Nine Lies About Work

A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World

By: Marcus Buckingham, Ashley Goodall

Narrated by: Marcus Buckingham, Ashley Goodall

Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Your organization's culture is the key to its success. Strategic planning is essential. People's competencies should be measured and their weaknesses shored up. People crave feedback.

These may sound like basic truths of our work lives today. But actually, they're lies. As Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall show in this provocative, inspiring book, there are some big lies - distortions, faulty assumptions, wrong thinking - running through our organizational lives.

But there are those who can get past the lies and discover what's real. These are freethinking leaders who recognize the power and beauty of our individual uniqueness, who know that emergent patterns are more valuable than received wisdom, and that evidence is more powerful than dogma.

With engaging stories and incisive analysis, the authors reveal the essential truths that such freethinking leaders will recognize immediately: that it is the strength and cohesiveness of your team, not your company's culture, that matters most; that we need less focus on top-down planning and more on giving our people reliable, real-time intelligence; that rather than trying to align people's goals we should strive to align people's sense of purpose and meaning; that people don't want constant feedback, they want helpful attention.

This is the real world of work.

©2019 One Thing Productions, Inc. and Ashley Goodall (P)2019 Gildan Media

Leadership in front of your eyes

You will view leadership very differently when reading this book. Most people read books to become better leaders or to 'become' one. This book shows you that it has always been in front of and in you. Everybody has beem looking at leadership from a different perspective.

Provocative and exciting read

This book challenges common beliefs in work context. It's a great read for curious and open-minded people, whether they work in management and HR roles, or not.

Best Leadership book ever written

Loved it. Absolutely incredible. Having knowledge and experience in some of the lies is helpful in understanding. Favorite chapter is "People have potential" Having witnessed it personally at my previous company its incredibly refreshing to hear the immorality of the high potential list and the injustices it creates. Can't say enough good things about this book, although I've probably practiced well over half these lies, I now understand why there are better ways.

lost me a couple of times

some of the stories were a little long trying to make a point otherwise many other good examples and points made.

So many lightbulb moments

This book helped me understand and articulate with clarity, the myths that modern business are founded on. The book questions the age-old practices that seem to frustrate lot of leaders and followers alike. I would recommend it for every team leader.

Amazing content! Game changer!

But last 2 chapters are too long. Could be shorter. Audiobook narrators are very different: one is great but the other one is slow and sleepy.

Really loved it

I appreciated the dry humor weaved throughout the researched based book and found myself laughing out loud a few times! I seriously think it has the possibility of revolutionizing the workplace. Everyone who works on a team, especially a manager will benefit reading.

Coming after bureaucratic corporate culture

I liked how the authors came right at some of the trends and institutions that don’t seem to make sense in corporate culture. I agree with the reviews who say that the last three “lies“ don’t hold much water and need further substantiation. Ashley Goodall speaks much much too slowly, I had to speed him up to 1.5 to make his sections listenable. This is could be characterized as a follow up to Marcus Buckingham’s earlier “strengths“ work.

Game changer

As a new HR professional, I’m glad I started here. It gives a solid overview of what matters, and what doesn’t, in work. Highly recommend.

The power of positive attention

Really good read. I enjoyed it greatly. Very informative, well written and insightful. Glad I came across it.