Simply Managing: What Managers Do # and Can Do Better Paperback – Illustrated, September 2, 2013

Great and easy book to read .

Effective managing requires some blend of art, craft and science, whether in the person of the manager alone, or else in a management team that works together, according to Henry Mintzberg in this book. The book is described as a condensed version of the author's earlier book Managing, streamlined for busy managers.The author expresses a number of controversial views about managing, including:* Management is not something different from leadership* Management is a practice, not a profession or a science* The practice of management is not undergoing change* Managers have to become proficient at being superficial* Managers in jobs where they have little to do cause trouble* There is no such thing as a professional manager - who can effectively manage anything - because the abilities required of a manager depend on the job contextThroughout the book, the author insists that management cannot be taught in a classroom; it can only be learned on the job. Presumably, then, management cannot be learned by reading a book either, so what is the value in reading this book, and does it help you to become a better manager? According to the author, his objective is to help the reader to understand managing better, so the book focuses on describing management rather than explaining how to do it. The author describes chapter 5 as the most important, dealing with conundrums faced by managers, including:* Pressures to get things done inevitably prevent managers from addressing problems at a deep level* Pressures to get things done also mean there is inadequate time for planning, and strategic planning is rarely effective* It is very difficult to see the big picture and the little details all at the same time* The manager is supposed to stay in touch, but the very nature of managing causes disconnection* Managers have difficulty delegating because they are better informed than the people to whom they have to delegate* The quality of data on which the manager has to rely is never as good as could be desired* Managers try to bring order, but the practice of management is inherently chaotic* Managers need to be confident but not arrogant, and the borderline between the two is often difficult to findIf you are the type of manager who derives comfort from discovering that a management expert agrees that the difficulties you face in your daily job are indeed difficulties, then this is the book for you.

Henry Mintzberg presents the material in a practical manner and easy to understand format. I plan on using this book for a college class on Leadership & Supervison for new managers in the human service field. Mintzberg offers the reader a realistic view of the many challenges that are posed to a manager each day with the use of example throughout the book.

Dr. Mintzberg is a master at incisively recognizing and saying bitter non-intuitive truths in simple language. I have met and heard him at a conference, and have seen him lay out the fallacies of the mainstream management thought. This book is a remarkable distillation of a remarkable mind.

The book caters to managers or people interested in management. If you subscribe to the heroic leader theory this might not be what you are looking for, but what you ought to read.Strength: demystifies managingWeakness: a little "springy" in its narrative.

In writing this book, Mitzberg achieved something quite unique, teaching so much about something that, in his own words, can't be taught.The book debunks many management dogmas in a way that is difficult to argue with. Brillant.Being able to synthetize his own previous work on a more concise volume comprising the most significant highlights shows clearly Mintzenberg's prowess in talking to many kinds of audience.

If you have read something from Mintzberg before you gonna like it as much as you did the previous bits.If you have never read anything from him, than this is a must read author for managerial literature, the Jamie Olivier of management practice.

Well written.