Free PDF of "How to Be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy" to 98 Readers

Harvard Business Online charges a pretty penny for articles and cases; indeed, although their prices annoy me at times, I also admire them because they produce and publish a lot of high-quality and original content, and actually get people and companies to pay for it -- something that many other organizations are now struggling to do.  The author in me likes that, even if the consumer in me does not.  One nice thing they do for authors is to create a link that allows us to give away 100 copies of a PDF version to anyone we want.  As I said earlier in the week, I want to give the copies to readers of Work Matters.  If you want a copy of "How to Be a Good Boss in a Bad Economy," please go here to download it:

http://custom.hbsp.com/b01/en/implicit/p.jhtml?login=SUTT052609S&pid=R0906E

Also, I would be grateful if you limited yourself to a single copy so that more people can get one. Finally, when these run out, you can read the opening of the article and buy the rest here; and if you want to see an interview with me about the article at the McKinsey site, check out Good Boss, Bad Times.

Comments

[Deepak Pandhi]

Dear Professor Sutton,

Thanks so much for the article. Have bought today "The No Asshole Role" locally and have ordered my copy of your new work "Good Bosses, Bad Bosses..." from amazon.com through courier. Look forward to reading it.

Best,

Deepak
Gurgaon
India

[Felipe Schaerer]

Thank you for sharing your work! I was impressed that after a year the link is still working.

I have to say that the cookie experiment made me laugh, I found it both funny and clever. Great article, definitely a must read!

[Thomas]

It is good for the military too. Thank you very much for writing this GREAT article!

[Joe Ranft]

Hi Bob. I'm psyched that I snagged a copy - even though I'm not a boss any more. -Joe

[dblwyo]

Bob, muchas gracias mi amigo ! Waited to see if everybody would snap them up too. An excellent, pointed, constructive and compassionate article. HIGHLY recommended.
However, I do have a major quibble. This is in fact what managers signed up for. When times are good is not when leadership is most required - it is when they are turbulent.
Prof. Peter Drucker:
"To be a manager requires more than a title, a big office, and other outward symbols of rank. It requires competence and performance of a high order. But does the job demand genius ? Is it done by intuition or method ? How does the manager do his work ?
A manager has two specific tasks. The first is creation of a true whole that is larger than the sum of its parts, a productive entity that turns out more than the sum of the resources put into it....This task requires the manager to make effective whatever strength there is in his resources - above all in the human resources - and neutralize whatever there is of weakness. This is the only way in which a genuine whole can be created.
It requires the manager to balance and harmonize major functions of the business enterprise: managing a business; managing worker and work; and managing the enterprise in community and society. A decision or action that satisfies a need in one of these functions by weakening performance in another weakens the whole enterprise. A decision or action must always be sound in all three areas."

One of the finest things one of my teams ever said about me is, "you say what you mean and mean what you say". Sadly, like your two-stepping typical managers I don't met my own standards but did in that case.
The point being that it's time for the executives to earn their pay.

[Cameron S.]

Thanks Bob! Good article.

Cameron S.

[E.]

Awfully nice of you Professor. Thanks!

[Steve Mullen]

Thanks Bob! Looking forward to reading it.

[Zack Grossbart]

I hated going to the dentist as a young child. Out of compassion, my mother wouldn't tell me when these trips were planned. She just picked me up from school and drove me to the office. She didn't want me to worry in advance, but she traded that for me worrying all the time.

I understand why company managers want to withhold potentially bad news as long as possible. I've even been in situations where managers don't share good news for fear of distracting people from the current project. The truth is that no news is more of a distraction and worry than bad news.

Thank you for the useful and insightful article.

[Steve Gaines]

Wow Bob. I'm diligently resisting the temptation to Re-Tweet and pass along this outstanding article!

Of particular note: the dangers of silence, and celebrating small victories (something I just happened to write about yesterday). Those two concepts, so oft violated in rough going, can make such a huge difference in the workplace when recognized.

I also found the "cookie study" to be amazingly enlightening in its simplicity.

Outstanding information. Thank you for sharing with those of us swift enough to act!

[ovidiov]

Muchas gracias por compartirlo con nosotros. Thank you very much for shanring it with us

[Varadarajan]

Appreciate your gesture Bob,
look forward to reading the article over the week end .
best
Rajan

[Shane Twomey]

Thanks Bob. Great article.

[Zack Grossbart]

I grabbed one of them. I'm looking forward to reading it. Thanks

[Chris]

Thank you, Bob, and thanks to HBR!

[Michael F. Martin]

Thanks for sharing