Managers working in today's organizations often focus more on results than on the people who achieve those results. But regularly evaluating the performance of your employees is critical to improving the efficiency and output of your organization. Performance reviews have changed significantly in the past few years. Companies today are looking for the key characteristics, known as competencies, that help the most successful people in their field to be so successful. Managers and employees need to focus on those competencies, especially during performance review discussions.

John Hoover, an organizational leadership consultant, discusses how to deal with an "Idiot Boss" - or I-Boss - who does stupid things. Hoover distinguishes idiots from other tricky bosses, including those who think they are God, or who are paranoid, sadistic or Machiavellian. He leaves the reader with a couple of issues. First, you'll think no good, caring bosses still exist. Second, he doesn't tell you clearly where to set boundaries or when enough is finally enough. He often advocates appeasing bad bosses, although his other counsel on how to deal with them has some effective pointers. To his credit, Hoover is very candid about how he has learned from experience, including his mistakes. He offers personal examples from his experiences at Disney and elsewhere, and tries to write in a light-hearted or whimsical vein. getAbstract.com finds the book strongest when it is strategic and weakest when it tries to be funny, given that with bad bosses you only laugh to keep from crying.

No one likes micromanagers. They are petty dictators. They constantly interfere with their employees. They waste everyone's time. They hurt morale. They reduce productivity. They make staffers' lives hellish. The problem is, micromanagers exist in almost every office. Nearly eight out of 10 employees report that they work for micromanagers or have in the past. Despite its near universal prevalence, few executives, managers or supervisors acknowledge micromanagement as a personal failing. Harry E. Chambers discusses why micromanagement occurs. He teaches you how to deal with a micromanager - whether you work for that person, or he or she works for you. And he explains how to eliminate your own micromanagement tendencies. getAbstract applauds Chambers for his thoughtful treatise on a common - and odious - problem. Particularly note his recommended tactics for dealing with a micromanager's outbursts proactively before they occur. It's like making sure dynamite doesn't explode by never connecting the fuse.