The Wall Street Journal Essential Guide to Management

Here's a business book that knows what it is: A beautifully constructed guide for the would-be manager or veteran. Murray, deputy managing editor of the Wall Street Journal and sophisticated business guru, is remarkably able to engage the reader and clarify subjects that are often discussed but seldom understood. Murray's common sense is easy to absorb. Great leaders "exhibit a paradoxical mix or arrogance and humility"; business survivors are the "ones who kept their heads." With intriguing anecdotal tales of top managers and execs, a focus on the importance of diversity and its impact on global business, the need to speak "truth to power" and maintain across-the-board measurability, Murray's message is an encouraging call for all concerned to realize the essence of strategic thinking. A brief but enlightening chapter deals with business in China; another addresses the basics of financial literacy and begins, "Don't skip this chapter." Other highlights include frequent references to the advice of avowed business experts and helpful "further reading" lists at the end of each chapter. A winner. (Aug.)