An often familiar but comprehensive leadership handbook for managers new and old.
A guidebook for implementing more effective leadership skills.
In their debut nonfiction collaboration, Australian author Pennington and Australian management consultant Bindig start by addressing what they see as four key failures of business leadership: not considering the context of workers’ skills (“Some offices might prefer phone to email, so teaching a strict communication method that preferences email won’t be helpful”); inaccurately judging workers’ levels of proficiency; not paying proper attention to what the authors call “motivational drivers”; and failing to offer enough management support. In a series of short, fast-paced chapters, with each broken into multiple, numbered segments, Pennington and Bindig go on to outline a wide variety of basic managerial concepts, including dealing with workplace conflicts and building one’s own networking skills. Throughout, they stress the importance of looking inward; great leaders, they assert, must know themselves as well as they know their business: When leaders unlock their own potential, they will be able to see clearly where others are under- or overused. Readers who’ve dealt with unpleasant managers may have little patience with the authors’ notion of management enlightenment; however, even skeptical readers will find valuable ideas in these pages. The authors address at length numerous aspects of leadership and training for it, and they resolutely keep the language simple throughout. About new managers, for example, they point out that “Taking on their new responsibilities often means letting go of old ones.” There’s also plenty of all-purpose advice on such topics as recognizing and overcoming communication barriers. Such general counsel is hardly original, but it’s useful to have it all laid out in one place, in clear, straightforward language.
An often familiar but comprehensive leadership handbook for managers new and old.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-648-53523-2
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Accela Pty Ltd
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
