The brain has three natural roadblocks that stand in the way of truly innovative thinking: flawed perception, fear of failure, and the inability to persuade others. But, like an iconoclast, you can break through these barriers. Leading neuroscientist Gregory Berns shows how in this tour of the science behind thinking differently.

    Unlike other PR texts that steer clear of the cases, the ethical challenges, the how to counsel, and the public relations conundrums that force students to think, this book prepares students to deal with a full range of situations and arrive at effective, ethical solutions that distinguish the practice.

    As a teenager he was an outcast, fleeing enemies on a mountain in northern Mongolia, an exile, a nobody. Yet it took only twenty years for Genghis to build the largest land empire in history: four times the size of Alexander’s, twice the size of Rome’s. How did he do it? What lessons does his life reveal about the nature of leadership? What is “greatness” in leadership? What traits did Genghis possess exactly? Might they apply in other times and other places — even here and today?John Man re-examines the life of Genghis Khan to discover the qualities, characteristics and strategies that made him the great leader that he was. The answers are sometimes surprising. Far from being just the tyrant that history records, he was a leader of exceptional vision and modernity. And many of the secrets of his success are as useful in today’s competitive business world as they were in rallying the Mongol hordes.

    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.

    But how can you be the person who comes up with those ideas? In this revised and expanded edition of his groundbreaking Thinkertoys, creativity expert Michael Michalko reveals life-changing tools that will help you think like a genius. From the linear to the intuitive, this comprehensive handbook details ingenious creative-thinking techniques for approaching problems in unconventional ways. Through fun and thought-provoking exercises, you’ll learn how to create original ideas that will improve your personal life and your business life. Michalko’s techniques show you how to look at the same information as everyone else and see something different.  With hundreds of hints, tricks, tips, tales, and puzzles, Thinkertoys will open your mind to a world of innovative solutions to everyday and not-so-everyday problems.

    Fierce competition among products with little or nothing to distinguish one from another, along with modern product positioning and targeted marketing techniques, have led to increasing market segmentation. If the trend continues, individual market segments soon will be too small to be profitable. In Lateral Marketing, Kotler and Trias de Bes unveil a revolutionary new model to help readers expand beyond vertical segmentation and generate fresh marketing ideas and opportunities. Philip Kotler (Chicago, IL) is the S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Fernando Trias de Bes (Barcelona, Spain) is the founder of Salvetti & Llombart whose clients include Pepsico, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Nestl�, Credit Suisse, and other top corporations.

    

    Enron was forced to declare bankruptcy after allegations of massive accounting fraud, wiping out $78 billion in stock market value. Bernie Madoff, the largest individual fraudster in history, built a $65 billion Ponzi scheme that ultimately resulted in his being sentenced to 150 years in prison. People from all walks of life have been scammed out of their money: French and British nobility looking to get rich quickly, farmers looking for a miracle cure for their health ailments, several professional athletes, and some of Hollywood's biggest stars. No one is immune from getting deceived when money is involved. Don't Fall For It is a fascinating look into some of the biggest financial frauds and scams ever.This compelling book explores specific instances of financial fraud as well as some of the most successful charlatans and hucksters of all-time. Sharing lessons that apply to business, money management, and investing, author Ben Carlson answers questions such as: Why do even the most intelligent among us get taken advantage of in financial scams? What make fraudsters successful? Why is it often harder to stay rich than to get rich? Each chapter in examines different frauds, perpetrators, or victims of scams. These real-life stories include anecdotes about how these frauds were carried out and discussions of what can be learned from these events. This engaging book:Explores the business and financial lessons drawn from some of history's biggest frauds Describes the conditions under which fraud tends to work best Explains how people can avoid being scammed out of their money Suggests practical steps to reduce financial fraud in the future Don't Fall For It: A Short History of Financial Scams is filled with engrossing real-life stories and valuable insights, written for finance professionals, investors, and general interest readers alike.

    In doing so, these otherwise well-intentioned leaders are working harder than they should while not getting all they could out of their teams.Lead Inside the Box gives leaders a way to get the best out of their teams by focusing their energy where it will make the biggest difference. It teaches leaders how to:Figure out where they are currently investing their time and energy across their teamsIdentify the unique leadership needs of each team memberMake smarter decisions about how and where to invest their time and energy to get the best results out of everyoneThrough simple frameworks brought to life with stories from the trenches, leaders will be able to see their own teams--and themselves--from a new perspective. Paradoxically these methods will enable leaders to improve their team's performance exponentially while expending half the effort.

    What results is a new and strikingly effective strategy for creating innovative products, building a successful brand, and, in turn, achieving business success.Here, the Rieses explain how changing conditions in the marketplace create endless opportunities to build new brands and accumulate riches. But these opportunities cannot be found where most people and most companies look. That is, in the convergence of existing categories like television and the computer, the cellphone and the Internet.Instead, opportunity lies in the opposite direction—in divergence. By following Darwin's brilliant deduction that new species arise from divergence of an existing species, the Rieses outline an effective strategy for creating and taking to market an effective brand. In The Origin of Brands, you will learn how to:Divide and conquerExploit divergenceUse the theories of survival of the firstest and survival of the secondestHarness the power of pruningUsing insightful studies of failed convergence products and engaging success stories of products that have achieved worldwide success through divergence, the Rieses have written the definitive book on branding. The Origin of Brands will show you in depth how to build a great brand and will lead you to success in the high-stakes world of branding.

    They’re confident that their new product or service or innovation will make them rich and that all their dreams will come true. The problem is: Most people don’t know how to turn their million-dollar idea into millions of dollars.According to many social scientists, the most important thing in life is a person’s social and professional network. In other words, the people around us—our associates, our team, our friends. The people we surround ourselves with—and the people we go to for advice and guidance—canmean the difference between success and failure. And as he taught in Rich Dad Poor Dad, if the people around you have a poor person’s mindset, it’s likely that you’ll be, or stay, poor. Your team, in life and in business, will determine if your million-dollar idea will give you a million-dollar payday.In More Important Than Money, Robert teams up with his most trusted Advisors who contribute not only chapters on the strengths and talents they bring to the team, but offer candid and insightful individual Profiles and excerpts from each of the 14 Rich Dad Advisor Series books. Readers will meet all of Robert’s Rich Dad Advisors and learn why they are among his most valuable assets.

    With a cheerful tone that will boost even the most panicked investor's spirit, Edelman reveals the best investments you can make right now.If you're scared or confused about how to handle your investments and fed up with “advice” from brokers, advisors, and media darlings that has cost you huge sums and placed your financial security at risk, the cure is in your hands. Ric Edelman, an award-winning advisor with more than two decades of experience, reveals the one investment goal you should have, the two obstacles you'll face, and why you've been failing with your investment strategies. Above all, he shares the secret to successful investing—and even includes a special section for those who are already retired. -Rescue yourself from the pain of watching your life savings go down the drain. -Regain the confidence that your investments can provide you with lifelong financial security and prosperity. -Get a great night's sleep by not having to lie awake worrying about your investments.

    Only stories--scenarios--and our ability to visualize different kinds of futures adequately capture these intangibles.In The Art of the Long View, now for the first time in paperback and with the addition of an all-new User's Guide, Peter Schwartz outlines the scenaric approach, giving you the tools for developing a strategic vision within your business.Schwartz describes the new techniques, originally developed within Royal/Dutch Shell, based on many of his firsthand scenario exercises with the world's leading institutions and companies, including the White House, EPA, BellSouth, PG&E, and the International Stock Exchange.

    You'll learn how to review financial statements, analyze earnings, detect fraud, assess stock prices, value companies, and structure mergers and acquisitions, among other exercises.

    Or as her mother used to say, "I buy my girls Calvin Klein clothes... Then when they graduate from college, they have to figure out how to pay for them themselves." In order to keep herself in Calvin, Karen went to work on Wall Street.As a woman working in finance she noticed numerous ways that she and her female colleagues sabotaged themselves both professionally and personally. Why were her friends unable to bring the same logic they applied at work to personal decisions? Why did they often let personal baggage undermine them in the office in a way that her male colleagues never did? A classic illustration is that women tend to Poll (Do I look good in these shoes?) rather than Decide, often giving too much weight to the input from a random stranger rather than rely on their own gut.Covering three major topics (Career, Money, Love), Finerman's Rules serves up unvarnished advice about getting ahead in your career, overcoming failure, meeting your ideal mate, and navigating the challenges of work-life balance. Most importantly, she offers the reader a crash course in taking control of her financial destiny. Or as Karen puts it, "You wouldn't let a man tell you where to live, how to vote, or what to wear. Then tell me why 80 percent of women have a man in charge of their money?"