Performance Books

During a recent business trip, I stopped by an airport store and saw a display of several volumes of the "Essential Managers" series. I purchased this one as well as Andy Bruce and Ken Langdon's Strategic Thinking, read both while en route home and was surprised, frankly, to find each to be remarkably comprehensive within a 69-page narrative. Obviously, the subject of maximizing performance is vast and complicated. No single book could possibly cover everything, nor do Seymour and Shervington make any such claim. What they offer is a focus on fundamentals, as do the volumes which comprise the "Harvard Business Essentials" series.

Seymour and Shervington divide their material within four sections: Thinking about Performance, Improving Your Performance, Helping Others to Improve, and Continuing to Improve. Note the use of direct address (.i.e. "Your") which correctly indicates the direct and personal rapport that Seymour and Shervington establish and then sustain with their reader. In effect, they are saying "Here is what we have learned about maximizing performance. We hope it will help you and your associates, individually and together, to produce more and better work in less time."

In the Introduction, Seymour and Shervington duly acknowledge their high regard for the skills that Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can help to develop. (To those who wish to obtain more information about this methodology, I recommend NLP: The New Technology of Achievement, co-edited by Steve Andress and Charles Faulkner.) Obviously, there are several different types of under-performers. The two most familiar to me are those who are able but unwilling, and, those who are willing but unable. For managers, the challenge when supervising those in the first group is to inspire self-motivation; when supervising those in the second, the challenge is to do everything possible (and appropriate) to help them to increase their strengths while reducing their weaknesses. The principles and techniques of NLP can help managers to respond effectively to either challenge but, alas, "you can't win them all." Or as Jason Jennings has so concisely suggested, "If it's DOA, bury it."

I quite agree with Seymour and Shervington about the importance of emotional intelligence. (Daniel Goleman has written several immensely informative books on the subject, most recently Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence, co-authored with Richard E. Boyatzis and Annie McKee.) The most effective managers recognize emotions as "fuel" that, if carefully processed and properly controlled, can create the energy needed to solve especially serious problems. If change initiatives are involved, for example, emotional intelligence enables those who possess it to respond effectively to resistance...to what James O'Toole has aptly characterized as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom." There is always room for personal improvement, of course, and that is as true of managers as it is of those whom they supervise. The importance of emotional intelligence is even greater when a team effort is needed. Effective communication, cooperation, and collaboration between and among members of a team are difficult, if not impossible, unless everyone involved is respectful of her or his associates, eager to receive as well as provide constructive criticism, committed to common goals, and sensitive to others' needs and interests.

For me, some of the most valuable material in this volume is prevented in the third section, Continuing to Improve," as Seymour and Shervington focus on a subject of special interest to me: how to sustain a performance improvement process. They recommend the formulation of a "life plan" that consists of specific objectives (each having a deadline) and then selecting the strategies and tactics to achieve each objective. Here again, NLP principles and techniques can be of substantial assistance to what should be viewed as a never-ending process of performance improvement. The Gallup Organization has accumulated a wealth of research (on millions of individuals within thousands of different organizations) that stresses the need to leverage one's strengths in proper alignment with the work to be done. Hence the importance of assuming personal accountability for one's performance. Readers will appreciate the provision by Seymour and Shervington of a self-diagnostic, "Evaluating Your Performance Skills," with responses serving as a benchmark against which to measure progress when activating their own "life plan."

As I read this book, I was again reminded of Oliver Wendell Holmes' comment, "I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity." To me, that comment suggests the essential value of the "Essential Managers" series, at least of the two volumes I have read thus far. Here's another point. What Seymour and Shervington have to say about the fundamentals of maximizing performance is consistent with what other experts on the subject suggest, notably Marcus Buckingham, Stephen Covey, Peter Drucker, John Maxwell, Carla O'Dell, and Brian Tracy. As I read this book, I was also reminded of what Drucker observed in 1963: "There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all."

However different they may be in every other respect, all under-performing organizations fail to maximize the performance of their people at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise. With all due respect to the importance of knowing what to do and how to do it, former Texas football coach Darrell Royal is right: "potential" means "you ain't done it yet." Credit John Seymour and Martin Shervington with providing a remarkably comprehensive discussion of what to do and how to do it. It remains for those who read their book to apply what they have learned.

This is the second Essentials book I purchased in the series and I can't rave enough about them. In my management position in one of the top financial industries, I need to understand what is going on but I don't need the technical details so many other books get into. These book provide great coverage on important topics -- they really help be to understand. I heard about and had a slight grasp on the use of ROI and other measures from my work, but I didn't really understand it until I read this book. A must have for any professional--I'm recommending it to my colleagues too!

With Economics gaining a greater spotlight in our world, a basic understanding of it is necessary to be an active and informed participant in society. As a high school student with a special interest in economics because of recent waves of discontent washing over the world in the form of protests against free trade and international bodies, I found this text a good general introduction to economics that would allow me to better understand some of the complaints of said protestors. Although the book is certainly dated, it holds up remarkably well - it discusses many current issues from the American perspective that are as relevant today (OPEC, NAFTA, etc.) as they were when the book was written. The special focus on sustainable development and policy that is alternative to the mainstream growth-oriented view is also appreciated. The book is able to have an alternative view while still maintaining the pretense of objectivity. I felt that the book did not focus enough on some of the recent complaints directed towards trade policy such as arguments related to the so-called 'race to the bottom'. Additionally, it could have used the term 'deflation' more and specifically addressed issues relating to deflation as an aside to discussions of recession. Finally, I would have liked to have seen an expanded discussion of competition policy. That said, my wishes for an expanded text are not jeers, but instead cheers. As a high school student, this work has done an excellent job of engendering an interest in the subject. Because I am interested (I read this book in preparation for an Economics course that I will take in an upcoming year) I am demanding a greater and more expansive book. This book, as a fast-paced and broad-based introduction to the discipline is highly recommended for its readability and ability to simplify complex concepts. It has successfully avoided that trap of being dry, dull and overly detail-oriented that so many other introductions fall into, and has given me an interest in furthering this pursuit and learning more.

Dharmakaya (the word is borrowed from "The Tibetan Book of the Dead") is Paula Meehan's fifth and most recent volume of poetry. Hers is an ability to use words to evoke timeless truths as she engages in verse that showcases an Irish feminist sensibility, as well as dialoguing between western poetics and Buddhism. Sudden Rain: I'm no Buddhist: too attached to the world/of my six senses. So in this unexpected shower,/I lift my face to its restorative tattoo,/the exultation of its anvil chime on leaf.//On my tongue I taste the bitter city furled/in each raindrop; and through the sheeted fall of grief/the glittery estate doth like a garment wear/the beauty of the morning; the sweet reek of miso//leached from composting leaves. Last night's dream/of a small man who floated in the branches of an oak/harvesting mistletoe with a golden sickle//I intuit as meaning you'll be tender and never fickle/this winter, though this may be synaesthetic/nonsense; I've little left to go on, it would seem.

I am NOT against the business. I was here to read some books and to pick up some references. To my disappointment , these books were not available. If these are mere Ads, they are no use to writers. We writers/freelance journalists are already introduced to the maximum nos of fresh & old books.
I WISH BOOKS WERE AVAILABLE HERE. BUT THEN YOU ARE DOING THE BUSINESS.

Meesaq Husain

This lab manual is the best I have seen. Both experienced and novice practitioners will find this book a valuable resource. Field and clinical tests are presented for each component of exercise physiology: aerobic, anaerobic, pulmonary, cardiovacular, body composition, etc. Each chapter begins with enough theoretical background to fully understand the physiological responses. The methods are detailed enough for the novice to follow, but advanced enough for the experienced technician to gain insights. The results and discussion sections provide excellent insights as well as tables of comparative and interpretive data. It is one of my most used shelf and lab references.

It is a new way to learn Exercise Physiology. Texts contain more advanced knowledge in more than 800 pages. There is a great focus on acute and chronic adaptations to exercise. Other aspects such as the descriptions and examples of the applied and clinical importance of exercise help students to understand in a higher level this wonderful discipline The book is divided in six parts and the topics are: Exercise Physiology: past, present and future, Bioenergetics and the design of cellular metabolism, Enzyme function and regulation,Catabolism, Anabolism, Ergometry and Calorimetry, Muscle Contraction, Neuromuscular function of the movement, Neuromuscular adaptations to exercise, Muscle metabolic adaptations to exercise,Cardiovascular function and adaptation to exercise,Pulmonary adaptations to exercise, Neuroendocrine adaptations to exercise,Bone function and adaptation to exercise, Imune function adaptations to exercise,Training for sport and performance, Nutrition and Exercise, Ergogenic aids to exercise performance, Measuring endurance, anaerobic capacity and strenght, Measuring pulmonary function and ventilatory control, Estimating body composition, Factors contributing to fatigue during exercise, Gender and exercise performance, Exercise and aging, Pediatric exercise science, Exercise in extreme environements, Exercise, health and desease, Clinical evaluation of exercise tolerance, Exercise, diet and weight control, Training for health and fitness. There are 77 focus boxes and 22 clinical application boxes to highlight important topics. A great deal!

Authored by highly reputed experts in the field of exercise science, this book is a must read for all students. The volume features state-of-the-art knowledge presented in a simplified form. Multicolor illustrations do a good job in communicating the essentials described in the text. In the capacity of a exercise-scientist and teacher I strongly recommend reading this book.

This book was used in my Exercise Phys course last year, and I must say that it is very thorough and presented in an easy-to-understand format. The text has many illustrations and graphs to show you the dynamics of each concept. I had no Exercise Physiology background prior to this class, and this book made all the difference in being successful with the new material. I have, on numerous occasion, referred back to this text for information after completing the class. I highly recommend purchasing this book at least as a reference go-to for any Exercise Science enthusiast.

People are naive about the benefits of failure. Wrongly founded assumptions about failure replace potentially accurate assessments of what is necessary to achieve success. Failure, which spends much of its life in the gulag of public perception, is, by all measures, essential to success. It is failure's peculiar fate that its reputation is routinely reinforced by negative perceptions.

Gary Ryan Blair explained to me that failure does have an ulterior motive... not to get you to quit, but to stop you long enough so that you may learn something, re-strategize, and re-launch again more prepared for success.

This single insight was one of the most important thoughts I'd come across in years. This little book packs a powerful message!