From the Editor's Desk

Business management spans many functional disciplines, with some concepts cutting across the disciplines and having organization-wide implications. Even for an executive formally educated in business management, having a holistic management perspective is always challenging, given the pace at which management jargon keeps expanding and the changes in external business environments. Continuous knowledge updation at a personal level and simultaneous risk assessment at organizational level are perhaps the need of the hour. The first three book reviews in this issue cover these aspects, in different ways. The Essential Management Toolbox:Tools, Models and Notes for Managers and Consultants, the first review, is a ready reckoner on management concepts, authored by an academician- cum-consultant. A wide range of topics is covered, that even a non-MBA can follow easily. Organized Uncertainty: Designing a World of Risk Management and Strategic Risk Taking: A Framework for Risk Management provide fresh perspectives from experts on risk management. The former identifies the multiple risk dimensions and advocates developing enterprise-wide risk metrics. The latter points out that effective risk management not only helps manage downsides but also create value by taking advantage of potential upsides created by uncertainties.

The next set of three reviews provides unconventional approaches to organization-wide issues. The Performance Power Grid: The Proven Method to Create and Sustain Superior Organizational Performance presents a framework to put an organization on a path of continuous improvement. The major elements of the framework include powerful metrics (new customer addition, profit growth), power drivers (roles of key employees), a system to identify root causes of any problem(s) and strategic long-term objectives (customer value creation, revenue growth). Spiral Up: …And Other Management Secrets Behind Wildly Successful Initiatives critiques conventional management practices that focus on avoiding failure, rather than trigger innovative initiatives. Analyzing some exceptionally successful management initiatives, the author says that managers behind such initiatives reach out to seemingly unreachable targets, question the established assumptions, energize people, and `spiral up', i.e., continuously build further on a successful initiative. In X-Teams: How to Build Teams That Lead, Innovate, and Succeed the author contends that focusing on internal functioning of a team has to be complemented by taking care of the team's external factors. These include managing the power struggles surrounding team initiatives and managing up the organizational hierarchy in favor of the team.

One Foot Out the Door: How to combat the Psychological Recession That's alienating Employees and Hurting American Business though set in the US context, has important HR lessons in employee engagement for all. Humanizing the workplace, customizing rewards and better boss-subordinate relations are suggested to take care of employee morale affected by layoffs and a perception of lack of recognition.

We have tips in Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies for businesses to leverage online social networking tools to connect better with people, undertake market research, nip emerging PR crises and monitor their brand perceptions.

Getting Unstuck: How Deadends Become New Paths is a self-development book that suggests ways to overcome impasse in one's life. Besides positive thinking, mapping embedded passions and exploring what one `really' wants to do are advised.

Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons for the Young Professional, the inspirational autobiography of an Indian brought up in a typical middle class value system and who scaled professional achievements in IT, has many takeaways such as courage, foresight and effective leadership traits.

Happy Reading!

K Suresh