Don't Oil the Squeaky Wheel: And 19 Other Contrarian Ways to Improve Your Leadership Effectiveness

By Wolf J. Rinke

A playfully subversive new approach to solving age-old management conundrums

In a book that will entertain as it instructs, acclaimed management guru Wolf Rinke distills a lifetime of management consulting experience into 20 easy-to-digest lessons. Offering novel approaches to ancient organizational riddles--for instance: "Don't Satisfy Customers," "Don't Make Decisions," and "Don't Look Good"--Rinke's rules give managers fresh angles from which to reappraise and solve their management quandaries while putting smiles on their faces. - Written by one of the nation's most wellknown business contrarians

Offers unorthodox approaches to mastering the complexities and contradictions of managing and leading people to greater productivity and success Organized around 20 tenets, each one focusing on a specific management conundrum that has bedeviled countless generations of managers

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 007142993X
• ISBN13: 9780071429931
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 189 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Laugh, Lead, and Succeed

Those words pop off the back cover to entice prospective readers to open the book. Combine that phrase with the subtitle about contrarian ways to improve leadership effectiveness and you begin to gain an idea of what this book is like. Frankly, I wasn't sure if I'd get a laugh a page or serious stuff. Turns out I got both! Rinke, an experienced executive leader, management consultant, professional speaker, and author presents alternatives to the old saws that populate so many leadership books. Listen to some of the chapter headings: Knowledge is Not Power. Don't Manage People. Don't Be Proud. Don't Have People Work for You. Don't Focus on the Bottom Line. Don't Satisfy Customers. Are you getting the idea that you might be in for an interesting ride? Each chapter lightly pokes fun at the common belief, though not as obviously as I expected it would. Readers will be surprised at the strong treatment of leadership skills, illustrated with stories that bring them to life. The lessons are presented in a way that holds interest and teaches practicality. Laugh? This book includes something unique; I have not seen this done before. In each chapter, just before the summary, there is a brief section titled "Smile." Rinke shares a bit of humor with the reader to keep the book light and to demonstrate that leadership should be fun, not laborious. If you've spent any time in leadership positions, you'll identify with the proverbial advice...and can probably create your own thinking about what Rinke teaches us. You'll spin a paragraph or two before you wonder where to go next. Rinke will be there to take you further down the path to success.

A great contrarian combination

Dr. Rinke has used a fun approach to outline the necessary skills to improve leadership skills. By taking the backdoor approach he shows you exactly what to do. The book is full of wisdom, examples, techniques and humor. It should be required reading for any manager or leader.

Another winning book

Wolf has contributed much to the fields of management and leadership over many years; this book adds tremendously to that body of knowledge."Don't Oil" is a common sense book that is an easy read, but is chock full of info spread over 20 engaging chapters that can be easily consumed.A must buy for your library.

Substance, Not Fluff

Finally! I have a business newsletter, and I make book recommendations to my subscribers monthly. But I almost never find a leadership book out there worth recommending. Why? Because they're all full of cliches and blather, and they recycle the same platitudes that have by now lost all meaning. But in this book, Rinke takes on all that nonsense and provides the kind of direct, contrarian wisdom that cuts to the heart of leadership in today's marketplace. The chapters are well organized, with easy to review action steps, and it's full of eye opening nuggets like, "mission statements do not work!," and "don't prove yourself." I highly recommend the book for any exeutive or aspiring leader, and will recommend it to my clients.

Right On

Dr. Wolf Rinke has developed many concepts that I have incorporated and used in my speaking and consulting business to foodservice professionals. I especially think this one is valuable. It is "right on" and conforms exactly to my findings from 15 years in the field as a consultant to the food service industry. I am going to make this course required reading for my clients and their bosses. This is Wolf's best work yet.