The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business


Erin Meyer - 2014
    Renowned expert Erin Meyer is your guide through this subtle, sometimes treacherous terrain where people from starkly different backgrounds are expected to work harmoniously together.When you have Americans who precede anything negative with three nice comments; French, Dutch, Israelis, and Germans who get straight to the point (“your presentation was simply awful”); Latin Americans and Asians who are steeped in hierarchy; Scandinavians who think the best boss is just one of the crowd—the result can be, well, sometimes interesting, even funny, but often disastrous.Even with English as a global language, it’s easy to fall into cultural traps that endanger careers and sink deals when, say, a Brazilian manager tries to fathom how his Chinese suppliers really get things done, or an American team leader tries to get a handle on the intra-team dynamics between his Russian and Indian team members.In The Culture Map, Erin Meyer provides a field-tested model for decoding how cultural differences impact international business. She combines a smart analytical framework with practical, actionable advice for succeeding in a global world.

A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas


Warren Berger - 2014
    Questioning—deeply, imaginatively, "beautifully"—can help us identify and solve problems, come up with game-changing ideas, and pursue fresh opportunities. So why are we often reluctant to ask "Why?"Berger's surprising findings reveal that even though children start out asking hundreds of questions a day, questioning "falls off a cliff" as kids enter school. In an education and business culture devised to reward rote answers over challenging inquiry, questioning isn't encouraged—and, in fact, is sometimes barely tolerated.And yet, as Berger shows, the most creative, successful people tend to be expert questioners. They've mastered the art of inquiry, raising questions no one else is asking—and finding powerful answers. The author takes us inside red-hot businesses like Google, Netflix, IDEO, and Airbnb to show how questioning is baked into their organizational DNA. He also shares inspiring stories of artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, basement tinkerers, and social activists who changed their lives and the world around them—by starting with a "beautiful question."Berger explores important questions, such as:- Why aren't we nurturing kids' natural ability to question—and what can parents and schools do about that?- Since questioning is a starting point for innovation, how might companies and business leaders begin to encourage and exploit it?- And most important, how can each of us re-ignite that questioning spark—and use inquiry as a powerful means to rethink and reinvent our lives?A More Beautiful Question outlines a practical Why / What If / How system of inquiry that can guide you through the process of innovative questioning—helping you find imaginative, powerful answers to your own "beautiful questions."

Am I the Only Sane One Working Here?: 101 Solutions for Surviving Office Insanity


Albert J. Bernstein - 2009
    . . the most comprehensive guide I have ever read for solving any conceivable trying scenario! --Julie Jansen, bestselling author of You Want Me to Work with Who? and I Don't Know What I Want, but I Know It's Not This You can't stop office madness, but you can stop the madness from getting to you.Gossipy coworkers, unmanageable managers, and cranky clients have got you pulling your hair out and gnawing your nails down to nubs. From teammates who drop the ball on deadlines to corporate bullies who try to run your show, your work environment can be lethal to your health and your career.Change Your Reaction, Not Their Actions When things get crazy, you may not be able to control how others behave, but you can change how you respond. Al Bernstein shows you how understand the situation, how to keep the craziness from bothering you, how to keep things from getting worse, and how you can make them better.Problems/solutions discussed inside:Coworkers who don't like you? Feed them!Hidden agendas? Unleash the power of "cc: " mail!Unpleasant supervisors? Tell them only what they want to hear!Office gossip? Dish out positive gossip about other people!Lying coworkers? Buy into their lies and watch what happens!And ninety-five more!

The Pause Principle: Step Back to Lead Forward


Kevin Cashman - 2012
    Pub Date :2012-09-24 Pages: 192 Language: English Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers Nearly all of us experience the suffering of overwork. over-stimulation. overachievement and hyper-expectation We are asked to do more with less. . but where is the energy and capacity going to come from Rather than doing more. we need to learn to do differently in order to achieve. We need to slow down to go fast. step back to energize. take a breath to connect with presence . and look at the same situations with fresh. innovative thinking. Otherwise we will continue to crash economically. personally. and collectively. In todays dynamic world. Pause will become the new transformative principle. the catalyst for purpose-filled innovation and renewal. More than just a work or philosophy or spirituality. The Pause Principle provides real tools and practices to make pausing a part...

The Opposable Mind: How Successful Leaders Win Through Integrative Thinking


Roger L. Martin - 2007
    Though following best practice can help in some ways, it also poses a danger: By emulating what a great leader did in a particular situation, you'll likely be terribly disappointed with your own results. Why? Your situation is different.Instead of focusing on what exceptional leaders do, we need to understand and emulate how they think. Successful businesspeople engage in what Martin calls integrative thinking creatively resolving the tension in opposing models by forming entirely new and superior ones. Drawing on stories of leaders as diverse as AG Lafley of Procter & Gamble, Meg Whitman of eBay, Victoria Hale of the Institute for One World Health, and Nandan Nilekani of Infosys, Martin shows how integrative thinkers are relentlessly diagnosing and synthesizing by asking probing questions including: What are the causal relationships at work here? and What are the implied trade-offs?Martin also presents a model for strengthening your integrative thinking skills by drawing on different kinds of knowledge including conceptual and experiential knowledge.Integrative thinking can be learned, and The Opposable Mind helps you master this vital skill.

Nine Minutes on Monday: The Quick and Easy Way to Go from Manager to Leader


James Robbins - 2012
    It includes a nine-minute template for staying focused, numerous action-oriented tips, scripted questions, formulas, and simple truths that motivate leaders to stay on mission.James Robbins founded The Robbins Group to help organizations increase their productivity and lower their employee turnover. He is also the creator of Help Me Lead TV, a weekly web-show for managers.

Power: Why Some People Have it and Others Don't


Jeffrey Pfeffer - 2010
    The leading thinker on the topic of power, Pfeffer here distills his wisdom into an indispensable guide.” —Jim Collins, author of New York Times bestselling author Good to Great and How the Mighty FallSome people have it, and others don’t. Jeffrey Pfeffer explores why, in Power.One of the greatest minds in management theory and author or co-author of thirteen books, including the seminal business-school text Managing With Power, Jeffrey Pfeffer shows readers how to succeed and wield power in the real world.

The 100X Leader: How to Become Someone Worth Following


Jeremie Kubicek - 2019
    If you want to get the best out of people, you must be willing to fight. But, that doesn't mean you become a dominator, nor does coddling others work. The best leader you've ever had in your life was a liberator—someone willing to fight for your highest good, even at a personal cost. Inside, global leadership experts Jeremie Kubicek and Steve Cockram explain what made that leader so unique, how to become that person yourself, and how to share the same gift with others. Be one of the few that people actually want to follow Learn the lost art of leadership—the intentional calibration of support and challenge for everyone you lead, your team and your family Become a multiplication master as you learn to bring the best out of people for their highest good and that of the whole team Overhaul entire cultures by focusing on the transformation and empowerment of sub-culture leaders The 100x Leader will help you become—and build—leaders worth following.

Be Bad First: Get Good at Things Fast to Stay Ready for the Future


Erika Andersen - 2016
    News that once took months, even years, to spread now reaches across the globe in seconds. Advances in medicine and science are pushing boundaries with gene therapy and stem cell transplants. And decisions about where and how to work and live are nearly endless.As new knowledge—and the possibilities that arise from that knowledge—propels us forward, leadership readiness expert and renowned author Erika Andersen suggests that success in today’s world requires the ability to acquire new knowledge and skills quickly and continuously—in spite of our mixed feelings about being a novice.In her newest book, Be Bad First, Erika explores how we can become masters of mastery; proficient in the kind of high-payoff learning that’s needed today. With assessments and exercises at the close of every chapter, she encourages readers to embrace being bad on the way to being great—to be novices over and over again as we seek to learn and acquire the new skills that will allow us to thrive in this fast-changing world.

Motion Leadership: The Skinny on Becoming Change Savvy


Michael Fullan - 2009
    Create positive motion in your organization by becoming savvy about change! Michael Fullan, working with effective change leaders, provides the skinny on motion leadership, or how to "move" individuals, ins

Full Engagement!: Inspire, Motivate, and Bring Out the Best in Your People


Brian Tracy - 2011
    In Full Engagement!, business success expert Brian Tracy shows how managers can step up to this seemingly impossible task by supercharging their employees' efforts. A manager's role is to achieve the highest possible return on the physical, emotional, and mental effort that his or her people put forth. It's not a return on investment--it's a return on energy. Packed with powerful, practical ideas and strategies, this eye-opening guide teaches readers to inspire their people to perform at their absolute best. You'll learn skills including how to unlock the potential of each person on your team; how to motivate and inspire employees to peak performance; how to trigger the "X Factor" that maximizes productivity; how to drive out the fears that hold people back; how to create a high-trust work environment; how to set clear goals and objectives; and how to recognize, reward, and reinforce in a way that energizes every employee.Studies have shown that on average, employees are working at only a fraction of their potential. With this essential guide, all managers can unlock superstar performance from their teams

No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work


Liz Fosslien - 2019
    We're expected to be authentic but not too authentic. Professional but not stiff. Friendly but not an oversharer.As organizational consultants and regular people, we know what it's like to experience uncomfortable emotions at work - everything from mild jealousy and insecurity to panic and rage. Ignoring or suppressing what you feel hurts your health and productivity but so does letting your emotions run wild.In this book we'll help you figure out which emotions to toss, which to keep to yourself, and which to express in order to be both happier and more effective. We'll share the latest research and helpful tips, and reveal the surprising reason why you'll actually be more healthier and focused if you're less passionate about your job.Drawing on what we've learned from behavioural economics, psychology and our own experiences at countless organizations, we'll show you how to bring your best self (and your whole self) to work every day.

Shaping School Culture: Pitfalls, Paradoxes, and Promises


Terrence E. Deal - 2009
    This new edition gives expanded attention to the important symbolic roles of school leaders, including practical suggestions on how leaders can balance cultural goals and values against accountability demands, and features new and powerful case examples throughout. Most important, the authors show how school leaders can transform negative and toxic cultures so that trust, commitment, and sense of unity can prevail. Praise for Shaping School Culture "For those seeking enduring change that is measured in generations rather than months, and to create a legacy rather than a headline, then Shaping School Culture is your guide." —Dr. Douglas B. Reeves, founder, The Leadership and Learning Center, Englewood, CO "Deal and Peterson combine exquisite language, vibrant stories, and sage advice to support school leaders in embracing the paradoxical nature of their work. A 'must read' for all school leaders." —Pam Robbins, educational consultant and author "Once again, the authors have presented practitioners, researchers, professional developers, school coaches, and others with a tremendous resource for renovating and reinvigorating schools." —Karen M. Dyer, Ed.D., group director, Education and Nonprofit Sector Office, Center for CreativeLeadership, Greensboro, NC

On Becoming a Leader


Warren Bennis - 1989
    Today's environment is similarly chaotic, turbulent, and uncertain. On Becoming a Leader has served for nearly fifteen years as a beacon of insight, delving into the qualities that define leadership, the people who exemplify it, and the strategies that anyone can apply to become an effective leader. This new edition features a provocative introduction on the challenges and opportunities facing leaders today, with additional updates and current references throughout.

The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance


Tony Schwartz - 2010
    The ethic of "more, bigger, faster" exacts a series of silent but pernicious costs at work, undermining our energy, focus, creativity, and passion. Nearly 75 percent of employees around the world feel disengaged at work every day. "The Way We're Working Isn't Working "offers a groundbreaking approach to reenergizing our lives so we're both more satisfied and more productive--on the job and off.By integrating multidisciplinary findings from the science of high performance, Tony Schwartz, coauthor of the #1 bestselling "The Power of Full Engagement, "makes a persuasive case that we're neglecting the four core needs that energize great performance: sustainability (physical); security (emotional); self-expression (mental); and significance (spiritual). Rather than running like computers at high speeds for long periods, we're at our best when we pulse rhythmically between expending and regularly renewing energy across each of our four needs.Organizations undermine sustainable high performance by forever seeking to get more out of their people. Instead they should seek systematically to meet their four core needs so they're freed, fueled, and inspired to bring the best of themselves to work every day.Drawing on extensive work with an extra-ordinary range of organizations, among them Google, Ford, Sony, Ernst & Young, Shell, IBM, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Cleveland Clinic, Schwartz creates a road map for a new way of working. At the individual level, he explains how we can build specific rituals into our daily schedules to balance intense effort with regular renewal; offset emotionally draining experiences with practices that fuel resilience; move between a narrow focus on urgent demands and more strategic, creative thinking; and balance a short-term focus on immediate results with a values-driven commitment to serving the greater good. At the organizational level, he outlines new policies, practices, and cultural messages that Schwartz's client companies have adopted."The Way We're Working Isn't Working "offers individuals, leaders, and organizations a highly practical, proven set of strategies to better manage the relentlessly rising demands we all face in an increasingly complex world.