Mondays at 3 by Greg Giesen

Mondays at 3 is a story about the transformation of a newly promoted manager, Justin O'Brien, who is neither ready nor prepared to take on the position that was surprisingly given to him. Faced with a disgruntled department, an absentee boss, and essentially no management experience whatsoever, Justin suddenly finds himself very alone as captain of what is quickly becoming a sinking ship. Then, just as things go from bad to worse, Justin's fate changes as he accidentally discovers a daily advice column in the local newspaper called Ask Dr. Mac, written by a management guru of the same name. Partly out of desperation and partly out of curiosity, Justin, using the alias of "Desperate Dave," begins submitting many of his newly created management problems to the Ask Dr. Mac column, in hopes of receiving some kind of guidance. To Justin's surprise and delight, Dr. Mac takes a personal interest in him and their correspondence turns into a friendship and reveals to Justin the secrets of leadership that change his life around.

Goodreads Summary

The Goodreads summary says the plot very well.  The book really is that interesting!  The reader will meet Justin right in the beginning of the book...the reader will also see that Justin is having a hard time adjusting to the job that literally fell into his lap.  He doesn't feel as if he is good enough or knows what he is doing.  In a last bid for performing better at his job, Justin writes in to an advice column.  Dr. Mac answers and has a fair amount of wisdom, particularly in management and leadership, to impart.  Through their question and answer correspondence, they become fast friends and Justin learns far more than he ever hope to know.

Justin is a good character.  The author makes him far from infallible, he is very flawed; however, that quality makes him a more likable and dynamic character than if he'd been great at his job right off the bat.  Dr. Mac, as the voice of wisdom, speaks to the reader through Justin in some ways; if the reader is lucky and pays attention, he/she will come away from the book with some lessons as well.  This book was interesting, the reader can expect to be kept busy turning the pages.  The book would be perfect for adults.

4 Stars

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