When NOT to Use Email

Hands up those who have wished they could have an Undo feature on their email system, that allowed them to stop that message before the recipient opens it. We have all sent something in error - wherever it be to the wrong person, or in a fit of pique or even to the subject of the gossip rather than our confidante.

If you can identify with this, fear not. David Shipley and Will Schwalbe have produced a simple guide of when to avoid sending things that you may regret later. It makes for interesting reading.

Read the full Change This article here:

The Top 10 Most Over-rated Business Books

There are some books that seem to gather dust on every senior manager's bookshelf - the "business bibles" that have become the definitive guide to becoming a success at work. But how useful are these books in reality, and how much do they just recycle the same fluff in a different format?

BNET have reviewed the most popular business books, and suggested an alternative top 10 of good books to investigate. This list is likely to spark debate, and will certainly not meet with universal approval.

Read Geoffrey James' article here:

Is a good leader in a healthy organisation the right person to lead in a crisis?

What makes a good leader in a healthy company? What about a company in crisis? The two styles are different in focus, decision making, authority, and people. Understanding and managing these differences can help directors recruit the right talent to lead a company through good times and bad.

In a time of crisis and transition, who can handle the crisis management role within the company? This is a predicament. At such a turning point, clear thinking must prevail and a special set of skills must be applied.

For John Collard's article, click here:

Why Have Managers at all?

The renowned business expert Gary Hamel raised the question: “'To what question is "management" the answer?' Do we really only have managers because we don’t trust “employees” to get on with their work in a way that makes sense?"

In this article, Stefan Stern seeks to answer this, with the help of England's (almost) successful rugby team as an example.

Read on here:

Crisis Briefs

As soon as we heard of this potential crisis ("who for?" is the question) we felt obliged to inform our readers. Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay, Harry Potter author JK Rowling has revealed. Rowling outed Dumbledore, a central character in the books, while speaking to an audience of fans in New York.

The revelation was greeted with gasps, then applause. "I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy," the author quipped.

Gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said: "It's good that children's literature includes the reality of gay people, since we exist in every society.

"But I am disappointed that she did not make Dumbledore's sexuality explicit in the Harry Potter book. Making it obvious would have sent a much more powerful message of understanding and acceptance."

Rowling told the audience that while working on the planned sixth Potter film, Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, she spotted a reference in the script to a girl who once was of interest to Dumbledore, played by Sir Michael Gambon in the films. A note was duly passed to director David Yates, revealing the truth about her character. (ITN)

And finally a crisis management tool that docleaf have overlooked to date......Regular swearing at work can help boost team spirit among staff, allowing them to express better their feelings as well as develop social relationships, according to a study by researchers.

Yehuda Baruch, a professor of management at the University of East Anglia, and graduate Stuart Jenkins studied the use of profanity in the workplace and assessed its implications for managers. They assessed that swearing would become more common as traditional taboos are broken down, but the key appeared to be knowing when such language was appropriate and when to turn to blind eye.

The pair said swearing in front of senior staff or customers should be seriously discouraged or banned, but in other circumstances it helped foster solidarity among employees and express frustration, stress or other feelings. (AFP)