Blocking and Tackling Your Way to Management Success

Forty hard-hitting lessons in the blocking and tackling fundamentals of management are set against a backdrop of personalities and events from forty years of Pittsburgh Steelers history in this unique and enjoyable business book. Each of the forty chapters contains a memorable story about a player, coach, game, or some other aspect of a Steelers season between 1969 and 2008 as the basis for an analogous management lesson that will resonate with readers from first-level supervisors up to the executive suite.

Beginning with the dark days of the Steelers 1-13 season in 1969 and the accompanying business lesson of Don't Panic, Because Sometimes it Really is Darkest Before the Dawn, and concluding with the Steelers march in 2008 to their sixth Super Bowl title even as a possible change in team ownership is in the wind (Don't Let Off the Field Distractions Interfere with Your Business Mission), readers will find a wealth of business and management lessons covering: Strategic and tactical planning, resolving problems and getting through difficult situations, job assignments and career broadening, recruiting, hiring, and firing, evaluating and rewarding employee performance, dealing with dissension in the ranks, measuring and managing your organizational KPIs, sales management best practices, project management, and more.

The Pittsburgh Business Times' New and Noteworthy Business Book selection (September 18, 2009) says that Blocking and Tackling Your Way to Management Success has enough business sense along with a wealth of interesting Steelers information to make this a successful touchdown attempt. USA Today featured the book (September 3, 2009) and noted how "Alan Simon wove great stories from Pittsburgh Steelers history into the book's business lessons with drafting Franco Harris over Lydell Mitchell in 1972 (becoming) a lesson on how companies should interpret data and the arrival of Bill Cowher (becoming) illustrative of strategic rejuvenation."

(This book and the author are not affiliated with nor endorsed by the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, The National Football League, or any player, coach, or team official mentioned herein. No representations are made to the contrary by Precision Business Intelligence, LLC, Thinking Helmet, Inc., the author, or any other party.)