Skills - People

Accountability: Freedom and Responsibility without Control, Rob Lebow and Randy Spitzer, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002 ISBN 157675183X
How do we get our team members to be accountable for their project work, for creating quality work, on schedule, and within cost commitments? Does a "command and control" approach really work? Are rewards, incentives, and performance appraisals the answer to getting the performance we need? This book’s answer is that such approaches don’t work well at all, at least in their typical form! This book provides alternative approaches via a fast-read story-based format.

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Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager, Vijay K. Verma, Hans J. Thamhain, Project Management Institute, 1996 ISBN 1880410419
Volume 2 of the Human Aspects of Project Management Series, this book focuses on human relations and interpersonal skills required in today's project management environments.

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Managing Politics and Conflict in Projects , Brian Irwin, Management Concepts, 2007 ISBN 156726221X
An easy-to-read, no-nonsense guide that walks you through the soft issues of project management, including communicating, negotiating, and influencing skills that are vital to your project success.

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Organizing Projects for Success, Vijay K. Verma, Project Management Inst, 1997 ISBN 1880410400
Volume 1 of the Human Aspects of Project Management Series, this book stresses the importance of organizational structure in supporting the effective management of cross-functional teams. Human behavior issues such as authority, accountability, commitment, and delegation are discussed at length. Aimed at both project managers and other project participants including top management.

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Right-Brain Project Management: A Complimentary Approach, by B. Michael Aucoin, Management Concepts, 2007, ISBN 1567262066
Grounded in real world project experiences and knowledge, Aucoin's "seven principles of right-brain project management," serve as a reminder to tap creative, intuitive, and interpersonal skills in order to supplement -- not replace -- traditional linear project management processes.

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Creating Leaderful Organizations: How to Bring Out Leadership in Everyone, Joseph A. Raelin, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2003 ISBN 157675233-X
Challenges the common expectation that every organization or group needs one primary leader setting the direction for everyone else.

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Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, E. D. Hirsch Jr., Pat Mulcahy (Editor), Vintage Books, 1988 ISBN 0394758439
E.D. Hirsch's classic thesis on the failure of the US education system to provide a cultural literacy foundation to our children. Includes a list of 5,000 essential facts to know (but, does not define them).

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Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Joseph F. Kett, E. D., Jr. Hirsch, James S. Trefil, Houghton Mifflin Co, 1993 ISBN 0395655978
A great cultural literacy reference text. Thousands of essential facts that every American should know, with definitions. 286 photos, maps, and line drawings.

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Engineering Management , Fraidoon Mazda, Addison Wesley , 1998 ISBN 0201177986
An excellent handbook for an engineering or technical manager. Includes sections on the business environment, strategy and decision making, financial management, and more. Part VII Management Skills includes chapters on leadership and motivation, teambuilding, effective communications, and time management.

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First Things First, Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger, and Rebecca R. Merrill, Simon and Schuster, 1995 ISBN 0671864416
A variation on the typical time-management book, this one teaches the Four-Quadrant approach to time management and prioritizing (Part III: leadership).

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How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie, Pocket Books, 1981 ISBN 0671723650
A classic! An inspirational, highly readable book full of stories about how to get along with and work well with people to accomplish our goals. Includes sections entitled Fundamental Techniques in Handling People, Six Ways to Make People Like You, How to Win People to your Way of Thinking, Be a Leader: How to Change People without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment.

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In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best-Run Companies , Tom Peters, Robert H. Waterman, Warner Books, 1988 ISBN 0446385077
The runaway best-seller that unlocks the secrets of the best-managed companies. The eight basic practices of successful organizations establish a new paradigm in the art of management.

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Leaders: Strategies for Taking Charge, Warren Bennis & Burt Nanus, Harperbusiness, 1997 ISBN 0887308392
The classic bestseller on leadership, updated to reflect today's corporate environment. Required reading for those trying to develop themselves as leaders.

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Leadership For Dummies®, Marshall Loeb, Stephen Kindel, IDG Books Worldwide, 1999 ISBN 0764551760
This book helps demystify the study of leadership and makes it approachable by anyone interested in building his or her leadership skills. Includes practical advice on team-building and on leading in difficult situations.

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Management - Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, Peter Drucker, Harperbusiness , 1993 ISBN 0887306152
The classic management textbook by "the founding father of the science of management". Over 800 pages of highly readable management history, practice, tools, techniques, and examples.

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Mining Group Gold: How to Cash in on the Collaborative Brain Power of a Group, Thomas A. Kayser, Irwin Professional Pub, 1995 ISBN 0786304294
An excellent book on building and maintaining collaboration within teams, and on making meetings more productive, effective, and meaningful.

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On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis, Perseus Books , 1994 2nd Edition ISBN 0201409291
The classic study of leadership. Bennis distills the essence and attributes of leadership from real-world case histories.

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On Leadership, John William Gardner, Free Press, 1989 ISBN 0029113113
This text reports on the state of leadership in corporate America today by presenting the results of a field study of organizations and hundreds of interviews with contemporary leaders.

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Quality or Else: The Revolution in World Business, Lloyd Dobyns, Clare Crawford-Mason, Houghton Mifflin Co , 1993 ISBN 039563749X
This is the story of Deming's success in Japan and the Total Quality movement, written by the team responsible for reporting on it in the US.

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The Change Masters: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the American Corporation, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Simon & Schuster , 1985 ISBN 0671528009
A guidebook for making successful changes in organizations. Case histories exemplify the pitfalls of organizational structure and how to avoid or repair them.

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The Leader of the Future (The Drucker Foundation Future Series), Frances Hesselbein (Editor), Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996 ISBN 0787901806
A compilation of twenty-five leadership essays by modern corporate icons that delineates the traits of successful leaders and their relationship to an organization.

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The Leader-Manager: Guidelines for Action, William D. Hitt, Battelle Press, 1988 ISBN 0935470409
A slim but comprehensive leadership primer for a new manager, and a set of concise reminders for more experienced managers. Includes a Leadership Assessment Inventory.

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The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations (The Jossey-Bass Management Series), James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner, Tom Peters, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996 ISBN 0787902691
Kouzes, et al updated the first edition of The Leadership Challenge. This work reflects the challenges facing leaders of human organizations in every discipline as they move into the new millennium.

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The Leadership Engine: How Winning Companies Build Leaders at Every Level, Noel M. Tichy, Harperbusiness, 1997 ISBN 0887307930
Through case histories and personal interviews, the book describes how to develop outstanding leadership abilities.

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The One Minute Manager, Spencer Johnson, Kenneth H. Blanchard, Berkeley Pub Group, 1993 ISBN 0425098478
A phenomenon when first published, the strategies of One Minute Management are as timely as ever, and will remain so as long as job satisfaction, employee morale, and profit and productivity building are top workplace priorities.

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The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Thomas S. Kuhn, University of Chicago Press, 1996 ISBN 0226458083
The influence of this classic work has spread far beyond its original subject area of progress and change in the sciences. This book originated the term "paradigm shift". A must-read reference work on the dynamics of organizational change.

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Accountability: Freedom and Responsibility without Control, Rob Lebow and Randy Spitzer, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2002 ISBN 157675183X
How do we get our team members to be accountable for their project work, for creating quality work, on schedule, and within cost commitments? Does a "command and control" approach really work? Are rewards, incentives, and performance appraisals the answer to getting the performance we need? This book’s answer is that such approaches don’t work well at all, at least in their typical form! This book provides alternative approaches via a fast-read story-based format.

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In Mixed Company: Small Group Communication, J. Dan Rothwell, Hbj College & School Div, 1997 ISBN 0155039857
Excellent book that deals with critical decision-making in a small group setting, exploring roles and dynamics of the team environment.

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Keeping the Team Going, Deborah Harrington-Mackin, AMACOM , 1996 ISBN 0081447004
In this sequel to her first book, Harrington-Mackin addresses the issues that face existing teams. This text is designed for the seasoned project manager who is in the throes of team management.

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Knights of the Tele-Round Table: 3rd Millennium Leadership , Jaclyn Kostner, Ph.D., Warner Books , 1994 ISBN 1884040012
Using a humorous fictional story format, this book presents useful tips and advice on managing distributed teams.

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Leadership For Dummies®, Marshall Loeb, Stephen Kindel, IDG Books Worldwide, 1999 ISBN 0764551760
This book helps demystify the study of leadership and makes it approachable by anyone interested in building his or her leadership skills. Includes practical advice on team-building and on leading in difficult situations.

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Leading Self-Directed Work Teams: A Guide to Developing New Team Leadership Skills (McGraw-Hill Training Series), Kimball Fisher, McGraw-Hill, 1993 ISBN 0070210713
This guide on how to transform traditional managers into leaders of self-directed work teams (SDWTs) includes a number of case studies of SDWTs at Kodak, Apple, Corning, Walmart, and other leading firms. Subjects covered include managing by flexible principles, team goal setting, resolution of team conflicts, and more. There are numerous useful checklists and tables.

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Managing Technical People: Innovation, Teamwork, and the Software Process (SEI Series in Software Engineering), Watts Humphrey, Addison-Wesley , 1996 ISBN 0201545977
Rich in advice regarding the special challenges of management in a technology environment. Topics include leadership, effective technical recruiting, and managing people in a software development cycle.

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Managing the Project Team, Vijay K. Verma, Project Management Institute, 1997 ISBN 1880410427
Volume 3 of the Human Aspects of Project Management Series, this book provides guidance for building high-performance teams from groups of people working together. The book presents a case for needing teams in today's business environment and provides a road map for creating effective teams.

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Managing Virtual Teams, Martha Haywood, Artech House , 1998 ISBN 0890069131
This well-researched book gives project managers insight to the complexities and requirements of managing geographically distributed teams. Topics include communication, team building, remote management skills, tool and technology aids, and more.

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Mining Group Gold: How to Cash in on the Collaborative Brain Power of a Group, Thomas A. Kayser, Irwin Professional Pub, 1995 ISBN 0786304294
An excellent book on building and maintaining collaboration within teams, and on making meetings more productive, effective, and meaningful.

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No Surprises Project Management: A Proven Early Warning System for Staying on Track, Timm J. Esque, Act Pub , 1999 ISBN 1882939042
An excellent guidebook for building commitment-based project plans and powerful, self-managed project teams. Includes detailed checklists, agendas, and templates.

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Please Understand Me: Character and Temperament Types , David Keirsey, Marilyn Bates , Prometheus Nemesis Book Co, 1984 ISBN 0960695400
A useful aid in teambuilding, this book helps you to identify and deal with different character and temperament types.

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Please Understand Me II: Temperament, Character, Intelligence, David Keirsey, Prometheus Nemesis, 1998 ISBN 1885705026
As in the 1984 original best seller, this recent revision includes the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, a user-friendly "personality inventory" that helps people find their personality style. This revision now includes an additional short questionnaire that identifies and classifies basic temperament types.

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Succeeding As a Self-Managed Team: A Practical Guide to Operating As a Self-Managed Work Team (Quality Improvement) , Richard Y. Chang, Mark J. Curtin (Contributor) , Chang Assoc, 1994 ISBN 1883553202
A guidebook for planning, organizing, and implementing the transition from a traditionally managed department or work group to a self-managed team. Topics include realigning management responsibilities and organizing workflow. Intended for managers, team leaders, and team members.

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Team-Based Project Management, James P. Lewis, AMACOM, 1997 ISBN 0814403646
This book helps you get the best performance from your team by covering all aspects of people-management. Topics include leadership, motivation, commitment, efficient meetings, and conflict resolution.

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The Project 50 (Reinventing Work): Fifty Ways to Transform Every "Task" into a Project That Matters!, Thomas J. Peters, Knopf , 1999 ISBN 0375407731
The Project 50 is a simple and handy guide that provides 50 easy steps to help the modern businessperson choose the right project, find the right team, develop strategies for success, and ultimately know when it's time to move on.

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The Team Building Tool Kit, Deborah Harrington-Mackin, AMACOM , 1994 ISBN 0814478263
Harrington-Mackin does an excellent job of compiling and presenting the fundamental tools necessary to produce effective teams.

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The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization , Jon R. Katzenbach, Douglas K. Smith, Harperbusiness, 1994 ISBN 0887306764
A highly acclaimed work that explores the dynamics of teams. Stories on dozens of teams distill out both common sense and "uncommon sense" understanding on why teams are effective and how to build, and profit from, high-performance teams.

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Coping With Difficult People, Robert N. Bramson, Dell Publishing Company, 1988 ISBN 0440202019
Bramson's best-selling guide gives clear advice -- down to the precise quotes for the oft tongue-tied -- on how to handle difficult people. Subjects include "stand up to anyone -- without fighting", "blunt a sniper's attack", "get a clam to talk", "manage bulldozers", "move a complainer into a problem-solving mode", and more.

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Dealing With People You Can't Stand: How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst , Rick Brinkman (Introduction), Rick Kirschner (Introduction), McGraw-Hill, 1994 ISBN 0070078386
Brinkman and Kirschner's popular seminars and tapes are now in book form. This entertaining guide identifies the 10 types of difficult people both on the job and in other situations -- including "tanks, snipers, grenades, know-it-alls, and think-they-know-it-alls"; and shows you how to bring out the best of people at their worst. The book helps you identify the root causes of conflict (where you yourself may be part of the "problem") and solutions that are systematic and easy to apply.

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Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation, William Ury, Bantam Doubleday Dell Pub, 1993 ISBN 0553371312
William Ury, co-author of the best-selling Getting to Yes, offers a proven breakthrough strategy for turning adversaries into negotiating partners.

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Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager, Vijay K. Verma, Hans J. Thamhain, Project Management Institute, 1996 ISBN 1880410419
Volume 2 of the Human Aspects of Project Management Series, this book focuses on human relations and interpersonal skills required in today's project management environments.

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The Human Side Of Project Management, Ruth Sizemore House, Addison Wesley , 1988 ISBN 020112355X
This book shows the project manager how to deal with the interpersonal side of the job. Through case studies from an imaginary company, the book provides templates and tools for dealing with people.

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Managing Conflict at Work, Jim Murphy, McGraw-Hill, 1993 ISBN 1556238908
A concise, 80-page gem on identifying and resolving conflicts. Helps readers develop their conflict resolution skills and identify root causes of conflicts in their organizations.

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Working with Difficult People, Muriel Solomon, Prentice Hall Press, 1990 ISBN 0139573909
This "at-a-glance" guidebook categorizes a number of difficult personality types by "your boss", "your colleague", and "your subordinate", and gives you strategies for dealing with conflict and building better relationships.

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Beyond Time Management, Business with Purpose, Robert J. Wright, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996 ISBN 0750697997
As its title suggests, this is more than just a how-to book on time management. It's a step-by-step guide to developing higher purposes in life and business. Rich in practical applications, useful illustrations, and inspirational examples of people finding and living their higher purpose.

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Managing Your Time, Jeff Davidson, Alpha Books, 1996 ISBN 0028610393
A readable, entertaining book with practical advice and insight on regaining control, eliminating waste, and effectively managing your time.

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Creative Time Management for the New Millennium, Jan Yager, Hannacroix Creek Books, 1999 ISBN 188926220X
The completely revised 2nd edition of Creative Time Management. It's a well-written, practical book that helps hyper-busy people organize their lives and get the most out of their time. Includes 7 creative time management principles to help you overcome 26 identified time wasters.

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The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More With Less, Richard Koch, Doubleday, 1999 ISBN 0385491743
Based on the Pareto Principal - 20 percent of effort expended on an activity produces 80 percent of the result - Koch shows you how to identify and keep that 20 percent and discard the 80 percent "low yield" activities.

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First Things First, Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger, and Rebecca R. Merrill, Simon and Schuster, 1995 ISBN 0671864416
A variation on the typical time-management book, this one teaches the Four-Quadrant approach to time management and prioritizing

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, Stephen R. Covey, Fireside, 1990 ISBN 0671708635
The best-selling manual for balancing and improving personal and professional effectiveness, this book will likely change your perception of how the world works. This is not a set of "quick-fix" shortcuts, but rather a penetrating work on productivity and time management to be studied and absorbed.

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The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management, Eric Verzuh, John Wiley & Sons, 1999 ISBN 0471325465
As with all of the Fast Forward MBA series, this book is designed as an on-the-job textbook delivering a wealth of project management know-how to folks with limited time for study. Good chapters on estimating and scheduling techniques.

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Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in , Roger Fisher, William Ury, Bruce Patton (Editor), Penguin USA, 1991 ISBN 0140157352
Fisher and Ury's text is focused on principled negotiation where issues are decided on their merits rather than through a haggling process. This book provides a concise, step-by-step, proven strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements.

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I Can See You Naked: A New Revised Edition of the National Bestseller on Making Fearless Presentations, Ron Hoff, Barrie Maguire (Illustrator) , Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1992 ISBN 0836280008
The outspoken and highly entertaining classic on giving presentations. Hoff offers dozens of ideas on how to make your next presentation your best presentation.

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In Mixed Company: Small Group Communication, J. Dan Rothwell, Hbj College & School Div, 1997 ISBN 0155039857
Excellent book that deals with critical decision-making in a small group setting, exploring roles and dynamics of the team environment.

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Language in Thought and Action, Alan R. Hayakawa (Contributor), Samuel I. Hayakawa, Robert MacNeil (Illustrator), Harcourt Brace, 1991 ISBN 0156482401
This book is an excellent study of how language works in our lives. The authors have updated and made current the original 1939 version of Language in Action which examined the dangers of propaganda. The current work is a thorough examination of how language works in our lives, the influencing factors of today's environment, and the centrality of communication in human interaction.

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Line by Line, How to Improve Your Own Writing, Claire Kehrwald Cook, Houghton Mifflin Co, 1986 ISBN 0395393914
Using hundreds of examples, an experienced copy editor shows how to improve your writing skills. An essential guide for anyone who needs to communicate clearly and effectively with the written word.

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Managers As Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning , Chip R. Bell, Berrett-Koehler, 1998 ISBN 1576750345
Presents the role of mentoring in today's business environments where new forms of leadership are replacing the old boss-subordinate relationship. A down-to-earth, practical guide.

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Mining Group Gold: How to Cash in on the Collaborative Brain Power of a Group, Thomas A. Kayser, Irwin Professional Pub, 1995 ISBN 0786304294
An excellent book on building and maintaining collaboration within teams, and on making meetings more productive, effective, and meaningful.

Buy the Book!

The Human Side Of Project Management, Ruth Sizemore House, Addison Wesley , 1988 ISBN 020112355X
This book shows the project manager how to deal with the interpersonal side of the job. Through case studies from an imaginary company, the book provides templates and tools for dealing with people.

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Write to the Point!: Letters, Memos, and Reports That Get Results , Rosemary T. Fruehling, N.B. Oldham , McGraw-Hill, 1992 ISBN 0070225559
A well-written and very readable guide that stresses conciseness, clarity, and good organization in written correspondence. It includes a primer on style, grammar and punctuation; and guidance, forms and examples for creating business letters, memos, and reports.

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