The latest book I've been reading is The Art of Captaincy by former England cricket captain Mike Brearley. The book was originally written in 1985 but was re-released in 2001 with an updated introduction. Unlike most cricketers, Brearley was most famous for his skills as a captain rather than his skills as a cricketer. As someone who played in the team as a specialist batsman (without ever bowling a ball) his average was only 22. To put this in perspective, current England spin bowler Ashley Giles averages 20. Whilst he's a useful lower order batsmen, no one would suggest that he played in the test side were it not for his ability as a bowler.

Brearley's inclusion in the team then was principally because of his ability to get the most out of the other players — particularly Ian Botham and Bob Willis. His was famously recalled to the captaincy during the 1981 ashes series when Botham resigned and the team were 1–0 down — they subsequently came back to win 4–1. His captaincy wins much of the credit for the result at Headingly where England won the match after following on — the only time this happened in a 20th Century test match (note: also credit to I.T. Botham 149* and R.G.D. Willis 8–43) .

Once described as "having a degree in people" Brearly's charisma and likeability shine through every chapter of the book. Whilst obstensively about how to manage the cricket team, the underlying messages refer to managing the dynamics of any group or situation. The concept of 'getting the most' out of your colleagues that possess greater skill than you is perhaps the most fascinating.

For anyone that has a background knowledge of cricket and is interested in the dynamics of managing a team (and I don't mean flip charts and appraisals) this makes for excellent reading.