Accelerate With Impact

Colin Thompson

Publisher: Arima

Price: £12.99

ISBN: 9781845492892

Tracy Brown discovers that empowering employees may be the key to running a successful business

There is essentially nothing new in the message of this book, which is basically that in order to run an effective business, your employees need to be empowered to deliver highquality customer service.

Colin Thompson reminds business managers that in the 21st Century, competition for customers is hot and every employee needs to know what their THE COMPANY DIRECTOR’S DESKTOP GUIDE David Martin Publisher: Thorogood Price: £18.99 ISBN: 9781854186041 David Martin’s Desktop Guide is a comprehensive handbook, detailing how company and other legislation affects company directors. This fourth edition incorporates the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 as if they were already fully implemented. It is a tribute to Martin’s concise style as well as indicative of the everincreasing amount of legislation, that there is very little fat in its nearly 500 pages. For example, case studies are kept to a couple of paragraphs, setting out the principle in question and omitting most of the details. Martin sets out the director’s duties and offers practical suggestions on how to comply. The mechanism of the Board is fully explained and there is even a suggested seating plan designed to neutralise your opponents if you are anticipating a particularly sticky board meeting. A theme that runs throughout the book is that of personal liability and how a director needs to guard himself in an increasingly litigious society. Awareness of new developments in employment legislation, and satisfying corporate governance guidelines, is rightfully treated with importance. I have come across many books that have purported to cover similar ground, but most fail by being either too simplistic to be of practical value, or too academic and wordy to sustain the attention of the reader. The Desktop Guide succeeds where its rivals fail, by focusing on the details that matter to directors. It is an excellent guide to what you are letting yourself in for, if you accept that tap on the shoulder. Robin Chew is an AAT student member role is and how they can contribute to meeting customer needs. This is explained in the ‘Man on the Moon’ statement.

The book sets out a methodology for implementing change. It suggests that the key to bringing about successful change is effective management of the workforce and the right attitude among employees.

In the middle of the book is a gem of a chapter, just two pages called ‘Disciplines of Champions.’ It lists six suggestions for disciplines that a champion develops, which can be applied to life in general and not just to a business environment. Suggestion five is “a love for serving others”, which is certainly a different message and a challenging discipline to adopt.

Although my initial impression was that the book was a bit haphazard, I actually think that it was well presented using plain language without jargon. It has clear chapter headings and section titles and is a well-paced read; you could easily dip in and out at any point making it a good reference tool. There are plenty of checklists and it is full of some very apt quotes.

Tracy Brown is a Finance Manager at Yell