I have a 45 minute commute every day to work.  Thanks to audible.com my commute is very entertaining and educational. The reading that I enjoy is non fiction because of the intellectual growth value.   On the other hand, when I want to escape or relax I rather watch a movie. My wife would argue that you can learn about human nature through literature in general.  I stick to my non fiction.  Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in their book First break all the rules emphasizes that to excel as a manager one must do the following:  1. Select talented staff, 2. Set expectations, 3. Motivate the person, 4. Develop the person.   The last activity is the one that I want to expand in this posting.  Developing staff members is an individual process that has to be mapped in order to achieve the desired outcome.  You need to keep track of each person’s strengths, weaknesses and work habits in order to train them to be a better employee.  Also, by starting them each off with an effective training program the development of employees is set on a good foundation, since each person will know the expectations of the manager, and hopefully, how they need to achieve them.  Good training is a core element but not the only element for development