Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-301) and index.

"This comprehensive guide is an essential primer for managers who seek to develop the skills and capabilities that will help them excel in a complex business world. From hiring and retaining good people to motivating and developing team members, from understanding key financial statements to delegating work effectively, and from setting goals for others to managing your own career, the actionable advice in this guide will help you stay at the top of your game"--Jacket. pt. 1. Learning the basics -- 1. Setting goals that others will pursue : committing to an outcome -- Begin with strategy -- Top-down or bottom-up? -- Characteristics of effective goals -- Developing unit goals -- Prioritizing -- Your goals as manager -- Four steps to accomplishing goals -- Periodic review -- After-action review -- Summing up -- 2. Hiring the best : the role of human assets -- Defining job requirements -- Recruiting promising candidates -- Interviewing -- Evaluating the candidates -- Making the decision and offer -- Don't forget process improvement -- Summing up -- 3. Keeping the best : why retention matters -- Retention matters -- Why people stay -- Why people leave -- Market-wise retention -- General strategies for retention -- The role of work-life balance -- Summing up -- 4. Delegating with confidence : avoid being overworked and overwhelmed -- Benefits of delegating -- Warning signs -- Guidelines for effective delegating -- Approaches to delegation -- Preparing to delegate -- Making the assignment -- Control, monitoring, and feedback -- After-action review -- Summing up -- 5. Managing your time : making the most out of your day -- Understanding how you spend your time -- Let your goals guide your way -- Scheduling your time -- Three enemies of time management, and how to defeat them -- Summing up. pt. 2. Reaching the next level -- 6. Managing teams : forming a team that makes the difference -- Teams, and when to use them -- Characteristics of effective teams -- Designing the team -- Operating as a team -- The leader's role -- Evaluating team performance -- Becoming an effective team leader -- Summing up -- 7. Appraisal and coaching : improving results with feedback -- Performance appraisal -- Coaching -- Summing up -- 8. Handling problem employees : motivating or letting go -- Principles of motivation -- The feedback approach -- Handling "C" performers -- When all else fails : handling a dismissal -- Summing up -- 9. Dealing with crises : don't wait until they hit -- What is a crisis? -- Avoiding the crisis -- Preparing to manage the crisis -- Recognizing the crisis -- Containing the crisis -- Resolving the crisis -- Learning from the crisis -- Frequently asked questions -- Summing up -- 10. Developing your career : and theirs -- Not just up -- First, know yourself -- Your core business interests -- Your work values -- Your skills -- Finding development opportunities at your company -- Career development for your people -- Summing up -- 11. Becoming a leader : the final challenge -- The challenge of contemporary leadership -- Characteristics of effective leaders -- The tensions leaders must balance -- Crafting a vision that others will follow -- Be a change agent -- Leading when you're not the boss -- Summing up -- 12. Strategy : a primer -- What is strategy? -- Steps for formulating strategy -- Be prepared for change -- Summing up. pt. 3. Mastering the financial tools -- 13. Budgeting : seeing the future -- What is budgeting? -- Budget functions -- Types of budgets -- The master budget -- The human side of budgeting -- Summing up -- 14. Understanding financial statements : making more authoritative decisions -- Why financial statements? -- The balance sheet -- The income statement -- The cash flow statement -- Where to find it -- Summing up -- 15. Net present value and internal rate of return : accounting for time -- Time value, and why it matters -- Calculating return on investment -- Net present value -- Internal rate of return -- Summing up -- 16. Breakeven analysis and operating leverage : understanding cash flow -- Operating leverage -- Summing up -- Appendix A. Useful implementation tools -- Appendix B. Legal landmines in hiring -- Notes -- Glossary -- For further reading -- Index.