Gower Handbook of Management Skills, 3rd ed.

Citation

Morgan, S. (1998), "Gower Handbook of Management Skills, 3rd ed.", Library Management, Vol. 19 No. 7, pp. 440-441. https://doi.org/10.1108/lm.1998.19.7.440.4

“This is the book I wish I’d had in my desk drawer when I was first a manager … this is material you can trust. It is tried and tested”. These are not my words but those of the editor of this impressive volume, Dorothy Stewart, in her preface. Although quite naturally biased, she also happens to offer an accurate flavour of its content. Oh yes, you’re probably thinking, here we go again ‐ yet another book on how to manage successfully; the market is clearly saturated with such material, much of which seems to find its way on to airport bookshop shelves. This handbook, however, will find its way into the hands of practising and aspiring managers, into both public and private sector organisations, academic institutions and library and information centres without too much difficulty. The reason for this is its high quality sustained through 26 chapters (and the expertise of 25 specialists), 430 pages, 113 figures and all for less than £50. It also manages to be at the same time both immensely readable and putdownable: this is meant to be a compliment. It is easy to read because the words flow naturally, unencumbered by jargon or the dreaded acronym. It is putdownable because each chapter offers succinct practical guidance about each managerial element and moves on to the next ‐ and, possibly, totally different‐one. There have been some radical alterations from the second edition (1992) including 12 new chapters and the others rigorously updated to reflect the rapidly changing world. The relative absence of models and theoretical underpinning is also a welcome relief, although no management book would be complete without a mention of the motivational duo of Maslow and Herzberg (pp. 258‐67).

The book is divided into three parts: Part I Managing Yourself (8 chapters), Part II Managing Other People (13 chapters) and Part III Managing the Business (5 chapters). Chapter 1 represents more than just the introduction to Part I. Its theme of self‐development runs through the whole book and is currently very apposite, given the interest in lifelong learning. Other chapters in this part include managing three important things ‐ time, information and IT and also speaking in public (I particularly liked the notion of “vocal vitality”). The two chapters on coping with stress and managing your health are fascinating. I found myself becoming increasingly hypochondriacal as I turned each page ‐ heart disease, cancer, alcohol‐related illnesses, etc. Turning to lighter subjects, the most successful chapter is the one called simply “Writing”. It offers excellent advice about writing memos, reports or letters. The author goes through six stages: thinking, jotting, planning, writing (where most people start!), editing and proofreading. Good, clear advice.

Part II is really the meat of the book with 13 chapters about the wide range of skills needed to manage others. Particularly successful are the chapters that deal with the “touchy‐feely” aspects such as counselling, people skills, influencing, helping people learn and team building. These are some of the most difficult skills to acquire and yet these chapters give the reader the confidence to get to grips with real work situations. Other areas covered are recruitment and interviewing, listening, appraisal, dealing with problem staff, communication and meetings.

The final five chapters that make up Part III are rather a miscellaneous collection which could probably have been subsumed within Part I or II. Having said that, they are important topics and, with the exception of Chapter 22 on accounting, they have a very modern late 1990s flavour to them. Project management is integral to most organisational management these days and this chapter is well worth reading. Equally enlightening are the chapters on decision making and problem solving, negotiation and creativity.

Each chapter has a checklist of key points and a list of further reading ‐ usually between eight and 12 per chapter ‐ for those who wish to delve deeper. The illustrations, bullet points, use of bold print and italics and numbered lists all add to the text’s readability. I’m grateful to have been asked to review this book since it will now sit in my desk drawer in the way that the editor would have wished!