Review of "How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life," by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton

Review of

How Full Is Your Bucket? Positive Strategies for Work and Life, by Tom Rath and Donald O. Clifton, ISBN 1595620036


Five out of five stars

 The main theme of this book should be obvious, unfortunately it is not. Simply put, it is the concept of positive reinforcement with a minimum of harsh criticism. The “bucket” in this case is the bucket of positive feelings that a person has, with positive interactions with others putting liquid into the bucket and negative interactions taking some out.

 It is unfortunate that many executives think that the way to get their people to perform at a high level is to engage in threats and intimidation. While this has always been the case in many organizations, in many ways the legends of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have made it worse. Yes, they were geniuses and were the driving force behind some great products, yet they often humiliated and ridiculed their underlings.

 This book is a breath of fresh air into the often-stuffy managerial circles. While all executives will benefit from reading it, the hard-A’s in the tech industry should be forced to read it. They will find that their approach to increasing human performance is nowhere near as efficient as they think it is.