Review of "The Magnetic Leader: How Irresistible Leaders Attract Employees, Customers and Profits," by Roberta Chinsky Matuson

Review of

The Magnetic Leader: How Irresistible Leaders Attract Employees, Customers and Profits, by Roberta Chinsky Matuson ISBN 9781629561653

Five out of five stars

 The analogy in the title is quite appropriate, some leaders are so good at the craft that they attract and retain the best people. From this, their organization is successful, whether it is a non-profit whose purpose is to do good works to a company whose purpose is to make money. In both cases, the key to raving success is to provide outstanding customer service, a reality that is unfortunately not as universally known as it should be.

One significant problem with modern management is the often lack of understanding of the total cost of replacing a quality employee. It is a number that every manager should keep on a sign in plain view so that they are reminded every single day. Some managers believe that people are completely interchangeable, much like a simple spare part. If one fails (leaves) then you simply shop for and purchase another. Matuson understands this very well.

 Matuson is also completely right when she describes how simply throwing money and perks at current and potential employees does little more than create the organizational equivalent of a sugar/caffeine high. When the initial buzz wears off, there must be some genuine substance in the factors that keep the employee present and engaged. The jobs where a person is hired and stays for decades are now only a small percentage of the work force, the average tenure at a job in the modern world is between 4 and 5 years.

 Conservatism can at times be a virtue, but in the modern business world it is often a death sentence for the organization. The command hierarchy in organizations is now a liability and the executive that is unable to be flexible and adaptable in the treatment of employees will experience a lot of employee churn and loss of revenue.

 Matuson describes several ways in which an executive can charge up their work force and make their organization a leader in their field. Unfortunately, fear of failure and the new, often disguised as being prudent, will in most cases cause her advice to be overwhelmed by the “Not the way we do things here” mentality.