The Hindu Business Line : Too little stress can be stressful too

BUSINESS as usual can become stale and unproductive. So, Chronicle Books (www.chroniclebooks.com) has brought out `Positive Business' series, to take a fresh look, and offer new strategies and techniques for success, and pack richly illustrated handbooks with the `best in current business thinking'. One of the titles in this series is on thriving under pressure: Clare Harris's Minimize Stress, Maximize Success.

An essential read for students because the author talks about how anxiety can create mental paralysis, a common problem in exam halls. "What's happening to us?" she asks in the very first chapter. "Stress has acquired a bad reputation. Originally, the term was used mainly by architects and engineers."

Certain amount of stress can create excitement and challenge, she points out. "Too little stress can be stressful too!" If you don't believe that, try sleeping all day. That's how underemployed people add stress to their system through boredom and frustration. A common misunderstanding is that working more and burnout are the same. "Many industrious people working under pressure can go home exhausted. Burnout is different." What is burnout? "It is what can happen when a person has been `running on empty' for a long time." A kind of tunnel vision, where "both mind and body are utterly worn out." Frightening, but that's a malaise affecting millions of people.

Rise of Rice

WHO is the most influential woman in American political history? Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor and a close confidante of President Bush, says Antonia Felix in Condi, published by Pocket Books (www.simonsays.com). You'd find it tucked along with pulp fiction, but don't miss it, because it is one great story of a black woman who broke barriers to excel in an arena dominated by white men.

Born in 1954, she became provost of Stanford University in 1993 — "first woman, first black person, and the youngest" because she was twenty years younger than all her predecessors had when they took the office, and she was `responsible for the university's entire $1.5 billion annual budget.'

A childhood pursuit was to become a pianist, till one day Rice "could not envision herself teaching piano for the rest of her life, helping kids `murder Beethoven'." Felix's style is racy and the biography reads like a story. Catch up more excitement in chapter 9 that comes last: It's about Sep 11 and how Rice ran the National Security Council meeting throughout the day from a bunker, with Bush and Cheney on conference call.

India that you don't know

YOU think you know your country. Better check that out with Frommer's India from Wiley (www.wiley.com). It has `outspoken opinions' to advise travellers on what's worth your time and what's not, tips on `exact prices', practical advice, and `off-the-beaten-path experiences' about `undiscovered gems'. Don't fume if your view doesn't gel with what may occur in the book because that's how `they' see things.

"India is one of the safest destinations in the world when it comes to violent assault or threat," says the literature. How heartening! Similarly, "Indians love to discuss all manner of subjects, and more educated individuals will readily get into a wonderfully heated debate — which may be one of your most memorable moments in India."

A current topic that can engage anybody, from the rickshaw puller to CEOs is election results. "India will humble, awe, frustrate, amaze, and intimidate — all in the same day," is how chapter 1 starts. There's lot of humour, such as `sharing a cup of chai with a perfect stranger', `helping Lord Venkateshwara repay his debt to the god of wealth'.

Do you know that Tirupati draws more pilgrims than Jerusalem does, or that Avnish Puri can take you on a `hidden Delhi' tour? Or that Lakshadweep is "one of India's best-kept secrets"? Read it before tourists do, else they'd be more knowledgeable than you.

Sign that reveals all

CULTURE police doesn't like dating but here's a book that can help you achieve `earthly bliss with your man'. Liz Rose's Bedazzled! published by Three Rivers Press (www.randomhouse.com) is an astrological guide dedicated to all her girlfriends. More importantly, it is about relationships between two halves of the world.

"Finding Mr Right (or the closest thing to him) looms high on most women's wish list," notes Liz. "And the journey can be a rocky road if one begins trekking with no guide or point of reference." Thus, the first info you have to get is the sun sign — "the single best piece of information a girl can have to set her in the right direction for potential love and understanding."

Men would be disappointed when Liz tells her audience: "Getting the inside scoop on your man's basic character is easier than you think." So, camouflaging won't work, because the book would reveal how they can get to know your birth date: "When he takes out his wallet to pay for lunch, ask if you can look at his driver's licence. ("Oh, can I see your picture? It's funny how most people look nothing like themselves on IDs.") Fun reading for men too.

Know-Grow-Own

SECRETS of leadership may be found in places where you are not looking. That's the message in Lost & Found, by Lyle Sussman, Sam Deep and Alex Stiber, published by Crown Business (www.crownbusiness.com). A book about which Ken Blanchard says: "I'm not sure what's harder: putting this book down before finishing it or finishing it without committing to a new style of leadership."

The credo of the book is simple: "Know-grow-own." For instance, knowing includes probing every premise — scrutinising assumptions under which you and your organisation work. To grow, you must stop making yourself and others indispensable. "Identify the crucial knowledge that only you have, and share that with others." Also, make your employees feel that coming to work provides an opportunity to enhance their skills and knowledge. "They should feel like they have a chance to expand their brain cells, not bury them."

Among tips to `own' are asking for suggestions, letting others set their goals, finding things to brag about, and resisting the temptation to find solutions yourself. First, find the book.

(Books courtesy: Fountainhead, Chennai. E-mail: fhbooks@satyam.net.in)

Tailpiece

"You may call people dumb but they are smart."

"Because they could use electronic gadgets for voting?"

"Not only that, they played their cards close to their chests."

ReadingRoom@TheHindu.co.in

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