Authoritative leadership lessons in a compact format.
An executive coach and leadership educator highlights “how to achieve leadership through both change and crisis, and how to do it well.”
Baldoni, the author of numerous books on leadership, divides his latest into four tightly constructed parts. Part 1, which looks at how to care for an organization’s people during difficult times, concerns topics that include a definition of important values, such as moral integrity and humility; fostering resilience; “how leaders inspire during a crisis”; and leading with empathy. Readers familiar with the leadership book genre will undoubtedly recognize much of this material, but Baldoni ably packages these and other concepts together in succinct chapters that effectively emphasize key phrases, such as “Resilient leaders manage with redundancy in mind,” and “laughter becomes more than a palliative; it becomes a unifier.” In Part 2, Baldoni offers counsel on leading others during a crisis that’s pragmatic and cleareyed; for example, he advises one to pay attention to probabilities when making decisions and to “Look for solutions that benefit others more than yourself.” A particularly insightful chapter in this part provides an overview of how bias and discrimination, even when unconscious, can have detrimental effects on both leaders and their subordinates. In Part 3, Baldoni makes a solid case for building a strong sense of community in a workplace by, for instance, listening carefully to others before making decisions. Part 4 reprises previous chapters, expanding the content with relevant references to other works as well as several illustrative stories; for instance, Baldoni discusses John F. Kennedy’s book Profiles in Courageand then talks about Kennedy’s own courage. He also shares insights gleaned about resilience from interviews he conducted with 100 people. The book closes with a helpful summary (or “Handbook,” as Baldoni calls it) as well as an actionable self-assessment for “Grace Under Pressure.”
Authoritative leadership lessons in a compact format.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9781637587560
Page Count: 194
Publisher: Savio Republic
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2023
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
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A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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