HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW Paperback Series

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW Paperback Series ON
BRINGING YOUR WHOLE SELF TO WORK US$ 19.95 Pp 182 2008	THE PERSUASIVE LEADER US$ 22 Pp 205 2008	STRATEGIC RENEWAL US$ 22   Pp 207      2008	TALENT MANAGEMENT US$ 19.95  Pp 196        2008

The HBR paperback list seems interminable – the frontispiece shows over sixty titles. The topics covered in each of the four books (eight articles in each) selected for this review are down-to-earth-and-no-jargon, not esoteric as management books tend to be – and what one might expect from the ‘mother of them all’. The series is designed to “bring today’s managers and professionals the fundamental information they need to stay competitive in a fast moving world.”

BRINGING YOUR WHOLE SELF TO WORK

This collection dwells on the need to balance professional and personal commitments while safeguarding one’s health. The articles range from underperformance of ‘smart people’ to the apparently near-universal ‘feeling like a fake’. The Attention Deficiency Trait which leads to underperformance is reportedly a response to the hyperkinetic environment – more widespread than one imagines. Now there is a certified excuse for bad performance! Are You Working Too Hard claims that stress arising out of overload compromises performance and health; also that careful control of stress could also lead to a ‘break-out’ – sudden creative insight. An interesting aside (Decisions and Desire) is brought in by Gardiner Morse where he deals with the evolution of the human brain from its primeval stage to Homo sapiens, and insists that we ignore emotional self-awareness (causes of our sometimes inexplicable responses to situations) at our own peril. Leading by Feel is a collection of statements from several experts on Emotional Intelligence – Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis among them.

THE PERSUASIVE LEADER

This collection emphasises the need for persuasion for getting things done – particularly in today’s flat world and the shift from command-and-control and hierarchies.  The first article speaks of persuasion based on credibility (in turn based on expertise and relationships). Interestingly the article also points out how not to persuade, particularly, not to assume that persuasion is a one-shot exercise. Debra E Meyerson who wrote Rocking the Boat: How to Effect Change Without Making Trouble (Harvard Business Press 2008) where she spoke of Tempered Radicals, also figures here in an article entitled: Radical Change, the

Quiet Way

. One article says it loud and clear: What you don’t know about making decisions! differentiating the advocacy process of decision making (arguing passionately for preferred solutions) from the Inquiry Process (consideration of several options to discover the best solution).

STRATEGIC RENEWAL

Strategic Management became the fashionable word sometime ago – today it seems to have lost its gloss. The speed with which organisations spewed out strategy statements only  proved what CK Prahalad and Gary Hamel were to say later (in Competing for the Future – 1994) that these statements were mostly fill-in-the-blanks exercises. This collection of essays brings out the specific areas where companies could go for strategic analysis, including considering whether there is a need to change one’s core business.

It starts with an interview of Jeffrey Immelt (successor to Jack Welch as CEO of GE) who believes that it is vital to view growth as a process. This is followed by an interview of Jeff Bezos, founder-CEO of amazon.com. Though most companies concentrate on what’s going to change over the next given period, amazon.com concentrates on what’s NOT going to change (e.g. customer insights and consumer expectations) while continually showing a knack of spotting white spaces and a willingness to jump into them.

TALENT MANAGEMENT

A comprehensive look at the problem with some interesting twists at the end. What would keep the best and brightest with you is an on-going quandary. You need to create a “signature experience” i.e. the ability to tell prospective employees what’s unique about working in your company. You also need to identify your ‘A’ players and create a differentiated work-force just as you would products and services that create value for customers. An area which business units tend to leave to the HR is that of leadership development; this has to be taken as a prime responsibility of the unit under the overall control of the board.  Then a major problem of top performers is the egos they carry on their sleeves (or wherever); they also need to be understood and praised at appropriate times, getting them to play along with their team, if you want them to perform even more effectively.

No discussion on talent retention would be complete without a word about women. Their need to take a break (the long ones!) has to be accepted by industry, allowing them to re-join without the stigma of having taken time off. And then comes the problem of the aging population! With a larger percentage of senior citizens and lesser availability of younger employables, the need is felt for a new look at retirement. The authors suggest a flexible approach towards older persons who may well be able to contribute right into their sixties or seventies.

Overall, not quite the material for What They Don’t Teach You at Harvard, but it comes close!