Managing involves a host of disparate activities such as making plans, allocating resources, solving problems, taking decisions, directing operations and maintaining control, each one of which can seem to be an impossible mountain to climb. But when simplified, these become a series of foothills which are fairly easy to tackle once you know how.This book describes the distance to be covered and the knowledge, skills and attitudes you need to develop to meet the challenge and win first prize. It means attainment by design rather than by chance.‘The trick is to manage well enough for it to become invisible, to go on in the background without impinging on the real business of life – all the things you want to be doing, other than managing.’