You've probably seen it sitting on a dusty shelf in a manager's office. Or maybe a HR director handed it to you after a performance review that felt a little "pointy." It’s thick. It’s heavy. It’s got that specific corporate-blue cover that screams "executive coaching." I'm talking about FYI For Your Improvement, the cornerstone of the Lominger leadership architecture. Honestly, in a world obsessed with 30-second TikTok productivity hacks, a 500-page book about "competencies" feels like a relic.
But it isn't. Not even close.
Michael Lombardo and Robert Eichinger didn't just write a book when they dropped the first edition of FYI For Your Improvement; they basically mapped the human psyche in a professional setting. They took the messy, chaotic reality of "being bad at your job" and turned it into a searchable index. It’s less of a book you read cover-to-cover and more of a diagnostic manual for your career. If your career is a car that’s making a weird rattling sound, this is the shop manual that tells you exactly which bolt is loose.
The 67 Competencies That Actually Matter
Let's be real: most corporate training is fluff. You sit through a PowerPoint about "synergy" and "alignment," and you walk out feeling like you've learned absolutely nothing. FYI For Your Improvement takes a different path. It breaks down professional effectiveness into 67 distinct competencies.
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Think of them as Legos. Some people are great at the "Action Oriented" blocks but totally miss the "Interpersonal Savvy" pieces. The book labels these things clearly. It covers stuff like Conflict Management, Customer Focus, and Strategic Agility. But it doesn't just define them. It looks at what happens when you have too much of a good thing.
This is where the authors got smart. They realized that you can actually be too good at something. Take "Command Skills." If you're high on that, you're a great leader in a crisis. But if you're "overused" in that area? You're a bully. You're the person everyone is afraid to talk to in the breakroom. The book calls this out. It’s uncomfortable. It’s accurate.
Why "Unskilled" Doesn't Mean "Stupid"
One of the best things about the FYI framework is the language. It uses terms like "Unskilled," "Skilled," and "Overused." It’s objective.
If your boss says you're "unskilled" at Dealing with Ambiguity, it hurts less than being called a "mess." It’s a gap to be filled, not a character flaw. I’ve seen teams completely change their culture just by adopting this vocabulary. It moves the conversation from "I don't like how you work" to "We need to move your 'Approachability' from Unskilled to Skilled."
The Remediation Map
Most business books tell you what's wrong. Very few tell you how to fix it without sounding like a Hallmark card.
For every one of those 67 competencies, FYI For Your Improvement gives you a list of "remedies." These aren't just "try harder." They are specific, actionable behaviors. If you struggle with "Priority Setting," the book might suggest you spend the first 20 minutes of your day ranking tasks by their impact on the bottom line rather than how easy they are to finish.
It’s tactical.
It acknowledges that some people learn by doing, some by watching others, and some by reading. The "Development Plan" sections are built on the 70-20-10 model of learning. If you haven't heard of that, it’s basically the idea that 70% of your growth comes from tough assignments, 20% from other people (mentors, bosses), and 10% from actual coursework or reading. The book leans heavily into that 70%. It tells you what kind of "stretch assignments" you should volunteer for if you want to get better at, say, Managing Through Systems.
The Problem with "The Perfection Trap"
We have to talk about the downsides, though. You can't just hand someone this book and expect them to become a CEO overnight.
Honestly, the biggest mistake people make with FYI For Your Improvement is trying to fix everything at once. You cannot improve ten competencies in a year. You just can't. Your brain will melt. Most experts suggest picking two, maybe three tops.
There's also the "Overuse" trap. I knew a guy who was so good at "Creativity" that he never actually finished a project. He was always onto the next shiny idea. He read the FYI section on his strength and realized that his biggest asset was actually becoming a liability to his team. He had to learn to "dial it back." That’s a nuanced take you don't get in most leadership blogs.
Real-World Application: The Performance Review
Imagine you're in a meeting. Your manager says you need to work on your "Political Savvy." In most companies, that’s a death sentence because nobody knows what it means. Are you supposed to start brown-nosing? Do you need to lobby the board?
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If you have the FYI book, you look up Competency 48. You find out it’s about understanding how people and organizations function. It’s about being able to maneuver through complex political situations effectively and quietly.
The book gives you "Substitution" strategies. If you’re low on Political Savvy, maybe you can lean on your "Interpersonal Savvy" or your "Directness" while you build the other skill. It’s like a cheat code for your career path.
Why the 6th Edition Still Sells
You’d think a book first published decades ago would be obsolete. But humans haven't changed that much. We still struggle with the same ego trips, the same communication breakdowns, and the same inability to delegate.
The later editions, specifically the 5th and 6th, updated the language to fit a more global, diverse workplace. They added "Career Stallers and Stoppers." These are the "dirty dozen"—the traits that will absolutely tank your career if you don't fix them. Things like "Defensiveness" or "Being a Lone Wolf."
Most books focus on how to be "great." This book spends a significant amount of time telling you how to not "fail." In the real world, avoiding a catastrophic failure is often more important than being a superstar.
Actionable Steps for Your Growth
If you’re serious about using this framework, don't just buy the book and let it collect dust. You have to be surgical about it.
- Get an honest assessment. You cannot self-diagnose your competencies accurately. We all have blind spots. Use a 360-degree feedback tool or just ask three people you trust to rank you on five specific competencies from the book.
- Focus on the "Stoppers" first. If you have a "Staller" like "Insensitive to Others," it doesn't matter how good you are at "Business Acumen." People will eventually stop working with you. Fix the leaks in the boat before you try to upgrade the engine.
- Pick one "Substitution" skill. If you're naturally bad at "Organizing," find a tool or a person (a "competency partner") who can bridge that gap while you work on the behavior.
- Create a "Learning Loop." Every time you try a remedy from the book, write down what happened. Did it work? Did people react differently?
FYI For Your Improvement isn't a "fun" read. It’s work. But if you're stuck in middle management or you feel like your career has hit a ceiling you can't see, this is the map that shows you where the exit is. It’s about moving from "I’m doing my best" to "I’m doing what’s required." There’s a massive difference between the two.
Don't wait for your HR department to give you a copy. Find the list of 67 competencies online or grab a used copy of the 5th edition. Identify the one thing that is holding you back today. Not five things. Just one. Then, find the "Remedies" section for that skill and pick the one that feels the least like a chore. Start there. Real growth is usually boring, incremental, and slightly embarrassing. This book just makes it organized.
Key Takeaways for Career Advancement
- Competencies are skills, not traits. You can learn them. You aren't "born" a bad communicator; you are simply "unskilled" in that area currently.
- Balance is everything. An overused strength can be just as damaging as a weakness.
- Focus on the 70%. Don't just take a class. Find a project at work that forces you to use the skill you're lacking.
- Address "Stallers" immediately. Don't let a "Staller" like "Arrogance" or "Lack of Ethics" sit on your record. These are the fast-track to career stagnation.
The framework works because it’s based on decades of research by Korn Ferry and Lominger. It’s been tested on hundreds of thousands of managers. It’s not a trend; it’s the infrastructure of modern corporate leadership development. Use it as a reference guide, not a storybook, and you’ll find it’s the most practical investment you can make in your professional life.