Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box


The Arbinger Institute - 2000
    However well intentioned they may be, leaders who deceive themselves always end up undermining their own performance.This straightforward book explains how leaders can discover their own self-deceptions and learn how to escape destructive patterns. The authors demonstrate that breaking out of these patterns leads to improved teamwork, commitment, trust, communication, motivation, and leadership.

Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business


Kindra Hall - 2019
    But what stories do you need to tell and how do you tell them?Stories That Stick provides a clear framework of ideals and a concise set of actions for you to take complete control of your own story, utilizing the principles behind the world’s most effective business storytelling strategies.Professional storyteller and nationally-known speaker Kindra Hall reveals the four unique stories you can use to differentiate, captivate, and elevate:the Value Story, to convince customers they need what you provide;the Founder Story, to persuade investors and customers your organization is worth the investment;the Purpose Story, to align and inspire your employees and internal customers; and the Customer Story, to allow those who use your product or service to share their authentic experiences with others.Telling these stories well is a simple, accessible skill anyone can develop. With case studies, company profiles, and anecdotes backed with original research, Hall presents storytelling as the underutilized talent that separates the good from the best in business.Stories That Stick offers specific, actionable steps readers can take to find, craft, and leverage the stories they already have and simply aren’t telling. Every person, every organization has at least four stories at their disposal. Will you tell yours?

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations


Ori Brafman - 2006
    But if you cut off a starfish’s leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.What’s the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, Craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and women’s rights movements? What fundamental choice put General Motors and Toyota on vastly different paths? How could winning a Supreme Court case be the biggest mistake MGM could have made?After five years of ground-breaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom share some unexpected answers, gripping stories, and a tapestry of unlikely connections. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional “spiders,” which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary “starfish,” which rely on the power of peer relationships.The Starfish and the Spider explores what happens when starfish take on spiders (such as the music industry vs. Napster, Kazaa, and the P2P services that followed). It reveals how established companies and institutions, from IBM to Intuit to the US government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success. The book explores:* How the Apaches fended off the powerful Spanish army for 200 years* The power of a simple circle* The importance of catalysts who have an uncanny ability to bring people together * How the Internet has become a breeding ground for leaderless organizations* How Alcoholics Anonymous has reached untold millions with only a shared ideology and without a leaderThe Starfish and the Spider is the rare book that will change how you understand the world around you.

Life in the Skies: Everything You Want to Know about Flying


Lim Khoy Hing - 2013
    Complemented with more than 40 full-colour personal illustrations of the Captain, Life in the Skies will be a valuable and useful guide for air travellers and budding-pilots alike!Captain Lim Khoy Hing is an ex-airline pilot who is passionate about flying, having worked all his life high above the clouds since leaving college. Prior to his retirement from flag-carrier Malaysia Airlines, he was fortunate enough to fly the latest fly-by-wire planes such as the Boeing 777 and Airbus A320, A330 and A340. He has logged a total of 25,500 flying hours, or about 20 trips to the moon and back. Capt. Lim started his flying career in the Royal Malaysian Air Force, having been trained by the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom in 1967. He served for about 12 years in the service before joining Malaysia Airlines and finished his career with the carrier AirAsia before retiring in 2011.

The Secret to Peak Productivity: A Simple Guide to Reaching Your Personal Best


Tamara Myles - 2014
    Certified Professional Organizer (CPO®) and productivity expert Tamara Myles has developed a simple model-the Productivity Pyramid-which provides an actionable framework for anyone to achieve better results. Based on a sequence of steps leading to peak performance, the author's easily adapt able system consists of five levels:Physical Organization: from decluttering to filing-fool-proof strategies for handling incoming papers and ensuring information remains accessibleElectronic Organization: from dealing with email to electronic file management options such as cloud computingTime Management: mastering the three P's-Plan, Prioritize, and PerformActivity-Goal Alignment: breaking objectives into specific, relevant, and measurable daily tasksPossibility: identifying new life and business goals that will help you reach your greatest potentialSince no single solution will work for everyone, The Secret to Peak Productivity helps you tailor your own personal plan. First, a quick assessment determines your strengths and weaknesses and pinpoints where to focus for immediate results. Then, as you reach each productivity level, you will find a range of potential strategies-allowing you to choose the ones that are right for you for truly remarkable results.

The Opportunity Analysis Canvas


James V. Green - 2013
    The emergence of business “model” (not plan) courses, tools, and competitions are a step in the right direction. The focus of these new activities is engaging aspiring entrepreneurs in customer discovery and developing and testing a business model canvas.While this is a viable approach and valuable lesson in entrepreneurship education, business models only begin to take shape when a new venture idea is formulated. Customer discovery requires having a product or service concept in the mind of the entrepreneur. Without the idea for the product or service itself, no business model nor customer discovery can begin.It is this first step, the idea generation step, that the Opportunity Analysis Canvas fulfills. The Opportunity Analysis Canvas is an innovative tool for identifying and analyzing entrepreneurial ideas.

Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It


Steven Pressfield - 2016
    And the secret phrase is this:NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T. Recognizing this painful truth is the first step in the writer's transformation from amateur to professional. From Chapter Four: “When you understand that nobody wants to read your shit, you develop empathy. You acquire the skill that is indispensable to all artists and entrepreneurs—the ability to switch back and forth in your imagination from your own point of view as writer/painter/seller to the point of view of your reader/gallery-goer/customer. You learn to ask yourself with ev­ery sentence and every phrase: Is this interesting? Is it fun or challenging or inventive? Am I giving the reader enough? Is she bored? Is she following where I want to lead her?"

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success


Adam M. Grant - 2013
    But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return. Using his own pioneering research as Wharton's youngest tenured professor, Grant shows that these styles have a surprising impact on success. Although some givers get exploited and burn out, the rest achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of industries. Combining cutting-edge evidence with captivating stories, this landmark book shows how one of America's best networkers developed his connections, why the creative genius behind one of the most popular shows in television history toiled for years in anonymity, how a basketball executive responsible for multiple draft busts transformed his franchise into a winner, and how we could have anticipated Enron's demise four years before the company collapsed - without ever looking at a single number. Praised by bestselling authors such as Dan Pink, Tony Hsieh, Dan Ariely, Susan Cain, Dan Gilbert, Gretchen Rubin, Bob Sutton, David Allen, Robert Cialdini, and Seth Godin-as well as senior leaders from Google, McKinsey, Merck, Estee Lauder, Nike, and NASA - Give and Take highlights what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common. This landmark book opens up an approach to success that has the power to transform not just individuals and groups, but entire organizations and communities.

The Retail Revival


Doug Stephens - 2013
    Brick-and-mortar has shifted to online, while online is shifting into pop-up storefronts. Virtual stores in subway platforms and airports are offering new levels of convenience for harried commuters. High Street and Main Street are becoming the stuff of nostalgia. The Big Box is losing ground to new models that attract consumers through their most-trusted assistant--the smartphone. What's next? What's the future for you--a retailer--who is witnessing a tsunami of change and not knowing if this means grasping ahold of new opportunity or being swept away?The Retail Revival answers these questions by looking into the not-so-distant retail past and by looking forward into a future that will continue to redefine retail and its enormous effect on society and our economies. Massive demographic and economic shifts, as well as historic levels of technological and media disruption, are turning this once predictable industry--where "average" was king--into a sea of turbulent change, leaving consumer behavior permanently altered. Doug Stephens, internationally renowned consumer futurist, examines the key seismic shifts in the market that have even companies like Walmart and Procter & Gamble scrambling to cope, and explores the current and future trends that will completely change the way we shop.The Retail Revival provides no-nonsense clarity on the realities of a completely new retail marketplace-- realities that are driving many industry executives to despair. But the future need not be dark. Stephens offers hope and guidance for any businesses eager to capitalize on these historic shifts and thrive.Entertaining and thought-provoking, The Retail Revival makes sense of a brave new era of consumer behavior in which everything we thought we knew about retail is being completely reimagined.Praise for The Retail Revival"It doesn't matter what type of retail you do--if you sell something, somewhere, you need to read Doug Stephens' The Retail Revival. Packed with powerful insights on the changing retail environment and what good retailers should be thinking about now, The Retail Revival is easy to read, well-organized and provides essential food for thought." -- Gregg Saretsky, President and CEO, WestJet"This book captures in sharp detail the deep and unprecedented changes driving new consumer behaviors and values. More importantly, it offers clear guidance to brands and retailers seeking to adapt and evolve to meet entirely new market imperatives for success." --John Gerzema, Author of Spend Shift and The Athena Doctrine"The Retail Revival is a critical read for all marketing professionals who are trying to figure out what's next in retail... Doug Stephens does a great job of explaining why retail has evolved the way it has, and the book serves as an important, trusted guide to where it's headed next. " --Joe Lampertius SVP, Shopper Marketing, Momentum Worldwide and Owner, La Spezia Flavor Market"Doug Stephens has proven his right to the moniker 'Retail Prophet.' With careful analysis and ample examples, the author makes a compelling case for retailers to adapt, change and consequently revive their connection with consumers. Stephens presents actionable recommendations with optimism and enthusiasm--just the spoonful of sugar we need to face the necessary changes ahead." --Kit Yarrow, Ph.D., Consumer Psychologist; Professor, Golden Gate University; Co-Author, Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings are Revolutionizing Retail"Doug Stephens doesn't just tell you why retail is in the doldrums, he tells you why retail is a major signpost for the larger troubles of our culture and provides a compelling, inspiring vision for a future of retail--and business, and society." --Eric Garland, author of Future Inc.: How Businesses Can Anticipate and Profit from What's Next

I'm Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59


Douglas Edwards - 2011
    No academic analysis or bystander’s account can capture it. Now Doug Edwards, Employee Number 59, offers the first inside view of Google, giving readers a chance to fully experience the bizarre mix of camaraderie and competition at this phenomenal company. Edwards, Google’s first director of marketing and brand management, describes it as it happened. We see the first, pioneering steps of Larry Page and Sergey Brin, the company’s young, idiosyncratic partners; the evolution of the company’s famously nonhierarchical structure (where every employee finds a problem to tackle or a feature to create and works independently); the development of brand identity; the races to develop and implement each new feature; and the many ideas that never came to pass. Above all, Edwards—a former journalist who knows how to write—captures the “Google Experience,” the rollercoaster ride of being part of a company creating itself in a whole new universe. I’m Feeling Lucky captures for the first time the unique, self-invented, yet profoundly important culture of the world’s most transformative corporation.

49 Quick Ways to Market Your Business for Free: An Instant Guide to Marketing Success


Sarah-Jane White - 2011
    Sarah-Jane White has collated the best ones in this ebook for you to use as a guide, inspirational tool and if you just do one of the tips, once a week, you should increase your company's visibility both on and offline in no time!

The Beginner's Guide To Being Awesome: 7 Simple Steps To Help You Accomplish Any Goal, Overcome Your Fears, Build Rock Solid Confidence, & Unleash Your Inner Bad Ass! (Vol 1)


Brandon Carter - 2015
    They have lied to you deliberately... I am going to give you the real-deal truth about what it takes to BE AWESOME and what it takes to become successful. Inside this brand-new book, you’ll discover... - The REAL “Secret” to success that nobody wants to tell you\Achieve massive success with less effort than you ever thought was possible - How to rise from a failure like a true champion - One simple trick for building rock-solid self-confidence - How to set and accomplish all your goals faster than you think you can - How to Instantly overcome fear and insecurity - 5 simple tips to overcome fear of failure - How to build habits that will instantly put you on the fast track to success  And that’s only the beginning… Again, this book is not for people want to be like everyone else. It’s not the book for people who accept normality and complacency in their lives. This book is exclusively for people want to be  FUCKING AWESOME  LIMITED TIME OFFER!!! For a limited time, this book will be only $0.99… But don’t let the price fool you. I’ve released it for such a low price so it can get it into the hands of as many people as possible. People who want to learn…  - What's The Purpose of YOUR Life? - How to stop being a little Bitch - How To Become the "HERO" of your own life story - How to instantly motivate yourself to accomplish goals faster - How to exercise your brain to gain almost superhuman power - And much much more  Are you ready to get your shit together? Then get this book now! - Brandon Carter PS - Scroll up and click the "Buy" button now before the price raises. PPS - Stop fucking around (on this page and in your life) and scroll up and buy the fucking book before the price raises!

The Best Damn Sales Book Ever


Warren Greshes - 2006
    In his wonderful new book, Warren distills a lifetime of sales training into sixteen actionable tools, which, if you use them, will guarantee that you too reach your goals. -Mark Terry, President, Harman Pro Group A great read! Warren says it all in a way that's not only easy to understand, but even easier to implement. No need to ever read another book on this subject. -John Gamauf, President Consumer Replacement Tire Sales Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC Put this book on your must-read list if you want to learn successful strategies for taking your distribution team to the next level. Through motivation and education, Warren Greshes has captivated our very best top managers and producers. He pushes them to succeed and to keep their goals out in front of them, all the while maintaining a clear message, infused with his sense of humor. Warren has helped pave our way to success. -Bernadette Mitchell, Vice President Retirement Benefits Group, AXA Equitable Warren is truly an expert in the field of sales! His grassroots ideas are practical, designed for immediate implementation, and are sure to lead to top-notch results. This book is a must-read for those new to sales and those veteran salespeople who want to take their skills to the next level. -Raj Madan, corporate marketing executive, financial services industry

The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership


Richard Branson - 2014
    He has taken on giants like British Airways and won, and monsters like Coca-Cola and lost.Now Branson gives an inside look at his strikingly different swashbuckling style of leadership. Learn how fun, family, passion, and the dying art of listening are key components to what his extended family of employees around the world have always dubbed (with a wink) the “Virgin Way.”This unique perspective comes from a man who dropped out of school at sixteen, suffers from dyslexia, and has never worked for anyone but himself. He may be famous for thinking outside the box—an expression he despises—but Branson asserts that “you’ll never have to think outside the box if you refuse to let anyone build one around you.”This is a unique book on leadership from someone who readily admits he has never read a book on leadership in his life. So expect the unexpected.

The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons from Extraordinary Lives


Katie Couric - 2011
    Fox, and Ken Burns, who offer advice about life, success, and happiness—how to take chances, follow one’s passions, overcome adversity and inertia, commit to something greater than ourselves, and more. Along the way, Katie Couric reflects on her own life, and on the shared wisdom, and occasional missteps, that have guided her from her early days as a desk assistant at ABC to her groundbreaking work as a broadcast journalist. Moving and empowering, The Best Advice I Ever Got is for all of us, young or old, who want to hear from some of today’s best and brightest about how they got it right, got it wrong, and came out on top—so we can too.Now with additional contributors!