Despite our best attempts to stay calm, cool, and collected when dealing with a workplace conflict, certain talks still cause us anxiety.

No matter how much we plan, rehearse, and promise to stay unemotional, these discussions often degenerate into battles that make an already bad situation that much worse.

It’s no wonder that our natural instinct is to avoid these workplace confrontations.

Of course, you can’t always run and hide from the tough stuff in life. So before you sit down for your next tough talk, buy yourself a copy of Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen.

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I was delighted to find “Love Is the Killer App,” by Tim Sanders, the director of Yahoo’s in-house think tank.

Working from the premise that success in business comes more from being a nice guy than a mad dog, his book explains why love is the crucial element in the search for personal and professional success.

Sanders opens the book by introducing us to a rude and aggressive business leader who gets dis-invited to a critical team meeting. Not only are his career aspirations evaporating, he is miserable at home, and thoroughly stressed. Sanders takes him under his wing, and advises: “Be a lovecat.” Why?

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I thought it fitting in this issue on learning to review a book by my favorite scholar/researcher, Howard Gardner. A professor of cognition and education at Harvard Graduate School of Education, his background is in psychology, and he is best known for his groundbreaking work on multiple intelligences.

In my undergraduate program, I was fascinated by one of his early books, Artful Scribbles. It chronicles the stages of development that children go through as they express themselves in drawing, and it is the only book from all three of my degrees that I have kept over all these years.

Forwarding to today, Gardner has provided us with again another pivotal book, “Five Minds for the Future.” Here, he moves away from the descriptive and analytical style of some of his books and provides us with a thoughtful and provocative answer to the question: What cognitive abilities will command a premium in the years ahead?

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I find Malcolm Gladwell to be one of the most entertaining and provocative writers today. His groundbreaking books, Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers challenge our assumptions and give us new ways to look at and think about the world around us.

In What the Dog Saw, readers get a special gift: A compilation of his best writings, which have been published in The New Yorker magazine. Each story is a gem, a well-crafted exploration of topics as varied as the ketchup conundrum and birth control.

Gladwell’s skills as a researcher and writer lie in connecting the dots between what would seem to be disconnected ideas, and once connected they add great richness to our understanding of the issues.

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Understanding The Essential Performance Review Handbook

Review by Dr. Alice Waagen
Book by Sharon Armstrong

Sharon Armstrong has done the world of management a great service. She has compiled a book that shows us exactly how to develop and deliver top-notch performance appraisals.

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On the anniversary of Abraham Maslow’s death (June 8, 1970), I revisited his classic book, Maslow on Management.

I return to it periodically because this transcription of the journals he kept while touring a factory in southern California in 1960, provides us with a unique view of management that applies today.

Best known for his theory of human motivation, centered on self-actualization and the phrase “hierarchy of needs,” Maslow maintained that the basic human drive is for self-actualization, and the need to fulfill one’s full potential. He was a master of the science of psychology, who broke from the early traditions of Freud and the behaviorists to devote his life to research into positive psychology.

Known as the father of humanistic psychology, Maslow saw value in advancing the understanding of what motivates and satisfies people, as opposed to the study of neuroses. He proposed an enlightened set of theories about man as a healthy being striving to achieve full potential. Drucker, McGregor, Argyris, Likert and other writers on business and management have openly attested to the powerful influence Maslow had on their thinking.

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In my opinion, Dr. Atul Gawande is one of the most articulate and thoughtful authors currently writing about health care issues and the human condition. How he has time to write such well-researched and engaging books never ceases to amaze or impress me.

A little background: Dr. Gawande (pictured below) is a general and endocrine surgeon at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, a staff writer for The New Yorker, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, and also leads the World Health Organization’s Safe Surgery Saves Lives program.

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right is his third book, and by far his most applicable beyond the world of health care and medicine.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Clay Carr

This is one of the only books I’ve read that is specifically geared toward the new or aspiring managers.

The first few chapters of the book cover the fundamentals of managing: selecting, guiding, correcting, motivating, and delegating. Carr then devotes two chapters to communications and the three to developing successful teams. He wraps with an overview of “phase two management” or what needs to be the focus after the fundamentals are masters. Each topic is illustrated with case studies and most include mini self-assessment to guide the learning.

This practical, pragmatic guide to the basics will short-circuit many a new manger blunder and ease the learning curve of mastering the art of directing others.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Joan Magretta

I have read a lot of books on management theory but Magretta’s book is the one I most frequently recommend to new and experienced managers. As the former top editor for the Harvard Business Review, she has a wealth of insight to bring to the table.

In this book, Magretta presents a coherent look at general management which she describes as the genius in turning complexity and specialization into performance.

The book is divided into two parts: The first part deals with creating value, using it to drive strategy and developing sound organizations. Part two covers execution, why numbers matter, performance measures, innovation, delivering results and the intricacies of managing others.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Alan Weiss

Million Dollar Consulting was the first book I read when I started my own consulting practice years ago. And it is the one I still recommend to aspiring entrepreneurs today. Weiss continues to churn out great advice for consultants, with numerous books, newsletters and seminars.

Start by reading this book – it covers the basics of setting up and running a management consulting practice. Weiss outlines success tactics and strategies that cover landing new clients, setting fees, ongoing client communications, dealing with the financials and nurturing long-term client relationships.

My own copy of this book is tattered and worn from repeat readings.

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Review by Alice Waagen

Book by Peter Block

Block’s book is the primer for consultants. Written more than 30 years ago, it still serves as a practical and useful guidebook on the nuts and bolts of setting up a consulting business.

He covers the essentials of contracting, dealing with resistance, diagnosing problems and providing feedback to the client. The appendix is full of useful checklists.

This book is a definite required reading for the new consultant as well as a refresher for those of us who’ve been in business for a few years.

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Review by Alice Waagen

by Geoffrey M. Bellman

This is a great book for anyone who is an independent consultant. Bellman shares his lifetime of consulting best practices.

His slant: consulting is a calling, a vocation, something you are drawn to as the best way to integrate your personal and professional lives.

Even though I’ve been in business for myself for more than a dozen years, I found a lot to learn (and laugh with) in this book.

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