CEO training in a book? The Harvard Medical School Guide titled “CEO Psychology: Who Rises, Who Falls, and Why” is just that, according to Harvard Health Publications and RosettaBooks, which have released the new volume. Too bad more CEOs of large public companies have not read the book.

Or the book may not be what it is advertised as at all. If books helped make better CEOs, shareholders and stakeholders of thousands of corporations would be better off.

The publishers say that the book:

[I]ncludes leadership tips such as learning your personal profile, envisioning your career trajectory, and leading through engagement.

And it includes tips:

[T]o offer readers important ways to work with change, manage emotional needs in the workplace, and channel aggression.

The book authors have the right backgrounds, which should make the recommendations in the book a particularly important aid to chief executives.

Kenneth M. Settel, M.D., is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School where he teaches a course on Organizational Consultation to senior residents in Psychiatry. He is a principal in The Boswell Group, consulting to CEOs, their organizations and Boards of Directors, family businesses, and professional service organizations around issues of leadership, organizational development, and conflict resolution.

Boswell Group is a for-profit operation, and Settel is one of its consultants. For those who need his help, Settel even provides his e-mail address. The doctor can be reached at [email protected]. With his direct help, CEOs may not have to read the book at all.

The other author is:

Joseph Cardillo is a top-selling author in the fields of health, mind-body-spirit, and psychology. His books, including Can I Have Your Attention? How to Think Fast, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Concentration, have inspired people of all ages worldwide.

Cardillo’s work has appeared in the New York Post, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Family Circle, FIRST for Women, Curve, American Fitness Magazine and GoodHouseKeeping.com. How can anyone who has contributed to any of those media be anything other than a well-regarded expert? Cardillo can be reached through his own website. And, of course, he is on Twitter, where he has a sum total of 101 followers, which is enough to take anyone’s breath away.

The new book is part of an effort by the Harvard Medical School, which many experts believe is the premier medical school in the world. That, of course, improves the likelihood that the new book is really very useful.

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