Ram Charan, expert in corporate governance and best-selling author, packs this book with useful tools and techniques to take boards and their companies to a higher level of performance. Charan puts his finger on a growing problem for boards: the disconnect between directors' efforts and their results. The added time and attention boards invest is not translating into better governancea that is, governance that adds value to the business. Boards That Deliver gets beyond the rhetoric of corporate governance reform. It captures the tried-and-true practices used by high-performance boards. In contrast to experts who base prescriptions on number-crunching exercises, Charan identifies the real problems that drain directors' time and suppress their best judgmentsa and explains clearly and succinctly how boards can solve those problems. These battle-tested solutions help boards achieve what rules and regulations alone cannota to get succession right, refine a winning strategy, and design a rational CEO compensation package.Good governance requires leadership. Boards That Deliver is the no-nonsense guide for directors and CEOs who are rising to the leadership challenge to make their boards a competitive advantage.

    For Havens, it’s always been about the numbers. He sees things others can’t, from the collapse of the American real estate market to the multibillion-dollar rise of his ruthless and charismatic boss. Havens is now rich beyond his dreams, but his work at the Rising Fund has cost him his marriage. And now it may cost him his life. It starts with the brutal murder of his young protégé and, over the course of six explosive days, six other brokers around the world, each killed after executing a trade linked to the Rising Fund. As the violence escalates from South Africa to São Paulo, Hong Kong to Berlin, Havens frantically tries to construct a model that will reveal the catastrophic event that only he can see coming—and confirm that his boss and the Rising Fund are at the center of it. The Last Trade is a relentlessly entertaining, adrenaline-fueled thriller about the forces that shape our culture–and a lone man desperate to achieve redemption— while averting a global economic catastrophe.

    Easy-to-follow steps gradually build the reader's abilities. Includes expert tips on nutrition, reducing stress with exercise, avoiding and treating injuries, and entering and winning various competitions.

    James…but love is the last thing on Jennifer's mind. Weighed down with sadness and regret, she's certain happiness is out of reach. Only patience, faith and everlasting love can make their marriage wishes come true. God's Gift Mission work in Africa is James Graham's life.So when an injury exiles him home, he's left adrift. Can he find new purpose with Rachel Ashcroft? The lovely volunteer's care packages always cheered him while he was in Africa. Now it's James's turn to make her happy…for the rest of his life.

    Smith, M.D., New York Times bestselling author of Feed Your Body Right""Syndrome X is the best new book to help you understand the facts about nutrition, health, and aging. . . . It is full of new information and insights most readers have never had access to before. Everyone who values his or her health will want to read the book and then individualize the program to suit his or her needs-the authors have made this easier than ever to do.""-Richard A. Kunin, M.D., author of Mega-NutritionWhat is Syndrome X? It's a resistance to insulin-the hormone needed to burn food for energy-combined with high cholesterol or triglycerides, high blood pressure, or too much body fat. Syndrome X ages you prematurely and significantly increases your risk of heart disease, hypertension, obesity, eye disease, nervous system disorders, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer, and other age-related diseases.Syndrome X is the first book to tell you how to fight the epidemic disorder that is derailing the health of nearly a third of North Americans. It outlines a complete three-step program-including easy-to-follow diets, light physical activity, and readily available vitamins and nutritional supplements-that will safeguard you against developing Syndrome X or reverse it if you already have it.

    This book foregoes the sensational, headline-grabbing stories about the few billionaire hedge fund managers to reach the top of the field. Instead, it focuses on the much more common travails of start-ups and small investment firms. The successes and failures of a talented group of competitive managers—all highly educated and well trained—show what it takes for managers and allocators to succeed. These accounts include lessons on funding, team development, strategy, performance, and allocation. The hedge fund industry is concentrated in the largest funds, and the big funds are getting bigger. In time, some of these funds will not survive their founders and large sums will get reallocated to a broader selection of different managers. This practical guide outlines the allocation process for fledgling funds, and demonstrates how allocators can avoid pitfalls in their investments. So You Want to Start a Hedge Fund also shows how to: Develop a sound strategy and raise the money you need Gain a real-world perspective about how allocators think and act Structure your team and investment process for success Recognize the patterns of successful start-ups The industry is approaching a significant crossroads. Aggregate growth is slowing and competition is shifting away from industry-wide growth, at the expense of traditional asset classes, to market share capture within the industry. So You Want to Start a Hedge Fund provides guidance for the little funds—the potential future leaders of the industry.

    Kick-start your metabolism into high gear with Bob Greene's revolutionary new exercise and health program!

    From agaves to ice plants and sedums to sempervivums, hardy succulents can bring color, texture, and versatility to perennial flower beds in any climate. This comprehensive guide offers clear growing instructions accompanied by vivid photography of these durable and beautiful plants. With tips on choosing the right varieties for every North American hardiness zone, you can enjoy all the quirky vibrancy of succulents wherever you live.

    Meryl Howe thinks she's outrun her trailer trash past with a prosperous husband, private schools for her children and winning, after much kowtowing to the elite, the chairmanship of Seattle Children's Hospital Guild. But one horrible night her world and her marriage and her life implodes. Just when Meryl thinks things have hit rock bottom, her estranged mother blows in from Vegas with plans to save her daughter's marriage. After four years of sobriety, Faye's brought along Hot Jesus - a saintly apparition who rides shotgun in her life. Faye, a former stripper and veteran of multiple marriages, plans on talking her daughter into opening an exotic dance and fitness studio. But Meryl has other plans. She's falling for a Sheriff who is accusing her of crimes she didn't commit. Mostly. As Faye steamrolls ahead, Meryl must learn a few of her mother's sexy moves in order to shake the sad memories of her past.

    A Queen awoken. And the Five Dragon warriors sworn to protect her… When these sexy mysterious strangers show up at my bar and tell me that I’m their destiny, I assume it’s just another corny pickup line.Little do I know that their words hold more truth than I could ever imagine…They call themselves Paragons, dragon-shifting warriors from a land far beyond any I have ever dreamed, and guess what?They think I’m the reincarnation of their Queen.Mhm, sure guys.I highly doubt a college dropout, Bayou waitress like myself, who’s constantly covered in grease and ketchup stains, would be chosen to sit on any throne—besides the one that flushes…I have zero intention of believing a word out of their crazy seductive lips, but as I’m suddenly struck with powers I don’t understand, and visions assail me of my past lives, it’s getting harder to deny their claims.These warriors are pledged for my protection, and my pleasure, and yet I don’t know if I’m ready to leave the life I’ve always known behind.Four of the warriors want to whisk me away to rule their sacred land. The fifth is suspected of murdering me one hundred years ago.And, yet, he is the one I find most irresistible…

    They take possession of lives, oppress believers and wreak havoc on the plans of God for His people. Could they be the source of YOUR struggles? Jesus did not say to counsel demons out or to medicate them out; He said, “Cast them out!” Every day, we give demons too much power when in fact, Jesus has given us authority to bind them and command them to leave. In When Pigs Move In, Don Dickerman delivers principles for deliverance, providing stories of men and women whose lives have been transformed because someone looked the devil right in the eye and commanded: “In Jesus’ name, get OUT!” Dickerman includes interviews and insight into such notable conversions as David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), Ed Ferncombe (one of Ireland’s worst criminals), and many others who have been delivered and set free.

    Excitement. Adventure. That's what Hera thought she was signing on for when she agreed to join the Gods of Thunder Motorcycle Club, led by her brother Zeus. Just the thing for a smoking hot, slightly lost divorcée who also happens to be the Greek goddess of marriage. Instead, her primary sources of entertainment seem to be picking bugs out of her teeth and finding yet another creative way to sabotage her peacock-painted Harley so she can ride in the comfort of the club's support SUV.But this time she broke her bike a little too well. With the rest of the club on a tight schedule, they leave Hera behind to wait for the local mechanic to perform a miracle. A mechanic who fills out his coveralls better than any mortal she's ever met.Hey, maybe getting stuck in the sticks won't be so bad after all.With his days as the Norse God of Wolves long behind him, Fenrir has settled into a routine that suits his lone wolf ways. Ride into some small town, work a menial-yet-satisfying job for a while, then move on before anyone catches wise to the fact that he never ages.Then she rides into town.Glamorous Hera always turned heads back when they ran in the same heavenly circles, but seeing her poured into skin-tight leathers and sitting astride a beautiful bike really lights a fire in Fenrir－one he thought had died centuries ago. Not that it matters. She thinks he's some mortal bohunk grease monkey with more brawn than brains. Fine by him. He needs to keep a low profile anyway.When Hera finds a wounded wolf pup on the outskirts of town, Fenrir must reveal his true identity to save the pup, opening a Pandora's box-worth of trouble with a nearby werewolf pack. If he were smart, he'd blow town, leaving the goddess who gets his motor running and the fate of a besieged wolf pack in his dust.He never claimed to be smart.

    They cover it all--from choosing your site and designing your garden to improving your soil, choosing and caring for your plants, and fighting pests and disease. Create the flower garden of your dreams with this comprehensive reference.

    Hearts that pound for the same woman: Me.The disaster turns into a second chance for us all to be honest about how we feel.A hot night of passion leads to an indecent proposal that would change my life completely. I'm tempted: boy, I'm so tempted.In the cold light of day, reality sets in.The biggest once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is waiting for me in LA. It would launch my fashion career into the stratosphere. But I’d have to turn my back on this second chance at love.Is there any way I can have it all?The Reunion is a full-length, steamy romance novel with no cheating and an optimistic happy for now ending.It can be read as a standalone romance, and it is book 1 in the Fashionable Friends trilogy.

    As a personal stylist to the undead, she's on a mission to help every vampire in Savannah, Georgia find their signature style. (Fashion tip: red hides blood stains.)Max Dupree is her latest client, but Hadley soon discovers finding the perfect suit for Max is the least of their problems. Max's life isn't the same since his recent resurrection from the grave. Life is completely different from how he knew it back in 1894.But Max isn't the only one with problems. Things have changed for all vampires in Savannah since his return. If Hadley doesn't figure out why bad things are happening, finding fabulous accessories will be moot. It could mean permanent death for every vampire in town.