Management works, but you need to realise one basic principle: that people do things for their reasons and not ours. Thus reminds Carol Ritberger in Managing People ( www.landmarkonthenet.com).



If, as a manager, you can keep in mind that motivation is individualised and comes from within, it will make your job a lot easier, she assures. �All you have to do is create an environment where people, of their own accord, will want to co-operate, produce the desired results, and optimise their own performance.�



By merely integrating this understanding alone into your management style, you�ll significantly reduce the amount of friction, tension, dissent, stress, and upset, as well as the potential for misunderstandings, miscommunication, and conflict, Ritberger counsels. �On the other hand, if you don�t incorporate this basic concept, there�s a very good chance that you�ll continue to be caught off guard when dealing with others, and may repeatedly find yourself embroiled in some sort of power struggle.�



While productivity and managing information have become the norm in today�s corporate environment, it�s the interactions among customers, vendors, and employees that give a company its competitive edge and differentiates it in this ever-changing global economy, the author argues.



This requires an organisation and its management team to know their people at all levels in the hierarchical chain, and to create an environment where everyone feels like colleagues rather than subordinates, she explains.



An exciting chapter in the book is about discovering what �colour� your personality is � red, orange, yellow or green. Understanding personality is the first step, says Ritberger, because it�s where you�ll truly gain insight into what makes everyone tick.









The red personality is all about the bottom line, she elaborates. �Reds are naturals to assume positions of authority, as their talents lie in leadership, administration, facilitation, and execution.�



Orange is about relationships; yellow, about productivity; and green�s focus is the team. It takes all four colours to make the workplace hum, the author concludes. �Management�s challenge is to understand the distinctively individual motivations and contributions of each personality colour and blend them into a tapestry of productive achievement,� she advises.



Recommended read for the light that the book sheds on the many grey areas in workplace relationships.