Category Archives: Kits Book Review Archive

A Manager’s Guide to Coaching: Simple and Effective Ways to Get the Best Out of Your Employees, by Brian Emerson & Anne Loehr, 2008.

Finally, a really good coaching book written specially for managers! I’ve taught many workshops on coaching skills for managers, using a variety of resources but this new book captures it all.

Emerson & Loehr start with providing a clear guide for the manager to decide when coaching is appropriate and when it is not. They then take us through the entire coaching process – as a manager would do with an individual employee – from the first question, “Are you coachable?” to helping the employee develop self-awareness, concrete actions and accountability.

An excellent addition is the chapter on coaching around specific workplace issues and concerns. A great way to start the new year, this book will truly help you as a manager do more with less by bringing out the best in your employees – and yourself as well!

The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work and Team with Positive Energy, by Jon Gordon, 2007.

This is an engaging fable that is packed with wisdom about how to take back the positive energy that we all need to stay healthy and happy in both our professional and personal lives.

Gordon tells us the tale of a guy named George who is forced to take the bus to work one day, and therein begins the journey of his life. The story teaches us the 10 rules for bringing back some of our long-forgotten but delicious and infectious energy into our lives. Gordon’s insight about the role of energy in inspirational leadership is especially helpful in these turbulent times.

I love his flip of the traditional CEO role in an organization – it is now the Chief Energy Officer.

Give yourself the gift of this book: another route to adding joyful energy to your work and your day.

Real Leaders Don’t Do PowerPoint: How to Sell Yourself and Your Ideas, by Christopher Witt, 2009.

I was intrigued with the title of this book when it caught my eye at Barnes & Noble. I am one of those presenters that find myself using powerpoint less and less, especially with audiences who are looking for inspiration, energy and a genuine conversation.

Witt is a speech consultant and an executive coach with 30 years of professional speaking experience. He maintains (and I agree) that we as leaders need to speak more from our hearts not from a script. Witt believes that this is even more true for leaders during turbulent economic times.

All of us are leaders in our work, personal and community lives. In this mini, hardback book with a bright yellow cover, Witt provides each of us with a wealth of concrete tips and strategies about how to design and deliver dynamic presentations including knowing your audience well, answering the WIIFM question, using humor wisely and how to be a master storyteller.

An excellent book all around!

The WOW Factor: The 33 Things You Must (And Must Not) Do to Guarantee Your Edge in Today’s Business World, by Frances Cole Jones, 2009.

Just off the presses! The Wow Factor‘s bright blue book jacket grabbed my eye as I was browsing the book stacks at Barnes & Noble at the Baltimore Inner Harbor this weekend.

I read it non-stop on the flight back to Reno and came away with an abundance of answers of how to thrive in this turbulent economy. Jones doesn’t sugar-coat her tips; she advocates for immediate action – there is no time to waste to protect your career and your business in these unprecedented times.

Jones hits it hard and her information and tips reinforce last month’s book, Bullet-Proof Your Job, beautifully. Both authors give us dozens of practical and incredibly powerful tips of what to do (and not to do) in this rapidly changing dynamic work environment. I love Jones’ own personal motto, “Don’t ask for permission”.

She explains (and inspires us) in her last chapter. Don’t wait for someone to tell you you’re qualified … just do it.

Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies to Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out on Top at Work, by Stephen Viscusi. 2008.

I picked up this book in the Reno airport on my way to enjoy that long summer vacation and was pleasantly surprised at how readable and helpful I found Viscusi’s suggestions.

As an executive job search expert, Viscusi knows what it takes in the hard, cold reality of today’s work world to avoid that speeding bullet of the layoff notice.

So, whether you work for someone else or have your own business as I do, this book is stuffed with concrete practical actions that you can take today to ensure that you are the “indispensable employee” that the company most needs during these difficult economic times.