Larry Sternberg - Managing to Make a Difference: How to Engage, Retain, and Develop Talent for Maximum Performance

Larry Sternberg has delivered several training programs for AMC managers over the years, and he has truly made a positive difference in our company. I am pleased he has written Managing to Make a Difference because I know he helps managers grow.

Jeff Portman, President and Chief Operating Officer, AMC, Inc.

Around the year 2000, I worked with Larry Sternberg to develop a management training program for Marietta Memorial Hospital. Like Managing to Make a Difference, the program went beyond theory, emphasizing implementation in the workplace. That program played a key role in helping our managers improve their effectiveness. What Larry teaches works.

J. Scott Cantley, President and CEO, Marietta Memorial Hospital & Memorial Health System

I have had the pleasure of working with Larry Sternberg twice in my career, at two different companies. He's the real deala transformational mentor who unfailingly follows the suggestions in his book and manages teams that consider their experiences with him to be extraordinary. After having the good fortune of joining him on the executive team at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, I modeled my leadership style after his and truly believe his guidance has positively impacted thousands of employees. If you strive to become an effective, compassionate managerone who truly makes a differencethis is a book you won't be able to put down.

Marie Minarich, Director of Human Resources, The Jefferson Hotel, Washington, DC

Cover image: mustafahacalaki/Getty Images, Inc.
Cover design: Wiley

Copyright 2017 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Talent Plus is a registered trademark of Talent Plus, Inc.
Focus On You is a registered trademark of Talent Plus, Inc.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Names: Sternberg, Larry, 1950- author. | Turnage, Kim, author.

Title: Managing to make a difference : how to engage, retain, and develop talent for maximum performance / Larry Sternberg, Kim Turnage.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Inc., [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017007230 (print) | LCCN 2017016247 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119331834 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119331827 (epdf) | ISBN 9781119331780 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Personnel management. | Employee motivation | Employee retention. | Performance.

Classification: LCC HF5549 (ebook) | LCC HF5549 .S8435 2017 (print) | DDC 658.3dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017007230

It is entirely possible to accomplish business goals and earn promotions without making a positive difference in your employees' lives. We wrote this book for managers who do want to make that kind a difference, as it adds a powerful source of meaning and satisfaction to their work lives. In fact, when managers intentionally focus on making a positive difference, it becomes easier (and more fulfilling) for them to achieve business goals and progress in their careers.

We want this book to serve as a guide to help you grow as a manager. Not only do we provide a series of lessons, we also suggest a set of practical experiments that enable you to put the principles into action and learn from your own experience.

Not only are our recommendations supported by research, but over the course of his career, Larry Sternberg has put into practice every recommendation in the book. These recommendations work in the real world.

More than one reader pointed out that the strategies and tactics we teach can be used with family and friends to make a big difference in their lives. We invite you to keep this in mind as you progress through the book.

Larry wishes to thank the following people for their contributions to this book:

1. My wife, Salli, whose unconditional love, belief, and support lift me up in everything I do.
2. My coauthor, Kim Turnage, who improved the final product far beyond what it would have been without her. Kim, I love working with you.
3. My boss, Kimberly Rath, for her unequivocal and generous support of this book, without which it would not have happened at all.
4. Carolyn Weese, for her proofing, formatting, and many other important contributions in getting this work submitted to our publisher.
5. Raschelle Casebier, for her contributions in getting this work submitted.
6. Sigi Brauer and Horst Schulze, for teaching me and giving me opportunities to grow as a manager and leader.
7. Vicki Denfield, Steven Freund, Jim Horsman, Marie Minarich, Fadi Ramadan, and Eric Swansonthe executives at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, who taught me and supported me in my leadership journey. Each of you has made a big difference in my life.
8. Keith McLeod and Steve Marx, whose early critique helped us make major improvements to the book.
9. Doug Rath, whose teaching and support over the years has helped me grow.

Kim wishes to thank and acknowledge:

1. Larry Sternberg, for trusting me to help make his dream of this book a reality. Larry, I love working with you, too. What's next?
2. My husband and best friend, Rick Turnage, who has kept the promise he made 26 years ago to grow with me and help me grow, and who also happens to be one of the very best managers I know.
3. My dad, Wayne Guthrie, who was my first example of a manager who makes a difference and whose positive influence lives on in the hearts and minds of all those he left behind.