Schaffner Media Partners

As a former speechwriter, publisher, and frequent presenter, I understand what drives many people to buy books about public speaking: Fear. I know because I’ve shared it.

I remember times when I walked up to the podium in front of an audience, and suddenly felt dry mouth, sweaty palms, shaking hands, pounding chest, even my voice ringing in my ears. I’d prepared a slick speech, but not my brain for the inevitable shock of taking the stage.

Anxiety about public speaking is most commonly rooted in our past negative memories and experiences, according to Randolph and Kathleen Verderber’s classic text, The Challenge of Effective Speaking. The authors–emeritus management professors and communications scholars–say that typically people will relive those times in their past when they were criticized, admonished or deemed in some way as unworthy of the center stage. CONTINUE READING

It’s no surprise to me that the new memoir by Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, is on the top of the best seller lists. Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul is a comprehensive, step-by-step personal account of how an entrepreneurial, growth-driven CEO learned from others, changed his leadership style in a difficult time for his company, and reignited passion and confidence in his brand. Onward is a must-read for any manager and ranks as one of the best corporate memoirs written in recent years.

Yes, it has been criticized. Samantha Ettus, a branding blogger at Forbes, called the book misguided and ill-timed, “a marketing exercise which is using the hallowed Starbucks brand as a sacrificial lamb.” But I have no clue what book she and other critics are reading. Schultz’s book is far too transparent, detailed, and honest to be considered a marketing document. Schultz recounts in thorough detail the meetings, memos, consultants, studies, and personal experiences that drove the Starbucks reboot through the end of 2010. CONTINUE READING…

Not so long ago, the culture celebrated nasty bosses. “Chainsaw Al” Dunlap, lionized for cost-cutting turnarounds at Scott Paper and Crown Zellenbach, had a best-selling business book, Mean Business, in 1996. Never mind he was blatantly abusive, gloating over lay offs and destroying good people’s careers, while he soaking up the limelight (I actually once witnessed this in person).

Eventually, Dunlap got fired, and the tough CEO craze came to an end. And in recent years, values, character, and culture have been seen as critical skills for leaders.
But it is a new book by Anne Creamer, a former director of Nickelodeon, part of the founding team of Spy magazine and journalist, that truly turns the page on the era of the cult of the mean (usually male) CEO.

It’s Always Personal: Emotions in the New Workplace, is thoroughly researched, brilliantly written, and copiously documented. Declaring that women are now the new majority in the workplace, Creamer draws on neuroscience, first-hand stories, and two new national surveys. Her argument: women experience a greater range of emotional nuances than men, and that communicating about and expressing emotions on the job are essential skills that can no longer be ignored. In fact, her book suggests that as more women assume positions of power, EQ–emotional intelligence–will become increasingly critical skills for leaders. CONTINUE READING…

Occasionally, if you ignore the book title, you will find a great, useful book. That is the case with Hank Gilman’s recently published You Can’t Fire Everyone And Other Lessons from An Accidental Manager.

In contrast to the title (which I found off putting, and off message), Gilman, a deputy managing editor at Fortune Magazine, never fired people cavalierly, and was hardly an accidental manager. He was driven to be a top editor and became one early in his career.

But put that aside, and you’ll find a book with fresh insights for managers on how to read and handle creatives, lone wolves and other people who have no interest in being part of a “team.” Gilman explains how to lead “teams of rivals”–journalists, editors, and other creative professionals who work largely alone, who want to be or have to co-exist with stars, and who create a record of performance tied to their own names. CONTINUE READING…

Earlier in my career, I worked as chief speechwriter for the governor of New Jersey. I remember one of the governor’s senior staff members, a man I liked, succinctly described to me the secret to his good rapport with the Governor: “I know when to put my head up, and when to put my head down.” I was reminded of this advice when I read the new book, Influencing Powerful People, written by executive coach and management consultant Dirk Schlimm.

Schlimm analyzes the careers of business titans, such as Ferdinand Piech, chairman of Volkswagen, Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple and Rupert Murdoch of Fox, as well as the people behind them who were skilled in the art of handling tough bosses. And Schlimm rejects trendy management ideas in favor of a realpolitik approach to wielding influence. For Schlimm, the skills that will allow you to keep up, have influence, and perhaps some day become a worthy power player of your own–are not about self-promotion, or flash-in-the-pan management theories. CONTINUE READING…