I am often asked why I wrote a book about the staffing industry. I felt like a book on staffing management needed to be written. There was no business case or financial model, just a belief that strong management is critical to the future of our industry. We needed resources that helped managers understand there unique role as well as their importance.

The purpose of the book is to improvement management performance through more effective decision making and collaboration. In order to accomplish that goal, this book defines the performance drivers, provides a shared language, and clarifies the management roles.

Defining performance drivers: The key elements of any growth strategy are defined by the performance drivers – Sales Strategy, Operational Alignment, and Performance-Driven Culture. The Sales Strategy begins by identifying both target market and the sales capabilities required to be successful. Operational Alignment ensures the organization has the capabilities to deliver their value proposition. The Performance-Driven Culture is the x factor in staffing operations and the fuel for top-line growth. All managers must understand the role of each of these drivers and how to manage to them effectively.

Providing shared language: As a company grows, having a disciplined vocabulary becomes more and more important for management problem solving and collaboration. I have seen management sessions deteriorate into heated disagreements due to poor language. Oftentimes they are agreeing on substance, but disagreeing on semantics. Poor language also leads to undisciplined thinking and flawed problem solving. How is a manager able to weigh all the variables if they can’t clearly define and communicate them? While language is not commonly recognized as an issue, it is a critical centerpiece for effective management.

Defining Management’s Role: One of my new favorite sayings is that the “one thing new managers clearly understand is what they don’t have to do”. This is especially true for the internally promoted employee whose primary motivation to go into management is boredom with their current job. Managers who don’t have clearly defined roles find themselves reacting to problems instead of proactively leading their teams. The book helps managers define their unique responsibilities and thus empowers them to drive improvements instead of just reacting to daily problems.

The book was written to empower management on executing their unique strategy. While I believe this provides a good start, there was a lot I removed from the book and still more to be written. For this reason I am working on two more books which should be released in the last half of 2014 and 2015.

For more information on Behind the Wheel: Driving Excellence in Staffing Operations you can read reviews on Amazon or visit chartedpath.com. I look forward to your feedback.