Like A Book

With 1995's multimillion-seller Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman spawned worldwide appreciation of the way emotional skills can outweigh IQ when it comes to personal achievement. Now Goleman expands his thinking to the social sphere, using the latest findings in neuroscience to describe how effective communication occurs in the workplace, how we detect lies and how entrepreneurs can use social intelligence to manage employees for peak performance.

Social Intelligence (Bantam, $28) is more about the interplay between our brains and our social interactions than what entrepreneurs can do to change the latter for the better. But Goleman does offer many insights that, with a little thought, can be made into how-tos. For instance, a section on mental states optimal for learning describes how a teacher powerfully engaged students by using a crossword puzzle to impart a Spanish lesson. He also suggests books and websites to help entre-preneurs read people's fleeting facial expressions and get better at connecting with customers, motivating employees and other important skills.

Look Over Here!
Business professor Oren Harari has written several well-regarded books about competition, and here he takes on the task of helping entrepreneurs stand out in a sea of me-too. In Break From the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy (Wharton School Publishing, $25.99), he reveals 10 mistakes that turn you into a commodity, six strategies for differentiation, and a 12-step program for leading break-from-the-pack initiatives. The many varied examples and anecdotes make his points vivid and memorable. For example, when describing how to exploit trends, he quotes Willie Nelson, who admits he did not invent the country music outlaw movement--he merely noticed what was happening and "acted like we started the whole thing.

Mark Henricks is Entrepreneur's "Staff Smarts" columnist.