First Break All the Rules is considered to be a book that broke quite a few dearly held notions of management gurus. In the book, the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman set forward a new philosophy for managers based on the 80,000 interviews they conducted over a course of 25 years as management consultants for Gallup. The book is replete with statistics, diagrams, interview excerpts and case studies. Their conclusions are overwhelmingly different as compared to popular notions. Should a good manager be able to identify good talent? Or should a good manager be able to groom talent? What prevents employee attrition - better pay or better management? These are some of the questions that are raised and cleared through the course of this book. It also debunks the popular notion that all employees be treated the same. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of having talented employees and knowing how to effectively use their skills for the benefit of the company. The book reiterates the virtues of discipline even as it says that rules have to broken to ensure that the company moves forward. Published in 1999, the book was a New York Times bestseller.

(description from Amazon)