Sometimes wandering down a bookstore aisle is like wandering along a buffet table. You want to everything, so you have to sample a little from each. If you fancy a nibble, we continue our Random Quotes from New Books series this September.
The 11 Laws of Likability: Relationship Networking… Because People Do Business with People They Like by Michelle Tillis Lederman
“Early in my career, I was trying to get a foot in the door at a major bank. I met an employee there named Roberto, who passed along the name and contact information of the training-department head, Kristi, and said I should use his name when I reached out to her. I did so, but got no response. A friend and former co-worker was also working at the bank, and several months earlier had offered to pass along my name if I ever wanted him to. I decided that the time had come to take him up on his offer. He re-introduced Kristi and me, and this time I heard back from her almost immediately. She said ‘I have been hearing your name all over the place.’ Apparently my name also came up in an HR forum that she was a part of. It wasn’t until she’d heard my name from multiple sources that she e-mailed me back.” (page 167)
A Manager’s Guide to Virtual Teams by Yael Zofi
“Cross-cultural workplace conflicts resemble car crashes. Sometimes they are minor events involving a couple of cars, and sometimes the damage is greater. Conflict situations are hard for all of us. But in the daily rush hours of our lives, when we add cultural differences to the constant traffic of heavy workloads, multiple deadlines, and occasional roadblocks, ‘crashes’ are inevitable.” (page 131)
Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That’s Leaving Them Behind by Richard Whitmire, Now in Paperback
“In the end, I don’t view feminized classrooms as the source of the problem. Elementary schools have always been staffed with nearly all female teachers, including during the times when boys were doing far better in school. (I should mention that higher education consultant Tom Mortenson, the dean of the gender gap experts, disagrees with me on this one, maintain that today’s female teachers are schooled in a feminist dogma that leaves them resistant to the idea that boys need to be taught in different ways.)” (page 97)
Administrative Assistant’s and Secretary’s Handbook by James Stroman, Kevin Wilson, Jennifer Wauson
“The tradition lines between copyediting and proofreading have blurred with the use of computers in business. Many administrative assistants must edit and proofread their own documents before they are distributed. In some large offices, a technical writer or documentation specialist may edit report that will be distributed to wide audiences within the company or communications destined for outside the company.” (page 341)
The Diversity Index: The Alarming Truth About Diversity in Corporate America…and What Can Be Done About It by Susan E. Reed
“As a result of Lockheed’s Plan for Progress, Ferguson moved into complex electrical installations. He became one of the company’s first black supervisors to manage both white and black employees, installing 30,000 wires of an all-weather landing system in one plane at a time. ‘I would keep up with the development of the airplane, the new systems of the airplane, and that made my job easy,’ he said.” (page 81)
Fundamentals of Project Management, Fourth Edition by Joseph Heagney
“Until around 1958, the only tool for scheduling projects was the bar chart (see Figure 7-1). Because Henry Gantt developed a complete notational system for showing progress with bar charts, they are often called Gantt charts. They are simple to construct and read and remain the best tool to use for communicating to team members what they need to do within given time frames. Arrow diagrams tend to be too complicated for some teams. Nevertheless, it is often helpful to show an arrow diagram to the people doing the work so that they understand interdependencies and why it is important that they complete certain tasks on time.” (page 82)
Customer Service Management Training 101: Quick and Easy Techniques That Get Great Results by Renee Evenson
“Your number one job is to make sure your employees get the results you need. When you commit the necessary time to monitor team, employee, and personal results, you will stay on track to achieve your goals. Since your customers are the ones who are responsible for keeping you and your team employed, your number one goal should always focus on customer satisfaction.” (page 157)
What are you going to add to your plate?
