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4 April, 2016 l Working World l WorkingWorld.com W ith help from getAbstract, the world's largest library of business book summaries, Working World takes a quick look at the TOP 5 Business Books. 1. PRIMAL TEAMS Many business leaders abhor emotion in the office. But research shows that positive emotion at the team level improves corporate performance. Powerful, positive emotions spur winning business teams and turbocharge performance, while negative emotions destroy camaraderie and effectiveness. So reports "primal emotions" guru Jackie Barretta, who bases her work-team optimum performance program on research in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and quantum physics. Barretta's theories on creating an emotionally energized business environment seem like straightforward common sense, but her suggestions for company game playing and sing-alongs might seem incompatible with today's hectic workplaces. Nevertheless, Barretta's concepts and suggestions are valid and sound. getAbstract recommends her approach to team managers seeking to galvanize their staff to achieve peak productivity. Jackie Barretta | Copyright © 2014 AMACOM, a division of American Management Association 2014 | 240 pg. | ISBN: 9780814434413 2. THE POLITICS OF PROMOTION Women must take their professional destinies into their own hands by developing and employing workplace "political savvy." The women's movement started decades ago, but female business leaders remain rare. You can credibly blame a lingering bias against women in the workplace, but women also seem to have been reluctant to work their companies' cultures to their personal advantage. Now, you can take your destiny into your own hands by developing and employing "political savvy" within your organization. Professional coach Bonnie Marcus explains why women haven't received the promotions, pay and positions they want and what they can do about it. She includes some helpful tools, including "Political Skills Assessment" worksheets and handy chapter summaries. She becomes repetitive at times – mostly for emphasis and reassurance – and she over-salts her text with exclamation points! getAbstract recommends her smart how-to guide to women who want to forge meaningful careers, whether they're just starting out or fighting to stay on top. Bonnie Marcus | Wiley 2015 | 256 pg. | ISBN: 9781118997420 3. WINNING MINDS A speechwriter reveals how great leaders use language to inspire their followers. Speechwriter Simon Lancaster regards leadership primarily as having a talent for knowing how to persuade and manipulate listeners' neurotransmitters. In this irreverent look at the art of persuasion, he argues that winning people's support requires satisfying their craving for brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin, which boost feelings of confidence, well-being and social connection. But to do so, you must engage all the levels of the brain: "the instinctive, the emotional and the FEATURED ARTICLE by getAbstract Top Business Books