Few could or would have predicted that the improvised raps and raw beats busting out of New York City's urban underclass would one day become a multimillion-dollar business and one of music's most lucrative genres. Among those few were two visionaries: Russell Simmons, a young black man from Hollis, Queens, and Rick Rubin, a Jewish kid from Long Island. Though the two came from different backgrounds, their all-consuming passion for hip-hop brought them together. Soon they would revolutionize the music industry with their groundbreaking label, Def Jam Records. Def Jam, Inc. traces the company's incredible rise from the NYU dorm room of nineteen-year-old Rubin (where LL Cool J was discovered on a demo tape) to the powerhouse it is today; from financial struggles and scandals-including The Beastie Boys's departure from the label and Rubin's and Simmons's eventual parting-to revealing anecdotes about artists like Slick Rick, Public Enemy, Foxy Brown, Jay-Z, and DMX. Stacy Gueraseva, former editor in chief of Russell Simmons's magazine, Oneworld, had access to the biggest players on the scene, and brings you real conversations and a behind-the-scenes look from a decade-and a company-that turned the music world upside down. She takes you back to New York in the '80s, when late-night spots such as Danceteria and Nell's were burning with young, fresh rappers, and Simmons and Rubin had nothing but a hunch that they were on to something huge. Far more than just a biography of the two men who made it happen, Def Jam, Inc. is a journey into the world of rap itself. Both an intriguing business history as well as a gritty narrative, here is the definitive book on Def Jam-a must read for any fan of hip-hop as well as all popular-culture junkies.

    It covers every aspect of call center management - service level, forecasting, scheduling, resource calculations, metrics, quality, budgeting, reporting, strategy and key enabling technologies - in a format that is well-organized and easy to understand. The updated and expanded edition contains important new information, including: Trends in customer expectations; Best practices in performance reports and objectives; How to create an effective customer access strategy appropriate for today's environment; How to manage multichannel contacts with quality; New technologies, and how they're changing customer contact services; Improving the call center's strategic impact and ROI; New case studies and examples from Wells Fargo, Starbucks, Aetna and many others.

    Michener was an obscure textbook editor working in New York. Within three years, he was a naval officer stationed in the South Pacific. By the end of the decade, he was an accomplished author, well on the way to worldwide fame. Michener’s first novel, Tales of the South Pacific, won the Pulitzer Prize. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein used it as the basis for the Broadway musical South Pacific, which also won the Pulitzer. How this all came to be is the subject of Stephen May’s Michener’s South Pacific.An award-winning biographer of Michener, May was a featured interviewee on the fiftieth-anniversary DVD release of the film version of the musical. During taping, he realized there was much he didn’t know about how Michener’s experiences in the South Pacific shaped the man and led to his early work.May delves deeply into this formative and turbulent period in Michener’s life and career, using letters, journal entries, and naval records to examine how a reserved, middle-aged lieutenant known as "Prof" to his fellow officers became one of the most successful writers of the twentieth century.

    Not a product of the formal education system, Dhirubhai was known for his astute business acumen and entrepreneurial prowess. No wonder Dhirubhai's business philosophy was quite different from his contemporaries. This book is not about Dhirubhai's life, or how Dhirubhai went about building his business empire. Dhirubhaism is an attempt to capture those unique insights that Dhirubhai shared with the author in several interations during their long association. The 15 Dhirubhaisms put together bring out the work philosophy of Dhirubhai and give us a glimpse into the remarkable thinking process and practices of one of India's most successful entrepreneurs.

    Many hardcore hockey followers are convinced the commissioner is out to ruin the game this country loves.Still, when Bettman took over in 1992, the gross revenue of the National Hockey League was US$400 million. This season, the figure will be closer to $3.3 billion—an eightfold increase. If that were the only criterion by which to judge Bettman’s tenure, he’d be a business success story. But on his watch, professional hockey has expanded beyond its traditional strongholds and shown it can prosper in unlikely places—even on American networks. And the best players in the world now all ply their trade in the league that Gary built.By taming the NHL’s famously fractious owners, all but busting its players’ union, and by enforcing lawyerly discipline on everything from trash talk to Jim Balsillie’s efforts to crash the party, Bettman has become a figure of almost unrivalled power in the business of sport. His influence shapes leagues in other countries, dictates the schedule of the Olympic Winter Games, and spills onto the ice itself with innovations such as the shootout and a second referee, and with crackdowns on obstruction and headshots.In The Instigator, Jonathon Gatehouse details the unlikely ascension of a lonely New York City kid from a single-parent family who never played hockey and can barely skate to the sport’s biggest job. It examines his motivations, peels back his often aloof demeanour, and explains how a true outsider manages to lead, confound, and keep order in the game Canadians love.

    But for the people who actually molded this great idea into a game-changing $300 billion company, the experience was far more tumultuous and uncertain than we might expect.Mike Hoefflinger was one of those Facebook insiders. As a computer engineer turned marketing innovator who worked with COO Sheryl Sandberg, Hoefflinger had a front-row seat to the company's growing pains, stumbles, and reinventions.Becoming Facebook tells the coming-of-age story of the now venerable giant. Filled with insights and anecdotes from crises averted and challenges solved, the book tracks the company's development, uncovering lessons learned on its way to greatness: How Facebook recovered from its "disastrous" IPO ● How the growth team achieved the impossible ● Why Facebook's News Feed ads were the company's most important business decision ever ● How Google+ attacked and lost ● Why—and how—Instagram and WhatsApp were added to the mix ● What the company does to win the talent wars ● What makes Zuckerberg, Sandberg, Cox, and other A-teamers tick ● Which products and technical advancements are on the horizon and why ● And much moreIntimate, fast-paced, and deeply informative, Becoming Facebook shares the true story of how Zuckerberg joined the ranks of iconic CEOs like Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Jeff Bezos—as Facebook grows up, overcomes setbacks, and works to connect the world.

    In an era dominated by strategists, Branson is an opportunist with an uncanny knack of sniffing out great deals where others hesitate or fear to tread. Never before has a single brand been so successfully deployed across such a diverse range of goods and services. Branson is the ultimate brand builder. So how does he do it? Now bought completely up to date for this new edition, Business the Richard Branson Way, not only reveals the secrets of Branson's remarkable success but also draws out the universal lessons and identifies strategies that can be applied to any business or career. From picking on someone bigger than you to moving faster than a speeding bullet, and from making work fun to keeping the common touch, you have in your hands the secrets of phenomenal success.ContentsRichard Branson Revisited The Life and Times of Richard Branson One Pick on Someone Bigger Than You Two Do the Hippy, Hippy Shake Three Haggle - Everything's Negotiable Four Make Work Fun Five Do Right By Your Brand Six Smile for the Cameras Seven Don't Lead Sheep, Herd Cats Eight Faster than a Speeding Bullet Nine Size Does Matter Ten Never Lose the Common Touch How to Build a Brand the Branson Way Last Word

    

    Abdul Kalam.

    

    Sgt. Charles Black is a 35 year veteran of the Iowa State Patrol during those years he has had many experiences and he shares his favorites in this book. In 35 years I have seen a lot of changes from the name of the organization to the primary function. From hearses to ambulances to rescue units with EMT's. From paper list of stolen cars to computers.From no recorders to body cameras. From fist fights to gun fights.But human nature and the effects of drugs and alcohol remain the same.

    

    This book can be read alone or as part of the series. It describes the life, times and adventures of a young doctor working in the village of Bilbury in North Devon, England in the 1970s. In addition to the doctor's medical experiences the book also describes rural life in England and the sometimes bizarre happenings in the village.

    

    Ex-players, close friends, journalists, managers and former colleagues reveal their astonishing brushes with the greatest football manager England never had. The stories are cherry-picked from two acclaimed books - 150BC: Cloughie the Inside Stories and Clough: Confidential. An additional 242 stories can be found in these two volumes. So, enter the whirlwind world of Old Big 'Ead and prepare to be entertained.