Book Reviews
Dilemmas, Dilemmas; Practical Case Studies for Company Directors
by Julie Garland McLellan
ISBN: 9781449921965 , Publisher: Create Space, USA, March 2010.
Reviewed by: Ralph Evans
What do boards of directors actually do? In Anthony Trollope's Victorian masterpiece The Way We Live Now, they do precious little other than wave through whatever the boss of the company wants. Read More...
Step Beyond Your Limitations
by Suzanne Mercier
ISBN: N/A (it is a CD Rom release), Publisher: Filmstretch, 2009
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
Have you ever heard a successful person attribute their success to luck or being in the right place at the right time? Have you ever felt uneasy with praise; as if you didn't really deserve it? Have you ever ignored positive feedback to focus almost entirely upon the one or two negative remarks? There is a possibility that these occurrences are evidence of the "imposter syndrome" Read More...
Write to Govern. How to write effective senior management reports and board papers
by Mary Morel
ISBN: 978-0-646-51744-5, Publisher: The M Factor, 2009
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
The trouble with most books about writing is that they are usually written by writers, for writers. This book is an exception. Written by a businesswoman, Mary Morel writes specifically for executives, consultants and salespeople who need to inform or influence the Board. Read More...
Peaks and Valleys
by Spencer Johnson, MD
ISBN: 978-1-4391-0325-8, Publisher: Atria Books, 2009
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
I rather liked 'Who Moved My Cheese?' and was happy to be presented with a copy of its sequel 'Peaks and Valleys' at a networking forum. My happiness evaporated as I read the book. Read More...
Don't Picture Me Naked
by Michelle Bowden
ISBN: 978-0-9804090-3-1, Publisher: McPherson's, 2009
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This book caused me to revisit my presentations and rewrite my scripts. The result was noticeable and measurable: I got more liked. Read More...
Boards that Deliver
by Ram Charan
ISBN: 0-7879-7139-1, Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2005
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
Every so often you meet someone who has the ability to state things with such clarity that they appear instantly obvious and simple. Ram Charan is one of those people. His lucid descriptions evoke real situations with all their rich complexity of detail but without any of the clutter that prevents directors from decisive value adding action. Read More...
Family Businesses: How Directors can Manage Key Issues in a Family Firm
A Directors Guide edited by Tom Nash for the Institute of Directors (IoD).
ISBN: 0-7494-2947-X, Publisher: Director Publishing, 1998
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
The difficulties inherent in balancing the goals and needs of a family with those of a business are myriad and diverse. This small book covers most of the key issues including culture, conflict resolution, shareholder agreements, finance, remuneration of family and staff, motivation, succession planning, finding roles for family members within the business and engaging family members who don't work in the business. Read More...
Waltzing with the Elephant: a
comprehensive guide to directing and
controlling information technology
by Mark Toomey
ISBN: 978-0-9806830-0-4, Publisher: Infonomics, 2009
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
From time to time every Board will have to make a decision on a topic that none of the individual directors knows much about. These decisions are stressful; no director likes to be totally reliant upon management or consultants. There is often insufficient time for a proper education process and, apart from getting alternative quotes and seeking information about how comparable companies are dealing with the issue, directors often take the line of least resistance and accept management's recommendation. Read More...
Learned Optimism
by Martin Seligman
ISBN: 978-1400078394, Publisher: Vintage
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
Some boards will be facing this crisis with an optimistic opportunism that is alert for every possible advantage; others will be facing the same circumstances with pessimism and a focus on minimising losses. The former will emerge poised for growth; the latter may survive. But what makes boards react in such different ways? Read More...
Billionaire in Training: Because Millionaire isn’t rich enough…
by Bradley J Sugars
ISBN: 0-9580932-0-2, Publisher: Action International Pty Ltd
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
Many aspiring company directors find the search for professional (paid) board seats so frustrating that they report it almost easier to found and grow your own business than to get a seat on the board as an independent director. This book may disabuse them of that notion. Read More...
The Art of Conversation
by Hugh Gyton with Tracey Ward
Publisher: Customer Centred Consulting, 2009
ISBN: 9780980408706, Publisher: Messenger Publishing, 2007
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
Boards reach decisions through conversation. I was therefore thrilled to find a book that explains how to make conversations more effective. Read More...
Bait and Switch
by Barbara Ehrenreich
ISBN: 1-86207-897-1, Publisher: Granta Books, 2006
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This book recounts the highlights of a trawl through the murky world of ‘career transitions’. The author, a professional journalist with a deep dislike of corporations and their leaders, decided to attempt to gain employment by seeking paid help from various coaches, mentors, consultants and other programs. Read More...
Differencemakers; why doing good is great for business
by Ian Berry
Publisher:Customer Centred Consulting, 2009 Available from: www.ianberry.au.com
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This book was designed to be read in less than 2 hours yet still leave the reader with actions they could confidently take to make a positive difference. Read More...
The Boardroom Entrepreneur
by Mike Southon and Chris West
ISBN: 1-8441-3818-6, Publisher: Random House
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This book is a good read: full of simple clear advice for building an entrepreneurial spirit in even the largest of companies. It is for executives more than board members. Read More...
Presenting Phenomenally
by Derek Arden
ISBN-13:978-0954524586, Publisher: Tiptree House Publishing
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
A presentation that works? Why are some presenters credible and others not? Why do we want to do as some presenters suggest (or urge) but not as others do? I saw Derek present. His topic that day was `how to negotiate a higher fee'. Following the presentation I negotiated a fee that was double my previous highest fee. I have seen other negotiators attempt to teach their craft. Some taught me so well I could repeat all their key points. But none, until then, gave me the confidence to go out and apply that knowledge. Read More...
Boardrooms that Work: A guide to board dynamics
by Margot Cairnes
ISBN: 1-876604-25-5, Publisher: Australian Institute of Company Directors and Group of 100, 2003
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This is a succinct little book that distils meaning from a variety of observations and references to create a clear and simple message that is delivered in under an hour. Read More...
Managing Whole People
by Mark F. Herbert
ISBN: 978-0-9799394-2-6, Publisher: Real House Press, San Diego, California 2008
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This is an interesting little book, written entirely in the first person. The narrative traces the life and learnings of an HR practitioner; a sort of Pilgrim’s Progress for an HR believer. It is a great book for people who like autobiographies and hate textbooks. Read More...
The Humm Handbook; Lifting your level of emotional intelligence
by Christopher Golis
ISBN: 978 192 133 2029, Publisher: Wilkinson Publishing, 2007
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This is a practical compendium of simple tools for improving management of diverse personality types. The engineer in me absolutely loved the logical development of the framework, starting from the historical context for character type assessment, building through the simple emotional preferences into stereotypes and then into tools for managing each stereotype effectively. Read More...
The Dip
by Seth Godin
ISBN: 978-0-7499-2830-8, Publisher: Piatkus Books, 2007
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
You will get better at anything you attempt if you put in the effort. After a while you will need to put in more and more effort for less and less gain. If you stick to your guns you will emerge as one of the few experts at whatever it is you chose to do. Read More...
Boards That Work
by Geoffrey Kiel and Gavin Nicholson
ISBN: 0-074071237-3, Publisher: McGraw-Hill Australia, 2003
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This is one of the most well-read books I have; I refer to it all the time. What makes it so good? It is practical. Anyone reading this book can build a board charter and develop their own framework for analysing and improving the efficiency of their board. I should hate it! It could leave me unemployed! Read More...
Chairman of the Board; a Role in the Spotlight
Edited by Judith Madigan
ISBN: 978-1876604707, Publisher: Australian Institute of Company Directors, 2006
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
The most exciting thing about this book is the timing of its release. Shortly before the book was written OneTel Ltd (a publicly listed company) collapsed and there was intense media speculation about the role of the board and individual directors in the events leading up to the collapse. Read More...
The Way of the Superior Man
by David Deida
ISBN: 978-1-59179-257-4, Publisher: Sounds True Inc, 2004
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
Obviously, I am not the ideal target audience for this book. This book was recommended to me by a friend. I found it a confronting and difficult read. That said; it did seem to explain some of the unfortunate dynamics that I have witnessed between men and women in the boardroom. Read More...
Three Dimensional Ethics: Implementing Workplace Values
by Attracta Lagan and Brian Moran
ISBN: 0-9757422-3-X, Publisher: E Content Management, 2006
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
This book is deceptive! It looks small and lightweight and the tone is wonderfully clear and easy to assimilate but the content is deep and wide ranging. At the end of this book the reader will have covered ethical thinking from its earliest applications to the business environment right up to the present day. Read More...
The Board: Behind Closed Doors with the Directors of DFP, Inc.
by James R. Ukropina
ISBN: 1403382557, Publisher: Greenleaf Publishing, 2004
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
Boards are secretive. Although transparency and open disclosure are de rigueur for business activities, the boardroom is shrouded in a veil of confidentiality. Minutes are rarely a full transcript and, unless you are actually on the board, or in the room with them, you won't know how decisions were reached, who said what, to whom, how or why. Read More...
Corporate Social Opportunity! 7 steps to make corporate social responsibility work for your business
by David Grayson and Adrian Hodges
Publisher: Greenleaf Publishing, 2004
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
There is a tense stand off in our boardrooms between those who view corporate citizenship as essential for a valuable brand and future “license to operate” and those who firmly espouse the view that “the business of business is business”. Read More...
Inside the Boardroom: How Boards Really Work and the Coming Revolution in Corporate Governance
by Richard Leblanc and James Gillies
ISBN: 0-470-83520-6, Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.
Reviewed by: Julie Garland McLellan
It is fascinating to glimpse the habits and practises of others when they don’t realise that they are being watched. In this remarkable book Richard Leblanc gives first hand accounts of his observations during a five-year study of real board meetings in 29 commercial companies, 6 not-for- profit organisations and 4 government owned enterprises. Read More...