Myriad business books cover workplace performance and interactions. The category conjures Ricky Gervais’ clueless David Brent trying to manage his hapless employees on the brilliant British TV series The Office. Kirkus Indie recently reviewed three offerings that explore workplace dynamics, with one focusing on the tantalizing subject of office gossip. We look forward to more entries on navigating the ever shifting workplace in 2023.
Bryan Gillette’s Epic Performance provides lessons from 100 endurance athletes and business executives on “reaching your peak.” Gillette presents five “pillars”: Envision, Plan, Iterate, Collaborate, and Perform. The advice in Iterate includes “Practicing when it doesn’t matter pays dividends when it does matter,” and “You get what you inspect, not what you expect.” Our reviewer calls the work “an outstanding performance playbook.”
In Harmony at Work, Susan Spero compares harmonious dealings with colleagues to music composition and ensembles. Work relationships, the author writes, “become more interesting when we have the skills to vary their tempo, volume, and structure,” even though “we may have no idea why it is so easy to make beautiful music with some people, and why other interactions may sound so out of tune.” According to our critic, the volume delivers “a refreshingly creative examination of how to work well with others.”
Gossip can transmit significant information and serve a valuable purpose in a company, argues Dominique J. Darmon in Have I Got Dirt for You. “Let’s say that you know that your boss…has a reputation for hitting on a record number of employees,” Darmon writes. “If a new, young colleague comes to work for your department, and…you notice the sleazebag flirting with her but choose to say nothing, you will eventually be judged quite poorly.” The book deftly looks at gossip as a key method of communication. “A sharp, lucid, and compelling study of a relatable but rarely discussed topic,” our reviewer writes.
Myra Forsberg is an Indie editor.
