The Dream Manager

This book was so inspirational! It was a bit different though. It's a mix of fiction and non-fiction. It starts with an intro and then there's a fiction story and then there's about 30 pages at the end of how to apply what the story talks about.
Basically it's the story of a janitorial company with huge turnover, so the owner and general manager try to brainstorm how to fix the problem. They decide to send out a survey to the employees to see what kinds of things they are struggling with. The results are surprising. Eventually they develop the dream manager program where they hire someone to help their employees achieve their dreams.

"The employees still had all the problems they'd had just a few short months ago, but now they had hope. show more The hope came from having a plan."

I really liked how it portrayed the employers actually listening to their employees. So many things in life could be better if we just really listened to each other. I also really like the above quote. So many people in life are just coasting and have no plan for their life and it really makes a huge difference when you're working toward something whether it be financial, physical, character etc. The writing of the story was a bit clunky and you could tell it wasn't written by a fiction writer. There are no content warnings. Overall I thought this was a great book despite the writing and I'm really excited to start my own dream book.
This book was reviewed on the Literary Club Podcast Season 2 episode 13
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1984185 show less

The premise of this book is that building a great organization requires helping people achieve their highest potential. The storyline throughout is a fictional company that implements a "dream manager" program to help motivate people and to help them achieve their goals. I found the first half somewhat simplistic but it grew on me. I still think the concept of. having full-time dream managers for every employee is a stretch. There needs to be more personal accountability. It's still a worthy and illustrative aspiration. It's also very readable.

Excellent book for discussion among business leaders. Discusses how to develop people within a business by addressing their dreams... their passions and pursuits. Great management book, and unusually written. Uses a case study approach to analyze a company and it's turnaround growth.

This is a small book with big ideas. It reminds me about the importance of having a dream. I thought this was a management book and what a "manager from heaven" (a dream manager) would look like. No it isn't. It has a more important message. That everyone of us has dreams. Sometimes, we just need a book, or someone else to remind us. That's the role of a dream manager, who can be anyone really. Read the book. Dare to dream.

This book talks about one company's use of coaching techniques to make a real difference in their employees' lives. By simply being interested in their dreams and desires, and working with them to reach those goals, the company dramatically increased the overall well-being and satisfaction of their staff. They also increased profits by lowering turnover and client satisfaction increased as employees were happier and more dedicated to their work.

Goodwill

Here's what I wrote in 2008 about this read: "Business book. Simple read with a simple message . . . Understand and help your employees achieve their dreams."