Business Book Outlook-Back to Basics

“Books that emphasize people and what they need are the business book trends of 2002,” opines Kate Wientzen, Book Publicist for Cypress Publishing Group, Inc. According to Wientzen, it’s “back to the basics” for business books. The focus has shifted from an emphasis on the Internet and e-commerce back to the topics of careers, leadership, psychology, and ethics. The events of September 11, the Enron collapse, and the stock market instability fuel topics related to stress, business ethics, and market jitters.
Although the topics may be familiar, authors are “thinking outside the box” to create fresh approaches to classic business subjects. Surviving Job Stress (The Career Press) by John B. Arden, Ph.D., advises readers to perform “interpersonal judo” by stepping aside and allowing a harasser “to trip on his own assault.” For example, a person verbally abused by a supervisor could deter the behavior by causing his supervisor to embarrass himself in public.
Another book that demonstrates ways to identify office abuse and offers strategies for overcoming it is The Dragon Complex (Cypress Publishing Group, Inc). Authors Winnifred Taylor, Patrick C. Dorin, and John Taylor help readers recognize and deal with “dragons,” people in positions of authority who abuse, manipulate, or destroy their targets in a selfish ploy for power.
A means of stress relief is discussed in Yoga Secrets for Business Success (The Lyons Press). Darshan Singh Khalsa has been working to incorporate yoga into the business environment for more than twenty years, and his book urges workers to embrace yoga as a refreshing and popular new form of workplace stress relief. Many of the exercises and meditations described can be practiced right in the office to energize, relax, relieve headaches, manage anger, reduce stress, or sharpen concentration in a matter of minutes.
Differing work ethics can be a source of stress and a management challenge. Laura Simonds of Davies-Black Publishing reports that “generations in the workplace can cause conflict, but knowing how to integrate these differences can result in better teamwork and productivity.” Bridging the Boomer Xer Gap (Davies-Black Publishing) by Hank Karp, Connie Fuller, and Danilo Sirias challenges the opinion that Gen X workers in their twenties and thirties are “slackers, loners, and self-absorbed job shifters.” It offers a unique model for managing the teamwork between Gen Xers and older Baby Boomers for maximum productivity.
Retaining good employees is another concern in today’s business environment. Love ’Em or Lose ’Em by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.) gives practical advice and uses anecdotes, surveys, and to-do lists to teach readers to better develop and retain skilled employees.
In these tough times of corporate expense control and layoffs, employment and careers continue to be a concern. Although the fallout in the dotcom industry left many entrepreneurs out of work, hot new career opportunities are being spawned by ongoing changes in traditional and interactive media. Allworth Press reports that “Few fields have been as profoundly altered by technological and cultural changes as graphic design.” Allworth’s Careers by Design by Roz Goldfarb targets web site designers and other graphic artists seeking career opportunities, and provides information about creative and marketing opportunities in many diverse areas of the design business. Education of a Design Entrepreneur, edited by Stephen Heller (also Allworth Press), brings together stories and advice from over forty pioneering entrepreneurs who evolved from designers into “managers of their own enterprises,” including the artist who co-founded gameLab to design and market online games.
Other entrepreneurial directions are explored in Double Lives by David Heenan (Davies-Black Publishing). It takes a look at ten fascinating individuals who pursued a personal passion outside of their careers that ended up being successful and life-altering endeavors. Ron Kent, for example, went from stockbroker to artist and his handmade wooden bowls can be found in the world’s finest galleries. Tess Gerritsen left her successful medical practice for an even more lucrative career as a novelist.
As with most entrepreneurial ventures, The Weather Channel faced seemingly insurmountable challenges, yet persevered over the last twenty years to beat the odds to become one of the most successful cable networks. The book The Weather Channel (Harvard Business School Press), is written and narrated by its founder, Frank Batten, with Jeffrey L. Cruikshank, and tells the story of the company’s remarkable success.
A leader can make or break a company, and in Primal Leadership (Harvard Business School Press), written by Daniel Goldman with Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee, the author builds on the topic of emotional intelligence introduced in his two previous best sellers. This book is based on the theory that an organization is likely to thrive under positive and energetic leadership and to flounder under negative and dissonant leadership.
The Call to Lead by Andrew Harvey (Cypress Publishing Group, Inc.) is about “how ordinary people become extraordinary leaders.” It’s based on the concept that good leadership has three critical components: common sense, logic, and concern for people. It’s a straight-talking, no-nonsense approach to dealing with employees, and the author, a police captain and management consultant, illustrates through many examples how and why certain methods
work better than others.
The 4-Dimensional Manager by Julie Straw (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.) focuses on using strategies from the DiSC (Dominance, Influence, Supportiveness, Conscientiousness) personal profile system to manage others according to the way each person’s personality best responds to situations.
Another book based on management according to DiSC principles is I’m Stuck, You’re Stuck written by Tom Ritchey with Alan Axelrod (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.). This book is a self-discovery tool that focuses more on helping readers identify their own DiSC style and apply it to situations.
On the subject of personal finance, there are a number of books on investing for both the experienced investor and the faint of heart. Comfort Zone Investing by Gillette Edmunds (The Career Press, Inc.) shows readers “how to tailor your portfolio for high returns and peace of mind” by considering personal interests when selecting investment sources. Getting Psyched for Wall Street by Bernard I. Murstein, Ph.D. (Cypress Publishing Group, Inc.) is a practical blend of psychology and finance. Written to help investors of all backgrounds better understand the interaction between human psychology and the fluctuations of the stock market, it covers topics ranging from the Enron problems to the reactions of stock prices to daily news and world events.
On a more global scale, Alternatives to Economic Globalization (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.), due out this November, is the product of an International Forum on Globalization representing sixty organizations in twenty-five countries. It presents a people-centered rather than corporation-centered view of the world economy, and offers innovative ideas on how to reduce corporate domination of social services. At this critical point in world history, it provides an interesting perspective on how to enact policies and rebuild economies for the common good rather than corporate profit.
All in all, the business books of 2002 are geared toward people—to give readers alternatives, encourage innovation, promote good leadership, reduce stress, increase job fulfillment, and improve work-life balance.