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Say Thank You for Everything

The secrets of being a great manager – strategies and tactics that get results

By Jim Edwards

Paperback £14.99 / $19.99
eBook £5.00 / $7.00
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Say Thank You for Everything

The secrets of being a great manager – strategies and tactics that get results

By Jim Edwards

Jacket text

Say Thank You for Everything is a bullshit-free guide to management that shows you the right way to lead a business, inspired by Jim Edwards’s experience of helping to transform a small unread blog into a business with 200 million readers and hundreds of employees, which finally sold for $442m.

Based on a legendary internal email that distilled 19 things a new manager might find helpful, Say Thank You for Everything will show you:

– the ‘whales and fails’ method of decision-making that systematically improves your team’s results
– the incredible power of being slightly better than average
– why good hiring is 80% of everything
– how to increase productivity and reduce burnout at the same time
– why your teams should never be bigger than five people
– the importance of taking your enemies to lunch
– the surprising places great ideas actually come from
– the dark arts of successful management
– and much, much more.

You might be a brand-new boss unsure where to start, or a struggling supervisor thinking of throwing it in, or perhaps someone who just doesn’t want to lose their humanity on the way to the executive suite. Say Thank You for Everything will help you look after your people, get results for your business, and be the kind of boss you always wanted to have yourself.

About the author

Jim Edwards was the editor-in-chief of Insider's news division and was the founding editor of Business Insider UK. He has also been a managing editor at Adweek, and a Knight-Bagehot Fellow at the Columbia Business School. His work has appeared in Slate, Salon, The Independent, The Nation and on AOL and MTV. He won the Neal award for business journalism in 2005 for a series investigating bribes and kickbacks in the advertising business.

Reviews

It’s with great humor and humility that Jim Edwards teaches us not only how to be effective managers, but good business people. He walks us through all the emotions, the pitfalls, the lessons and the successes of being a boss. From expressing gratitude to admitting mistakes to reveling in each achievement, this is a perfect step-by-step guide for anyone just beginning their career in management. And it’s a must-read for experienced managers who could use a swift kick in the pants. Everyone will come away with renewed energy and the skills to do their best.

Michelle Gotthelf, former digital editor-in-chief of The New York Post

One of the big problems with leadership is that it’s never taught. You do well as a contributor and then, if you’re really good, you get promoted—as Jim did—to the confounding, uncomfortable and totally unfamiliar role of managing people. For those of us who’ve had that experience or ever hope to, Say Thank You for Everything is the manual we’ve been looking for. It’s honest, approachable, free of jargon and full of practical advice. As I read it, I kept nodding in recognition. Jim knows how the leadership game is played and, better yet, he knows how to coach his readers to play it as well.

Eric Schurenberg, CEO Mansueto Ventures and former editor-in-chief of Inc. magazine

Say Thank You For Everything is a deeply entertaining and educational look at leadership. The anecdotes gleaned from Edwards’s 30-year career in media will make you laugh and gasp in horror, but at its heart this is a book about breaking the cycle of bad leadership. It’s also an antidote to the ‘cult of personality’ model of being a boss; out with eccentric buffoonery, in with tangible takeaways to make you and your team better.

Charlotte Owen, editor-in-chief, Bustle

We’ve all had bad managers. Some of them horrible. We’ve all had good managers. Some of them we love as if they were family. (And honestly we might prefer them.) But what truly separates the good from the bad, the beloved from the atrocious? Never has a book answered that very question — until now. With his signature wisdom and wit, Jim Edwards has created the ultimate instruction manual for how to manage, lead, and inspire a team — and how not to fuck it up along the way. This is officially now required reading for all current or aspiring bosses.

Kathryn Tuggle, editor-in-chief of HerMoney and co-author of “How To Money”

Gossipy, fun, insightful and simple – Say Thank You For Everything is the management book that works on great anecdotes, not tenuous metaphors. Enjoy these memorable examples of how to get it right at work and in life – as well as how to get it spectacularly wrong. So, Jim, as everyone is probably saying, thank you.

Christian Broughton, managing director and former editor, The Independent

As the original recipient of Jim’s email that inspired this book, I can tell you first hand that his management advice is truly timeless. It has helped me time and again throughout my career. And true to Jim’s own management style, this book is equal parts smart, funny, blunt and helpful.

Alyson Shontell, editor-in-chief and CCO at Fortune

Most management advice books are incredibly boring. This one most definitely isn’t. It’s a great read for new managers.

Donna Munday, executive producer, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Media coverage

From Bookpal:

If you are a brand-new manager unsure about where to start or how to lead, this is a no nonsense guide to management everyone can learn from. Say Thank You for Everything will help you look after your people, get results for your business, and be the kind of boss you always wanted to have… Read more »

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From Citywire:

Hence the Rule of Five: If you want your teams to be as effective as possible, arrange them in groups of less than five per manager, and make sure managers have no more than five direct reports at a time. This article was adapted by Richard Lander from the management advice book Say Thank You… Read more »

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From LinkedIn:

If you are a brand-new manager unsure about where to start or how to lead, this is a no nonsense guide to management everyone can learn from. Say Thank You for Everything will help you look after your people, get results for your business, and be the kind of boss you always wanted to have… Read more »

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From Media Masters:

Jim Edwards is former editor-in-chief for news at Insider, and author of ‘Say Thank You for Everything’ – the best-selling guide which aims to revolutionise newsroom management.

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From The Independent:

The fact is, it is more important for managers to be good at communicating than to be amateur psychoanalysts. Compatibility quizzes are fun for TikTok. But don’t run your company based on them, please. Jim Edwards is the author of Say Thank You for Everything: The secrets of being a great manager — strategies and… Read more »

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From KTDpod:

Enjoy leadership lessons from Dominos and Mad Men, the importance of owning your mistakes, and communicating clearly, repeatedly, and honestly. The book contains a lot of content we didn’t get in to, such as hiring, firing, and even advice for young people just starting out in their careers.

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From New Books Network:

Say Thank You for Everything: The Secrets of Being a Great Manager (Harriman House, 2022) is a bullshit-free guide to management that shows you the right way to lead a business, inspired by Jim Edwards’s experience of helping to transform a small unread blog into a business with 200 million readers and hundreds of employees,… Read more »

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From TIMELESS LEADERSHIP POD:

Jim Edwards sent out an email years ago with 19 bits of advice for a colleague who was taking a leadership position. Little did he realize that the email would not only be a set of timeless principles for any manager, but that he would add more to it — including many true, harrowing, and… Read more »

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From Her Money Podcast:

Jim Edwards joins us to answer all of those questions and more. He is the founding editor of Business Insider UK, the former editor-in-chief of Insider’s News division, and a supervisor with more than two decades of experience managing teams. He’s also the author of the new book, Say Thank You for Everything: The Secrets… Read more »

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Published: 06/09/2022
Pages: 254
Formats: paperback - ISBN 9780857199348
ebook - ISBN 9780857199355
audio - ISBN 0000000000072
Media enquiries

If you’d like to get in touch with the author for interview or comment, or you’d like a review copy of this book, please contact us at pr@harriman-house.com or call +44 (0)1730 233870.

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