A Fairy Tale

If you're a fan of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, then Kingdomality: An Ingenious New Way to Triumph in Management may be the management book for you. Written by Sheldon Bowles, Richard Silvano and Susan Silvano, it's an entertaining business parable that could possibly overshadow the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator as the new personality assessment for learning how to manage people in any work environment.

Kingdomality, published this year by Hyperion, takes character King Harold the Wise on a quest for an understanding of his discontented subjects so he can lift the shroud of chaos that plagues his kingdom. His guide on this journey, veteran management wizard Lady Elizabeth, introduces him to 12 medieval archetypes representing the four essential personalities that make a kingdom-or business-effective: Logical Challengers, Realistic Maintainers, Creative Explorers and Emotional Helper.

If you are a Realistic Maintainer, be patient. If you can make it through the 122 pages, the authors will shed light on the basic employee traits necessary for a business to survive. If you can't finish the book and still want to know your behavioral type, then follow the Creative Explorers who've already jumped ahead, and visit www.kingdomality.com to fill out the multiple-choice questionnaire and learn how to slay office dragons.

Ken Blanchard, a Dream Mistral in the Helper's Guildhall, writes in the book's foreword, "Kingdomality is a fun, easy-to-read book that will make a difference to you both at work and at home." As a Helper, he would respond that way. Helpers, unlike Challengers, are compelled to make everyone happy. And because the authors are his friends and colleagues, what else could he say?

-Lois Bolin