A quick, upbeat read that’s packed with actionable tips and succinct networking advice.
A communications expert shares advice on how to strengthen one’s existing professional network and connect with new contacts organically.
Regan, the founder and CEO of communications firm Kirkpatrick Group, asserts that “networking is not optional” and that the practice can increase someone’s chances of being hired and paid a higher salary at a new workplace. Regan also believes that networking doesn’t have to be inauthentic or complicated, which may reassure those who feel intimidated by the notion. She clarifies that the most effective networking isn’t done by adopting a fake persona or amassing a pile of superficial contacts, but rather by showing genuine interest in others—starting with the people one already knows. In direct, energetic prose, Regan explains how small acts nurture one’s current relationships and can lead to new professional opportunities. What sets Regan’s book apart from typical networking advice books are the dozens of scripts that illustrate how to communicate with your current network and new contacts. Such scripts include sample emails and texts, as well as elevator pitches that don’t feel contrived. The sample scripts also cover common networking interactions, including reconnecting with someone, asking for advice, asking for an introduction, and making a cold connect. Regan also provides clear advice for handling awkward work situations, such as forgetting someone’s name or having to tell someone no, with professionalism, so that the relationship in question stays intact. The book includes space for readers to write down their networking goals and a 90-day networking plan for beginners, as well as two advanced plans for professionals who want to expand their current network. This guide will be especially helpful for early career professionals but will also benefit higher-ranking members of an organization and entrepreneurial hopefuls who want to leverage their existing network without straining professional relationships. With its approachable tone and lack of technical jargon, the book can even be used by high school or college students as they consider their careers.
A quick, upbeat read that’s packed with actionable tips and succinct networking advice.Pub Date: May 28, 2026
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
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A passionate and accessible guide to humanizing the workplace.
Helbig and Norman present a game plan for making leadership more responsively human.
In this expanded update to The Psychological Safety Playbook: Lead More Powerfully by Being More Human (2023), the authors provide “practical strategies for responding to resistance, sparking change, embodying the change we want to see, and moving forward deliberately,” specifically in a business setting. They suggest ways to encourage what they call “changemakers” through the use of five key “plays” from their playbook: Communicate Courageously, Master the Art of Listening, Manage Your Reactions (“shift from automatic reaction to conscious response to stay better connected to yourself and others”), Embrace Risk and Failure, and Design Inclusive Rituals. The goal is to ensure that organizational cultures promote psychological safety, guided by leaders who “walk the talk” by emphasizing their own humanity at every turn. (“We must be the first to share our own failures with our teams, which will start to make it possible for others to do the same.”) This call for example-setting is sounded throughout the book as Helbig and Norman urge their target audience (leaders and would-be leaders) to go beyond mere instruction and instead embody the qualities they want to see in their subordinates, such as continuous learning, active curiosity, and self-reflection. Each chapter includes a detailed “Recommended Reading” section and text with extensive numbered and bulleted points formatted to make the core concepts more immediately digestible. The authors effectively employ clear and empathetic prose to assure readers that psychological safety is slow to build and quick to break, observing that such safety requires steady attention and delivers outsize payoffs as a result. They refreshingly ground a great deal of the material in psychology and neuroscience, pointing out, for instance, that research has demonstrated that the parasympathetic nervous system responds to honest appreciation, which improves creative thinking. Some wistful readers might consider some of the authors’ suggestions beyond the reach of their own organizations, as when group facilitators are advised to “gently intervene when someone dominates the conversation,” but hope springs eternal.
A passionate and accessible guide to humanizing the workplace.Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9798993550503
Page Count: 170
Publisher: Crazy Idea Press
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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