Summary Of The Unnatural Act Of Management

When first assigned to read the book The Unnatural Act of Management for my Command College class, I will admit that I was despondent. When I saw that the book was 380 pages, I was mortified. I could not fathom the idea of reading a book addressing management from cover to cover. If it was anything like some management classes I have attended, I knew I was in for a very boring ride. Knowing full well that I had to read the book, I opened it up and began to read it one Saturday morning. The journey began with the main character of the book, Brent Powell, receiving a phone call from Helen Wilson who notified him that her son Scott had suffered a heart attack which was due to running the family company, Enfield Manufacturing. Helen told

Suters, was originally published in 1989. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Suters worked for IBM. Several years later, he founded Management Services, Inc., a computer services company. After selling the company, he became a management consultant to companies such as IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas. Suters wrote extensively on topics such as management and dealing with stress, writing numerous articles and four books. The Unnatural Act of Management has been assigned to students at the Law Enforcement Command College at Columbus State University and during his life Suters was often asked to speak as a guest. Suters was also a guest lecturer at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. Suters’ experience in the business world made him uniquely qualified to write about management. However, it was the way in which he wrote this book that caught my attention. The book follows the journey of Brett Powell as he takes the position of interim president of Enfield Manufacturing to make the business once again profitable. As he and the management team talk about who to manage effectively, Suter gives examples of problems managers face from dealing with everything to marginal employees, how to handle stress and how to motivate employees. There is a twist at the end of the book which was unexpected, and at the end of the book Powell proved that Stanley was correct all those years ago when he said “When the great leader’s work is done, people say, ‘We did it ourselves’”. The book is a blueprint for anyone who is currently in management or seeking a managerial position. While reading the book, I could not help but think how useful this book could have been to me when I was first promoted to a managerial position. Sure, I had attended management classes which highlighted some of the topics brought up in this book, but never were they explained in