This month I’d like to introduce a very interesting book written by Anni Towend called Assertiveness and Diversity - published by Palgrave Macmillan. (Currently only available in English)
Anni Townend is a leadership coach who believes organizations are healthier and happier places to work if people feel properly valued. Her book explores the benefits of better people management and the relationship between being able to be oneself and being assertive.
As well as explaining the theory and philosophy of assertiveness, the author includes several case studies and a variety of practical examples. She clearly sets out the difference between assertiveness and aggressiveness and the importance of self-awareness and self-respect to feelings of worth and value.

Another sections of the book focuses on assertive relationships and diversity in organizations, exploring themes such as performance reviews, work-life balance, and the business case for diversity and assertiveness. I personally found the chapters on personality types and team roles very helpful. As she points out, "people perform better and make a bigger contribution to the success of the business when they feel valued and respected for who they are and what they do".
The author uses a good mix of personal stories, and organizational case studies to illustrate the importance of assertiveness and diversity, especially when organizations are embracing change.
This book is an excellent resource for trainers, HR managers, and line managers.

Philip Deane

In our forty years of existence, this was probably the most difficult year we have ever faced as a company. As most of you know, Iwaki-san, our President and leader, passed away this year suddenly after a short battle with cancer.

For all of us (and perhaps many of you too) Iwakisan was an inspiration; he was a man of great honesty and integrity. His words and his actions were completely in synch; he never said one thing and did something different. He was full of joy and positive energy; the troubles and worries of daily life; such as a lost contract, a missed shinkansen or anything else, none of it ever seemed to get him down.

His untiring smile and his corny jokes carried us along through it all. And when anyone else was in pain or unhappy, nomatter the reason, he was always ready to listenand to personally do whatever it took to find asolution. In fact, we often thought he cared too much about other people and not enough about himself. And the thing that many of us envied him for was that he did what he loved and he loved what he did; he absolutely believed that helping others was the highest calling and most important work anyone could do.

We all miss him deeply and think about him daily and hope that one day we can be just a little bit like him.

Mark Beresford
Program Director