Chapter 15 - The Dirty Dozen

NOVEMBER 8, 2011

In their book, First Break All the Rules, authors Buckingham and Coffman present a survey conducted by Gallup organization regarding management practices.

Thousands of hours were spent interviewing management people from all over the world in an attempt to identify common behavioral patterns and practices

The result was this list of twelve questions:

1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?
5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress?
12. At work, have I had the opportunity to learn and grow?

These questions are presented as a measuring stick of sorts. They’re like a map that can more accurately tell you where you stand and point out the direction (and sometimes just how far) you have yet to go.

Some of the questions (numbers 1,2,3,5,and 7) provide a link to employee retention. And those questions most closely related to achieving business objectives turned out to be one through six.

The authors believe that the first few questions are crucial to building a work group team that can continue to function successfully in today’s high-pressure business environment. Of course, the use of rules is nothing new.
Everybody has to begin somewhere. And when you're starting from nothing, simple rules are the best.