The Book Launch

“Shall I pop the corks on the bubbly yet, Maryanne?” David had his usual hint of mischief in his eyes.

“Linda and Stephanie just arrived in the lobby, and Kyle is bringing them up now. And Ryan is still letting folks into the Zoom meeting. Let’s wait.”

“Hi, everyone,” said Allison, who just joined remotely and was raising a glass. “Is it too early to start toasting?”

Maryanne Robertson is hosting a hybrid book launch at Kings for The Decisive Manager . Most of the networking group is in the conference room along with members of her HR team. Others are zooming in, like Allison and some of her colleagues.

Maryanne is excited about this latest book from Barbara Mitchell and Cornelia Gamlem, who she’s known for years.

Jason was distributing the signed copies that Maryanne had purchased and confirmed that Allison received the copies for her colleagues who were joining remotely.

“Good, it looks like everyone is here,” said Maryanne. “Let me introduce you to two of my favorite authors, Barbara and Cornelia, and their latest book, The Decisive Manager. I’ve read all of their books, and this one is a particularly excellent resource, written with managers in mind. I love the Q&A format, answering many of the vexing questions that managers have. I plan on keeping several copies in my office to share with managers when issues come up.”

“Thanks for inviting us today and for your support, Maryanne,” said Barbara. “As we all know, managers can often be blindsided with people issues and often react or over-react. We want them to use this book as a resource.”

“So much has changed about the workplace since 2020. How do you address these changes in the book?” asked Kyle. 

“And so much is still changing—that’s the challenge,” said Cornelia. “But in every section of the book we added a subsection, ‘Navigating the Changing Workplace’ to address some of these issues.”

“There are so many buzzwords in the press today about employees—the Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting,” said David. “Does the book address these issues?”

“Not directly,” said Barbara. “But we do talk about creating a positive employee experience, the importance of developing employees, and other ways to address these issues, which aren’t really new.”

“Managers always seem to push back on HR policies,” said Allison. “How do you handle that?”

“We stress up front, in the section on policies and practices, that policies are guidelines, not mandates, that they should be flexible, and that they are unique to each organization,” said Cornelia. “We provide examples of typical policies along with emerging policies to address all the changes that are happening.”

“Including layoffs? There have been so many in the news recently.”

“Yes, Allison. We have a whole section devoted to graceful endings.” 

“I often observe a rush to hire people in many of my clients’ organizations,” said Ellen. “What advice do you offer?”

“The book starts with Finding and Hiring the Best Talent,” said Barbara. “And we address many aspects of recruiting, interviewing, job postings, and referral programs. In fact, we answer a question about the pros and cons of filling a position or waiting.”

“What about compensation?” said Stephanie. “It’s such a hot topic these days.”

“Yes, and virtual workforces complicates it even more,” said Cornelia. “But we cover that, compensation transparency, and salary ranges along with other topics about total compensation, like emerging benefits.”

“Maryanne, I think we should buy copies of this book for all our managers. The ones in our field locations really need this.” said Kyle. 

“That’s a great idea, Kyle. Maryanne, where can we purchase copies for managers at our organizations?”

“I’m glad you asked, Allison. It’s available from most booksellers, especially Amazon at https://tinyurl.com/4rh275z7.”

Raising his glass to toast the authors, Jason chimed in, “Barbara and Cornelia, thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and experience through all your books. They really are great resources for every organization. And if the rest of you are wondering about their books, check out their website, www.bigbookofhr.com.”