AMACOM President and Publisher Hank Kennedy Retires

Enjoying the good life in Florida.

The following is a note from Hank Kennedy, President and Publisher of AMACOM, that he wanted to share with our readers. Hank is retiring, and we wish him all the best. We already miss having him in the office!

After a 45 year career in the publishing industry I am retiring as president of AMACOM Books, a division of the American Management Association, where I have been for the last 18 years. Prior to that I was the College division President at MacMillan and Prentice Hall’s PTR division.

Publishing has consumed the major part of my work life and it has been nothing but an enjoyable experience.  We all know the great changes that have taken place from consolidation to distribution to eBooks to database publishing. Some of these changes have been difficult but in the long run some have been good for the industry.

It has been a pleasure to work with bright, energetic and creative people.   I can’t think of another industry  that allows the kind of opportunities that publishing does.  Hard work really does pay off.

Going forward, my wife Susie and I will be relocating to Ft. Myers, Florida where we have had a home for 10 years.  I plan to keep my hand in publishing through consulting and doing volunteer work at some of the outdoor facilities in Florida.

Please use my email address to stay in touch.

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to know so many publishers who truly care about the written word.

Sincerely,
Hank Kennedy

Thank you Hank, and please come back to visit us when you’re back in New York!

AMACOM’s Best Business Books of 2013

Titles from AMACOM earned spots on a number of “best of” lists in 2013 and received a number of awards and accolades. We post about these honors as they happen during the year, but we wanted to collect them in one spot as well. Congratulations to the authors whose dedication and hard work went into those books, and the AMACOM staff who helped bring them into print.

2013 Top Sales & Marketing Award Gold Medal from Top Sales World Magazine

• Conversations That Sell: Collaborate With Buyers and Make Every Conversation Count by Nancy Bleeke

10 Best Strategy Books to Beat the Competition from Small Business Trends

• Harvesting Intangible Assets: Uncover Hidden Revenue in Your Company’s Intellectual Property by Andrew J. Sherman

• High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service: Inspire Timeless Loyalty in the Demanding New World of Social Commerce by Micah Solomon

2013 Small Business Trends Book Awards from Small Business Trends

• The HR Answer Book: An Indispensable Guide for Managers and Human Resources Professionals by Shawn Smith and Rebecca Mazin,  one of the Top 10 Winners Overall

• Click Millionaires: Work Less, Live More with an Internet Business You Love by Scott Fox, Startup category

• Into the Storm: Lessons in Teamwork from the Treacherous Sydney to Hobart Ocean Race by Dennis N.T. Perkins with Jillian B. Murphy,  Leadership category

• High-Tech, High-Touch Customer Service: Inspire Timeless Loyalty in the Demanding New World of Social Commerce by Micah Solomon, Technology category

Soundview’s 30 Best Business Books of 2013

• Idea Agent: Leadership that Liberates Creativity and Accelerates Innovation by Lina M. Echeverría

• Well Said! Presentations and Conversations That Get Results by Darlene Price

• No More Pointless Meetings: Breakthrough Sessions That Will Revolutionize the Way You Work by Martin Murphy

• Real Influence: Persuade Without Pushing and Gain Without Giving In by Mark Goulston and John Ullmen

Eric Jacobson On Management and Leadership blog’s Top Leadership Books of 2013

• AMA Business Boot Camp: Management and Leadership Fundamentals That Will See You Successfully Through Your Career by Edward T. Reilly

• Manager 3.0: A Millennial’s Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management by Brad Karsh and Courtney Templin

• Unlimited Sales Success: 12 Simple Steps for Selling More Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy

Customer Service Newsletter’s Best Customer Service Books of 2013

• Delight Your Customers: 7 Simple Ways to Raise Your Customer Service From Ordinary to Extraordinary by Steve Curtin

• The Customer Service Survival Kit: What to Say to Defuse Even the Worst Customer Situations by Richard S. Gallagher

2013 ACRL Choice Outstanding Academic Titles

• Positioned: Strategic Workforce Planning That Gets the Right Person in the Right Job by Dan L. Ward, Rob Tripp, and Bill Maki

• Manager 3.0: A Millennial’s Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management by Brad Karsh and Courtney Templin

Finalist in the Business Category from the USA Best Book Awards

• Personality Power: Discover Your Unique Profile and Unlock Your Potential for Breakthrough Success by Shoya Zichy with Ann Bidou

Earlier Posts
AMACOM’s Best Business Books of 2011
AMACOM’s Best Business Books of 2012

Podcast: John Baldoni on Speaking with Presence

Presenting and public speaking are essential skills for leaders. John Baldoni, author of The Leader’s Guide to Speaking with Presence: How to Project Confidence, Conviction and Authority, shared tips to help executives build presentation skills on a recent American Management Association Edgewise Podcast.

According to most studies, the number one fear, more than death, is public speaking. Most of this fear happens before a presentation is made. John Baldoni, author of the new book, The Leaders Guide to Speaking with Presence, has some tips that will change your outlook on making a presentation, putting you in control and making it easier to walk out on that stage.

Listen to John Baldoni’s AMA Edgewise Podcast.

John Baldoni is president of Baldoni Consulting LLC. He is an internationally recognized executive coach, speaker, and author of a dozen leadership books. In 2013, Global Gurus International ranked John No. 14 on its list of the world’s top 30 leadership experts. John has written over 400 columns for the online sites of Harvard Business Review, Forbes and FastCompany.

Listen to more interviews with AMACOM authors on the AMA Edgewise Podcast.

It’s Not the Size of the Data—It’s How You Use It is Now Available on NetGalley

The latest addition to our NetGalley catalog, It’s Not the Size of the Data—It’s How You Use It: Smarter Marketing with Analytics and Dashboards by Koen Pauwels will interest readers who want to learn about big data. Book reviewers, journalists, librarians, academics, booksellers, bloggers, and other book and media professionals are invited to submit a request for an e-galley of It’s Not The Size of the Data—It’s How You Use It.

Brand tracking, CRM programs, trade shows, online behavior tracking, satisfaction studies. Mounds of marketing metrics are generated across touchpoints and channels. It can be information overload–too much, too scattered. But locked in the vast quantity of information are accurate, data-driven answers to every marketing question. Analytic dashboards are transformative web-based tools that gather, syn the size, and visually display essential data in real time, directly connecting marketing with performance.

World renowned marketing expert Koen Pauwels supplies a simple yet rigorous methodology and wealth of case studies to help any size organization, in any industry, turn data into productive action. He explains step by step how to:

● Gain crucial IT support
● Build a rock-solid database
● Select key leading performance indicators
● Design the optimal dashboard layout
● Use marketing analytics to improve decisions and reap rewards

Gut decisions are outdated and downright dangerous. Whether you’re trying to allocate resources between online and offline marketing, measure the ROI of specific efforts, or scale up a creative campaign, dashboard analytics bring scientific precision and insight to marketing efforts–with far better results.

Koen Pauwels, Ph.D., is an award-winning professor, consultant, and expert on the topic of marketing ROI. After receiving his Ph.D. at UCLA, he taught at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business before joining Ozyegin University in Turkey.

NetGalley is a service for people who read and recommend books, such as book reviewers, journalists, librarians, professors, booksellers, and bloggers.

There are a number of different reading options for this e-galley:

• Quick Browse. Preview the galley using NetGalley’s web-based reader.
• Download Galley. Read a Protected (DRM) galley on your computer, Sony Reader, B&N’s Nook, Kobo Reader, or other device. You’ll need Adobe Digital Editions (free software). You can also read on your iPad or iPhone via the Bluefire Reader app.
• Kindle. Send a NetGalley file to your Kindle device, using your @Kindle.com or @free.Kindle.com email address. Make sure to follow the instructions here. Note: The Kindle button works for Kindle devices only. By pressing the orange Kindle button for a NetGalley title, you can send the file to your Kindle device. You will not be able to share that file with any Kindle apps (like Kindle for PC or iPhone).
• Email Publisher. This button will allow you to email the publisher directly to request a reading option not currently enabled.

Find all of AMACOM’s e-galleys on NetGalley.

You can review how to get AMACOM’s digital galley request approval on NetGalley HERE.

Donny Ebenstein on Giving Difficult Feedback During a Performance Review

The following is a guest post by Donny Ebenstein, author of I Hear You: Repair Communication Breakdowns, Negotiate Successfully, and Build Consensus… in Three Simple Steps, presenting a scenario that illustrates three strategies to help managers communicate effectively during performance appraisals.

Milo, a manager at an investment bank, felt stuck.  He was about to conduct a year-end performance review for Pam, one of his direct reports.  Pam was a strong performer in many ways: clients loved her, and she generated significant revenue for the firm.

The problem was Pam’s interpersonal skills.  Pam’s team often grumbled about her harsh communication style, and Pam’s peers found her pushiness irritating.  These flaws were manageable in Pam’s current role, but a promotion would entail far more people management. Milo knew that Pam’s current skills weren’t up to the task.  At the same time, he dreaded Pam’s reaction to hearing she wasn’t getting promoted.  How should Milo manage this difficult performance review?

Here are three techniques Milo, and any manager, can use:

1. Give an overview of the feedback up front.  Your subordinate wants to know where this conversation is going.  If all is well, let them know that early on.  If there is a major problem, tell them that.  And if there is a major piece of information you need to share, such as the fact that the employee is not getting promoted, make sure you share that up front.  Burying the headline of the conversation wastes the time you have to discuss the feedback.  Get right to the heart of the matter, and then use the time to discuss whatever is most important.

Example: “Pam, we are going to be discussing your performance this year. You have many strengths, as well as some areas that need improvement.  As far as promotion goes, the feeling is that you are not quite ready for it.  I’m sure you are disappointed, and I’m hoping we can talk about it.” 

2. Share specific examples.  Whenever you deliver feedback, it is useful to offer concrete examples of what you mean.  This helps the recipient know what you are talking about, so that they can reflect and consider what you have said.  It sometimes takes a bit more effort to think of examples, but the investment is well worth it.  You may believe that the feedback is glaringly obvious, and the recipient must know exactly what you’re referring to when you say, “People perceive you as harsh.”  But remember that this is an area of weakness for your direct report, and that it is likely a blind spot where she doesn’t see her own behavior clearly.

Example: “One real problem is how you communicate with other staff members.  For example, in last week’s team meeting, you singled out one of the junior staff members for criticism in front of the whole team, and he was quite upset.”

3. Solicit the recipient’s input.  Asking for your employee’s thoughts about the feedback is essential.  It may be tempting to try to keep her from reacting, in order to avoid an argument about the content of the feedback.  But if you want an employee to truly reflect on your input and take it to heart, it helps to let her share her thinking.  A dialogue about your report’s performance is more likely to yield positive change than a monologue.

Example: “I’m sure this feedback is not easy to hear, and I’d like to get your reaction to it.  What do you think about what I am saying?” 

In the end, difficult performance reviews are just that – difficult.  No one likes getting bad news, and even if you deliver the message perfectly, it’s likely the person will have a negative reaction.  Keep in mind that the goal is not to have a fun, pleasant, stress-free conversation.  Rather, your goal is to share feedback that will help this person grow and improve.  That often requires the short-term pain of an honest feedback conversation to achieve the long-term gain of improved performance.  So keep a positive attitude and don’t have unrealistic expectations about how the other person may react.

And finally, remember the famous quote often attributed to Woody Allen: “80% of success is just showing up.”  Honest feedback, even delivered poorly, is much better than no feedback at all.  So just having the conversation is already an accomplishment.

Good luck!

Donny Ebenstein is an international expert in negotiation, communication, and conflict resolution. He is the founder and president of Ebenstein Consulting Inc., and works with professionals of all levels of seniority, from recent college graduates to partners, directors, and the top levels of management. Based in New York City, he has served clients in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia, with extensive experience in the Middle East.