Common Sense Supervision

ROGER FULTON possesses more than 25 years of practical management and leadership experience in both public and private sectors. He has been operating his own management consulting firm since 1990. He lives in Glens Falls, New York.THE AUTHOR SCOOP

How did your book, Common Sense Management, come to be? When I got promoted to a supervisory position there was no management training, little guidance, and no mentor. I was thrust into that supervisory position and left to "sink or swim." I vowed at that time that if I ever got the education, training, and experience to write a simple guide for others, I would. And I did. I hope it helps others who are thrust into management positions to succeed and make their business and personal lives less stressful, to say nothing about the increased quality of life for the people who have to work for them.If you had to boil down the message of Common Sense Management to one sentence, what would it be? No theories, no fluff; just good old common sense on how to succeed in the real world of management in any industry. How long did it take you to write Common Sense Management?Well, I had to take the time to make lots of errors, figure out how to correct them, deal with both competent and incompetent bosses (I learned from both), and I spent 13 years in night school and 25 years of practical experience in both the public and private sectors. Then I had to write the book. So the short answer is: a lifetime.