Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't


James C. Collins - 2001
    The findings will surprise many readers and, quite frankly, upset others.The ChallengeBuilt to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning. But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? The StudyFor years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?The StandardsUsing tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies generated cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world's greatest companies, including Coca-Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck. The ComparisonsThe research team contrasted the good-to-great companies with a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to make the leap from good to great. What was different? Why did one set of companies become truly great performers while the other set remained only good? The FindingsThe findings of the Good to Great study will surprise many readers and shed light on virtually every area of management strategy and practice. The findings include:Level 5 Leaders: The research team was shocked to discover the type of leadership required to achieve greatness.The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity within the Three Circles): To go from good to great requires transcending the curse of competence.A Culture of Discipline: When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great results. Technology Accelerators: Good-to-great companies think differently about the role of technology.The Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Those who launch radical change programs and wrenching restructurings will almost certainly fail to make the leap.

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant


W. Chan Kim - 1994
    They have fought for competitive advantage, battled over market share, and struggled for differentiation. Yet, as this influential and immensely popular book shows, these hallmarks of competitive strategy are not the way to create profitable growth in the future.In the international bestseller Blue Ocean Strategy, W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne argue that cutthroat competition results in nothing but a bloody red ocean of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool. Based on a study of 150 strategic moves (spanning more than 100 years across 30 industries), the authors argue that lasting success comes not from battling competitors, but from creating "blue oceans"—untapped new market spaces ripe for growth. Such strategic moves, which the authors call “value innovation,” create powerful leaps in value that often render rivals obsolete for more than a decade.Blue Ocean Strategy presents a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant and outlines principles and tools any company can use to create and capture their own blue oceans. A landmark work that upends traditional thinking about strategy, this bestselling business book charts a bold new path to winning the future.

Pinfluence: The Complete Guide to Marketing Your Business with Pinterest


Beth Hayden - 2012
    Engaging with your followers and fans, listening to what they have to say, and producing consistently great content are the true markers of successful social media marketing today. Pinterest gives business users the opportunities to do all three in visually stunning, engaging ways. But business owners need help in knowing how to use Pinterest effectively for marketing purposes. "Pinfluence" will show business owners, entrepreneurs, online merchants and bloggers how to use Pinterest to drive traffic to their websites, connect with their potential and current clients, and convert their followers into buyers using this exciting new platform."Pinfluence" will be accessible and easy to read, with action steps that readers can implement right away. Readers will learn how to: Set up your professional Pinterest profile for maximum business exposure, so when your pins go viral, they send a flood of massive, targeted traffic to your website or blog. Develop a targeted Pinterest strategy for your business so you can increase your online exposure, bring in more income and avoid wasting time doing tasks that doesn't get you more leads or fansQuickly and easily start growing your audience, engage with your followers, and collect tons of business leadsConvert followers into buyersGet Pinterest marketing help for special types of situations, like business-to-business companies and nonprofits

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions


Dan Ariely - 2008
    We think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we?In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Dan Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Blending everyday experience with groundbreaking research, Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities.Not only do we make astonishingly simple mistakes every day, but we make the same "types" of mistakes, Ariely discovers. We consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. We fail to understand the profound effects of our emotions on what we want, and we overvalue what we already own. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable--making us "predictably" irrational.From drinking coffee to losing weight, from buying a car to choosing a romantic partner, Ariely explains how to break through these systematic patterns of thought to make better decisions. "Predictably Irrational" will change the way we interact with the world--one small decision at a time.

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness


Richard H. Thaler - 2008
    Thaler, and Cass R. Sunstein: a revelatory look at how we make decisionsNew York Times bestsellerNamed a Best Book of the Year by The Economist and the Financial Times Every day we make choices—about what to buy or eat, about financial investments or our children’s health and education, even about the causes we champion or the planet itself. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. Nudge is about how we make these choices and how we can make better ones. Using dozens of eye-opening examples and drawing on decades of behavioral science research, Nobel Prize winner Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School professor Cass R. Sunstein show that no choice is ever presented to us in a neutral way, and that we are all susceptible to biases that can lead us to make bad decisions. But by knowing how people think, we can use sensible “choice architecture” to nudge people toward the best decisions for ourselves, our families, and our society, without restricting our freedom of choice.

Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur: What It Takes to Win in High-Stakes Commercial Real Estate: What It Takes to Win in High-Stakes Commercial Real Estate


James A. Randel - 2005
    one of the best real estate investment books I have ever read. On my scale of 1 to 10, this unique book rates an off-the-charts 12." ---Robert BrussConfessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur is for the individual who is ready to get serious about investing. Not a rah-rah or get-rich-quick book, this book is for someone who is prepared to think about what he or she wants to accomplish. James Randel provides the how and why.James Randel has been a successful investor and educator for 25 years. He teaches investing through stories and anecdotes - bringing to the limelight not just his successes (and there are some amazing stories of these) but also his mistakes. His candor is instructive and entertaining.It is said that "those who can, do, and those who can't, teach." James Randel is a rare exception as he is both a highly successful investor as well as an excellent teacher. As said by Jeff Dunne, Vice Chairman of the largest real estate company in the world, CB Richard Ellis:"I've tracked Jimmy's incredible run of successful real estate investments for 20 years and more recently invested very profitably with him. His new book is a must read for anyone interested in real estate investing."If you are tired of the "same old, same old" and prepared to play in the big leagues, this book is calling your name.

Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives


Nicholas A. Christakis - 2008
    Your colleague's husband's sister can make you fat, even if you don't know her. A happy neighbor has more impact on your happiness than a happy spouse. These startling revelations of how much we truly influence one another are revealed in the studies of Dr. Christakis and Fowler, which have repeatedly made front-page news nationwide. In Connected, the authors explain why emotions are contagious, how health behaviors spread, why the rich get richer, even how we find and choose our partners. Intriguing and entertaining, Connected overturns the notion of the individual and provides a revolutionary paradigm-that social networks influence our ideas, emotions, health, relationships, behavior, politics, and much more. It will change the way we think about every aspect of our lives.

The 4-Hour Workweek


Timothy Ferriss - 2007
    Depending on when you ask this controversial Princeton University guest lecturer, he might answer: "I race motorcycles in Europe." "I ski in the Andes." "I scuba dive in Panama." "I dance tango in Buenos Aires." He has spent more than five years learning the secrets of the New Rich, a fast-growing subculture who has abandoned the "deferred-life plan" and instead mastered the new currencies-time and mobility-to create luxury lifestyles in the here and now. Whether you are an overworked employee or an entrepreneur trapped in your own business, this book is the compass for a new and revolutionary world.Join Tim Ferriss as he teaches you:- How to outsource your life to overseas virtual assistants for $5 per hour and do whatever you want?- How blue-chip escape artists travel the world without quitting their jobs?- How to eliminate 50% of your work in 48 hours using the principles of a forgotten Italian economist?- How to trade a long-haul career for short work bursts and freuent "mini-retirements"?- What the crucial difference is between absolute and relative income?- How to train your boss to value performance over presence, or kill your job (or company) if it's beyond repair?- What automated cash-flow "muses" are and how to create one in 2 to 4 weeks?- How to cultivate selective ignorance-and create time-with a low-information diet?- What the management secrets of Remote Control CEOs are?- How to get free housing worldwide and airfare at 50-80% off?- How to fill the void and create a meaningful life after removing work and the office

No, No, No, No, No, Yes. Insights From a Creative Journey: Motivation & Self-Improvement (Creative & Innovation series Book 1)


Gideon Amichay - 2014
     But rather an essential tool for direction, motivation and innovation. No, No, No, No, No, Yes is the perfect inspirational Christmas gift for that someone in your life embarking on a great new challenge. Whether they just graduated from college, are changing careers, have set out to achieve something in the arts or the business realm, or just aspire to do something seemingly impossible, No, No, No, No, No, Yes will help them see that the “no’s” they will confront are simply directions on the map to “yes”. No. It is a word that every CEO, entrepreneur and creative professional has confronted. It is a word that both novices and seasoned professionals dread. It is a word that can easily seem like death to a dream. And yet it is also a word that can point in the right direction. It is a word that motivates us to do something differently, try something else, get better, innovate, keep going. No is a word that looms over every business person's, innovator's, and artist's life. And yet the word is universally met with trepidation and fear because the value of being told No is so little understood. ˃˃˃ No is a facilitator In No, No, No, No, No, Yes. Insights From A Creative Journey, award winning creator of visionary ad campaigns (Cannes Lions, Clios); ad exec (the Shalmor Avnon Amichay/Y&R agency); cartoonist (The New Yorker); speaker (TEDx); and teacher (School of Visual Arts) Gideon Amichay demonstrates that No is not a barrier to success it s a facilitator. No is not the end, but rather an essential tool for direction, motivation and innovation. Based on Amichay s best-selling book in Israel (published by Gordon Books in 2011) and 2013 TEDx talk of the same name, No, No, No, No, No, Yes takes the reader on an illustrated journey of the author's own lifetime confrontation, negotiation and relationship with No . Walking the reader through critical No s in his own 25 year career pitching cartoons to the New Yorker, risky ad campaign concepts as head of one of Israel s biggest ad agencies, impossible outdoor ad installations -- Amichay reveals the wisdom that No rarely ends with an exclamation point. ˃˃˃ No ends with a comma Rather, Amichay demonstrates that No usually ends with a comma: No comma, we don't have the time. No comma, we don't have the budget. No comma, can we see another option? By discovering which No comma he was confronting, Amichay shows how No s in fact led him to eventual Yes s -- including the waiting, the rejections, and the revisions and demonstrates that No, forces us to reexamine, to explore, to rethink, to change directions, to get better. ˃˃˃ No can be the best answer to get In No, No, No, No, No, Yes Amichay shares the essential revelation that sometimes No can be the best answer to get. Through illuminating anecdotes from his own illustrious career running the gamut between business and the arts, Gideon Amichay demonstrates unequivocally that No's, whether from colleagues, from clients, from life, or from within have great power, and are simply directions on the map to Yes. Authoritative, funny, whimsical, wise, and pragmatic, No, No, No, No, No, Yes. Insights From A Creative Journey. is the essential companion for every executive, innovator and artist to navigate the unavoidable odyssey of No in order to find the eventual Yes. Scroll up and grab a copy today.

Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat: The BRRRR Rental Property Investment Strategy Made Simple


David Greene - 2019
    While this method should produce results in the long run, what if there's a better, more efficient way? What if you can build a real estate empire in years instead of decades? Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat is the first book about the incredible strategy that's sweeping the nation. BRRRR real estate investing has long been a hidden secret of those with decades of experience, but this book will tear down the barriers, reveal the truth, and make financial freedom more attainable than ever. Author and investor David Greene shares the exact systems and processes used to scale his business from buying two houses per year to buying two houses per month using BRRRR. This book will teach you an easy-to-follow plan that will grow your wealth quickly without letting a lack of cash get in the way of pulling it all off! Inside, you'll discover: A solid plan for getting started, even with limited capital How to identify target properties locally and all over the country Negotiating strategies for making offers that get accepted How to recover 100% (or more) of your money in a deal Unique ways to increase a property's value (and your own net worth) The key to identifying emerging markets destined for huge growth How to recruit top talent to work on your deals (so they build wealth for you!) ... And so much more! The BRRRR strategy has changed countless lives, and this book details the exact steps needed for it to change yours. It's time to BRRRR your way to financial independence and grow your wealth.

Be Amazing or Go Home: Seven Customer Service Habits That Create Confidence with Everyone


Shep Hyken - 2017
    In fact, amazement is a habit that anyone can master--and Shep Hyken knows the tricks to making it your own.In Be Amazing or Go Home, Shep shares the secrets behind making his motto "Always Be Amazing!" an everyday lifestyle and shows how you too can become exceptional in business and in life. Drawing on the routines of incredible people, Shep demonstrates simple practices that can elevate your game, including: Showing up ready to amazing Being proactive Craving feedback Taking responsibility Embracing authenticity Focusing on excellence Turning misery into magic Once you master these habits, you'll be able to create trust, build stronger relationships, make sales, advance your career, and more. Now is the time to step out of the ordinary and step into amazing.

Amazon Selling Secrets: How to Make an Extra $1K - $10K a Month Selling Your Own Products on Amazon


William U. Peña - 2014
     By mastering the Amazon Selling System in this book, you will be able to easily tap into the opportunities on Amazon, and create an additional $1K - $10K a month in passive income. This book will teach you the highly sought after secrets of how to identify highly popular products, and then transform them into your own special brand, which customers will pay a lot of money for. In this book you will learn How to: Identify Desirable Products People Want to Buy. Create a Unique Brand that People will Remember. Find High Quality Product Sources that will Support Your Thriving Amazon Business. Create High Converting Amazon Listings that will Emotionally Compel Customers to Buy Over and Over. Create the Most Profit Possible with the Least Amount of Expense. Test and Validate Your Product to Guarantee your Success. Effectively Manage Your Inventory and Fulfill Orders with Little Effort. Provide Outstanding Customer Satisfaction and Motivate Customers to Buy More. Get Abundant Reviews from Raving Fan Customers. Automate the Process so that You Can Sell Products While You Sleep. Expand Your Amazon Selling Business and Make 6 or 7 Figures a Year. By the time you finish this book, you will have all the tools, resources, and a simple, yet effective system to make an extra $1000 - $10,000 a month. So Get Your Copy Now and Start Making Money on Amazon Today!

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion


Robert B. Cialdini - 1984
    Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His thirty-five years of rigorous, evidence-based research along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly acclaimed book.You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader—and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In


Roger Fisher - 1981
    One of the primary business texts of the modern era, it is based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution. Getting to Yes offers a proven, step-by-step strategy for coming to mutually acceptable agreements in every sort of conflict. Thoroughly updated and revised, it offers readers a straight- forward, universally applicable method for negotiating personal and professional disputes without getting angry-or getting taken.This is by far the best thing I`ve ever read about negotiation. It is equally relevant for the individual who would like to keep his friends, property, and income and the statesman who would like to keep the peace." --John Kenneth Galbraith"

From Jobless to Amazon Bestseller: The Step-by-Step System I Followed to Write, Self-publish, Market and Promote my Book to Become a #1 Bestseller on Amazon


Marc Reklau - 2015
     Why you should choose Self-publishing. Why you should choose Amazon. How to write you book fast without ever suffering from “writer’s block”. How to find a title that sells for your book. How to get a cover that sells made. How to price your book right. Why it’s easier than you thought to get an Amazon bestseller. How to market and promote your book and get it in the top of the charts on Amazon. What your book can do for you in the long term (passive income, traditional publishing contracts, radio & TV appearances etc.). And so much more! Think of it! If you publish on Amazon, millions of people are only a click away from downloading your book on their Kindle, PC, Mac, tablets or smartphones. That’s an enormous amount of potential customers! Why not use Amazon’s “look inside” feature and check out the first chapters of “From Jobless to Amazon Bestseller” before you buy?  Just click on the book image above and start reading.