Job Security and Emotional Intelligence

Author says emotional intelligence is key to job security

and we agree!

To learn more about emotional intelligence, take THE EQ COURSE or sign on for some EQ coaching. You won't regret it!

Some quotes from the article:

With the United States in an ongoing unemployment crisis, two authors have offered strategies to help you keep your job.

“Fifty-eight percent of job performance is affected by emotional intelligence,” said author Travis Bradberry during a telephone interview with The Herald-Mail.

Bradberry said emotional intelligence is more than just feelings. It involves understanding and managing your emotions and the emotions of others. This has an impact on many aspects of life, including working.

“A person with the ability to understand emotions in the moment, to use that awareness to manage behavior, to read the emotions of other people and use those things to manage relationships is someone who is highly emotionally intelligent,” Bradberry said. “It’s a skill that helps you hang onto your job these days.”

“Learning about emotional intelligence teaches you to roll with the punches, understand your emotions, understand the emotions of other people and how to approach tasks more efficiently,” Bradberry said, “It arms you with the tools to navigate those situations.”

Local managers contacted for this story agreed that customer service is important in their workplaces.

Bill Sonnik, director of the Human Resources Department of Washington County said he believes individuals who display higher emotional intelligence will be more successful in the workplace.

Karen Cook, assistant manager of Gap Outlet at Prime Outlet Center, south of Hagerstown, said she is more likely to hire an employee who is more emotionally aware and can read the people around them.

She said physical cues include smiling (indicating satisfaction), crossing arms (unhappiness or concern) or squinting eyes (unhappiness or concern).

“You can’t turn an emotion on or off. All you can do is choose what to do in response to it,” he said.

Pilots Need Emotional Intelligence

PILOTS BEING TESTED FOR THEIR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE?

"You can't learn it in the classroom like your IQ stuff," says Dr. Stein, in an article about pilots and emotional intelligence. "To learn emotional skills, you've got to go out there and practise them in the real world. You've got to interact with people and think about how that interaction goes..." Some people have even brought in coaches to help them improve their EQ," he adds.

DO pilots need to have Emotional Intelligence? Yes, they do, we find out in an article called emotional workplace -- and indeed any workplace is "emotional." The funniest question I've been asked on my expert column was, "Do you think emotions belong in the workplace?" Hmmm. It doesn't matter what my opinion is -- or yours either, with all due respect -- because emotions are in the workplace whether you like it or not, like the sun in the sky.

And you must now how to deal with emotions in an intelligence manner in order to succeed -- yours, theirs, ours, his and hers. This becomes increasingly complex in the current multicultural scene many people work in.

From the article

Do you say what you think even if it upsets someone? Do you ask people for help if a task seems too hard? Do you find it hard to enjoy life? Are you happy? At your next job interview, it might be your inner self the employer is most interested in, not what's listed on your resume or stored in your brain. While experience and IQ opened doors in the past, organizations from Air Canada, American Express and Deloitte to the U.S. Air Force, are looking at EQ -- emotional intelligence -- as a key indicator of a person's success at work. We've all heard of IQ, but what is EQ?

"Emotional intelligence is your ability to be aware of your emotions, to manage them, to be aware of the emotions of the people around you and to manage those to some degree as well," says clinical psychologist Steven Stein... When you have emotionally intelligent leaders, managers and people, things go better."

Dismissed by some back then as a fad, Dr. Stein says there has been renewed
interest in the field today as companies recognize the value of hiring and promoting emotionally superior workers, especially with the increased importance placed on leadership, team work and office culture.

"People with higher emotional skills are more able to get help and muster teams, they're able to be seen more as leaders and are more likely to be put in leadership positions. They get promoted faster," he says. Indeed, while IQ might get a person through the door, success is largely a matter of EQ, says Dr. Stein. "People often get hired because of their IQ. But what happens once you're hired is, the ones who do better on the job are usually the ones with the higher EQ," he says.

Air Canada has used an EQ assessment on 650 new pilots hired since 2005.

"An airline captain is ... a team leader. He's overseeing the cockpit crew, the flight deck crew as well as the cabin crew. And he's not only interacting with the other crew members but also with other departments within the airline," says Capt. Dave Legge, vice-president of flight operations. "Obviously, if you have to interact well
with other people, these are instruments that we can use during the selection process to identify people that have these enhanced skills," he says.

Read full article here: The emotional workplace

To find out what your EQ is, take THE EQ MAP. Then get coaching. As the article says, you can't learn it just from a book.

Please note: The article ends with something about the coach helping them tell how they're feeling during different points in the day. EQ coaches do a lot more than that. Come find out! 817-734-1471, sdunn@susandunn.cc, http://www.susandunn.cc/ .

Examining the alpha male at work

Examining the alpha male at work - CNN.com

As an early-adopter of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ) I was thrilled to see this article. I, too, have studied the alpha male - - from the vantage point of EQ v. IQ.

Each of the 4 types of alpha males (commander, visionary, strategist, and executor) has its downside, says this article on cnn.com's CareerBuilder, and, most interestingly, the climate is changing -- the alpha males may go the way of the dinosaurs as the influence of more women in the workforce has brought in emotional intelligence and affilitiave, collaborative behavior. Or is it the influence of more EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE in the workplace.

The great divide began when we had to leave Freud and Freudian psychology behind ... the drives - - sex and aggression - - well there's a lot more driving people today, like wanting to enjoy life, find meaning in their work, balance in their lives, and room for the emotional factor. Most important decisions must be made by other than strictly rational, logical means, after all. If you could choose the best stock rationally, all us investors would be millionaires - there are charts, after all. And if you could choose the best candidate for a job by their resume alone, it wouldn't be the miasma that it is, would it? No, it takes intuition, gut feeling, creativity, flexibility, and a host of other EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE competencies.

EQ (Emotional Intelligence) is now looked for as well as IQ in management, leadership and the workplace. In fact it's slowly being demanded in the workplace. If the average job in the US now is 18 months, one of the reasons people leave is because of abusive management. We cannot do our best work in an atmosphere of nit-picking, or where we're ignored, or devalued in comparison to data, for instance. And your EQ will tell you that most of us truly want to succeed, grow, learn, help others in the workplace to do the same, and to be appreciated. Not all the time, but just enough.

Take for instance the alpha male called The Executor. Probably my least favorite to work for because (to me) the Visionary is inspiring; strategists' minds are so fascinating and in my world they generally find a way to avoid much contact with people; and commanders are energizing. I worked for all of these types in my day (and that's why I'm not self-employed!)

Executors, however, are micro-managers who cramp your style, eschew anything creative or "outside the box," and never give priase, but rather pick, pick and pick, and most importantly, must assign blame. I've seen then stop the whole parade for as long as an hour or more, to get out their miocroscope and investigate a rather inconsequential incident. When I'm around one, I always want to shout, "Stop! Just fix it! Let your people free!"

So many things in the workplace today, particularly because it IS more collaborative, are a failing of systems or equipment, or simple one-time human error -- not something that can be fixed. And it takes a real micro-manager to stop the flow of a project, particularly under pressure of a deadline, to fly-speck and see "whose fault it was."

How much better to say to the human who failed at that one point, "That's not like you!" than to harp on the mistake. Someone who continually fails, sure, and particularly one who intentionally sabotages, but the average person having a bad moment or day ... well, it's NOT LIKE THEM, so move forward. Guilt, blame, tempers and anger accomplish th exact opposite of anyone's intent. And lets hope those few people, among them managers, who enjoy making other people miserable, are really on their last legs in the workplace.

Okay. Now I'm off my soap box. But I'm an emotional intelligence coach after all, and I KNOW that EQ matters more in managing people than IQ does. Perhaps the time has come to let the sheer intellect types work in isolation (which they generally prefer), and keep them away from management, which annoys both sides of the equation.

There should be ladders of promotion on two tracks - the people side, and the OTHER side.

The most heartening thing about the article is that emotional intellingence has become so well-known and valued.

We were an early-adopter and have helped so many people improve their lives, and the lives of those around them through emotional intelligence. It is truly the "common language," as I have trained and worked with people around the globe, who immediately catch on to the power of emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence is empowering. Get involved! See me for coaching, or to take the EQ course. Email me at sdunn@susandunn.cc

Learn How to Make Your Workplace Happier and More Productive

Learn about the 7 Key Steps to Make Your Workplace Happier and More Productive

THE MAJOR KEY IS WELLNESS ... being in top shape physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Emotions effect our wellness - as Candace Pert, Ph.D. says, our emotions are in every cell of our body. Try ARBONNE for feeling your best. You cannot follow any of the 7 steps unless you are robust, energetic and healthy. Shop safely online with me at MyArbonne. I use only their products, cosmetics, supplements, lotions (they are PURE) and I haven't missed a day of work (or fun) in 4 years. Have you? What you put on your skin is absorbed into your bloodstream.
________________________________________________________
What's the key to a great workplace?

Emotional Intelligence ... according to Dr. Steven Stein, who studies emotional intelligence, or EQ, these are the 7 keys from his new book:

THE 7 KEYS (Go HERE to read the whole article.)

1. Hire capable people who love the work they do and show how they contribute to the bigger picture.

2. Compensate people fairly.

3. Don't overwork (or under work) people.

4. Build strong teams with shared purpose and viable goals.

5. Make sure managers can manage.

6. Treat people with respect and leverage their unique talents.

7. Be proactively responsible by doing the right things to win the hearts and minds of your people.

All of these are signs that the workplace has a high EQ or emotional intelligence. "Happy" people ar emore productive, and one thing we learn from studying emotional intelligence, which I like to combine with the StrengthsFinder assessment (because it is NOT all about "emotions") is that what makes one person "happy" in the workplace, does not make another person "happy."

Look around in an average office these days and you will find all ages, cultures, backgrounds, etc. I was observing one alpha male today. The office is under a huge crunch, and many are wearing down. This man absolutely LOVES to work and "churn it out." He gets HAPPIER as the pressure builds, more cheerful as the day progresses, and I find hi absolutely energizing. Why? Because emotions are contagious. There's nothing like a leader who can smile when the going gets rough, and can show what I call "grace under pressure."

Want to know more about it? Take the EQ course.

It's all about GRACE UNDER PRESSURE.

Everyone's Talking about Emotional Intelligence

A SAFER PLACE by fernety (with permission)

Posts - Discussions of a BlondeVixen

Her friends are bouncing from one work drama to another, so she's reading Goleman to learn more about emotional intelligence. It's the BUZZ WORD in MANAGEMENT she says. Emotional intelligence ... the buzz word in management.

What took them so long?

Of course it's best to actively learn emotional intelligence, which you can through my Internet course, with or without coaching to accompany. The more, the better, though. You can really accelerate your learning curve.

We spend 8, 10, 12 hours a day at work ... 5, 6 days a week.

Won't it be nice when everyone knows EQ??

Take THE COURSE.

First Day on the New Job: Emotional Intelligence

Gone to Chicago for the week on business. Blog will resume when I return.

Can't wait to see my home town again. Hope there are snow flurries. Plan to see Fledermaus at the Lyric, eat a Loyds, stay at the Palmer House (OK, HILTON). I'm excited and in a special kind of way, because this is going home to me. Today's blog recommendation talks about this sort of thing - or rather the great discomfort we feel when we are going somewhere totally new - including a new job.

Check it out: "Your First Day on the Job"

Most of us have had two or more "first days on the new job" and know that it can be hell. Why then, asks our blogger, don't others try and make it more amenable?

THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.

It can set the tone for the the rest of the engagement so to speak.

He answers his own question, with a bit of the self-awareness we get from emotional intelligence: "I can only think that it must be the result of the general lack of emotional intelligence that one sees in the average IT workplace, combined with the poor standard of management that seems a ubiquitous feature of corporate environments ..."

Self-awareness -- because we moved a lot when I was a kid (for good reasons, at least for my parents), I've always had a soft spot for the "new kid on the block." When I worked in an office, I was usually the one to look after the new person - unofficially of course. I made sure they knew where the bathroom and coffee were, and supplies; offered to help when I saw them looking lost; asked them for lunch early on.

During my years in offices I had good and bad experiences in this respect. I know that when I was introduced properly to the others, my early weeks in the new place were a delight, and it bore fruit in the long-term.

We - human beings - are naturally xenophobic. We do not like strangers. Underneath, we fear them. It's natural. And I'm afraid it's exacerbated by the things we hear in the media. Nevertheless, it's EQ, and it's civilized behavior, and etiquette, to do what you can to make the new person feel AT HOME.

Just say "yes." Hazing and hell week belong on the college campus, for youngsters (whose neocortexes are not fully yet developed - or their EQ).

It's the decent thing to do, and it's emotionally intelligent!

Sweet Revenge and Emotional Intelligence

It's on the Socially Responsible Business Forum today - WANTED: EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT LEADERSHIP
Posted by John Schneider

He refers to "Sweet Revenge," this week's BusinessWeek cover story.

Those of us who lived in San Antonio TX are perhaps more aware of this than others (because of the story surrounding the disappearance of Heidi). I don't know the outcome or that her abductor has ever been convicted. There is also the story of "Othello." There is nothing new under the sun.

According to the blog:

‘Sweet Revenge’ provides an interesting look at how endemic revenge is in the
marketplace. It also highlights the steps that corporate managers will take to
avenge a perceived wrong.

While the article points out the positive
aspects of revenge on executive behavior (come-backs, business start-ups,
whistle blowing), the article neglects to mention the collateral damage that
usually accompanies these moves.

When it comes to socially responsible
business management, emotional intelligence not only leads to better business
decisions, but better workplaces as well. As noted in the soon to be released
book Firms of Endearment, companies with a high number of emotionally
intelligent employees are not only more ethical, but show a stronger bottom line
compared to other companies. While revenge may be sweet, it is often
counterproductive to the values embodied by socially responsible business and
causes more harm than good.

Did that need to be said?

We recommend for your career that you get our "Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace" certificate on your resume. Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for more information.

It can only advance your career. One of the trends is that employers will be hiring for emotional intelligence. Interviewers are starting to be trained to look for it, and until this is perfected, you're at the mercy of the uninformed. You need to know how to show what they're looking for when they don't know how to ask for it.

This certificatation program will also inform you what to look for in the workplace, co-workers and management you're considering. And we recommend the EQ program for management. A high EQ workplace does better in all respects.

#1 New Year's Resolution

I BET I KNOW WHAT YOUR TOP 2 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS ARE

"Resolution". It's another word for Intentionality, an emotional intelligence component.

Some facts about New Year's Resolutions:

• For most people, the #1 resolution is losing weight, getting fit, getting back in shape, exercising more, eating right ... some form of wellness.
• Next is something you want to "give up", some bad habit. Quit smoking. Quit self-sabotaging. Stop yelling at my kids. Stop fighting with my partner.
• 90% of people will have broken their resolution by the end of January.
• Most people admit to having the same top 3 every year.
• We want to make it a better year for ourselves, but we are making the list at the down time of year.

Coaching can help you make a keep your New Year's resolutions.

The month coming up is a hard one for most people, cultiminating in "the most depressing day of the year," January 20th (so proclaimed by a scientist using a formula). This is because of the weather, SAD (seasonal affective disorder, all the emotions triggered around Christmas , the after-Christmas letdown, the weather, bills, not getting what you wanted for Christmas, the weather (gray skies!), fights over Christmas time with relatives ... and so forth.

Want to see the same thing on your list next year, like it was last year, and the year before? Of course you dont, so why not try coaching.

Why do we make these "resolutions" at what is usually the low-point of the year? Well, any time is good to make a resolution to make your life work better, as long as you give yourself a real chance at making the goal. Coaching can help. I help people make their resolutions all year long.

Make it your resolution to find out about your resolutions, and give yourself a chance at keeping them this year.

If you'd like help with your resolutions, call me for coaching: 817-741-7223. Or email me at sdunn@susandunn.cc .

EQ works!

Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: Not a Laughing Matter

Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace.
No, it's not touchy-feeling, group-hug stuff, it's serious business when emotions take over. If you aren't in touch with your feelings, when they 're driving you (and that includes pride, pig-headedness, one-upping, and so forth), your life is out-of-control.



You'll laugh when you see this. People observing this sort of male rutting always laugh, but the results aren't always funny.

MBA programs avoid emotional intelligence or treat it like a weapon

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS

FROM SUSAN DUNN
THE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE COACH

817-741-7223

Emotional Intelligence in the news. Emotional Intelligence works and articles such as these explain the components and competencies, and show how its effective use in coaching, and in establishing an emotional intelligence culture in your organization can move the bottom line.

Performance improvement specialist Rossmore acquired by Arup Consultant News - UK... are nowhere near enough. All the things taught in MBA programmes either avoid emotional intelligence or treat it as a weapon.”. ...

FROM THE ARTICLE: “Many management people are frightened of behaviour,” [a Rossmore official] says. “In the UK we still have relatively few emotionally intelligent people in senior positions—it’s getting better but there are nowhere near enough. All the things taught in MBA programmes either avoid emotional intelligence or treat it as a weapon.”

While Rossmore deals with “soft” or people issues, the approach doesn’t mean shying away from tough decisions or creating real results. “As part of our diagnosis you might find people who need to move and we’re not afraid to do that,” he says. “Our sold [sic] purpose is to improve the business by getting people harnessed to the organisation’s objectives. For every £1 the clients spend with us they save £33, and a lot our stuff is unmeasurable—the true test is the bottom line.”

The 3 Parts of our BrainsBy Matt Perelstein The Limbic System: The emotional center that creates feelings but is not conscious ... Othello - The Heart: The Feeling intelligence. Lives in the emotions, ... Hamlet - The Head: The Reasoning Intelligence, living in the head and in an ...Emotional Intelligence beats... - http://2gethelp.blogs.com/takingcontrol/

TED2007: Icons, geniuses and mavericks (seriously) By Bruno Giussani ... singer Paul Simon (as in Simon & Garfunkel); economist Edward de Bono; "Emotional Intelligence" author Daniel Coleman; "Lost" creator JJ Abrams; "Sims" creator Will Wright; Jeff Skoll of Participant Productions ("Good night, ...Lunch over IP - http://giussani.typepad.com/loip/

Give the Gift That Lasts Forever: Emotional Intelligence Coaching

Emotional Intelligence Coaching is the perfect Christmas Gift.

For men and women; for executives, professionals, entrepreneurs, workers, first-jobbers, career changers, and retirees; teens, young adults, midlifers, seniors and elders; people seeking lifeskills and people seeking philosophical meaning. To learn to love better, work better, tolerate stress better. It works for everyone.

I've coached them all and the most common thing I hear, besides "thank you" is "THIS is the missing piece." My youngest client was 6 and my oldest client was 82.

It's a meaningful gift that will last a lifetime. Includes Internet course. Send inquiries to sdunn@susandunn.cc . It's a forever gift that takes an instant to send. I will send a beautiful gift card announcing your gift either by email or snail mail, up until Christmas Day. The EQ Course is also available for gift-giving.

Emotions don't belong in the workplace? With certain types, if you know what I meant, when I tell them I teach and coach Emotional Intelligence, they stick up their nose, or laugh, nervously. Emotions have long been considered anathema in the workplace, especially, for instance in the operating room or the law firm, but thinking they subvert logic and rational thinking doesn't mean they aren't there. Many of the people most in need of emotional intelligence are the people withi IQs in the genius range who can't get their lives together on any other front, or, and here's a dire example, the engineer in the nuclear plant who was so "in his head" he missed all the clues that the reactor was about to blow. Emotional Intelligence training is highly useful for accident prevention.

People who refuse to acknowledge or deal with the emotional component that exists in every interaction, are the ones most likely to be at their mercy. Consider, for instance, the alpha male, as cited in the Harvard Business Review, whose intimidation (through emotion -- what else intimidates?) leaves him bereft of the crucial information he needs to make viable decisions that effect the bottom line.

EMOTIONS ARE IN THE WORKPLACE - Deal with it!

The Unison blog , News and Resources for Building Extraordinary Relationships, cites an article by Michael Rock, Ed.D., entitled

"The person in question came alive as never before. It was as though I had hit a real nerve. I could almost see the veils of his protective self just melt away, and instead of that look of analysis, there was a look of openness. [emphasis mine, because this is the look that accompanies "THIS is the missing piece"!] The executive began talking about his inability to get his team motivated. [Motivation is a FEELING word, not a THINKING word, that's his problem.] The "who" part of my question got him discussing his frustration [an emotion that blocks clear thinking] with two team members in particular. But this session was different: he wasn't point fingers [rational] he was accepting his role in the workplace scenario. He was asking for pointers to "unblock" himself [i.e., learn EQ].

That's what Emotional Intelligence is all about - removing blocks. Yours, theirs, his, hers. Every problem has an emotional component that must be addressed, and a solution that involves moving those emotions.

PRESS RELEASE

Dallas, Texas, December 14, 2006 – If you’re still hunting for the perfect gift for someone, Susan Dunn, MA, of Momentum Coaching has an idea that’s sure to please: Emotional Intelligence Coaching. This is a gift that will truly last forever.

Emotional Intelligence Coaching is perfect for everyone on your list. Learning the components of emotional intelligence demystifies the things that are most puzzling in life, the things that don’t get taught in school. Your Emotional Intelligence (EQ) can be more important to your success in life, both relationships and career, than your IQ. And, as the recent Times cover story on education mentioned, emotional intelligence is a vital commodity in today’s world and for the future.

Emotional Intelligence coaching is a gift that will benefit your recipient for years into the future.

“Emotional Intelligence coaching is about helping people get to the next level, create the next stage of their live, transform their current situation, or learn specific skills such as leadership, creativity, focus, life balance, managing change, using good judgment, anger-management and more clarity.”

Dunn, who has a master’s degree in clinical psychology and is a founding member of CoachVille, has worked with professionals, executives, retirees, at-home moms, step-parents, teenagers, and other coaches whom she trains and certifies in Emotional Intelligence. “Almost the first thing I hear from clients and coaches alike is ‘This is the missing piece.’ Whether it’s to build your own business, get the promotion at work, be a more effective manager or CEO, coach better or be a better lawyer, avoid the most common reason for getting sued as a doctor, attract the man of your dreams, become more resilient in today’s stressful and fast-changing workplace, or get more fulfillment out of your current relationships, work and life, Emotional Intelligence can be the golden key that opens the door.”

Coaching was cited as one of the growth professions for the next decade, for good reason. Coaches collaborate with clients to get them from A to B, in one of the most efficient, effective, user-friendly methods there is. Coaches work on-site, by telephone or email, making their services easily-available for people already stressed for time.

“Emotional Intelligence is a worldwide phenomenon,” says Dunn, who has trained coaches and offered Emotional Intelligence coaching to individuals in Malaysia, Germany, Wales, Australia, the Phillipines, Beijing, the UK, Singapore, India, and all over the U.S.

Momentum Coaching works with individuals who understand that underneath any challenge or problem, there is an emotional component, and that includes when you think emotions are soft, or squishy or touchy-feeling. It is problem, but also the solution.

There’s nothing soft about the CEO whose intimidation is leaving him bereft of crucial information, the rainmaker whose abrasive personality is driving off the young employees on whom the future of the firm depends, the engineer who misses a crucial malfunction in the new nuclear energy plant because he’s ‘all in his head’, or the millionaire who, like Andrew Mellon, has only his paintings to relate to, talking about them as if they were flesh-and-blood relationships.

Giving Emotional Coaching as a gift is as easy as it is meaningful. Contact the Emotional Intelligence Coach and they will send a beautiful card by email or snail mail.

How to Build a Student for the 21st Century ... Emotional Intelligence

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE NEWS...

WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE U. S. EDUCATION SYSTEM? It doesn't teach Emotional Intelligence says Times cover story (12.10.06) summarized on CNN HERE.

Developing good people skills, EQ, or emotional intelligence, is as important as IQ for success in today's workplace. "Most innovations today involve large teams of people," says former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine. "We have to emphasize communication skills, the ability to work in teams and with people from different cultures."

The article is not about "the national conversation on education [that] has focused on reading scores, math tests and closing the 'achievement gap' between social classes [for the past give years]. . . [It] is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education, the one that will ultimately determine not merely whether some fraction of our children get 'left behin' but also whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can't think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, distinguish good information from bad or speak a language other than English."

To read the complete article, go HERE.

READ AND HEED: THE SON OF SCROOGE, the review in The Observer calls this new book about Andrew Mellon.

"David Cannadine's account of this 'hollow man', a 'dried-up dollar bill that the wind might whisk away', is, paradoxically, mesmerising," says the review.

The book tells how he lived with his ageing parents into his forties, eating mush for dinner, and then catapulted into a predicatbly disastrous marriage to a beautiful 19 year old.

"Frustrated by flesh-and-blood relationship," it continues, "[Mellon] also began to collect the paintings that would fill his bequest to the nation: the National Gallery. . . [His] favourties were the 18th century portraits of women he described as his 'English beauties.' 'I am surrounded by nice people here,' he told a visitor to his portrait-lined Washington apartment."

"...with its brilliantly-drawn catalogue of moral flaws, missed opportunities, snarled relationships and ruined lives ... it is an American tragedy.

Read the complete book review here. Order the book