The difference to the bottom line in monetary terms between a new manager with extremely poor performance and his or her counterpart who performs at an outstanding level, can be as much as $101,000 (£50,000). This difference can increase to a staggering $1 million for a middle manager (as reported by Professor Nikos Bozionelos of the Durham Business School in Management Issues, Sept 07)

Do organisations realise this? Bob Selden, author of a new book “What To Do When You Become The Boss”, has found in his consulting with varied organisations across five continents that “Despite the obvious impact an ineffective manager has on the organisation’s profitability, many still pay little attention to training and supporting supervisors and managers, particularly in their first managerial role. The general contention is that because the new manager was probably an excellent technical or professional operator, they will automatically make a good manager.”

“What To Do When You Become The Boss” has been primarily written to help the new manager settle in and become both effective and efficient in his or her new role.

“But it should also be a great boost to organisations who are keen to improve their bottom line. Not only are good managers more productive than their counterparts, but an effective manager who also shows good leadership skills, can have a major impact on both their direct reports and indeed their peers”, Selden proposed. “Training and developing new managers can be a lot cheaper and more productive, and certainly more motivating, than many of the endless cost cutting measures organisations seem to currently embark on.”

This book is unique. Readers are directed to specific areas according to their individual learning style. So even those who do not normally read books find it easy (for example with summaries, or tips on how to get others involved in their learning) to gain some very important management and leadership lessons. The author also cunningly recommends only the first two chapters as essential reading! Other chapters can be read and used as needed – for example, “How to select the right person for the role”, or an interesting one that catches the eye “How to select your new boss”. For the new manager, this book becomes a very time efficient way of learning how to lead and manage. And for budget minded organisations, at $24.95 it’s far cheaper than traditional training courses.

“What To Do When You Become The Boss” engages the reader. The chapters are short, yet each has a comprehensive checklist that shows the new manager how to implement good management and leadership concepts on a day to day basis. It’s a very practical read for all new managers, actually for all managers.