The Three Laws of Performance


Steve Zaffron - 2009
    Do they start with cost reduction? Or should they go for process improvements first? The authors--who have helped hundreds of companies and individuals change and improve--say spend time and money adjusting the systems in which people operate, rather than targeting people and their performance directly. The authors show that it's in fact possible to change everything at once--with a focus on making such transformations permanent and repeatable.Brand-new Introduction written for the paperback edition Filled with illustrative examples from Northrup Grumman, BHP-Billiton, Reebok, Harvard Business School, and many others Two experts in the field show how to make major transformations happen The book outlines a process for engaging all employees to buy-in to an improved vision of an organization's new and improved future.

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management


Raymond A. Noe - 2003
    This book is the most engaging, focused and applied HRM text on the market.

Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril


Margaret Heffernan - 2011
    A distinguished businesswoman and writer, she examines the phenomenon and traces its imprint in our private and working lives, and within governments and organizations, and asks: What makes us prefer ignorance? What are we so afraid of? Why do some people see more than others? And how can we change?We turn a blind eye in order to feel safe, to avoid conflict, to reduce anxiety, and to protect prestige. Greater understanding leads to solutions, and Heffernan shows how--by challenging our biases, encouraging debate, discouraging conformity, and not backing away from difficult or complicated problems--we can be more mindful of what's going on around us and be proactive instead of reactive.Covering everything from our choice of mates to the SEC, Bernard Madoff's investors, the embers of BP's refinery, the military in Afghanistan, and the dog-eat-dog world of subprime mortgage lenders, this provocative book demonstrates how failing to see--or admit to ourselves or our colleagues--the issues and problems in plain sight can ruin private lives and bring down corporations. Heffernan explains how willful blindness develops before exploring ways that institutions and individuals can combat it. In the tradition of Malcolm Gladwell and Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Margaret Heffernan's Willful Blindness, is a tour de force on human behavior that will open your eyes.

The Mind of Bill James: How a Complete Outsider Changed Baseball


Scott Gray - 2006
    Bill James has been called “baseball’s shrewdest analyst” (Slate) and “part of baseball legend” (The New Yorker), and his Baseball Abstract has been acclaimed as the “holy book of baseball” (Chicago Tribune). Thirty years ago, James introduced a new approach to evaluating players and strategies, and now his theories have become indispensable tools for agents, statistics analysts, maverick general managers, and anyone who is serious about understanding the game.James began writing about baseball while working at a factory in his native Kansas. In lively, often acerbic prose, he used statistics to challenge entrenched beliefs and uncover surprising truths about the game. His annual Baseball Abstract captured the attention of fans and front offices and went on to become a bestselling staple of the baseball book category. In 2002, the Boston Red Sox hired James as an advisor. Two years later they achieved their long-awaited World Series triumph.The Mind of Bill James tells the story of how a gifted outsider inspired a new understanding of baseball. It delves deeply into James’s essential wisdom–including his surprising beliefs about pitch counts and the importance of batting-order, thoughts on professionalism and psychology, and why teams tend to develop the characteristics that are least favored by their home parks. It also brings together his best writing, much of it long out of print, as well as insights from new interviews. Written with James’ full cooperation, it is at once an eye-opening portrait of baseball’s virtuoso analyst and a treasury of his idiosyncratic genius.

Unscripted: My Ten Years in Telly


Alan Sugar - 2015
    But how did the famously straight-talking entrepreneur end up fronting one of our most successful and long-running shows, and why were some of his biggest challenges during his ten years in television to be found outside the boardroom and off camera? In Unscripted, Alan Sugar reveals all this and more as he embarks on a new and sometimes bewildering career. He describes how he lost patience with some of the luvvies, wafflers and wannabees he encountered along the way, and tells us what he really thought of some of the tasks and candidates he came across during the making of The Apprentice, giving his reaction to the egos and the backbiting as well as the genuine talent that shone through. He explains how he brought on board Nick Hewer, Margaret Mountford and Karren Brady, what became of the winners when the cameras stopped rolling - and how working on the show has inspired him and many others. As with his previous books, What You See Is What You Get and The Way I See It, there is no ghostwriter; this is written by the man himself. And, as ever, it is honest, funny and outspoken - Alan Sugar at his entertaining best.

The Coming Generational Storm: What You Need to Know about America's Economic Future


Laurence J. Kotlikoff - 2004
    How will America handle this demographic overload? How will Social Security and Medicare function with fewer working taxpayers to support these programs? According to Laurence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns, if our government continues on the course it has set, we'll see skyrocketing tax rates, drastically lower retirement and health benefits, high inflation, a rapidly depreciating dollar, unemployment, and political instability. The government has lost its compass, say Kotlikoff and Burns, and the current administration is heading straight into the coming generational storm.But don't panic. To solve a problem you must first understand it. Kotlikoff and Burns take us on a guided tour of our generational imbalance, first introducing us to the baby boomers -- their long retirement years and "the protracted delay in their departure to the next world." Then there's the "fiscal child abuse" that will double the taxes paid by the next generation. There's also the "deficit delusion" of the under-reported national debt. And none of this, they say, will be solved by any of the popularly touted remedies: cutting taxes, technological progress, immigration, foreign investment, or the elimination of wasteful government spending.So how can the United States avoid this demographic/fiscal collision? Kotlikoff and Burns propose bold new policies, including meaningful reforms of Social Security, and Medicare. Their proposals are simple, straightforward, and geared to attract support from both political parties. But just in case politicians won't take the political risk to chart a new direction, Kotlikoff and Burns also offer a "life jacket" -- guidelines for individuals to protect their financial health and retirement.This paperback edition of The Coming Generational Storm has been revised and updated and includes a new foreword by the authors.

Why Didn't I Think of That?: Think the Unthinkable and Achieve Creative Greatness


Charles W. McCoy - 2002
    Charles McCoy explains how to break the cycle and move into a creative mode that enables the solving of complex problems.

Saved from Success: How God Can Free You from Culture’s Distortion of Family, Work, and the Good Life


Dale Partridge - 2018
    What he found challenged everything he believed about "the good life" and equipped him to rebuild an even better life based on God's timeless design. Filled with scripture and practical application, Saved from Success is the book millions of burned-out and bedraggled Christians have been waiting for.

Surviving the End: The Complete Series


Grace Hamilton - 2020
     Even before becoming a husband and father, safety had been Shane McDonald’s priority for most of his forty-five years. As a nuclear engineer, it’s his responsibility to keep the Sequoyah Nuclear Plant functioning at optimum levels to avoid what protesters fear most—a meltdown. But when a coronal mass ejection from the sun wipes out power across the globe, stopping a nuclear chain reaction is no longer his primary concern. Fallen World Family is all that matters when friend becomes foe—and the stakes are survival. The world has become a dangerous place for Shane McDonald and his family since the solar storm wiped out the power grid. Tensions flare when it grows clear the dire situation will be prolonged and most are ill-prepared. Even the friendly small town of his prepper mother-in-law has drawn unwanted attention as word gets around about sharing their supply stores. And strangers begin to infiltrate the once peaceful Georgia community. All Shane can think about is where his wife and son ended up in all the chaos as the hours stretch into days since they last communicated. Jodi is far too trusting a soul, her desire to help the downtrodden a dangerous commodity among desperate and increasingly hostile citizens. New World They’ll protect what’s theirs—or die trying. The McDonald clan have learned their lessons the hard way these last months. Shane and Jodi finally realize they must keep their reunited family close and protect their own above all others to survive in this new post-apocalyptic reality. The repairs on the home are complete, solar panels installed, and the now operational pump means they won’t have to continue collecting rainwater for the foreseeable future. But it’s no longer just outsiders wreaking havoc on the small Georgia town, as unprepared townsfolk learn of their hard-earned stores—and threaten to take their prepper supplies by force.

Loving you Twice (Jasmine Villa Book 2)


Andaleeb Wajid - 2019
    She keeps her feelings closely guarded and is good at pretending that everything is fine, even when it isn’t. When she finds herself seated next to Luqman Ahmed on an international flight, she knows why has avoided men like him all her life. But she also remembers everything that had drawn him to her the previous times she met him. Luqman is tired of travelling for his job and is seriously considering relocating to the US. But his plans go awry when he’s seated next to his friend Ayub's sister-in-law Ana. He considers himself lucky to get some time talking to pretty Ana whose eyes have always captivated him from the moment he met her for the first time. It isn't too long until they discover their feelings for each other but Luqman is travelling to the US and by the time he returns, their lives are thrown far apart and brought dangerously close at the same time. Will they be able to get back their love for each other again? Will they survive the double whammy that fate has planned for them? Loving you Twice is the second romance in the Jasmine Villa series by Andaleeb Wajid, author of acclaimed novels such as More than Just Biryani, My Brother’s Wedding, The Crunch Factor and House of Screams.

The Max Freeman Mysteries Volume One: The Blue Edge of Midnight, A Visible Darkness, and Shadow Men


Jonathon King - 2017
    From a writer who “adds new dimensions of depth and substance to the modern crime novel,” this thrilling and critically acclaimed series follows a tormented ex-cop from Philadelphia to South Florida on a quest to earn redemption for his dark past (Michael Connelly).  The Blue Edge of Midnight: After a shootout during a convenience store holdup led to the accidental death of a twelve-year-old, Max Freeman left the Philadelphia police department behind for a life in exile in the Florida Everglades. Since then, he’s lived in seclusion, haunted by guilt, with the humid night and the nocturnal predators of the swamp as his only company. But everything changes when he discovers a young girl’s body floating in the muddy waters and becomes the prime suspect for her murder. To prove his innocence, Freeman must find the real killer—and confront his own tortured soul—before it’s too late.  A Visible Darkness: When five elderly women are murdered in Fort Lauderdale, Max Freeman is determined to get to the bottom of it. His friend, lawyer Billy Manchester, believes the crimes are tied to a conspiracy to collect on the women’s life insurance policies. But when Freeman uncovers a shocking betrayal, he soon realizes the gruesome plot reaches further than anyone thought possible. Now, it’s a race against the clock to hunt down the psychopath behind the murders—before the killer sets his sights on Freeman himself.  Shadow Men: In the 1920s, three of Mark Mayes’s ancestors left to help build the first road through the Everglades, backbreaking labor from which they never returned. Now, decades later, Mayes has discovered letters that point to murder as the cause of their disappearance, and he hires Max Freeman to investigate. But as Freeman follows the trail of evidence, he incurs the wrath of the corporation that built the road—and realizes the case may not be as cold as everyone assumed.

To The Bravest Person I Know


Ayesha Chenoy - 2021
    

The HotBox


John Paul Davis - 2014
    But the time for celebration is short. Something is wrong in rain-swept London. Very wrong. John Paul Davis – The Cortes Enigma 1581: It appeared in the west as the sun was setting, a distant silhouette like a fire on the water. Twelve hours later it appeared again, this time much closer to the mainland . . . Who was on board or where they came from remained a mystery . . . No trace of the vessel was ever found . . . C.R. Hiatt – Sanctioned Kill Destined for Danger. Sanctioned to Kill. David Leadbeater – The Razor’s Edge Trent, Silk and Radford are the Razor’s Edge and the best spy team in the business – until the government they toiled, served and bled for, disavowed them. Andy Lucas – Race Amazon James Pace, ex-RAF helicopter pilot and amateur cameraman, is still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of his life when a child's bullet nearly kills him. Karen Perkins – Dead Reckoning A historical adventure of piracy, love and revenge in the Caribbean in the seventeenth century. C K Raggio – Heron Park A small Long Island town erupts in a panic when a woman and her dog are found savagely murdered on a popular hiking trail. Mike Wells – Wild Child A fast, suspenseful thriller with an ending that you'll never see coming.

The Jack Reacher Cases (Complete Books #10, #11 & #12)


Dan Ames - 2019
    A USA TODAY BESTSELLING SERIES THE MAN WHO STANDS TALL - BOOK 10 THE MAN WHO WORKS ALONE - BOOK 11 A MAN BUILT FOR JUSTICE - BOOK 12

The Kurt Vetter Trilogy (The Reluctant Hero)


William Esmont - 2014
    With Amanda's help, he uncovers a rogue CIA plot to detonate a nuclear bomb in Moscow. Meanwhile, the assassins who killed his brother launch an all-out hunt to silence him and anyone else who may thwart their plans.In a frantic sprint across Europe, Kurt and Amanda must stay one step ahead of the killers while racing against the clock to prevent the bomb from incinerating millions of innocent people.Book Two: PressedBruised and battered from a recent mission, ex-CIA analyst Kurt Vetter is pressed into service once again when hackers launch a devastating cyber-attack on the United States Strategic Early Warning System, nearly triggering a nuclear confrontation.When Kurt and his partner Amanda Carter investigate the security lapse, they discover that elements of a Russian sleeper cell have compromised the integrity of the National Military Command Center. To further complicate matters, Kurt and Amanda also learn that a Chechen arms dealer with a stolen nuclear warhead is about to start selling suitcase nukes to the highest bidder.With membership in the nuclear club poised to explode and the United States effectively blinded to the threat, Kurt and Amanda are the last line of defense before the world descends into anarchy.Book Three: Blood in the StreetsA routine trip to China turns disastrous for intelligence agent Kurt Vetter when a deadly series of attacks on civilian targets plunges the country into anarchy. Trapped in a disintegrating nation, Kurt and his team take to the war-torn streets of Beijing to locate a Chinese double agent who may know the truth behind the source of the violence.As the politicians in Washington struggle with how to respond to the imminent collapse of the United States' largest trading partner, the responsibility falls on Kurt to prevent the destruction of the modern global economy.When the conflict begins to spread beyond China's borders, Kurt and his team learn the threat is larger and more insidious than anyone could have imagined. If they don't act fast, the entire region, and perhaps the entire world may be draw into a conflict unlike any seen before.