The Power of Understanding People shows you how to establish and develop extremely effective relationships by providing you with techniques to better identify and understand the intrinsic needs of others. As a result, you will achieve better team dynamics, increased sales and client satisfaction, higher levels of employee engagement and performance, and even more satisfying marriages and friendships. This book provides the tools to understand others' unique communication style as well as your own. Get detailed advice on how to adjust to diverse communication styles, develop a unifying language for the organization, and better match motivational techniques to team members. Through storytelling and experiential exercises, author Dave Mitchell helps you gain insight into your own unique interaction style and teaches you how to communicate, motivate, sell, and service more successfully no matter the personality types involved. Offers insight into the behavior cues and questions to ask to better understand someone's interactive preferences Explains how to enhance your sales efforts by better targeting your brand message to the client's style so that your products/services resonate with them more Examines strategies for creating a high performing work environment and achieve greater customer service excellence Contains conflict resolution strategies, including how to effectively work out differences within a team, between work units, with customers, and even in your personal life Armed with the ability to interpret the behavior of the people around you, you will achieve greater levels of success at work and at home while also learning how to better handle the difficult situations involving people in your life.

    Over the course of extraordinary interviews, they shared memorable stories and eye-opening insights.The Corner Office draws together lessons from chief executives such as Steve Ballmer (Microsoft), Carol Bartz (Yahoo), Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks), and Alan Mulally (Ford), from which Bryant has crafted an original work that reveals the keys to success in the business world, including the five essential personality traits that all high performers exhibit--qualities that the CEOs themselves value most and that separate the rising stars from their colleagues. Bryant also demystifies the art of leadership and shows how executives at the top of their game get the most out of others.Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all skill, and these CEOs offer different perspectives that will help anyone who seeks to be a more effective leader and employee. For aspiring executives--of all ages--The Corner Office offers a path to future success.

    This smart and pithy book focuses on a simple though vexing challenge: How can the leaders of an organization exhort their people to deliver on the most important goals?....It's rare to find a book like this that blends smart practice with intelligent articulation of how to get things done. Do yourself a favor. Buy it." --The Boston Globe"Making all of the moving parts of an organization function smoothly together is just plain hard work. By describing how he has done it, Mr. Bossidy has come up with a valuable and practical management guide that is must-reading for everyone who cares about business." --The New York Times"If you want to be a CEO--or if you are a CEO and want to keep your job--read Execution and put its principles to work." --Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, Dell Computer Corp."A how-to book for the can-do boss....If even half the corporations in America pondered their suggestions, the economy would be in much better shape. Moreover, Bossidy and Charan boast an impressive enough track record that anyone who wants to stay sharp at the helm will welcome their assistance." --BusinessWeek"Sound, practical advice on how to make things happen." --Ralph S. Larsen, chairman and CEO, Johnson & Johnson"Here's the real deal.... This is no-nonsense stuff.... The leaders who sweat the small stuff, hire the right people, make the tough decisions and stick around to see that they're carried out are the real winners.... Forget the swarmy memoirs, cheesy parables, advice for idiots, and leadership secrets of despots and barbarians. Getting it done is, according to Bossidy and Charan, the only way to grow." --The Miami Herald"Captures a lifetime of building winning formulas and puts them in a simple, practical context for executives at any level." --Ivan Seidenberg, president and CEO, Verizon

    It has made countless new businesses possible and presents a massive opportunity for large enterprises to innovate like startups and retire decades of technical debt. But making the most of the cloud requires much more from enterprises than just a technology change. Stephen Orban led Dow Jones’s journey toward digital agility as their CIO and now leads AWS’s Enterprise Strategy function, where he helps leaders from the largest companies in the world transform their businesses. As he demonstrates in this book, enterprises must re-train their people, evolve their processes, and transform their cultures as they move to the cloud. By bringing together his experiences and those of a number of business leaders, Orban shines a light on what works, what doesn’t, and how enterprises can transform themselves using the cloud.

    He arrived in London in the summer of 2004, to take on the role of the manager at Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea FC. His impact on English football was immediate, with his unmistakeable self-confidence, style, drive and ambition. Now he has moved on to Inter Milan where, once again, he has become the focus of media attention. But how did his career start? What led him to becoming one of the great enigmas of World Football?  This fascinating book charts his rise from relatively humble beginnings as assistant coach to Sir Bobby Robson, to become the most sought-after club manager in Europe.Readers will gain an insight into Mourinho’s management skills, as well as his whole footballing philosophy, and his approach to motivating his players. Mourinho himself writes of his move to Roman Abramovich's Chelsea FC and of approaches by other clubs; his ‘mind games’ with Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United are knocked out of Europe; and his fears for his personal safety and that of his family after receiving a death threat on the eve of what should have been the biggest night of his life.Long-term family friend, Portuguese journalist Luís Lourenço guides us through the formative years in Mourinho's coaching career, as he returns to Portugal from Barcelona at the turn of the millennium and embarks on the remarkable four-year journey which will lead him to Chelsea FC. A journey which includes short-lived yet turbulent spells at Portuguese giants Benfica and minnows União de Leiria, and culminates in a night of unforgettable glory for FC Porto and José Mourinho as they are crowned Champions of Europe.

    Ambiguity is the corporate default state, a condition so prevalent that "tolerance for ambiguity" has become a clich�d job requirement.It doesn't have to be this way.In Clarity First, Karen provides methods and insights for achieving clarity to unleash potential, innovate at higher levels, and solve the problems that matter to deliver outstanding business results. Both a visionary road map and practical guide, this book will help leaders:-Identify and communicate the organization's true purpose-Set achievable priorities-Deliver greater customer value through more efficient processes-Provide greater transparency about true versus assumed performance-Build strong problem-solving and critical thinking capabilities throughout the organization-Develop personal clarity to be a more direct, purposeful, and successful leaderEliminating ambiguity is the first step for leaders and organizations to achieve strategic goals. Learn how to gain the clarity needed to make better decisions, lead more effectively, and boost organizational performance.When it comes to leading an outstanding organization, every great leader needs Clarity First.

    Usually this involves doing what other people have overlooked, as well as avoiding what is unproductive.He identifies five talents as essential to effectiveness, and these can be learned; in fact, they must be learned just as scales must be mastered by every piano student regardless of his natural gifts. Intelligence, imagination and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that convert these into results. One of the talents is the management of time. Another is choosing what to contribute to the particular organization. A third is knowing where and how to apply your strength to best effect. Fourth is setting up the right priorities. And all of them must be knitted together by effective decision-making. How these can be developed forms the main body of the book. The author ranges widely through the annals of business and government to demonstrate the distinctive skill of the executive. He turns familiar experience upside down to see it in new perspective. The book is full of surprises, with its fresh insights into old and seemingly trite situations.

    Their days are defined by a relentless barrage of incoming messages and back-and-forth digital conversations--a state of constant, anxious chatter in which nobody can disconnect, and so nobody has the cognitive bandwidth to perform substantive work. There was a time when tools like email felt cutting edge, but a thorough review of current evidence reveals that the hyperactive hive mind workflow they helped create has become a productivity disaster, reducing profitability and perhaps even slowing overall economic growth. Equally worrisome, it makes us miserable. Humans are simply not wired for constant digital communication.We have become so used to an inbox-driven workday that it's hard to imagine alternatives. But they do exist. Drawing on years of investigative reporting, author and computer science professor Cal Newport makes the case that our current approach to work is broken, then lays out a series of principles and concrete instructions for fixing it. In A World without Email, he argues for a workplace in which clear processes--not haphazard messaging--define how tasks are identified, assigned and reviewed. Each person works on fewer things (but does them better), and aggressive investment in support reduces the ever-increasing burden of administrative tasks. Above all else, important communication is streamlined, and inboxes and chat channels are no longer central to how work unfolds.The knowledge sector's evolution beyond the hyperactive hive mind is inevitable. The question is not whether a world without email is coming (it is), but whether you'll be ahead of this trend. If you're a CEO seeking a competitive edge, an entrepreneur convinced your productivity could be higher, or an employee exhausted by your inbox, A World Without Email will convince you that the time has come for bold changes, and will walk you through exactly how to make them happen.

    Stalwart brands are losing market share to upstarts that capture our collective consciousness. Trillions of dollars are at stake.   Brands know a new approach is needed. But most don’t realize the strategic underpinnings need to change. Great brands are no longer built through interruptive advertisements.   Friction  argues that brands don't simply need clever messages or new, shiny technologies. They need a fundamental change in strategy. Friction provides a system for embracing transparency, engaging audiences, creating evangelists, and unleashing unprecedented growth.   The authors of  Friction  have worked on some of the industry's most innovative assignments for the world’s most successful brands. This groundbreaking book reveals how corporations can divorce themselves from legacy business models to create a passion brand. A brand that breaks its addiction to traditional advertising. A brand that empowers its customers. A brand that dominates the competition.

    Less inventory. The highest quality cars with the fewest defects of any competing manufacturer. In factories around the globe, Toyota consistently raises the bar for manufacturing, product development, and process excellence. The result is an amazing business success story: steadily taking market share from price-cutting competitors, earning far more profit than any other automaker, and winning the praise of business leaders worldwide.The Toyota Way reveals the management principles behind Toyota's worldwide reputation for quality and reliability. Dr. Jeffrey Liker, a renowned authority on Toyota's Lean methods, explains how you can adopt these principles--known as the "Toyota Production System" or "Lean Production"--to improve the speed of your business processes, improve product and service quality, and cut costs, no matter what your industry.Drawing on his extensive research on Toyota, Dr. Liker shares his insights into the foundational principles at work in the Toyota culture. He explains how the Toyota Production System evolved as a new paradigm of manufacturing excellence, transforming businesses across industries. You'll learn how Toyota fosters employee involvement at all levels, discover the difference between traditional process improvement and Toyota's Lean improvement, and learn why companies often think they are Lean--but aren't.

    Perhaps the most challenging leadership experience anyone will face isn't one at the top, but their first promotion to leadership. They must deal with the change and uncertainty that comes with a new job, requiring new skills, and they've been promoted from peer to leader. While the book addresses the needs of any manager, supervisor, or leader, it pulls from the best leadership and management thinking, and puts the focus on the difficulties that new leaders experience.Includes practical information for new managers who must supervise friends and former peers Authors are expert consultants who work with leaders at all levels Shows how to adopt the mindset of a leader, including: communicating change, giving feedback, coaching employees, leading productive teams, and achieving goals This much-needed book can help new leaders get beyond the stress and fear to focus on becoming the most effective leader they can be-starting right now.

    Will take 25-35 days

    But, as Mandi Walls explains in this Velocity report, DevOps is really about changing company culture—replacing traditional development and operations silos with collaborative teams of people from both camps. The DevOps movement has produced some efficient teams turning out better products faster. The tough part is initiating the change. This report outlines strategies for managers looking to go beyond tools to build a DevOps culture among their technical staff. Topics include: Documenting reasons for changing to DevOps before you commit Defining meaningful and achievable goals Finding a technical leader to be an evangelist, tools and process expert, and shepherd Starting with a non-critical but substantial pilot project Facilitating open communication among developers, QA engineers, marketers, and other professionals Realigning your team’s responsibilities and incentives Learning when to mediate disagreements and conflicts Download this free report and learn how to the DevOps approach can help you create a supportive team environment built on communication, respect, and trust. Mandi Walls is a Senior Consultant with Opscode.

    

    It is one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities. We all hate it. And yet nobody does anything about it. Until now... Straight-talking Sam Culbert, management guru and UCLA professor, minces no words as he puts managers on notice that -- with the performance review as their weapon of choice -- they have built a corporate culture based on intimidation and fear. Teaming up with Wall Street Journal Senior Editor Lawrence Rout, he shows us why performance reviews are bogus and how they undermine both creativity and productivity. And he puts a good deal of the blame squarely on human resources professionals, who perpetuate the very practice that they should be trying to eliminate. But Culbert does more than merely tear down. He also offers a substitute -- the performance preview -- that will actually accomplish the tasks that performance reviews were supposed to, but never will: holding people accountable for their actions and their results, and giving managers and their employees the kind of feedback they need for improving their skills and to give the company more of what it needs. With passion, humor, and a rare insight into what motivates all of us to do our best, Culbert offers all of us a chance to be better managers, better employees and, indeed, better people. Culbert has long said his goal is to make the world of work fit for human consumption. "Get Rid of the Performance Review!" shows us how to do just that.