Book Review – Managing by Henry Mintzberg

Henry Mintzberg’s book ‘Managing’ has received excellent reviews, and it’s got a good slot in my bookcase. The management guru talks about popular but false views about the nature of managerial work, separates fact from myth, and provides the best information yet published on what managers do and how they do it.

He analyses various management models, characteristics, and approaches to managing.  He examines commonalities and differences in managing in various contexts, including business, government, health care, and social services.

By shadowing 29 managers through a day in their lives, he reveals how managing is affected by many factors — including national and industry cultures, organisational differences, level of the manager in the organization, and personal styles — and examines the various strategies that managers adopt to deal with these factors.

Mintzberg then identifies the main “conundrums” or dilemmas that managers must wrestle with (such as delegating versus retaining control, balancing order and flexibility, and gathering more data versus needing to take action) and describes how managers deal with those conundrums.  And he offers provocative and powerful new understandings of what makes managers effective and ineffective.

I found the book deep enough to challenge my ideas on management in the future and instill many new thoughts for designing development programs. Well worth a good look, along with other books that we have discussed.

Many thanks

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Training