Herding Professional Cats

In increasingly competitive, 'knowledge worker' environments, people working at all levels prize their freedom and resist direction. The challenging job of leading them can often feel like the business of 'herding cats'. Herding Professional Cats offers advice and insights to leaders in the professions about tackling the classic 'cats' dilemma - how to manage intelligent, opinionated, independent and frequently difficult people without losing the competitive edge a professionalised workforce can bring. Herding Professional Cats is a new edition of the authors' 2010 bestselling book Herding Cats. It draws on their own top-level leadership experience and contains the information current leaders might wish they had known when they set out on their leadership careers. Davies and Garrett combine wisdom from senior academic and research colleagues around the world with new insights from experienced and perceptive leaders in a variety of professions, from lawyers, accountants and architects to consultants, doctors, journalists, public servants and even politicians. Herding Professional Cats covers key management and leadership themes, including: Governance and ethics Motivating performance Work-life balance Making tough strategic choices Social Media Leading change effectively Communication excellence. * "This is a gem of a publication." Geoffrey Green, formerly Senior Partner, Ashurst LLP, London * "This is one of the best business books I have read! The way you have structured the book really resonates with me. It was a joy to read, and offers some great insights." Satu Aavikko, Team Leader, Accenture Ltd, Sydney * "Herding Professional Cats is a 'must read' book. I will describe my impression in one word. Brilliant!" Dr Ramesh Mashelkar FRS, President, Global Research Alliance & Board Member; Reliance Industries Ltd; Tata Motors Ltd, Mumbai

"This is a gem of a publication." Geoffrey Green formerly Senior Partner, Ashurst LLP, UK "This is one of the best business books I have read! The way you have structured the book really resonates with me. It was a joy to read, and offers some great insights." Satu Aavikko Team Leader, Accenture Ltd, Sydney, Australia "What a triumph! It's informal, racy, brief. I loved the many quotes, but most importantly it is WISE!!! Sir Gus Nossal FRS formerly Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne, Australia "Herding Professional Cats is a 'must read' book. I will describe my impression in one word. Brilliant!" Dr Ramesh Mashelkar FRS President, Global Research Alliance; formerly Director General, CSIR National Laboratories, India "HPC is even more inspiring and instructive than its inspiring predecessor." Prof Bai Chunli President, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China "What a delightful day I've had, reading the manuscript of your new book - a fine text, and a wonderful extension of what was already a fine project." Dr Ian Steadman Director of Development, Oxford Brookes University, UK 'HPC is a lovely book ... many pearls of wisdom. I found myself constantly thinking 'That is so true' ." Sheridan Ash Director, PwC, UK

Sir Graeme Davies has had the singular honour of leading three major universities in the UK: Liverpool, Glasgow and London. A New Zealand educated materials engineer and Cambridge academic, he was Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding Council for England (1991 - 1995) and chaired the major pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (1996 - 2006). Currently, in addition to chairing various Trusts, he is a Non-Executive Member of the Public Interest Body of PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He was awarded a knighthood in the Queen's January 1996 Honours List. Dr Geoff Garrett coaches in leadership and change management for government and research organisations. A former South African 'Boss of the Year', he has led two of the world's major national research institutions: CSIR in South Africa (1995 - 2000) and CSIRO in Australia (2001 - 2008). Currently an advisor to the Queensland Government as Chief Scientist, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the June 2008 Queen's Birthday Honours List.