Book Reviews
Personal impressions of some of the books we have read.

Leadership

Using the story of Shakespeare's play, Henry V, Olivier identifies the defining attributes of leadership and illustrates these with real life examples. An easy read, the text is liberally garnished with quotes form the play and illustrations for the staging of it at Shakespeare's Globe theatre where the author was artistic director. There is something in this book for everyone, including those who like models - he makes it all seem obvious and deceptively simple. A truly inspirational book.

Coaching

This is a very practical guide to workplace coaching written by one of the top workplace performance coaches in the UK. Downey addresses some of the key issues about coaching at work in a pragmatic way that reflects his own considerable experience of what works and what doesn't, and why.

Starting with a definition of coaching and addressing a range of coaching approaches, he goes on to describe the GROW model for structuring a coaching session, using sample dialogues to illustrate key stages. He looks at core skills, and techniques for goal setting, and there is a particularly useful chapter on implementation at work. I would like to have seen more on Team Coaching - maybe that's his next book.

Throughout there are useful mini exercises to reinforce learning - this is a book for practitioners written by one, so what else would you expect - and a final, thought provoking chapter on Being A Coach. Downey writes in a very personal style - you almost get the feeling he is there coaching you. Which is probably the best compliment I could give to a book about coaching.

This book is a must-have for managers who want to develop coaching skills at work.

John Whitmore is one of the pioneers of performance coaching in the UK and this book is one of the world's best selling books on the subject. The underlying basis of the book is rooted in the Inner Game, and Whitmore spends some time discussing the GROW model. The core themes of Raising Awareness and Generating Responsibility come across very strongly and non-directional coaching is, quite appropriately in my view, emphasised as the most effective approach for raising personal performance.

There is a useful chapter on Team Coaching, with several models offered for team development, and some practical hints about overcoming barriers. Whitmore offers a little more background than Downey and uses a few more theoretical models, including Maslow. This gives the book a more discursive appeal.

Another essential volume for the manager's or practitioner's bookcase.

I must admit that I was put off by the title of the book - 'masterful' to me implies having power over others, which is the antithesis of coaching. Otherwise it implies knowing all there is to know about coaching, which is absurd. However, having got past the cover, I found this book very interesting reading. It is very well researched, and full of challenging ideas.

Part One focuses on Personal Transformation. The author discusses triple loop learning and considers conversation as a transformational process. In this, Hargrove makes reference to the idea of our lives as river or rut stories, discusses the Ladder of Inference, and talks about some questioning processes for examining what lies behind our thinking. Part Two focuses on Team Learning, and those of you familiar with Senge's work will find this similar territory. Hargrove also discusses Scott-Morgan's Unwritten Rules of The Game - based around hidden motivators, enablers and triggers that subvert peoples behaviours at work. Part Three is an excellent toolbox, much of which is based on Argyris, and using dialogue for breakthrough thinking.

There are also some interesting and informative Case Studies.

This book has almost too much in it. It's like a rich stew, where the chef has gone overboard on excellent ingredients, with the result that the overall flavour is a bit muddled. It's a pity that the synergy principle does not seem to be working here - the sum seems to be slightly less that the excellent parts. Having said that, I would not be without it on my bookshelf.

Still in print after nearly 30 years, this is the book that started a revolution in coaching. Gallwey's original thesis of the Inner Game came into print with this fascinating, almost philosophical, work about improving one's tennis game. Originally a professional tennis coach, Gallwey realised in the early 70's that the true key to great performance is in the mental approach - the inner game - of the player. Regardless of the 'game' - tennis, golf, work, relationships, life - our performance can be dramatically enhanced by raising our awareness of what is stopping us, and 'letting go' of trying.

This shift from criticism, judgement, trying hard and right/wrong to non-judgemental observation, raised awareness, letting go and result (neither right nor wrong) generated a whole new approach to coaching.

The shift is profoundly important as it signalled a new direction in thinking about how human beings really perform well, and focused for the first time on self-awareness, about being rather than doing.

The Inner Game Of Tennis will certainly give you insights into your tennis technique. But even if you have never played tennis in your life, you will also get a huge amount from this slim volume. Compulsory reading for all.

Self Development

A story within a story which you will read in an hour and remember for years. Discover how the World Famous Seattle Fish Market became world famous and that, just by changing your attitude you can have fun at work and be much more effective. Should be mandatory reading for all senior executives. Find more at their website: www.fishphilosophy.com

This is the 10 year old, classic text which introduced the term Emotional Intelligence to the language. Goleman takes the reader through a step by step discovery of the various ways individuals react and the effects these reactions produce. This is then linked to understanding the reactions of others as individuals and as organisations in order to improve leadership effectiveness.
Clear and authoritative and with plenty of examples of both good and bad practice, this is a useful reference book and essential reading for anyone intending to read current business books most of which assume knowledge of the subject.

An amusing tale of four mice who live in a maze. One day the store of cheese runs out and the reactions provide a parable of the modern workplace dealing with change. Another one hour read with a straightforward checklist to keep in mind when the going gets rough - there will be more cheese, just go look for it.

Find that victory in the workplace comes at a heavy personal price? O'Neil's philosophy is that if managers become deep learners, they can create meaning in their work, and bring themselves and their companies success. It seems that you can have your cake and eat it, after all.

An examination of the trade-offs women make at work. Based on extensive research the author concludes that traditional organisational expectations, based on the hidden assumptions that there is a 'wife' at home to provide essential infrastructure, don't work for even successful women. Told as a series of stories about individuals the book delivers the possibility of choosing a different path and being successful on your own terms. No longer news, but an interesting read.

The authors describe the quest for understanding of self as the desire for meaning in life. They have built up 'The lotus of the Self', a diagram which represents links between 6 personality types they identify, controlling emotions, body sites of the chakras, planets and the age of the individual. If you like complicated models this is for you.

An excellent idea - we all need to understand ourselves honestly and will be happier if we do so - I'm not convinced that the psycho-babble adds very much. If the lotus approach works for you, use it.

A complete guide to the Alexander Technique a far-reaching method of maintaining bodily health that is especially relevant to the office bound. The technique can also have a great influence on the way that we learn. It encourages a return to a healthy posture and the openness of mind to overcome bad habit patterns deeply ingrained in our actions.

Lessons from the New Sciences

The New Sciences of quantum physics, chaos theory, and new discoveries in biology have brought about a radical shift in the way that we perceive the way in which our universe orders itself. In an open and accessible manner, Wheatley offers reviews of these theories that are not only appealing to a general readership, but also throw some inspirational light on issues such as change and structure within organisations.

Now a classic, this was the first book to introduce the theory of Chaos to the non-scientist. In it the author tells the story of how the science was discovered and explains the implications of the discovery in layman's language. Beautifully illustrated with colour plates and line drawings this makes the universe seem both more complex and yet more understandable. If you've ever wondered what chaos theory is all about, this is for you.

Beginning with sand running trough an egg timer and ending with the great sweep of human history the range of this book is enormous. Unpredictable events such as sudden slides in the pile of sand, earthquakes, financial markets or the outbreak of war are, according to his Ubiquity principle, the usual and inevitable result of networks of particles, rocks or relationships. Thought provoking stuff.

The ant colony knows much more about survival than any one of the ants. None of the ants can see the big picture and yet the colony survives for many times an ant lifetime. This emergent behaviour is now beginning to be understood and the author provides a lucid and jargon free explanation of how and when it appears using several different examples, including the development of cities. Lots in this for anyone trying to build knowledge sharing into an organisation.

Business structures

New thought from a great management thinker. The most successful corporations of the future will be 'learning organisations' - structures driven by curiosity, not control. Drawing from the new sciences, psychology, spiritual values, and leading edge management theories, Senge defines five new 'component technologies' that form the basis for the learning organisation.

An introduction to the Six Sigma process and the people commitments needed to make it effective. Using a modern business parable, Chowdhury describes the benefits of focusing on and seeking to eliminate errors and their associated rework and waste. This is achieved by measuring the actual error rate and targeting a specific reduction to the statistical six sigma point. (Then you need a black belt and several green belts, Judo meets the tree huggers!)
The explanation is good but stops short of giving away the tools needed to implement to approach - for that you are directed to the website and the consultants: www.business-minds.com

A good book for those wishing to find out what all the fuss is about.

Philosophy

A scholarly but very readable account of the development of Western culture. Beginning with the early Greeks the author covers all the great thinkers and ideas right up to date, via Plato, Copernicus, Hegel, Nietzsche, Freud and the rest. A complete philosophy course, this book offers new insights into the human condition.

At first glance this is a light-hearted summary of the great philosophic ideas of the last millennium or so. The stories are told simply, illustrated with photographs and diagrams and the text is enlivened with witty anecdotes and quotes. But it is a serious book for all that, making big ideas simple and putting the thinkers into their accurate historical and cultural context.

You may find one or two surprises too. I didn't know that Epicurus, who gave his name to epicure (or nowadays, 'foodie') lived a sparse life, drank water not wine and advocated friendship, freedom and thought as the basis of happiness and therefore pleasure. An entertaining and stylish book.

You don't need to toil through intellectual tracts, all the big ideas can be found in the stories of Winnie the Pooh - according to the author. He illustrates the great thinkers with witty excerpts from the hilarious exploits of the Bear and his friends. Delightful.

First published in 1974 this book has now become something of a late 20th century icon. Somewhat mannered to the modern ear it is none the less a profound discussion of personal values. Revolutionary at the time, it is a fascinating read today, not least because much of what the author is postulating has now been accepted as 'normal'.

If you haven't read it, you should.

Rabbi Sacks analyses the philosophy of Britain today and finds it wanting. Free to do whatever I want ignores the responsibility we all should have towards one another. He advocates a more responsible approach based on the recognition of duty, civil, personal and parental, to eliminate the worst ills of today en route to a better tomorrow.

Click here for details of a website offering membership access to thousands of summaries of business books.

If you have read a great book that you think other WWL online readers would like to read then contact us .