BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource

In the mid-1980s, business professionals from a variety of fields were asked what percentage of the knowledge necessary for their jobs they had "stored" in their heads. The average answer was 75%; today, it's a fraction of that. What's needed now is "business intelligence," "business literacy" and "business wisdom"—strengths often innate, but more often learned. In his introduction, Goleman says "intelligence is distributed": a manager doesn't need to know it all; she just needs to know how to learn it when she needs it. Like a business library between two covers, this exhaustive reference offers a no-frills, serious approach to achieving the trifecta: in seven sections, over 200 contributors from Warren Bennis to Peter Drucker offer "insights, information, and practical guidance on every aspect of management." The Best Practice section includes some 160 mini-articles on competition, marketing, personnel and leadership; Management Checklists and Actionlists provide practical how-tos on conducting a termination interview, choosing an advertising agency and writing cover letters. Précis of key business books, both new (1998's Blur) and classic (1937's How to Win Friends and Influence People), make up the Management Library, while the Business Thinkers and Management Giants section profiles movers and shakers from Astor to Edison to Woolworth. The Dictionary clarifies acronyms and explains terms and slang (an unsophisticated investor is a "barefoot pilgrim"); and the World Business Almanac compiles vital stats on all 50 states, over 150 countries and 24 industries, from automotives to water. Finally, Business Information Sources lists the best sources on advertising, retirement planning, stress management and a host of other issues. Most sections offer lists of further resources, since the two-page entries are provocative but lean fare. Designed for maximum efficiency and readability despite the tiny type (there are bullet points, icons, headings and subheadings, sidebars, maps and charts), this volume will be what its title promises—as long as you can lift it. (On sale Sept. 16)

Forecast:A $500,000 ad/promo campaign, 22-market national radio and TV satellite tour, airport billboard advertising, print ads, online marketing and an altogether "quite different" advertising approach—which Perseus president and CEO McKeown would not divulge to PW—will push Business into the spotlight. It should enjoy strong initial sales and will undoubtedly find a place for itself perennially among MBAs, new business owners and managers on all levels.