In The One Thing You Need to Know, bestselling author MarcusBuckingham reveals the central qualities that lie at the core of greatmanaging, great leadership and great careers.

Drawing on a wide body of research, including extensive in-depthinterviews with prominent figures such as Tesco's Sir Terry Leahy andformer chief inspector of prisons Lord Ramsbotham, Buckinghamreveals that at the heart of each quality lies a controlling insight. Losesight of this 'one thing' and all of your best efforts at managing,leading, or individual achievement will be diminished.

In every way a groundbreaking work, The One Thing You Need to Knowoffers crucial performance and career lessons for business people atevery level.

A Few Things You Should Know About the "One Thing"

* "GET ME TO THE CORE"

  "If you dig into a subject deeply enough,

what do you find?"

*A LIFETIME OF "WHY"S

  "What drove this book?"

*THE TESTS FOR THE "ONE THING"

  "Why are some. explanations more

powerful than others?"

*ONE CONTROLLING INSIGHT

  "What is the One Thing you need to

know about happy marriage?"

PART Ⅰ

The One Thing You Need to Know

Sustained Organizational Success

Managing and Leading:

What's the Difference?

* A VITAL DISTINCTION

  "Are they different? Are they both

important? Can you do both?"

* A VIEW FROM THE MIDDLE

  "What do great managers actually do

and what talents do you need to do it?"

* A VIEW FROM THE TOP

  "What do great leaders actually do

and what talents do you need to do it?"

The One Thing You Need to Know:

Great Managing

* THE BASICS OF GOOD MANAGING

"What skills will prevent you from

failing as a manager?"

* GREAT MANAGERS PLAY CHESS

"What is the One Thing you need

to know about great managing ?"

* A WALK THROUGH A WALGREENS

  "How does one truly great manager

do it?"

* GREAT MANAGERS ARE ROMANTICS

  "What are the benefits of

individualization ? "'

* THE THREE LEVERS

  "What are the three things you need

to know about a person in order to

manage him or her effectively ?"

*THE MOST USEFUL QUESTIONS

  "How can you identify these levers?"

The One Thing You Need to Know:

Great Leading

* A LEADER WINS OUR LOYALTY

  "What did Giuliani say to calm

our fears?"

*FIVE FEARS, FIVE NEEDS, ONE FOCUS

  "What are the universals of

human nature?"

* THE POINTS OF CLARITY

  "Where are your followers crying

out for clarity?"

* THE DISCIPLINES OF LEADERSHIP

  "How do the best leaders achieve

this clarity ?"

PART Ⅱ

The One Thing You Need to Know

Sustained Individual Success

The Twenty Percenters

* DAVE, MYRTLE, AND TIM

  "What does sustained individual

success look like ?"

* THE EARLY CONTENDERS

  "What explanations seem like the

One Thing, but aren't?"

*WHAT IS SUSTAINED SUCCESS.9

  "It's a broad term.

How do we define it?"

The Three Main Contenders

* CONTENDER 1

"Find the right tactics and

employ them."

*CONTENDER 2

"Find your flaws and fix them."

*CONTENDER 3

  "Discover your strengths and

cultivate them."

So, How Do You Sustain Success If... ?

* YOU'RE BORED

* YOU'RE UNFULFILLED

* YOU'RE FRUSTRATED

*YOU'RE DRAINED

Conclusion: Intentional Imbalance

Acknowledgments