‘The Problem Behaviour Pocketbook’, Angelena Boden.
Management Pocketbooks, 1999.
Pocketbook, 106 pages, £6.99 plus 60p p & p.
ISBN 1870471 75 X
‘The Personal Success Pocketbook’, Paul Heyden.
Management Pocketbooks, 1999.
Pocketbook, 90 pages, £6.99 plus 60p p & p.
ISBN 1870471 72 5
These are two new publications in the ever-growing Management Pocketbook list totalling now about 50 pocketbooks. Produced in the now traditional format of the series, the pocketbooks are short, sharp pages of text with lots of bullet lists, other checklists and apt cartoons. They are not intended to be full reference textbooks on the subjects, but can act as pre-learning introductions, post-training reminders, course handouts or simply short introductions for people wanting to learn about the subject but not wanting to start on a full learning process.
‘Problem Behaviour’, after a short introduction to the reasons for an effects of negative behaviours, considers 17 behaviour types in terms of their forms, reasons and methods of dealing with them – some useful hints. The behaviour types are the bully; the martyr and over-zealous; the narcissist; the passive-aggressive; the persistent fault-finder; clams and chatterers; moaners, complainers and whingers; the power mad, control freak and dictator; and persecutor, victim and rescuer. A useful little handbook well worth reference to remind you of people behaviours and particularly if you are having trouble with any of these types.
‘Personal Success’ offers a series of strategies and tactics for achieving success, based on the author’s ‘Success Cycle’ – planning, taking action, receiving feedback and learning from the feedback (sounds familiar) circling around persistence. For each stage in the cycle it gives a number of hints, tips, actions, guidelines and personal checklists. For example, the planning chapter considers a ‘where am I now’ assessment, personal motivation, role models, assessing risk, commitment and goal setting. The final chapter offers a success toolkit of techniques that can be used in movement towards personal success, ranging from time management, belief systems and luck, to modelling, motivation and input/output. A useful reference for those who are intending to start (or continue) on a path of self-development – lots of ideas and encouragement. I liked the success quotations at the bottom of each page, particularly one by Jonathan Waters ‘I couldn’t wait for success so I went ahead without it’.
Leslie Rae
November 1999
