As the director of the Creating Working Relationships Programme at Ashridge, one of Europe's top 20 business schools, Fiona Dent knows how important it is for individuals to work together effectively. In her latest pocketbook (she has also written our popular title on leadership) she describes how to create, develop and sustain constructive working relationships. 'Whatever your level in the organisation, profession, role or nationality', she says, 'much of your success will depend on how you interact with those around you.' The book describes how to create, build and sustain relationships. It identifies the key features that make a relationship work (eg openness and honesty, empathy, respect and trust) and those that don't (eg jealousy, arrogance, conflict of interest and misunderstanding). The focus is on helping readers recognise their own approaches to relationships at work, thereby enabling them to identify and understand the differences in other people's approaches and modify their own behaviour accordingly. This modification, combined with good interpersonal and communication skills, lies at the heart of relationship-building.

The key to career success and job satisfaction are effective working relationships. This book will help you to understand why relationships matter so much, what is happening when they go wrong and the different skills you need in different working environments. It will provide you with the tools and techniques required to make your relationships great, whether you are working in an office, working virtually, or blending both.

Tips and techniques to make connections, knit together individuals' skills and optimise outcomes

Written for leaders at all levels - strategic, organisational and team level - the Leadership Pocketbook explains how to inspire, influence, deal with change and achieve objectives. Illustrated throughout, the book adopts a practical approach, setting out the principles of leadership, the role of the leader, the skills required for effective leadership and the key challenges facing leaders in today's business environment. This 2nd edition sees the addition of a new section about leaders and social responsibility. "Contemporary business leaders must be aware of the major forces shaping society today and understand how their organisations need to respond and contribute to these challenges", author Fiona Dent writes. She is Director of Faculty Development at Ashridge where she is also Programme Director for the Influencing Strategies and Skills Programme. A focus of the book, described by the author as 'perhaps the most necessary skill for any leader', is self-awareness - to know yourself, to realise what your leadership strengths and weaknesses are and when you must continue to develop. "With admirable clarity, Fiona Dent distils the salient leadership issues and skills. Every potential leader and every leader with potential should find a place for this book in their pocket or bag." Philip Hodgson, Director of Leadership Programmes, Ashridge "A practical, easy to use guide for all levels of leadership. It covers a broad range of topics in sufficient detail to make it usable both for fresh learning and for reference." Richard Nicholson, Management Development Manager, Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd

Mindfulness is our capacity to focus, to really pay attention and use our brain's resources wisely. Using an 8-step model, the Mindfulness at Work Pocketbook will allow HR and OD practitioners, coaches and team leaders to experience it for themselves and see how they can develop and implement mindfulness-based interventions within their organisations. Building a mindfulness culture in the workplace brings significant benefits both to the individual (greater job satisfaction, less stress, improved performance) and the organisation (lower absenteeism, higher productivity, reduced costs). The 8-step model spans an eight-week period with exercises for each stage. It begins by raising awareness of how the mind works and continues by building mindfulness skills and sharpening awareness of thought processes, especially how these can trigger stress. Integrating mindfulness into everyday life is dealt with in the final stages. The many exercises afford plenty of opportunities for much-needed practice.

The updated, second edition of Self-managed Development Pocketbook has been updated and a second edition will be available in June 2016. The pocketbook gives an overview of the increasingly important process of self-managed development (SMD) in which individuals take responsibility for, and control of, their own development. The book looks at the reasons why SMD is growing in popularity and how it fits into the other organisational processes. Attention is then turned to the individual’s role: raising self-awareness (using techniques such as skills audits, performance reviews and SWOT), reviewing self-perceptions (to increase awareness of new possibilities) and, finally, action planning (setting objectives and measuring commitment and motivation). Apart from being of value to individuals seeking to develop new skills and capabilities, the Self-managed Development Pocketbook will also give HR professionals a clear understanding of SMD and how it fits within their strategic plans.

The Business Planning Pocketbook (3rd Edition) explains what issues to address, how to write a business plan, what questions to ask, how much detail to include and the time-frame to adopt. In the chapter on planning theory the author identifies eight different planning styles, followed in the next chapter with a description of the seven stages of the planning process. In his summary the author says: 'A plan is a statement of what you intend to achieve, how, when and with what resources'. A complex subject made simple. Author Neil Russell-Jones is widely published, speaks internationally, lectures and is a special advisor for the Princes Youth Business Trust. In the Management Pocketbooks Series he has also written books on decision-making, strategy, managing change and marketing.