You’re the Boss: Management Basics for the New Supervisor is a book on management written by my father, David Collette. It explains in simple terms and language the core principles that made him a successful manager, first in industry where he was in charge of Engineering Maintenance for Monsanto Chemical Company in Springfield, MA, and later at Mount Holyoke College in western Massachusetts.
David passed away shortly before this book was published. The family made a collaborative effort to edit, typeset and finalize the book for distribution through a print-on-demand vendor.
You’re the Boss is now available via print-on-demand. It will also be available at Amazon in the coming months. You can also read selections from the book here at Alfven.org before you buy.
Now through December 14 you can use coupon code BUYMYBOOK305 to get 25% off.
More about the book
David Collette wrote this book shortly after retiring from Mount Holyoke College, where he was director of Physical Facilities for fifteen years. During that time he was able to protect the Buildings and Grounds workforce from outsourcing and layoffs, and to create a group dedicated to their motto, “Better, Faster, Cheaper.” Part of the idea of “Better” for David was a workplace in which individuals were given the tools to get the job done; not just the physical tools, but authority, independence, and responsibility to set priorities and to achieve the larger goals of the group.
David believed passionately in the principle that people like to work, that work should be a source of happiness and pride, and that a happy workforce was also a productive one. His hope was to write a book that would be useful for those who were newly responsible for overseeing others, one that would be a useful tool to help them create a team of cooperative colleagues. His lifelong interest in management was centered in a philosophy of empowering the worker.
The book is designed to provide new ways of looking at the art of management for the experienced supervisor, especially one who is looking for ideas beyond the familiar, ideas such as how to measure success, motivate better workers, delegate for real and avoid the problems of hierarchical thinking. These tips come directly from David’s more than three decades of successfully managing and training people, in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, and in both union and non-union environments. The goal is to provide advice, much as a personal mentor would in the work place.
Written in simple English with a minimum of jargon, the book is designed to be read in about an hour, a format that limits analysis of each tip topic, but allows room to raise and consider a large number of topics. While no one has a lock on the perfect way to manage, the reader should be able to use the tips in these pages to help form the foundation of his or her own unique management style. Each chapter is written so that it can stand alone, which allows the reader to skip directly to a chapter of interest; for example, to solve a particular problem that has come up on the job. Also, because each chapter can be read in a few minutes, the book can be read during the normal breaks in a day.
Finally, this book is not meant to provide a complete philosophy behind a certain management style. Its premise is that the reader will review the tips and try to practice the ideas that fit the reader’s own style. It should be considered an idea generator, describing proven, successful ways of looking at the challenge of management