Book Review
Book Title: Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World
Author: Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
List Price: $30.00
Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
Publication Date: April 2019
ISBN: 978-1-63369-630-3
Reviewer: Sharon Harris, PMP
Review Date: November 2019
Introduction
“A Freethinkers Guide to the Real World: Nine Lies about Work” is a very intriguing read that takes generally accepted practices in the workplace and challenges them with well-stated truths. This is an excellent book for leaders at all levels of experience and is designed to present the lies of current practices, determine how leaders may begin to challenge these lies with truths, and then re-engage those they lead.
The well-researched information is presented in a format that allows the reader to relate to the topic through the use of real world situations and applications. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and challenging my perspective regarding commonly accepted work place “lies”
Overview of Book’s Structure
The book is arranged in 9 chapters with each chapter listing one of the associated 9 lies and the corresponding truth. The lies are well known concepts in today’s workplace such as lie #1 – people care which company they work for, lie #5 – people need feedback, or the one I related to most which was lie #8 – work life balance matters most.
Each of these lies on the surface sounds like a well-meaning concept intended to benefit those we lead, but when the authors unpack the lie and provide the associated truth, they clearly dig deeper to what is the true driver behind each of these statements.
The stories used throughout the book engage the reader in a relatable manner and offer meaningful situations which allow the lie and associated truth to be better understood.
The summary list of 9 truths at the back of the book was a great synopsis and helped correlate with the 9 lies presented. I also appreciated the information regarding the engagement studies available in the appendices of the book as this helped clarify how the conclusions were derived and the book developed.
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About the Reviewer
Sharon Harris
North Texas, USA
Sharon Harris is currently a project manager with a biomedical company. Prior to taking on the project manager role, she was a laboratory director in a clinical and anatomic pathology lab for over 15 years. Sharon is a certified lean six sigma green belt and PMP. She holds a BS in Medical Technology and an MS in Immunohematology with her Specialty in Blood Banking.
Sharon can be contacted at Sharon.Harris@Grifols.com
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