Shine: Using Brain Science to Get the Best from Your People
Edward M. Hallowell
Reviewed by admin Fri 10 Jun 11
Bob's Rating:
Shine has one of the best introductions I have read in a long while. Hallowell's story of meeting "Dr. Shine" at the airport was inspiring. This story also gave the author the opportunity to overview the content of the book and the concepts he was to cover. I couldn't wait to see what was to come and eagerly turned the pages.
My enthusiasm dissipated somewhat as the book progressed. Not that it's not good - it is. Hallowell does a great job of synthesising much of the brain psychology research into good messages for managers. However, I felt the explanation of the "Why?" at times overpowered and overshadowed the "How?" (this might work for managers).
For example, there was plenty of explanation, but merely two to three paragraphs on how a manager might use the important concept of framing/reframing.
For a visual reader such as myself, the "Cycle of Excellence" would lend itself to a visual/diagram. I could then see where the five key concepts - (Select, Connect, Play, Grapple and Grow) fitted in the cycle. This would also have been very useful as a review tool and as an "on the desk reminder" for everyday use at work.
To me, the book seems to be a cross between a management text and a "how to" for managers. If the target audience is indeed managers, then they might need to do some extrapolation of the concepts to work out how to apply them in practise. There were however, a number of places where the author gives a list of things one can do to implement some of the concepts of Shine and this is useful. In particular, Chapter 7 "The Cycle of Excellence" which summarises the book, will be most useful for managers - in fact, one could almost read the summary first and then go to other parts of the book if one needed further explanation.
In summary, this is a good book. Managers will find some good motivational tips for keeping oneself and others "shining".
Bob Selden, author What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers
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