BOOK REVIEWS
rapport book review The Heart of a Leader – Insights on the Art of Influence Ken Blanchard £8.99, Eagle Publishing Compassion and business, do they sit well together? Do compassion and profit see eye to eye? How does the term ‘business heart’ resonate with you? ‘Heart of a Leader’ focuses on developing effective leaders and managers, who achieve both high performance and have a caring ‘business heart’. It was written in response to a request for a book including his favourite sayings. My impression of this book is that it’s great to dip into, extract a quote to reflect on and then make some practical changes to one’s thinking or actions. I would recommend slipping into a briefcase or having it by the
bed! I found it inspiring, honest, practical and oozing with integrity. It involves 77 quotes, from a variety of sources, each one supported by a page of comment from Ken.Quotes relate to bringing out the best in people, feedback strategies and attitudes to success and ‘failure’. It struck me that these quotes relate to the whole person – ones thoughts, behaviours, feelings and spirituality, as well as to ones goal and purpose. I see this as‘body/mind/spirit’ integrity work-out for leaders, managers and anyone who wants to make a difference. Chris Porter/, Book Review Panel
Mindstore Jack Black £12.99, Balloon View “Mindstore” does what it says on the cover: it “motivates you to achieve the life you want” and gives you tools to do so. Jack Black’s techniques are - as he says himself nothing new - they are drawn from centuries of experience and honed over 20 years of teaching to over 150,000 people. The resulting system is easy to follow, and it works. First published in 1994, this revised edition now includes a CD of the guided visualisations that help you build your inner resources for success. As with any book, audio or live training, you need to practice the techniques regularly to get
the results. Jack Black has made this as easy as possible, and as little as 10 minutes twice a day will give you back control of your life. The author mentions NLP, Mind-Maps, kinesiology and many inspirational authors, whose quotes and stories he draws on to support his process. I would like him to have included some credit to Jose Silva’s Method, the influence of which I can see throughout the structure and exercises in Mindstore. All credit still goes to Jack Black for synthesising and evolving a complete, balanced, straightforward and effective system. Susanna Bellini, Book Review Panel
The New Boss – How To Survive The First 100 Days Peter Fischer £19.95, Kogan Page This is a well-structured and easy-to-read volume for new managers written with the aim of helping them to identify possible obstacles they might meet in the early days of their new position and giving them tips to overcome them and achieve success. Part I of the book tackles the seven building blocks Fischer has identified as being essential to creating successful leadership transition. These include managing expectations from superiors, colleagues and employees, leadership style, and initiating effective change. In Part 2 he looks at seven different types of new managers (eg, young fast-track managers, and the internal promotion) in the form of case studies, giving useful advice on the problems likely to be faced in specific
situations and ways to address them. Whilst it is not mentioned explicitly as a way to manage issues that arise, readers with a background in NLP will recognise that in many of the situations Fischer mentions, such as developing key relationships, and establishing motivating goals, it is an ideal tool to apply to ensure success. I have no hesitation in recommending this book, not only to those it is primarily aimed at – new managers themselves – but also to those hiring new managers, and to business coaches, since it provides lots of useful information for all these groups. The book also includes a number of models and self-assessment techniques to help the new manager on the road to success. Julie Pearce, Book Review Panel
rapport - Spring 2009
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