The Hindu Business Line : <I>A dozen skills for the busy manager </I>

Time management. This is the first skill that you need to learn, in Ram Narain's "Twelve Management Skills for Success," from Viva (www.vivagroupindia.com) .

No waste of time, it is, to first know what can be time killers. Interestingly, the long list of `time wasters' begins with meetings, and ends with the boss, with procrastination, visitors, tea breaks, interruptions and so on in between. Thankfully, Narain discusses `time expanders' such as delegation, organising, diary maintenance, and use of travel time. Second skill in the book is `interpersonal', for explaining which the author draws upon TA (transactional analysis) and Johari Window. Increase `public area', he exhorts. "Share your thoughts, views and feelings with your friends, colleagues and family members. The more you open yourself, the more they will open themselves to you." Communication comes next, in the list of dozen skills. It has an informative section on tips for written communication. ABC principle is one such; it stands for accurate, brief and clear. Then come 9Cs, viz. correct, concise, clear, complete, courteous, concrete, consistent, convincing, and cheerful. Skill four is about presentation, which is made for one or more of the following purposes, viz. persuade, inform, teach/train, and entertain. What to do if, as a novice, you find that fear is overcoming you, after you have started the presentation? "Don't bother about the audience; think that you are speaking to yourself," instructs Narain. Other skills are of meeting, motivating, leadership and team building, quality management, customer service management, and managing performance.

Book you can count on for sharpening your skills.

http://BookPeek.blogspot.com

D. Murali