Book Review: The Upper Hand: Winning Strategies from World-Class Negotiators by Michael Benoliel

 

One of the modules that I am taking this semester centers around International Management; I wanted something along the business line in addition to the slew of Communications modules that I have already taken. It was a good decision; I learnt loads from my professor who flew in from New York and I found an interest in Negotiation. 

We all negotiate everyday. Spouses negotiate whether they should buy takeaways or cook, employers and employees negotiate the latter's salaries, property buyers and agents negotiate over pricing; it is an intricate skill which requires sharpening. I was very intrigued by my professor who related her experiences with negotiation; the Japanese would want this and the Americans would want that. Some of the proceedings would drag on for months with no conclusion in sight. 

This is the second book that I read regarding Negotiation. I went to Goodreads and surprisingly, there were no reviews, save for two users who rated it on the lower end of the spectrum. I do not think this book deserves such a low rating so here's a book review from yours truly! Also, I seldom write reviews for non-fiction books so.. be easy on me. :D 

The book opens with a brief introduction to Negotiation and argues why it is extremely important to prepare for it. In the business world, preparation is key. Not only do you and your team prepare yourselves thoroughly, it is also essential to prepare about the opposite team. Knowing their background adequately and what makes them ticked for instance, are crucial to negotiation and winning it. 

There are a total of ten chapters altogether; each chapter highlights a principle. It opens with a quote and ends with a summary of key points in bulleted form. Besides the principles, the book is also chock full of stories from famous and experienced negotiators. There is a good variety of fields, ranging from the sporting world to media to politics and diplomats. 

The writing is simple, but easily comprehensible. Personally, I think that a writer has succeeded when he is able to use simple words to convey powerful and strong messages to people of all levels. You don't need to use big bombastic words just because you are going to deliver something important. I vaguely remember reading an article some years ago for the subject General Paper, where one of our politicians handed back a document to his subordinate and insisted that the latter re-worded it in simple terms. I also remember this incident between me and my significant other who's a science major in a local university; he showed me one of his assignments and asked for my take. I thought it was a pretty good piece of writing because I could follow his argument and this was coming from someone who has scant knowledge about Biology.  

If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. - Richard Feynman 

The key lies in having a good structure and using simple words for easy comprehension. I believe that the book will still be able to appeal to people who already have a certain amount of experience in negotiation such as businessmen and diplomats because of the way it is written and supported, thus making it a powerful read. As a college undergrad, I enjoyed the book (especially the stories) thoroughly and it has expanded my knowledge about Negotiation. I rate it out of 5 likes: 

Book Review: The Charm Bracelet by Melissa Hill

Set in New York City, single mom Holly O' Neill works at a vintage clothing shop called Secret Closet where members of the New York High Society send in designer clothes and accessories to be sold for charity or commissions. She loves her job and her young son Danny though she constantly frets that Danny will miss out from not having a fatherly figure in his life.

While sorting out a new batch of clothing sent in to Secret Closet, Holly chances upon a charm bracelet in the pocket of one of the pieces. Having a charm bracelet herself which she treasures, Holly postulates that the owner of the charm bracelet found in the clothing will be distressed by its loss. Determined to reunite the charm bracelet with the owner, Holly pulls out all the stops even if the only clues that she has are the charms themselves.

Greg Matthews, a banker at a top Wall Street brokerage firm in Lower Manhattan is no longer content with his plushy job despite the high income that he commands. Burned out, he decides to pull the plug on his job and chases after his passion - photography, instead. With his savings and girlfriend Karen's job, he is confident that they will be able to get through the first few months while he scouts around for photography jobs. However, after he breaks the news to Karen, she is less than delighted and worries that they may not have enough to get by.

As usual, I am not going to spoil the ending for ya. :) It is sweet and perhaps yes a lil predictable, but I love it nonetheless. I actually bought this book at a bookstore after work on a whim because the boyfriend wasn't too happy that he just spent 30 minutes with me at the bookstore and we were about to walk off empty-handed. *shoots him a baleful look* But I AM glad I did because having read the novel last year, it is going to one which I am going to re-read over and over again in the time to come. Moving on to what I like -

The characters which the author has created are very real instead of fluffy duffy (which I had the misfortune of reading from other novels)- it could have been anyone out there with the same concerns as them. I can identify with Karen's displeasure when she found out about Greg quitting his job without discussing it with her.

She breathed heavily, as if she suddenly felt the weight of the world rest upon her shoulders. She looked around at their well-appointed living room, as if trying to figure out what they'd need to sell first. 

"Baby, come on. Think positive. We are going to be fine." Greg stood up and reached for her. "I have faith in myself. I believe in what I can do. I thought you did too?" He hated how pleading he sounded. This is not how he pictured this conversation. 

Karen locked her eyes on his face and she said, blankly, "I do have faith in you, but I also thought that you considered me an equal partner in this relationship." 

"I do!" He said defensively. 

"I'm not so sure, Greg. You just put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders and you didn't even care about my opinion enough to consult me before you did it. You just ASSUMED." 

My favorite characters in the novel have to be Greg's parents - Jeff and Cristina, who are a loving couple. They set the stage for true love. In fact, love is a recurring theme in this book. Within Greg and Karen, Holly and her son Danny, and eventually, Holly and Greg whose paths are crossed when the novel is approaching the conclusion. A favorite quote of mine from the novel about love would be -

"Skating, it is a bit like true love - both parties must move fluidly in tandem together in order to achieve true perfection."

Speaking of the conclusion, I love it when novels wrap up nicely instead of a hasty harried one & Melissa Hill has done a great job with this novel. :)

The author has an adept way of making words come alive - I could clearly picture each scene in the novel with her descriptive and engaging lines even though I've never been to NYC before! Fans of chick lit will undoubtedly enjoy this one. It's my first time reading a book by Melissa Hill and it's certainly not going to be the last. :)

I rate it out of 5 likes:

 

Book Review: It Started with a Kiss by Miranda Dickinson

 

As the singer in a wedding band, Romily Parker has seen her fair share of happy endings, even though her own love life isn't quite as simple. On the last Saturday before Christmas, (shortly after disastrously declaring her love for best friend Charlie), Romily has a brief encounter with a handsome stranger whose heart-stopping kiss changes everything. 

Determined to find him again, Romily embarks on a year-long quest, helped (and sometimes hindered) by enthusiastic Uncle Dudley, cake-making Auntie Mags and flamboyant Wren. Will she find the man of her dreams? Or could true love be closer than she thinks? The ONLY book that you'll want to curl up with this winter -- perfect for fans of Jill Mansell and Sophie Kinsella. 

I vaguely remembered seeing this novel recommended to me on Goodreads & I made a mental note to check that out from the library should it be available. The cover was the first thing that caught my eye; with the pretty pink & white wintery jacket, it definitely struck several points with me. :) I'm big on image & presentation, especially when you consider the plethora of books out there demanding to be read. Furthermore, I'm a visual person; it's always the cover that catches my attention first. 

Having a crush on her best friend cum bandmate Charlie for 3 years, 29 year-old Romily decided to follow her heart and confessed to him just before Christmas. However, it backfired and Romily fled, only to collide into a wooden stall some distances later, causing fluffy stuffed toys to rain all over the floor. 

"Crazy woman! Look at this mess! It is ruined, ruined!" 

Thoroughly embarrassed, I scrambled to my feet, wincing as my bruised limbs creaked and groaned back into an upright position. 

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," I mumbled, grabbing armfuls of toys and wishing I could disappear. 

A man, who was subsequently named PK (Phantom Kisser) in the book, stopped to help her and gave her a kiss before disappearing off with his mate. Struck by the kiss, Romily decided to search for PK within a year. She was aided by Uncle Dudley and wife Auntie Mags, who acted as surrogate parents to Romily. CCTVs were watched, a blog was set up, even an advertisement was created in the papers! Charlie wasn't too pleased with Romily's fixation with PK either; what followed was rocky periods between the two best friends. 

I'll not spoil the ending for ya, you HAVE to read it for yourself :) It's an amazing read, chick lit at its best. Besides Romily's quest, there was also a significant amount of pages dedicated to Romily's best friend Wren and bandmates Jack, Tom and manage D'Wayne. Called The Pinstripes who played at weddings, they were extremely close and they put their efforts into the band wholeheartedly, making sure their clients got more than what they paid for. 

Romily acknowledged that her year-long quest to hunt down PK could be seen as a lil desperate, but she argued on the basis of doing something for herself before she turned thirty years old. The theme - searching for that elusive PK, was constantly addressed in the novel. But I think the author had done an excellent job in ensuring Romily did not appear too desperate despite the trickiness of it all. 

The conclusion (just before Christmas Eve) was sweet and heart-warming. What I loved was, the conclusion wrapped up nicely instead of a rushed and harried one. If you were to watch a movie, you would want it to end on a decent note too right ?! :P 

I can totally identify with Romily wanting to do something for herself. The novel really is about being there for your friends regardless of conflicts and being true to yourself and chasing after what makes you happy.  It's something which I have been thinking about for the longest time ever; I still can't quite figure out what is it that I truly want. Which was why I was totally rooting for Romily in her quest. 

As soon as my salary is here, it's straight to bookdepository to order a copy of this novel  :) I love it soooo much ^^ 

My rating out of 5 likes:

I know Christmas just whooshed past us almost 3 weeks ago BUT if you are looking for an awesome Christmassy chick lit novel, this is right up your alley and I hope you will love it as much as I do! :)