Foreword -- Introduction: Breaking All the Rules -- CHAPTER 1: The Measuring Stick -- A Disaster Off the Scilly Isles -- "What do we know to be important but are unable to measure?" -- The Measuring Stick -- "How can you measure human capital?" -- Putting the Twelve to the Test -- "Does the measuring stick link to business outcomes?" -- A Case in Point -- "What do these discoveries mean for one particular company?" -- Mountain Climbing -- "Why is there an order to the twelve questions?" -- CHAPTER 2: The Wisdom of Great Managers -- Words From the Wise -- "Whom did Gallup interview?" -- What Great Managers Know -- "What is the revolutionary insight shared by all great managers?" -- What Great Managers Do -- "What are the four basic roles of a great manager?" -- The Four Keys -- "How do great managers play these roles?" -- CHAPTER 3: The First Key: Select for Talent -- Talent: How Great Managers Define It -- "Why does every role, performed at excellence, require talent?" -- The Right Stuff -- "Why is talent more important than experience, brainpower, and willpower?" -- The Decade of the Brain -- "How much of a person can the manager change?" -- Skills, Knowledge, and Talents -- "What is the difference among the three?" -- The World According to Talent -- "Which myths can we now dispel?" -- Talent: How Great Managers Find It -- "Why are great managers so good at selecting for talent?" -- A Word From the Coach -- "John Wooden, on the importance of talent." -- CHAPTER 4: The Second Key: Define the Right Outcomes -- Managing by Remote Control -- "Why is it so hard to manage people well?" -- Temptations -- "Why do so many managers try to control their people?" -- Rules of Thumb -- "When and how do great managers rely on steps?" -- What Do You Get Paid to Do? -- "How do you know if the outcomes are right?" -- CHAPTER 5: The Third Key: Focus on Strengths.

Let Them Become More of Who They Already Are -- "How do great managers release each person's potential?" -- Tales of Transformation -- "Why is it so tempting to try to fix people?" -- Casting Is Everything -- "How do great managers cultivate excellent performance so consistently?" -- Manage by Exception -- "Why do great managers break the Golden Rule?" -- Spend the Most Time With Your Best People -- "Why do great managers play favorites?" -- How to Manage Around a Weakness -- "How do great managers turn a harmful weakness into an irrelevant nontalent?" -- CHAPTER 6: The Fourth Key: Find the Right Fit -- The Blind, Breathless Climb -- "What's wrong with the old career path?" -- One Rung Doesn't Necessarily Lead to Another -- "Why do we keep promoting people to their level of incompetence?" -- Create Heroes in Every Role -- "How to solve the shortage of respect." -- Three Stories and a New Career -- "What is the force driving the New Career?" -- The Art of Tough Love -- "How do great managers terminate someone and still keep the relationship intact?" -- CHAPTER 7: Turning the Keys: A Practical Guide -- The Art of Interviewing for Talent -- "Which are the right questions to ask?" -- Performance Management -- "How do great managers turn the last three Keys every day, with every employee?" -- Keys of Your Own -- "Can an employee turn these Keys?" -- Master Keys -- "What can the company do to create a friendly climate for great managers?" -- Gathering Force -- APPENDICES -- Appendix A: The Gallup Path to Business Performance -- "What is the path to sustained increase in shareholder value?" -- Appendix B: What the Great Managers Said -- "What did great managers say to the three questions quoted in chapter 2?" -- Appendix C: A Selection of Talents -- "Which talents are found most frequently across all roles?" -- Appendix D: Finding the Twelve Questions.

"How did Gallup find the twelve questions?" -- Appendix E: The Meta-Analysis -- "What are the details of the meta-analysis?" -- Gallup Press -- Gallup Employee Engagement Center.