Offers step-by-step strategies for identifying personal strengths, achieving goals, increasing self-confidence, balancing work and leisure, and controlling stress. Reprint.

Offers step-by-step strategies for identifying personal strengths, achieving goals, increasing self-confidence, balancing work and leisure, and controlling stress. Reprint.

2006-10-11 Back to Basics.

This little book is recommended reading in the company I currently work for and unlike some of the other recommendations, Fish and Moving My Cheese for instance, this has some value.

It is, in essence, an updated version of How to Win Friends and Influence People, adapted for the present day and readers who have read the former work will gain little from this except some familiarity with more contemporary case studies.

What struck me as I was going over it was how central the basic messages are to most of the useful management books on the market today. Certainly among the more academic books you will findmore material which is inherently useful to higher level managers and professionals but in the context of middle and line management, the central tenents hold true. To name just two, good listening skills, and trying to see things from the perspectives of others are golden rules from which none of use should deviate.

Indeed, one is almost tempted to say that these are the sort of things that should be taught in schools as components of civics classes except that I am sure many others would agree, schools should concentrate on getting basic skills right before they release students into the world of work.

The leader in you is a useful book to read. It is an easy read and one that shoul not take too long to work through and the simple down to earth homily approach works well with most people.

While not the be all and end all of all management books, this slim little volume contains some simple lessons that all managers would do well to digest and apply in all their dealings with other people and I can think of a few who need to rediscover this book right now.