Ways and Means for Managing Up: 50 Strategies for Helping You and Your Boss Succeed

  • 3h 1m
  • F. William Smullen
  • McGraw-Hill
  • 2014

Today's typical workplace may be less formal and more inclusive than those of the past, but one thing hasn't changed: The boss is the boss.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, William Smullen spent 50 years leading--and being led by--some of the toughest people in the business. Over his career, he served at every level from platoon to division--and at the highest levels in the Pentagon, as well. In business terms, that's the equivalent of running a very small business to sitting in a corporate C-Suite.

Smullen's final public-service assignment was chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. As chief of staff, one of his main responsibilities was to ensure Secretary Powell kept his positive image and was successful in everything he did.

Now, he shares the lessons he learned working in some of the world’s most demanding organizations. In Ways and Means for Managing Up, he tells you everything you need to know to effectively "manage your manager" in ways that help both you and your boss succeed and rise within your company. In 50 short yet informative chapters, Smullen shares his hard-won insight, such as:

  • View your relationship with your boss as a partnership
  • Think of your boss as a brand
  • Never allow your boss to be surprised
  • Help your boss manage risk or crisis
  • Be a strategic asset your boss counts on

Whether you're good friends with your manager or have trouble coexisting in the same office, your success depends on his or her success. This has always been true, and it will always be true.

You serve yourself well when you serve your boss well. Take your career to new heights by learning and applying the Ways and Means for Managing Up. It can serve as a survival guide, a road map, or a blueprint for people at every level in an organization.

About the Author

F. WILLIAM SMULLEN III is director of National Security Studies at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and professor of public relations at Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, Smullen was a professional soldier whose career included a series of infantry, command, and staff assignments at the platoon, company, battalion, brigade, and division level.

In this Book

  • Ways And Means For Managing Up—50 Strategies For Helping You And Your Boss Succeed
  • Preface
  • Introduction
  • Believe in Your Boss or Find Another
  • Be Forever Loyal and Faithful to the Boss
  • Think of Your Boss as a Brand
  • Know More Than Is Expected
  • Anticipate What the Boss Wants or Needs
  • It’s About the Boss; It’s Not About You
  • Treat Every Day as Game Day
  • Manage the Calendar and the Clock
  • Never Wear Your Boss’s Rank or Position
  • Never Allow Your Boss to Be Surprised
  • Never Sign the Boss’s Signature
  • Get a Seat at the Table
  • Pace Yourself and Your Boss
  • Provide the Boss Some Quiet Time Each Workday
  • Send the Boss on That Needed Vacation
  • Keep the Boss’s Better Half Informed and Involved
  • Accompany the Boss on Business Travel
  • Protect the Boss from the Adoring
  • Anticipate the Boss’s Thinking and Decisions
  • Think Beyond the Horizon
  • Build and Maintain the Boss’s Credibility
  • Be a Gatekeeper, Not a Gate Blocker
  • Don’t Speak for the Boss Unless He Asks or Knows
  • Push the Boss out in Public When There Is a Purpose
  • Prepare the Boss for Each Event or Activity
  • Resolve Conflict for the Boss
  • Help Manage Risk
  • Prepare Now for Crisis
  • Be a Strategic Asset
  • Don’t Hesitate to Tell the Boss He or She Is Wrong
  • If at First Your Opinion Doesn’t Succeed, Try, Try Again
  • Expect the Unexpected
  • Inspire the Right Work Ethic
  • Reflect a Front Office That Is Cheerful
  • Impress Early and Often
  • Keep Meetings to 30 Minutes or Less
  • Provide the Boss Some Cover
  • Assume Someone’s Always Watching
  • Life Is Not a Spectator Sport
  • Keep the Staff Informed About Requirements and Decisions
  • Help Disallow Threatening Behavior
  • Don’t Be Afraid to Take a Risk
  • Build and Maintain Relationships
  • Every Problem Needs a Solution
  • Build a Comfort Zone for the Boss
  • It’s the Deed, Not the Credit
  • Be a Conscience for Your Boss
  • Bullying Is Bad for Business
  • Have Fun Along the Way
  • Evaluate Everything You Do
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