Introduction

We slipped into the backseat of his limo, heading off to another event in the nation’s capital. That happened often for General Colin Powell as Joint Chiefs chairman and for me as his assistant.

In the 10-minute ride that lay before us, I knew I could grab Powell’s undivided attention. I intended to tell him I’d received an offer of another job for another boss, a pretty big one at that: a former president of the United States.

He nodded as I told him I’d been asked to be the PR guy for Ronald Reagan. When I finished, my proud moment was met at first with silence.

Then he turned his head and looked me in the eye. “Congratulations,” he said. “But don’t become intoxicated with the offer of power.”

He was right, and I knew it. Fortunately, I had declined the offer, but I felt I owed it to him to tell him that it had come from President Reagan, a man for whom he had worked as his national security advisor years earlier. I wished for no surprises.

I knew I had the boss I wanted. I also felt I wanted to serve him longer and even better. One doesn’t have to be of high rank or position to want to do that.

Whether you are starting out in professional life or have been part of it for some time, you have a boss and a responsibility to manage him or her like the other resources for which you’re responsible.

As you advance hierarchically closer to the person to whom you are responsible, the challenges grow stronger, as does the satisfaction if you do the job well. It helps to have strategic vision, core values, and obtainable objectives as you do so. Managing yourself and those to whom you answer sets a powerful personal example and provides for functional excellence within an organization. It doesn’t hurt when such efforts are rewarded with job satisfaction, advancement within the organization, and even a promotion and a raise. Helping your boss helps you.

This is a book for those who accept responsibility for taking care of the boss. It is a guide to the ways and means to help manage that boss effectively.

My 50 years of managing and leading others have led to many experiences of how to do or not do things in ways that are either helpful or hurtful. Taking care of business by making the boss look good was something I strived for each and every day in each and every way.

Not only does it provide a strategic advantage in moving from one good job to the next, it is a value-added proposition for the organization and the people in it. Managing yourself and others well is of paramount importance in your professional life. Results like those described in this book can expand your portfolio of accomplishments and move you from a position of good to one of great.