a full two-year Stanford MBA program into one small book. It is NOT a page turner (though he's a fine writer). There is so much in each page that you need to take breaks to think over what you just read before moving on. Regarding the forward, you can skip it the first time through. I think it's more useful as a summary review after reading through the book once.

Yes as most would mention the ideas come from a system based machine metaphor kind of thinking. Its how an Engineer and scientist works. However all the ideas are thought provoking and fully applicable in the current environment. I have used most of the ideas in the book and can vouch they work in my case. It is a constant process of doing, testing and improving. Hope you will find it practical and useful as well