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HEADSTRONG PERFORMANCE

IMPROVE YOUR MENTAL PERFORMANCE WITH NUTRITION, EXERCISE, AND NEUROSCIENCE

An eye-opening wake-up call for executives who want to take better care of themselves.

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A management consultant based in Singapore lays out a comprehensive, multipronged approach to increasing one’s leadership performance.

In this expertly crafted debut, Daane shares several strategies “designed to fuel the brain and develop capacity for improved performance.” He concentrates on three areas—nutrition, exercise, and neuroscience—and combines relevant contemporary research with his own techniques. He writes that “an alarming number of executives” are burned out and exhausted and that many organizations’ employees are disengaged. He then suggests that executives who demonstrate positive behaviors, such as healthy eating and regular exercise, can inspire those who work for them. The book’s section about overcoming bad stress by eating well and maintaining good exercise habits covers subject matter that’s been amply covered by others before. Fresher and more valuable, however, is its discussion of “sustained attention and performance,” which includes a novel program of “Exercise in 4 Dimensions” that combines physical and sensory exercises. Daane spends a few welcome chapters on how his methods can improve creativity, and in a section on change, he makes an intriguing point: although world-class athletes train and practice far more than they actually perform, “for the average executive, this ratio is reversed.” The author suggests that executives need a performance “simulator” and that “[n]euroscience is teaching us that this is the way in which exercise and nutrition may offer the greatest benefit.” The book’s final portion details a very specific “periodization program”: 24 weeks of carefully planned activities that can lead to “brain and body health” and thus cultivate “positive leadership.” Daane also includes several case studies of people who’ve employed his methods, as well as a list of resources, including assessments and workshops provided by his firm.

An eye-opening wake-up call for executives who want to take better care of themselves.

Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2015

ISBN: 978-9810930981

Page Count: 298

Publisher: CreateSpace

Review Posted Online: April 10, 2015

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NUTCRACKER

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

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

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

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