Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You! Do What Needs to Be Done: Every Employee's Guide to Making Work More Rewarding

by Bob Nelson and Robert B. Nelson

Book Overview

The author of the million-copy-selling 1001 Ways series shows how to get ahead by fulfilling every employers ultimate expectation. This book contains a clear message: Every boss wants an effective... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786867299
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Hachette Books
• Length: 105 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

So Good I Need To Read It Again!!!

I'm pretty experienced with what it's like to work for different companies; I've held more than 60 jobs in my life. Part of the reason for so many is that I couldn't stand to be bored or treated badly, sound familiar? In this book, "Please Don't Just Do What I Tell You," Bob Nelson gives all kinds of advice that will make you a better and happier employee. It's about self-actualization and finding or creating your best job within any organization. Employees who adopt his ideas will find greater happiness and Employers whose workers follow these principles will be more successful. This book is a quick read that EVERY working person ought to experience.

Initiative + Timing = Promotion

This is a very easy to read book full of examples of how people were able to make headway on the corporate ladder by showing initiative, waiting until the timing was right, and even disobeying superiors. Through a string of specific examples from which generalized ideas are formed, this book explains how you can be an empowered employee with a driving force that will not only bring you job satisfaction, but can help you turn even a doldrum job into an opportunity for success. The ideas, such as "be a person that makes things happen" can apply to any job, you just have to think about how it can apply to you.

Encouraging a good employee to be a great employee

Bob Nelson doesn't pull any punches, and he says what every employer has always wanted to say, but couldn't quite find the right words. I am purchasing a copy of this book for each of my departments. It will be required reading for all employees. It drives me crazy when an employee is asked to do something and the first thing out of his/her mouth is, "but I don't know how." Fine, you don't know how, but you are an intelligent human being whom I hired, and you can learn. I love the person who doesn't have a clue, but takes on the task, thinks things through, asks questions, and gets the job done. Stagnation is boring, and it's not long before it starts to stink. This books gives employees great ideas to keep from being anything but stagnate. If they work for me, they know actions speak louder than words, and the right actions will take them places. Employers, be sure to read the book. As a companion, read "First, Break All the Rules" by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton, Ph.D. With these books, you will have the tools to make your organization soar.

This is the next "Who moved my cheese"!

This is the handbook that EVERY employee should read. It reveiws the basics of what every manager wished every employee, new or old, would know and retain. It says the unsaid. It's also a good reminder for the manger too. If my kids were of working age I'd make them (OK bribe them) to read it! It's an easy read of one-half to one hour.

informative, inspirational

Bob Nelson has done it again! This popular, best-selling author of such books as "1001 Ways to Reward Employees" and "1001Ways to Take Initiative at Work" has created another valuable tool for the corporate world. This book is not written for management, though it would be wise for managers to read it.The readers will be employees, who will absorb a meaningful message about their role in the work environment. It's a vital message that most employees never hear. The audience that will benefit most is new employees. In fact, it would be a good reading for high school and college seniors about to embark on their careers.The core of Nelson's message is that employees have responsibilities and opportunities far beyond what's delineated in their job description. Each and every worker should use his/her own best judgment and effort to do what needs to be done for the organization to be successful. The book presents this concept as the "Ultimate Expectation"-a message every employee needs to hear, but one that few employers explicitly state. Employers are eager to have people on their team who take initiative, to take independent action to do what needs to be done for the organization to succeed. Why is this kind of worker so scarce? Because management has not conveyed to its employees that they are expected to take initiative; they don't have to wait to be told what to do. This message will resonate well with today's younger employees . . . if they're given permission or encouraged. Managers who don't know how to express or reinforce this concept now have a tool with this book.After an introduction to the concept and an explanation of the "Ultimate Expectation," Nelson presents Simple Strategies and Techniques." To give you a sense for the straightforward content of this book, here are some of the topics under the headings Think, Act, and Persevere. Under Think: Make Your Job More Difficult, Ask Silly Questions, and Don't Be a Complainer. Under Prepare, topics include Collect Your Own Data, Develop Options and a Plan of Action, and Shoot Holes in Your Own Plan.Under Act, topics include Speak Up to Have Influence, Volunteer for Difficult Assignments, and Be a Person Who Makes Things Happen. The section on Persevere includes Persist When Obstacles Arise, and Learn to Enjoy Those Things That Others Hate to Do. The next section of the book addresses what holds us back from high achievement: fear, frustration, and failure. Fear includes "I might make a mistake" and "I'm afraid of being fired." Frustration includes "I don't have the authority" and "I don't have the support." "I took initiative once and made a mistake" and "Someone keeps blocking my efforts" comprise part of the Failure section. A concluding chapter encourages readers to realize their potential.The book is deceivingly small, with wide margins and extra space between lines. The open format is wisely less intimidating for the reader, making the book easy to use. That's a good selling point for t