Nine Lies about Work - by Marcus Buckingham & Ashley Goodall (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Strengths guru and bestselling author Marcus Buckingham and Cisco Team Intelligence head Ashley Goodall call out nine big lies running through our organizational lives, reveal the core truths of the real world of work, and inspire freethinking leaders everywhere.

• Provocative, cogent argument from bestselling author and practitioner coauthor.
• Witty, engaging narrative from two smart Brits.
• Supported by vivid examples and current research.
• Integrated with author/HBR community-building efforts.

Audience: Broad general audience of managers across industries and sectors, skewing a bit toward readers with an interest in talent, leadership development, performance measurement.

Review Quotes

"Nine Lies About Work, by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall, the year's best management book, challenges the assumptions that underlie contemporary managerial practices, many of which date back to Drucker's day. In doing so, the book offers a glimpse of a new management paradigm that may prove to be better suited to the times." -- strategy+business magazine

Named one of "Our 10 favorite new books for people managers" by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Managers)

One of the Financial Times "Business Books of the Month"

Named a Bloomberg Businessweek pick

Named one of "14 business books everyone will be reading in 2019" by Business Insider

Named one of "The 19 New Leadership Books to Read in 2019" by Adam Grant on LinkedIn

"Nine Lies is utterly readable, often entertaining, and not just polite, but carefully reasoned and argued using some unusual real-world examples and even some from literature." - Human Resource Executive (hrexecutive.com)

"leads to some free thinking about the way we do our jobs and how we can approach what we do in a different way." -- Financial Times

"If a business book teaches me something new--and offers a fresh perspective on leadership--then I know it's a rare find in the category. Nine Lies About Work is just such a book. It's so thought provoking, I contacted the authors to speak with them directly." -- Forbes

"...should be on every boss's bookshelf." -- Management Today

"a stimulating, no-nonsense, research-based look at things you likely believe that aren't true - and how to apply the new findings." -- The Globe and Mail

"The act of work is human. Leading and following and working together is about human interaction and human relationships. The workplace, and the marketplace beyond it, is about emotions and attention and the desire to be seen. It is about trust and, yes, it is about love. I am always grateful to be reminded of that, to see it again clearly, to have it acknowledged. Nine Lies About Work is a great reminder, and a great guide." -- 800 CEO READ

"Give a copy of this book to everyone in your organization who's leading a team and make it essential reading." -- The Hamilton Spectator

"If you're looking for a refreshing read that challenges the conventional wisdom of the business world, this is a book for your shelf." -- TD magazine (Association for Talent Development)

"There is much we can learn about managing and leading our schools from its pages." -- Inside Higher Ed

Advance Praise for Nine Lies About Work:

In today's complex world, we instinctively seek simplicity. But in many cases, it's easier to lie to ourselves than it is to face the harsh reality--to see more of what want to see than how things really are. In Nine Lies About Work, Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall shine a light on just how dangerous those lies can be, especially in the context of our careers. Combining engaging stories about the modern workplace with nuanced quantitative analysis, Nine Lies About Work debunks the myths that surround leadership, planning, and balance in the corporate world. Everyone who reads this book is sure to be a better employee, but more importantly, a better leader. -- Gen. Stan McChrystal (Ret'd), United States Army

About the Author

Marcus Buckingham is a global researcher and thought leader focused on unlocking people's strengths, increasing their performance, and pioneering the future of how people work. He is head of all people and performance research at the ADP Research Institute and the author of several bestselling books, including StandOut 2.0: Assess Your Strengths, Find Your Edge, Win at Work (Harvard Business Review Press).

Ashley Goodall is Senior Vice President of Leadership and Team Intelligence at Cisco. Previously he was Director and Chief Learning Officer, Leader Development, at Deloitte. He is the coauthor, with Marcus Buckingham, of two Harvard Business Review cover stories, Reinventing Performance Management, in April 2015 and The Feedback Fallacy, in March/April 2019.

Change the world of work. Join the coalition: freethinkingleader.org

Author social media/website info:
Buckingham: MarcusBuckingham.com, @mwbuckingham
Goodall: linkedin.com/in/ashleygoodall/, @littleplatoons