Books

BOOKS for Work Exciting New Releases

Find 40 interesting new releases and six unique interviews for fresh ideas on HR and business trends.

Al Gini, Ronald M. Green

Ten Virtues of Outstanding Leaders: Leadership and Character [Wiley-Blackwell, 232 pp, £14.99] The most common good leadership qualities are honesty, diligence, fairness to name just a few. But this is not always so straightforward. Al Gini and Ronald M. Green claim that the ability to lead is based first and foremost on an individual's character, their ethical principles, and their desire to be of service to others. Despite what other books may tell us, great leadership does not follow a set of rules or theories.

Brian Tracy and Peter Chee 12 disciplines of leadership excel-

lence: how leaders achieve sustainable high performance [McGraw-Hill Professional, 240 pp, $24.00]. This book talks about how to master the 12 disciplines of powerful leadership and lead the organizations to greatness. The authors assert that great leaders are made, not born. Everyone has the ability to shape himself or herself into the kind of person who enables and uplifts others to reach their highest potential. This text reveals exactly how to achieve it.

Henry Cloud

Boundaries for leaders: Results, relationships and being ridiculously in charge. [Harper Business, 272pp, $28.99]. With this book Dr. Henry Cloud leverages his expertise of human behavior, neuroscience, and business leadership to explain how the best leaders set boundaries within their organizations to improve performance and increase employee and customer satisfaction. Dr. Cloud provides practical advice on how to manage teams, coach direct reports, and instill an organization with strong values and culture.

Barbara Trautlein

Change Intelligence: Use the Power of CQ to Lead Change That Sticks [Greenleaf Book Group Press, 250 pp, $24,95]. A research-based guide to managing organizational change. Barbara Trautlein (who has helped leaders and organizations create change that sticks for more than 25 years) walks readers through evaluating their leadership style and offers practical ways to implement successful and sustainable change.

Phil Buckley

Change with Confidence: Answers to the 50 Biggest Questions that Keep Change Leaders Up at Night [Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley, 251pp, £29.95] This book addresses the 50 biggest questions that change leaders ask time and again, and provides the context, examples, and advice to answer them well, and to enable successful, sustainable change. Author Phil Buckley offers practical, experience-based advice for the difficult and stressful challenge.

twsm What is the meaning of the book’s title?

pb The book’s title reflects the weighty challenges leaders face when implementing big change in their organization. In working with leaders over twenty years, I' ve discovered that their skills and experience don’t necessary serve them well in managing large change and disruptions, such as buying or reorganizing a company or securing cash. I found that leaders often panic when faced with the kinds of change that are new to them. And when they panic, they tend to lose a lot of sleep and make poor decisions. So my book shares my experiences and those of other leaders.

twsm What is the first advice you would give to a change leader?

pb I would advise the leader to take stock of available skills and capacity to support the change and to determine where further support is needed. He must review past experiences and successful changes and analyze what made them successful, including his own role in the success. He should also check in with peers within his company as well as across the broader industry and its network to leverage the skills available there. And finally, he must articulate the benefits of the change alongside a vision of and blueprint for the organization’s future. A leader must show his employees how the change, based upon a strong foundation, will benefit them as well as the organization in ways that will provide a better experience than they now enjoy.

twsm What are the essential skills and abilities needed to make a great leader?

pb Great leaders have a destination in mind, and their role is to lead their teams forward. They have to develop an empathy for where the organization is now, and where the gaps are that must be closed. They must see where the organization is strong and where it needs improvement. A vision from the executive level is important, but leaders must also climb down into the gaps, so to speak, to understand them. The ability to then move the organization into change is essential, as is seeing the specific change in the context of an envisioned and articulated future success. Determining how to position the organization in the markerplace, understanding its comparative advantage and supporting its competitive agenda are all key. Finally, leaders must be excellent leaders of people. •

Susan S. Raines

Conflict Management for Managers: Resolving Workplace, Client, and Policy Disputes [Wiley, Jossey-Bass, 496pp, £47.50] . The text is divided into four sections and provides opportunities for interaction and skill practice. Susan S. Raines shows an overview of the ways in which conflict management techniques and concepts can and should be applied to improve management and performance. Also the book deals specifically with internal and external business disputes as well as addresses disputes between regulators and the regulated.

Kelly McDonald Crafting the Customer Experience

For People Not Like You: How to Delight and Engage the Customers Your Competitors Don't Understand. [Wiley, 197 pp, £16.99] This is a practical guidebook that shows readers how to break the onesize-fits-all habit. Kelly McDonald explains why a customized approach to customer experience works best for growing business, generating loyalty, and creating "brand ambassadors."

Mitch Joel

CTRL ALT DELETE: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It [Business Plus, 288 pp, $28.00] . Today's Internet economy is always changing, and because of that we have to be up to date and try to adapt our business to every single alteration. In order to keep up, marketing specialist Mitch Joel desperately urges all businesses and individuals to reboot their everyday assumptions on how to compete in the new landscape. Joel shares his insights on how to take advantage of changes happening now and how to act on them immediately.

In Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Decisive: How to make better choices in life and work [Crown Business, 336pp, $26.00] . This book exposes what’s wrong with how decisions are made by our political and business leaders, and by us individually in our personal lives. The Heath brothers uncover the latest psychological research to show why our brains are wired to make foolish decisions and how we can overcome our cognitive biases by using techniques mastered by decision makers of all stripes including judges, politicians, designers, military and business leaders and branding experts.

Albert J. Bernstein

Emotional vampires at work: Dealing with Bosses and Coworkers Who Drain You Dry [Mc Graw Hill Education, 256 pp, $ 22.00] . Clinical psychologist Albert Bernstein points out how to identify and categorize the Vampires at work. To protect themselves from emotional vampires at work, people must recognize the various types of vampires, step into their world by understanding their stereotypical patterns of thought, and then step out of the pattern by doing the unexpected. This is one of Bernstein’s key techniques for rendering vampires confused and powerless to harm you.

twsm For whom was this book written?

km I think it’s for anyone in business who wants to improve customer experience and is looking for a way to differentiate his business from its competitors. This is usually the main concern of the small business owner who may not have a big marketing or advertising budget, but knows he can improve every customer’s experience day by day.

twsm Do you think we are losing face-toface communication?

km There is no question that people are doing more business online. I don’t believe it’s going to change, but the customer experience is still relevant, including the face-to-face part that all of us deal with. If you have an online business, the navigation of your website must provide a good experience. It is important to remember that digital communication is now just as important as face-to-face communication.

twsm Is customer service very important in a company? Why?

km I think it is very important because, with technology, many businesses have products of a similar quality, substance, or price as other companies. So it’s very difficult to differentiate yourself. One way businesses are distinguishing themselves from competitors is by carefully shaping the customer experience. This is more important than ever since it’s the one area completely within the control of the company.

twsm What advice would you give to deliver a better experience to every customer?

km There are two related pieces of advice: identify the high-potential customer you are not reaching but could; identify the needs of this customer and a way to satisfy them.•

BOOKS for work

Riva Froymovich

End of the good life. How the financial crisis threatens a lost generation and what we can do about it. [Harper Perennial, 228 pp, $14.99] Since the financial crisis is of concern for people everywhere, Riva Froymovich has conducted in-depth research and interviews around the world. This book chronicles the impact of the financial crisis on Generation Y and promotes innovative reforms to build a better future.

John Mattone

Intelligent Leadership: What You Need to Know to Unlock Your Full Potential [AMACOM, 256 pp, $27.95] One of today’s most respected experts on identifying and developing high-potential leaders, John Mattone defines great leaders by the strength of their strategic and tactical capabilities as well as their character.

Harry M. Jansen Kraemer Jr.

From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership. [Jossey-Bass, 224 pages, £18.99] Kraemer demonstrates that the journey to becoming a values-based leader begins with self-reflection, which is the first of four fundamental principles that guide leaders to make choices that are aligned with their values. As his explains in his new book, because of today’s economic and political environment, the global economy becomes even more competitive and values-based leaders are needed more than ever.

Adam M. Grant, Ph.D

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success. [Viking, 305 pp, $27.95]. Adam Grant reveals how the way we choose to interact with other people defines our success or failure. Grant shows how helping others move beyond zero-sum logic to create opportunities for for everyone is important and why this kind of success has the power to transform not just individuals and groups, but entire organizations and communities. This text presents an approach to work, team building, productivity, and profitability that is nothing short of revolutionary.

Marilyn Tam

The Happiness Choice: The Five Decisions That Will Take You From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be [Wiley, 188 pp, £16.99] . The book is filled with stories, tips, and insights on how anyone can live the life they've dreamed of living. It includes personal experiences and advice from experts in the fields of business success, relationships, health and fitness, spiritual and community relations, integrated into relevant chapters to strengthen and broaden the perspective and tools available for readers.

twsm Why did you decide to write Intelligent Leadership?

jm After years of working with leaders and future leaders, it was pretty clear to me that there was not a real road map for leaders to achieve a better understanding of strength and development needs. Over a hundred thousand copies or a hundred thousand books I have seen about leadership and everywhere I couldn’t find a road map. Still this is the phrase I prefer, since it is indeed a map that will help leaders, present and future, formulate a plan to become even better leaders.

twsm What are the essential skills a great leader must possess?

jm To become a great leader you must develop nine skill areas. These include, critical thinking, strategic thinking, emotional leadership, change leadership, and a drive for results. What I describe in the book and tell future executives in coaching sessions is that employees form their judgment about you and your skill level as a leader by carefully observing how you exhibit expertise in the nine skill areas. Since your expertise, or lack of it, is on display, you must work constantly to build these competencies.

twsm Describe the highly successful leader

jm I have discovered that great leaders begin with a strong inner core consisting of a solid character, a robust value system, and a quiet self-confidence. It is clear that they and their team can work through any challenge. The inner core, of course, is connected to those nine critical skill areas, which compose a second core. And that’s rare. There are certainly many good leaders. But if you examine the worlds of education, politics, organizations (both public and private), and governments across the world, you will find very few extraordinary leaders. This simply proves that excellence in leadership is a never-ending pursuit. You have got to be committed to be your best every day.

twsm For whom was this book written?

jm This book is written for two groups. First, I’ve addressed the managerial class of any organization, including managers, subadvisers, and senior labor executives. No matter where you work, if you play a leadership role, this book is for you. Second, it was also written for the younger generation who have great potential for leadership but lack a guide.•

Nigel Nicholson

The I of Leadership: Strategies for Seeing, Being and Doing. [Jossey-Bass , 322 pages, £18.99] Professor Nicholson is a leading authority on leadership and organizational dynamics. With this book he shows the importance of understanding the risks of a self-centered perspective for today’s leaders. The text, which ranges across the whole of human history, explores the lives and choices of leaders and shows how the capacity of leaders to see what others do not see frames their actions and allows them to transform, build, destroy or stabilize.

John R. Stoker

OVERCOMING FAKE TALK: How to Hold REAL Conversations that Create Respect, Build Relationships, and Get Results [McGraw-Hill Professional, 276pp, $20.00] This is a practical guidebook to turn any sensitive, emotional, or confrontational workplace conversation into a positive exchange that provides benefits for both sides. The text offers serious exercises to prompt you into thinking about what you really want.

Michael Abrashoff

It’s your ship: management techniques from the best Damn ship in the navy [Grand Central Publishing, 240 pp, $27.00] The author offers a tale of top-down change for anyone trying to navigate today's uncertain business seas. When Captain Abrashoff took over as commander of USS Benhold, he thought it was like a business that had all the latest technology but only some of the productivity. With this book he helps people change the course of their ship, no matter where their business battles are fought.

Orrin Woodward and Oliver DeMille

Leadershift: A Call for Americans to Finally Stand Up and Lead [Business Plus, 208 pp, $25.99] This text tells the story of how David Mersher, the successful CEO of IndyTech, sets out to discover why the United States is losing its leadership edge and what he can do to turn things around and make America truly great again. Mersher and his colleagues discover something few business leaders or citizens of free nations have yet to realize: Our world today is on the verge of a momentous LeaderShift.

Paolo Guenzi and Dino Ruta

Leading Teams. Tools and Techniques for Successful Team Leadership from the Sports World. [Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley, 340pp, £24.99] Based on the authors' work with top sports coaches and corporate executive programmers at the Bocconi Business School, this book offers an original and alternative way of explaining the model of team leadership, using the methods and practices taken from the world of sport.

twsm Do you think that manner of speech is an important skill for a worker?

js Yes, absolutely. If a leader can’t communicate clearly, he will never get the desired results. Recently I was at a meeting where an issue arose that became a problem. Some said to others, “Why did you bring this up?” When I asked why they had raised an issue that was difficult for certain individuals, they gave such explanations as: well, I didn’t know that it would hurt their feelings; I just don’t like conflicts, so it was easier to do it myself. I think these answers were really excuses for not holding conversations. So part of my challenge is to help people look at their way of thinking, so that they can understand that the way they think about things drives their behavior.

twsm What advice would you give to a manager who wants to improve his conversation?

js If you want to build a house you need three things: the blueprint, the tools, and the materials. In conversations, the tools are the skills that managers need to have the conversation. The blueprint is the process for using those tools. And the materials are obviously the content or the subject of the conversation. I think that everybody has the subject, but some struggle because they don’t know what skills they should use and don’t have a process for using them. So they try as best they can, but it doesn’t work or they have a bad experience.

twsm What do you think is the most common mistake people make in conversation?

js We are so preoccupied with what we think or want that we really don’t listen very well. In my book, I divided listening as a skill into two elements: hearing as an auditory function; and attending, which is about presence. I don’t think we do a good job with that. We may hear what people are saying--that’s the auditory part--but we don’t attend.

twsm Whom is this book addressed to?

js The principles in the book are universal. I think there are ten personal examples and over forty business examples. •

BOOKS for work

Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elste

MEAN GIRLS AT WORK: How to Stay Professional When Things Get Personal [Mc Graw Hill Professional, 256 pp, $24.00] . This text offers 70 distinct scenarios ranging from a colleague excluding you from a meeting to coworkers spreading lies about you. Each scenario describes a behavior, how the recipient of this conduct might feel, what she’ll be tempted to do in reaction, and what she needs to do to stay professional and manage the situation.

Chris Johnson

On Target Living: Your Guide to a Life of Balance, Energy, and Vitality. [Wiley, 320 pp, £14.99]. Drawing from his success with training thousands of companies and individuals to live a life of balance, Chris Johnson reveals that decreasing company spending while enhancing employee productivity can be as easy as taking simple steps to get adequate rest, exercise and nutrition to reach one’s greatest potential. The solutions presented will improve employee performance, change company culture and lower health care costs.

Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

The one thing: the surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results [Bard Press TX, 240 pp, $24.95] The authors explain the success habit to overcome the six lies that block our success, beat the seven thieves that steal time, and leverage the laws of purpose, priority, and productivity. This text teaches how to want more productivity at work and how to reach a better lifestyle. The ONE Thing delivers extraordinary results in every area of your life—work, personal, family, and spiritual.

Michael S. Deimler, Richard Lesser, David Rhodes, Janmejaya Sinha

Own the Future: 50 Ways to Win from The Boston Consulting Group [Wiley, 384 pp, £23.99] The book is part of BCG’s Game Changing Program—a year-long endeavor engaging leaders on how to navigate shifts in business and the global economy. At the book’s core is a manifesto for radical transformation that has been BCG’s underlying mission since its founding 50 years ago.

Dorie Clark

Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future. [Harvard Business Review Press, 240 pp, $25.00] Dorie Clark wants to help workers at all stages of their careers, workers who want something different and better in their professional lives. Clark argues that it’s no longer possible to sit back and count on getting noticed for your hard work alone. She mixes personal stories with engaging interviews and examples from well-known personalities.

twsm For whom was this book written?

dc “Reinventing You” is intended for two types of readers. The first is career changers, people who would like to move to a new job or field and want to find a strategic way to do that, to really make the best case possible for themselves. The second type of reader is someone who would like to stay at his current job or company but feels that his talents are being insufficiently recognized. "Reinventing You" provides a roadmap to help them ensure that other people recognize and understand the contribution that they can make.

twsm How can a worker achieve something different and better in his professional life?

dc There are three steps involved in Reinventing You. The first is recognizing how your career is viewed by others, knowing your reputation. The second is thinking carefully about what you would like your reputation or your personal brand to be. How would you like others to think of you; what would you like to be known for. And the third piece is manifesting that brand in your day-to-day life. Whether in leadership positions that you take on or in your activity on social media, how do you ensure that when others think of you they have the image in mind that you would want?

twsm Why did you decide to write a book to help people in their jobs?

dc I actually have changed jobs many times myself. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was the beginning of the decline of the newspaper industry in the US, and it was very hard to find another position. I had to think creatively about what I could do moving forward, and so over the ensuing decade I took on radio jobs and other jobs as well. I was a presidential campaign spokesperson, a non-profit executive director, and a filmmaker. Through those experiences I came to realize that you could be strategic about how you shape your career, and that more and more people were having to do it. So I realized there was a need for a book like this.

twsm What is the meaning of the book’s title?

dc The book is called “Reinventing You” because I believe that in this economy more and more people will need to reinvent themselves professionally, either by choice because there are different jobs and careers they’d like to try, or by because companies and industries are changing so fast. It’s critical that we modernize our skills to keep up and stay competitive. •

Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkins

Own the Room: Discover Your Signature Voice to Master Your Leadership Presence [Harvard Business Review Press, 240 pp, $25.00]. Leadership presence is the ability to consistently and clearly articulate your value proposition while influencing and connecting with others. The aim of this book is to help people to develop their leadership presence with a simple and compelling framework, as well as to offer practical advice about how people can develop their own personal presence.

Susan Cain

Quiet: the power of introverts in a World that can’t stop talking. [Broadway Paperbacks, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, 352pp, $16.00]. Susan Cain charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. She talks to Asian-American students who feel alienated from the brash, backslapping atmosphere of American schools. Cain draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the surprising differences between extroverts and introverts.

Lee J. Colan and Julie Davis-Colan

Stick with it: Master the art of adherence [Mc Graw Hill Education, 176pp, £16.99]. This book discusses building competence and igniting passion in order to achieve business success. Initially, you may not see tangible results, but rest assured, growth is occurring under the surface. The authors combine real-world stories with cut-throughthe-clutter tools so you can convert this rapid-read book into fast results.

Chatham Sullivan

The clarity principle: how great leaders make the most important decision business [Jossey-Bass, 240 pp, £18.99] This book argues that when the purpose of a business becomes confused, it is the leaders' responsibility to restore clarity. Featuring compelling stories of leaders who have succumbed to and successfully resolved their organizations' identity crises, The Clarity Principle bridges the gap between leadership and strategy and demonstrates the tremendous gains to be achieved by leaders willing to make tough choices.

Erik Wahl

UNthink: rediscover your creative genius [Crown Business, 224 pp, $ 23.00] This is a book that will lead every reader to realize that we are capable of so much more than we think. It offers a new approach and describes tools to facilitate the creative process. UNthink is a clarion call to radically change the way you think and live.

twsm do you think some companies should change their way of thinking?

ew Yes, I do. Companies talk about innovation and creativity, but historically what I’ve found is just a lot of talk. Innovation involves risk, doing things that haven’t been done before. And for companies that are bound by bottom lines, shareholder value, and based on performance, it’s more comfortable to do what they’ve done before, especially if it’s been successful.

twsm what tools facilitate creative action?

ew First, try to recapture the innocence of childhood. As children, we have that incredible ability to imagine endless possibilities, endless solutions. Then at school we are taught to answer questions the same way, to sit still and observe rules, to color within the lines. As adults assuming responsibility,,we become more risk-averse-- almost to the point of being put to sleep as if locked into a system. To unlock, to unleash our creativity, we need to rethink; we need to return to those childhood roots of boundless imagination and to explore new ideas and concepts from that perspective.

twsm how can somebody find his creative potential?

ew The individual must unearth and explore what he is passionate about and then let go, have faith in the process. Another metaphor would be "pushing the boat further away from the dock." We have been trained to keep boats tied to the dock so they don't drift away. But I'm encouraging people to untie the boat and push it out to see and discover what true majesty the ocean has to offer.

twsm for whom was this book written?

ew It was intended as a business book for entrepreneurs and for organizations, but I intentionally wrote from a broader perspective so that executives buying the book or using it at a corporate meeting, where I might be speaking, would take it home to their children, families, and communities. I hoped it would go viral. It’s not simply about leadership or customer service; it's not about one element of business.•

BOOKS for work

Marina Gorbis

The nature of the future: Dispatches from the Socialstructed World. [Simon & Schuster, 256 pp, $26.00] Gorbis explains how individuals are filling gaps and solving intractable problems by reinventing business, education, medicine, banking, government, and scientific research. She argues that this social economy is emerging because new technologies now offer so many capabilities to individuals that it has become possible to invent radical new types of organizations and services, accomplishing things previously only large institutions could.

Michael Benklifa

Think Like an Option Trader: How to Profit by Moving from Stocks to Options. [FT Press, 208pp, $35.99] Michael Benklifa, drawing on his experience trading millions of dollars in options every month, reveals this market’s radically different dynamics and shows exactly how to take full advantage of them. With practical and simple examples, this text will help you understand how to build trades that earn profits and control risk.

Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter What Got You Here Won't Get You

There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful [Hyperion, 256 pp, $24,95] The corporate world is filled with executives who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management, but not all of them will reach success. As executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book, subtle nuances make all the difference. The author gives advice to change small transactional flaws.

Leonard S. Greenberger What to Say When Things Get

Tough: Business Communication Strategies for Winning People Over When They're Angry, Worried and Suspicious of Everything You Say. [MC Graw Hill Professional, 256pp, £13.99] . Leonard S. Greenberger, a partner at one of today's most successful public relations firms, offers verbal and nonverbal skills for handling communication crises in any public forum. The text provides communications strategies, skills and techniques that all business professionals can use to win people over when they’re angry, worried and suspicious.

Daniel H. Pink

To sell is human: the surprising truth about moving others. [Riverhead, 272pp, 26.95] Every day more and more people earn their keep by persuading someone else to make a purchase. To Sell Is Human offers a fresh look at the art and science of selling. This book is a perceptive and practical book–one that will change how you see the world and transform what you do at work, at school, and at home.

Danai Chanchaochai

White Ocean Strategy. A powerful paradigm. [DMG Books, 262 pp, Rp 75.000] White Ocean Strategy is a new way to drive any type or size of business, from the smallest family shop to the biggest multinational. This strategy places the emphasis on every aspect of society in harmony with the surrounding business, social and natural environment. With the courage to declare the truth against mainstream economic principles, this book has ignited significant change in Thai society.

Robert Steven Kaplan

What you’re really meant to do: a road map for reaching your unique potential [Harvard Business Review Press, 219pp, $25.00] Drawing on his years of leadership’s experience, Kaplan proposes an integrated plan for identifying and achieving goals. This book discuses the critical issues people need to address in order to reimagine their future and achieve their dreams. The text outlines specific steps and exercises to help people understand themselves more deeply, take control of their career, and build their capabilities in a way that fits their passions and aspirations.

Corey Sommers

Whiteboard Selling: Empowering Sales Through Visuals. [Willey 244 pp, £19.99] The author draws on his experiences of designing more than 500 whiteboards and training more than 50,000 sales people worldwide for the creation of Whiteboard selling. With the aim to offer practical guidance for salespeople and marketers, Sommers and Jenkins employ this book to provide explanations, exercises and other activities to teach people how to create a whiteboard discussion framework.