The central theme is that the qualities that make a good worker are different from the qualities that make a good boss. It's not just doing the same stuff better. One specific example that really hit home was that a good employee offers several different ideas for how they could solve a problem. When a boss throws several different options at a worker, it's overwhelming and confusing. Since reading this book I've gotten a lot more direct about asking for the outcome I want, then being quiet about the various ways the other person could execute. Also, a great piece of advice from this book: find out what is the most annoying thing you do. Stop doing it.