Book Review: Growing Great Employees

The subtitle of this book is "Turning Ordinary People into Extraordinary Performers". Quite of lofty task indeed!

In Growing Great Employees, Erika Andersen provides some wonderful insight for building and maintaining great teams.

However, if you are like me, the gardening metaphor will grow tiresome after a while. Beyond this, the major topics of the book are:

1. There is no such thing as a successful one-minute gardener. You must pick the right new hires, constantly maintain them and know when to make cuts.
2. When you make a hire, you must prepare the "soil" and foster a perfect start. This requires developing your listening skills to include understanding, not just hearing.
3. Maintain a coach mindset
4. Don't be afraid to prune
5. Re-evaluate what is working and what is not