Managing The Unmanageable

“Mantle and Lichty have assembled a guide that will help you hire, motivate, and mentor a software development team that functions at the highest level. Their rules of thumb and coaching advice are great blueprints for new and experienced software engineering managers alike.” —Tom Conrad, CTO, Pandora “I wish I’d had this material available years ago. I see lots and lots of ‘meat’ in here that I’ll use over and over again as I try to become a better manager. The writing style is right on, and I love the personal anecdotes.” —Steve Johnson, VP, Custom Solutions, DigitalFish All too often, software development is deemed unmanageable. The news is filled with stories of projects that have run catastrophically over schedule and budget. Although adding some formal discipline to the development process has improved the situation, it has by no means solved the problem. How can it be, with so much time and money spent to get software development under control, that it remains so unmanageable? In Managing the Unmanageable: Rules, Tools, and Insights for Managing Software People and Teams , Mickey W. Mantle and Ron Lichty answer that persistent question with a simple observation: You first must make programmers and software teams manageable. That is, you need to begin by understanding your people—how to hire them, motivate them, and lead them to develop and deliver great products. Drawing on their combined seventy years of software development and management experience, and highlighting the insights and wisdom of other successful managers, Mantle and Lichty provide the guidance you need to manage people and teams in order to deliver software successfully. Whether you are new to software management, or have already been working in that role, you will appreciate the real-world knowledge and practical tools packed into this guide.

In an increasingly globally diverse workforce, it's vitally important that leaders understand their team inside and out. This takes a new toolbox of skills for the 21st century. "Managing the Unmanageable" will give readers practical tips and proven techniques to show them how to develop new strategies for attracting and retaining the most talented employee before they become unmanageable, learn key words that will allow them to clearly communicate with every generation on their team, and much more.

The Public Sector: Managing the Unmanageable offers practical advice to public sector managers on how to develop techniques to deal with the challenges they face, particularly in the areas of accountability, setting targets, risk management/encouraging innovation, managing people, decision making and working with politicians. Based on original interviews with politicians and senior public sector managers, including the last four cabinet secretaries, it is full of anecdotes, actionable lessons and insights. Each chapter takes a specific aspect of management and starts by explaining why it is different in the public sector, then sets out ways for public sector managers to handle those differences and ends with an executive summary and a checklist to prompt managers to think about how they might change what they currently do. The book has a foreword by Peter Mandelson and insights based on interviews with more than sixty successful public sector managers including: Michael Bloomberg, Brendan Barber, Sir Michael Barber, Lord (Michael) Bichard, Lord (John) Browne, Lord (Robin) Butler, Helen Carter, Sir Merrick Cockell, Charles Clarke, Lord (Geoffrey) Dear, Brian Dinsdale, Charles Farr, Lord (Charles) Guthrie, Lord (Chris) Haskins, Lord (Michael) Heseltine, Ken Livingstone, Paul Martin, Lord (John) Monks, Lord (Gus) O'Donnell, Sir Robert Naylor, Jan Parkinson, Sir Hayden Phillips, Jonathan Powell, Heather Rabbatts, John Ransford, Gill Rider, Paul Roberts, Sir Peter Rogers, Stephen Taylor, Lord (Andrew) Turnball, Sir Robin Wales, Nick Walkley, Ian Watmore and Lord (Richard) Wilson.

This edition has been completely revised. The authors, noted authorities in the field, focus on ways to improve R&D organization productivity and foster excellence in such companies. They describe how to design jobs, organize hierarchies, resolve conflicts, motivate employees, and create an innovative work environment. Features extensive cross-cultural coverage of European and Pacific Rim R&D organizations and policies which greatly differ from the US. Includes an entirely new section on various strategic planning elements unique to an R&D organization along with a case study.

Now fully revised and updated—the classic book on effective R&D management "This thoughtful and detailed work outlines what is required in order to achieve the desired end results in a networked world where teamwork and collaboration are increasingly important to globally dispersed workforces." —John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco Praise for the Second Edition "This is a superbly written book and could make an excellent reference and text for related university courses." —E. Lile Murphree, Jr., PhD, former Chairman, Department of Engineering Management, The George Washington University "Provides a superb exposition of the role that social and psychological phenomena play in today's organizations." —Fred E. Fiedler, Professor of Psychology Emeritus, University of Washington, Seattle As the economy shifts from producing goods to producing information, the role of researchers in shaping the future has become immense. By taking advantage of modern technology, the highly trained and predominantly autonomous researchers from around the globe collect and share information better than ever—yet, there is still a lack of an effective centralized structure for an R&D organization manager to integrate the efforts from many disparate individuals into a unified plan. Managing Research, Development, and Innovation, Third Edition covers the management skills and leadership theories essential to generating products and excelling in today's global economy. Topics of interest include how to design jobs, organize hierarchies, resolve conflicts, motivate employees, and create an innovative work environment. Discover how superior management skills can increase funding, generate profit, and improve the effectiveness of technologically based organizations. This new revised edition: Covers all aspects of the research and development process—with focus on the human management function Includes two new chapters covering the innovation process critical to research and development of new products and services Outlines the challenging issues related to diversity in science and technology organizations and provides insights as to how diversity can be used to enhance creativity Managing Research, Development, and Innovation, Third Edition is the most complete, insightful book of its kind. Useful for professionals and graduate students alike, the text demonstrates in clear, straightforward prose how good management skills will shape the future.

`This book was radically challenging when it was first published, and is only more so today as the concept of consumer collapses under the weight of its many meanings' - Madeleine Bunting, Columnist, The Guardian Western-style consumerism appears unstoppable. Yet it is has failed to deliver greater happiness and is now facing major environmental, population and political challenges. This book examines the key Western traditions of thinking about and being a consumer. Each chapter posits a consumer model with examples from the international community. Readers are invited to enter an exciting and radical analysis of contemporary consumerism which suggests that consumerism is fragile and consumers unpredictable. Updated with new material, this Second Edition looks at the impact of new technologies on consumerism and the consolidation of consumerism and 'consumer' language in spheres like education and health. The authors discuss the spread of consumerism to developing countries like India and the effect of demographic change and migration. The fallout from 9/11 and United States military hegemony is examined, as is the influence on consumerism of Islamic fundamentalism, the anti-globalization movement, environmental concerns and depleting natural resources. This book is of interest to advanced undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA students taking courses on behaviour, buyer behaviour, customer behaviour, consumers and society and retailing. Any one interested in better understanding consumerism will also find this book a fascinating read.

This book shows the patterns of the fuzzy front end of innovation and how it can be managed successfully. Topics in this book cover traditional instruments and processes such as technology monitoring, market-oriented research management, lead-user developments, but also modern approaches such as frontloading, user community-driven innovation, crowdsourcing, anthropological expeditions, technological listening posts in global R&D settings, cross-industry innovation processes, open innovation, and IP cycle management. Contributions are based on latest research and cases studies on this new paradigm. The authors investigate this phenomenon, linking the practice of the early innovation phase to the established body of innovation research. Conceptional articles complement case studies to provide the reader with insight on managing the fuzzy front end of innovation. Lessons learned with success factors and checklists complement each chapter.​

Addresses, in a concrete, practical way, how to deal with disruptive, troubled youth. Emphasis is placed on diffusing resistance to change and facilitating treatment compliance.