The “PIN Code” analogy, while a bit gimmicky, should still resonate with managers.
A psychologist/management consultant offers advice to business leaders in this how-to guide.
In this solid debut, Solheim distinguishes up front between “entitled” and “engaged” leaders. This simple yet meaningful distinction underlies a guide that delivers useful counsel on how to become a more engaged leader by remembering an equation: “Persuade, Influence, Negotiate = PIN,” likened to a “PIN Code.” The concept gains traction as the book progresses. Solheim relies on the so-called rule of three to suggest a simple way to put PIN into practice; she employs the letters ABC to represent three concepts that she examines: approach and advance planning, body language and behavior, and conversation. An early chapter could disconcert inept managers—it features an overview of inferior if not damaging leadership styles—though its descriptions of “dysfunctional” entitled leaders and “enlightened” engaged leaders are likely to strike home for employees who have worked for them. Solheim then advocates for “emotional intelligence”—a topic that may be overfamiliar by now to some readers—as a linchpin of effective, engaged leadership. The bulk of the book elaborates on how leaders can develop the “ABC” areas, offering detailed examples and advice, much of it based on the author’s background in psychology. For example, a section in a chapter on a leader’s “approach” discusses the roles of fantasy and visualization in decision-making. “Fantasy” is an intriguing topic that, for leadership purposes, can be defined as “a learned thought process that allows individuals to create a type of mental picture” and can help managers “think strategically about the end goal or big picture…and identify the road map to the execution of the goal.” Such insights set this work apart from more conventional perspectives on leadership. Also illuminating is its material on body language, the “physical environment” in which business interactions occur, and “six types of questions” that “Socrates posed” that can help leaders better understand the views of people with whom they work.
The “PIN Code” analogy, while a bit gimmicky, should still resonate with managers.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5445-0718-7
Page Count: 236
Publisher: Lioncrest Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our...
A psychologist and Nobel Prize winner summarizes and synthesizes the recent decades of research on intuition and systematic thinking.
The author of several scholarly texts, Kahneman (Emeritus Psychology and Public Affairs/Princeton Univ.) now offers general readers not just the findings of psychological research but also a better understanding of how research questions arise and how scholars systematically frame and answer them. He begins with the distinction between System 1 and System 2 mental operations, the former referring to quick, automatic thought, the latter to more effortful, overt thinking. We rely heavily, writes, on System 1, resorting to the higher-energy System 2 only when we need or want to. Kahneman continually refers to System 2 as “lazy”: We don’t want to think rigorously about something. The author then explores the nuances of our two-system minds, showing how they perform in various situations. Psychological experiments have repeatedly revealed that our intuitions are generally wrong, that our assessments are based on biases and that our System 1 hates doubt and despises ambiguity. Kahneman largely avoids jargon; when he does use some (“heuristics,” for example), he argues that such terms really ought to join our everyday vocabulary. He reviews many fundamental concepts in psychology and statistics (regression to the mean, the narrative fallacy, the optimistic bias), showing how they relate to his overall concerns about how we think and why we make the decisions that we do. Some of the later chapters (dealing with risk-taking and statistics and probabilities) are denser than others (some readers may resent such demands on System 2!), but the passages that deal with the economic and political implications of the research are gripping.
Striking research showing the immense complexity of ordinary thought and revealing the identities of the gatekeepers in our minds.Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-374-27563-1
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
IN THE NEWS
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.
A helpful guide to working effectively with people from other cultures.
“The sad truth is that the vast majority of managers who conduct business internationally have little understanding about how culture is impacting their work,” writes Meyer, a professor at INSEAD, an international business school. Yet they face a wider array of work styles than ever before in dealing with clients, suppliers and colleagues from around the world. When is it best to speak or stay quiet? What is the role of the leader in the room? When working with foreign business people, failing to take cultural differences into account can lead to frustration, misunderstanding or worse. Based on research and her experiences teaching cross-cultural behaviors to executive students, the author examines a handful of key areas. Among others, they include communicating (Anglo-Saxons are explicit; Asians communicate implicitly, requiring listeners to read between the lines), developing a sense of trust (Brazilians do it over long lunches), and decision-making (Germans rely on consensus, Americans on one decider). In each area, the author provides a “culture map scale” that positions behaviors in more than 20 countries along a continuum, allowing readers to anticipate the preferences of individuals from a particular country: Do they like direct or indirect negative feedback? Are they rigid or flexible regarding deadlines? Do they favor verbal or written commitments? And so on. Meyer discusses managers who have faced perplexing situations, such as knowledgeable team members who fail to speak up in meetings or Indians who offer a puzzling half-shake, half-nod of the head. Cultural differences—not personality quirks—are the motivating factors behind many behavioral styles. Depending on our cultures, we understand the world in a particular way, find certain arguments persuasive or lacking merit, and consider some ways of making decisions or measuring time natural and others quite strange.
These are not hard and fast rules, but Meyer delivers important reading for those engaged in international business.Pub Date: May 27, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61039-250-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2014
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
