By Azhari Karim                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
HAVE you ever thought of what our managers are reading to keep                                                                                        
up-to-date with today's burning management issues?                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
It struck me forcefully as I toured the serried shelves of                                                                                            
books and magazines, and the collectibles, at the recently                                                                                            
concluded Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Perhaps this may not be the right place to look for good                                                                                              
management books or even magazines. For one thing, you cannot                                                                                         
browse at leisure.  You are accosted by harried salesmen who                                                                                          
want you to buy or subscribe to their magazines.  Usually, the                                                                                        
magazines do not count for much but the gifts that come with                                                                                          
the subscriptions are the main attraction.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
For the serious management reader, a day at any bookshop in                                                                                           
the city is the best answer. As you enter, the top-selling                                                                                            
titles greet you. On the shelves you can find a whole                                                                                                 
selection of the latest hardcovers and paperbacks. For the                                                                                            
more serious stuff, make your way to the shelf or cupboard                                                                                            
marked "Management."                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
You may find more books on management in the "Self                                                                                               
Improvement" section, "Autobiography" or "Biography" section,                                                                
and even the reference corner.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                      
No wonder the manager with a yearn for good reading material                                                                                          
finds it impossible to get to the right title!  I believe it                                                                                          
is partly because the word "management" has been defined in                                                                                 
different ways by different people.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
Generally, most bookshops classify books according to                                                                                                 
bestsellers, then the must-read titles, the serious titles                                                                                            
and, finally, the unclassifiable Self-Improvement section.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
It is another story with the magazines. Most are kept under                                                                                           
wraps, in the same way that most other important books are                                                                                            
subjected to. But at least they are easily identifiable. In                                                                                           
them managers can hope to find mostly current news on                                                                                                 
management trends and developments.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                      
After buying and reading them, they are either thrown away or                                                                                         
stored to gather dust.  Hopefully, the contents have been                                                                                             
chewed and digested by the buyers.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                      
A more professional way of keeping yourself informed on                                                                                               
management nowadays is to understand the psychology of the                                                                                            
authors as well as the publishers.  There must have been a                                                                                            
tacit understanding between the two to be business-like in the                                                                                        
marketing of the so-called books.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
Many go for sales promotion through the distribution of                                                                                               
promo-literature. Others publish best-seller lists. Some can                                                                                          
access the Internet to get to know the latest titles                                                                                                  
available.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                      
There is a better way: Know your way around the                                                                                                       
book-publishing trade. Ask ourselves what sells?  There are                                                                                           
five categories of books that fetch better sales:                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                      
* Books that go against the tide.  These are books that really                                                                                        
sell nowadays. They become bestsellers because they shock,                                                                                            
challenge the norm and thrive on man's penchant for stupidity                                                                                         
and unreason.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
Titles like Dilbert's Future, Swim With The Sharks, Giants                                                                                            
Learn To Dance, Age of Unrea. The Empty Rain Coat are very                                                                                            
eye-catching.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
* Success books. Publishers are running to bring out more of                                                                                          
such books. The reason is that success breeds success. There                                                                                          
is no shortage of soothsayers and gurus who can churn out                                                                                             
these books.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Many concentrate on problem solving, overcoming difficulties                                                                                          
and achieving one's full potential. Some come out with tried                                                                                          
and proven methods. Others present instant or canned recipes                                                                                          
for success.                                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                                      
Good examples of this genre are books on feng shui,                                                                                                   
inspirational and motivational books by Schuller, Zigler and                                                                                          
Covey, new titles bearing such captions as "Dare to Fail."                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
* Books that titillate. In this category we can put the comic                                                                                         
strips, cartoons and the favourites, collections of sayings                                                                                           
and quotations. Then there are those that bear outlandish                                                                                             
titles such as the Idiot's Series, Bluff Your Way Series and                                                                                          
the veritable short-cutt books and how-to achieve-something                                                                                           
book in seven days or three months. Above all, cartoon-books                                                                                          
sell - Dilbert's again.                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                      
* Pocket book. All types of sales techniques have been used to                                                                                        
gross the sales of these books. Their titles cover the whole                                                                                          
range of management subjects including the latest fads and                                                                                            
trendy ideas.                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                      
The packaging is certainly the crowd-puller. Again, in tune                                                                                           
with the times, the books are usually in several Can-Version,                                                                                         
CD-Roms, audio, video tapes and other multimedia formats.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Titles under this category are those written by Zig Ziglar,                                                                                           
Charles Handy, Dale Carnegie, Bennis, Kotter, Gary Hamel, Tom                                                                                         
Peters, Peter Drucker, and the like.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                                      
* Books on the local scene. In this final category are books                                                                                          
covering topics of local interests such as the rise and fall                                                                                          
of local industries, biographies of local businessmen and                                                                                             
leaders, and the not-to-be-missed directory of companies on                                                                                           
the KLSE.                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                      
Such books are not cheap because they are almost always                                                                                               
published abroad. Support for local titles has been very                                                                                              
encour aging if we look at the titles brought out by a                                                                                                
well-known local publisher such as Malaysian Human Resource                                                                                           
Management and Going Glocal.  There is also Quality From an                                                                                           
Islamic Perspective by another local publisher.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                      
Under this category too are books spotlighting subjects                                                                                               
pertaining to other countries in the region, particularly                                                                                             
Asean.                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                      
The foregoing has been an attempt to get our managers to read                                                                                         
more and become better informed in their discipline as well as                                                                                        
on management generally. One sure way to achieve this is to                                                                                           
understand what is being sold and how they are being sold.