– “Corporate Conversations” by Shel Holtz, Amacom, $27.95
What you’ll learn: Communicating with employees is an art form. A key issue that creators must deal with is: “How do I get employees to read about something important but has no direct connection to their situation?” Think newspaper headline.
Capturing attention is the name of the game. Step 2 involves presenting a compelling “why” in understandable, simple terms.
One message is clear: Bad news should not come in installments. Dribbling out bad news fuels the grapevine. Once that starts, productivity stalls and morale declines.
–Jim Pawlak, BizBooks
– “Teams That Click” collection of articles, Harvard Business School Press, $14.95
What you’ll learn: Notable articles include: “Managing a Team Versus Managing the Individuals in a Team” by Loren Gray, who brings into question the definition of a team. If there is a clear leader, it’s not a team. It’s a single leader unit just like other departments.
In a real team, leadership shifts from person to person as different areas of responsibility come into play. The team is a brain collective. Manage it by being a team coach. Communicate with the team, not individuals.
–Jim Pawlak, BizBooks
MAGAZINE RACK
– “The Nation’s Largest Black Businesses,” Black Enterprise, June, $14.95
What you’ll learn: World Wide Technology in Maryland Heights, Mo., topped Black Enterprise’s annual listing of black-owned industrial/service companies, with revenue of $1.16 billion. Chicago-based Johnson Publishing Co. moved up a notch from last year to fourth, with sales of $488 million. Chicago-based Burrell held at third in the ranking of top advertising agencies, with billing of $190 million. And the locally based Ariel Capital Management LLC maintained its first-place ranking on the list of asset managers, with $16.1 billion under management.
–Margaret O’Brien, Chicago Tribune
