Book picks similar to
Managing For Excellence by Robert Heller


business
management
management-business
safe-certification

Consulting Demons: Inside the Unscrupulous World of Global Corporate Consulting


Lewis Pinault - 2000
    This stunning exposé of some of the most prestigious and respected names in the business leads you into a world where a client's interests are skillfully subordinated to those of the consultants, where money rules the day, and where principles and morals are unwelcome baggage.Humorous and insightful, this no-holds-barred account takes you behind the scenes of the dehumanizing indoctrination of an academic intellectual into an exploitative -- and exploited -- "global transformation contractor." Featuring new material dealing with the e-consulting industry's boom, bust, and its future, Consulting Demons offers the most complete look at an industry that exacts the highest prices for the most questionable standards of success.

What Were They Thinking?: Unconventional Wisdom About Management


Jeffrey Pfeffer - 2007
    The book contains a series of short chapters filled with examples, data, and insights that challenge questionable assumptions and much conventional management wisdom. Each chapter also provides guidelines about how to think more deeply and intelligently about critical management issues. Covering topics ranging from managing people to leadership to measurement and strategy, it’s good organizational advice, delivered by Dr. Pfeffer himself.

Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO


Nathan Bennett - 2006
    In fact, it has been argued that the number two position is the toughest job in a company. COOs are typically the key individuals responsible for the delivery of results on a day-to-day, quarter-to-quarter basis. They play a critical leadership role in executing the strategies developed by the top management team. And, in many cases, they are being groomed to be—or are actually being tested as—the firm's CEO-elect. Despite all this, the COO role has not received much attention.Riding Shotgun: The Role of the COO provides a new understanding of this little-understood role. The authors—a scholar and a consultant—develop a framework for understanding who the COO is, why a company would want to create this position, and the challenges associated with successful performance in the COO role. Drawing heavily on a number of first-person accounts from CEOs and other top executives in major corporations, the authors have developed a set of strategies or principles to inform individuals who aspire to serve in such a position. The executives who share their experiences in this book are from some of the most established and important companies in today's economy: AirTran; American Standard Companies; Amgen; Adobe Systems, Inc.; Autodesk, Inc; eBay; Heidrick & Struggles; InBev; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company; Mattel, Inc; Motorola; PepsiCo; Raytheon Company; Starbucks; and many others. Excerpts from the Book:On focusing on success"The primary goal I set for myself on how I define what success looks like for me is am I working at a company that matters? Am I working with somebody who I think affects positive change? Am I providing a benefit to my family? Am I enjoying myself? Why would I put a limitation on my enjoyment? There is an old view on Wall Street that says, 'They love you until they don't.' I am going to stay happy until I am not."—Dan Rosensweig, COO Yahoo!On the relationship between the CEO and COO"Deep down, you have to trust each other and you have to like each other. If you don't like each other, and/or don't trust each other, it may work, kind of, but it will be at a fifty percent level at best."—Craig Weatherup, Director, Starbucks, and former Chairman, PepsiOn the challenges of transitioning into the COO role"If you can't conceptualize the strategic objectives or help drive that or participate in that, I don't think you are going to succeed. But, equally, if you can't translate that into an executable plan, you are not going to succeed either."—Shantanu Narayen, COO, Adobe SystemsAdditional Quotes:"Miles & Bennett tackle an important and drastically under-researched area: the role, personalities, fit and success factors of COOs. We've seen several COOs who have been total winners, but it's striking how different the models of success can be depending on role, personal competencies, business situation/cycle/type, team strengths, and CEO strengths. The authors have done a very nice job of tying all of this together."—Jim Williams, Partner, Texas Pacific Group"The lessons reported in this book will be very useful to Boards, Heads of Human Resources and CEOs as they consider succession planning and organizational design."—Dale Morrison, President & Chief Executive Officer, McCain Foods Limited"The job of COO is becoming more important as companies and their boards look internally for succession alternatives. One question they face: Will the organization continue to run as the number 2 becomes the number 1? Riding Shotgun will help answer this and many more questions about the COO role in today's corporate structure."—John Berisford, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, The Pepsi Bottling Group"The COO plays a critical leadership role in most businesses, but its particularly true in the natural resources

Develop Your Assertiveness


Sue Bishop - 1996
    But being assertive does not mean being aggressive. By standing up for yourself, responding well to difficult situations and giving and receiving criticism constructively, you will gain the respect and like of others. Sue Bishop outlines ways to deal with problem people, think positively and build self-confidence. Practical activities help readers measure progress and reach their goals.

Federal Resume Guidebook: Strategies for Writing a Winning Federal Resume


Kathryn K. Troutman - 1997
    This book shows you writing methods to get best qualified, referred to a supervisor, interviewed, and hired! Effectively include KSAs in your resume with accomplishments. Maximize readability with the Outline Format federal resume. Analyze vacancy announcements for keywords. Master the Assessment Questionnaire. Format your USAJOBS federal resume for readability. Includes dozens of sample federal resumes in the Outline Format with KSAs!

The Outward Mindset: How to Change Lives and Transform Organizations


The Arbinger Institute - 2019
    This book points out the many ways, some quite subtle and deceptive, that this mindset invites tension and conflict. But incredible things happen when people switch to an outward mindset. They intuitively understand what coworkers, colleagues, family, and friends need to be successful and happy. Their organizations thrive, and astonishingly, by focusing on others they become happier and more successful themselves! This new mindset brings about deep and far-reaching changes. The Outward Mindset presents compelling true stories to illustrate the gaps that individuals and organizations typically experience between their actual inward mindsets and their needed outward mindsets. And it provides simple yet profound guidance and tools to help bridge this mindset gap. This new edition includes a new preface, updated case studies, and new material covering Arbinger's latest research on mindsets. In the long run, changing negative behavior without changing one's mindset doesn't last—the old behaviors always reassert themselves. But changing the mindset that causes the behavior changes everything.

This Won't Scale: 41 Plays From The Drift Marketing Team To Help Your Business Cut Through The Noise, Grow Faster Than The Competition & Thrill Your Customers


Dave Gerhardt - 2019
    While most B2B startups obsess over scalability and tracking, Drift takes a different approach. In This Won't Scale, you'll find insider lessons and plays from the Drift Marketing team that have helped the business grow at a hypergrowth rate. It contains 41 plays organized into easy-to-read and reference chapters. Keep it on your desk, thumb through it when you're looking for inspiration and come back to it over time. You’ll discover not only Drift's abnormal approach, but also hear never-before-told stories and learn how to implement Drift's marketing plays into your own marketing strategy.

Fish!: Omnibus


Stephen C. Lundin - 2006
    This is a powerful collection of bestselling books that will help you love the work you do - even if you can't always do work that you love.

The Handbook of Program Management: How to Facilitate Project Success with Optimal Program Management


James T. Brown - 2007
    Establishing and maintaining processes that greatly reduce the chances of project failure is paramount to achieving the competitive edge your company seeks."The Handbook of Program Management" gives program managers at all levels the techniques to put such processes in place as well as consistently integrate new technology and new people into these processes, thus producing superior products and services. Dr. James Brown, an internationally recognized authority in program and project management, explains how to strike a crucial balance between operations and project implementations-the precise point where you must nurture repeatable success.Outlining the differences between the roles of program and project managers, Dr. Brown provides proven principles for establishing a successful program management culture that is supported by enthusiastic personnel and stakeholders. He shows you how to develop the attributes of an effective program manager, from having a vision and strategy for long-term improvement to assessing people and building relationships to analyzing a myriad of means for accomplishing program objectives. You'll see how to Readily adapt to changing business conditions and turn chaos into clarity Mentor and coach project managers in terms of stakeholder management Make strategic program process decisions that positively impact your culture Build strong teams on multiple levels Plan an effective program execution Manage risk in an environment of uncertaintyYou'll also learn the keys to proper portfolio management and how to capitalize on positive program outcomes. Nowhere else will you find such comprehensive, authoritative information on meeting the new standards of program management--Dr. Brown's "The Handbook of Project Management" is the definitive resource.

What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast: A Short Guide to Making Over Your Mornings--and Life


Laura Vanderkam - 2012
    We wake up in a haze—often after hitting snooze a few times. Then we rush around to get ready and out the door so we can officially start the day. Before we know it, hours have slipped by without us accomplishing anything beyond downing a cup of coffee, dashing off a few emails, and dishing with our coworkers around the water cooler. By the time the workday wraps up, we’re so exhausted and defeated that any motivation to accomplish something in the evening has vanished.But according to time management expert Laura Vanderkam, mornings hold the key to taking control of our schedules. If we use them wisely, we can build habits that will allow us to lead happier, more productive lives.Drawing on real-life anecdotes and scientific research that shows why the early hours of the day are so important, Vanderkam reveals how successful people use mornings to help them accomplish things that are often impossible to take care of later in the day. While many of us are still in bed, these folks are scoring daily victories to improve their health, careers, and personal lives without sacrificing their sanity. For instance, former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund would rise at 5:00 a.m., run four miles, pray, and eat breakfast with his family before heading to work to run a Fortune 500 company.What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast is a fun, practical guide that will inspire you to rethink your morning routine and jump-start your life before the day has even begun.

When the Penny Drops: Learning What's Not Taught


R. Gopalakrishnan - 2011
    For centuries, we have learned what's not taught through our own experiences and the stories of others. Even today, only 3 per cent of leadership development occurs due to classroom training and coursework. In fact, for most managers, the penny drops only when we are at the end of our careers. R. Gopalakrishnan, author of the best-selling The Case of the Bonsai Manager, has many stories to tell. With forty-three years corporate experience across countries, each story recounted here has taught him a valuable lesson in some intuitive way. Each one is narrated here for you to allow you to reflect and learn for yourself how to improve and develop. Using the framework of the Tata Management Training Centre (TMTC) and the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), Gopalakrishnan explores: The three worlds of the manager—the inner world, the world of relationships and the world of getting things done. *The importance of emotional quotient (EQ) to progress as well as intelligence to get ahead in your career. *The deadly personal qualities of bonsai-trapped leaders. *The deadly traps for organizations. When the Penny Drops: Learning What's Not Taught encourages you to reflect on yourself. It will help you learn by identifying the success mantras embedded in you and releasing the lessons that might be entrapped within yourself.

The One Minute Negotiator: Simple Steps to Reach Better Agreements


Don Hutson - 2010
    One essentially comes from the Harvard Business School camp, and it’s perhaps best described as “Thou Shalt Collaborate.” This approach teaches that negotiating parties should always work together toward common interests. The other school of thought, mostly pushed by author/consultant Roger Dawson, takes an opposite approach. Call it “Thou Shalt Compete,” this approach is always overtly or subtly adversarial. The One Minute Negotiator differs in that it doesn’t single-mindedly push one strategy over the other—in the real world every negotiation differs depending on the participants and the circumstances. The authors provide an easy-to-use tool that allows you to understand your own negotiation strategy and quickly match it to the negotiation strategy used by the other side and to the situation.   Too many people lose out in negotiations because of apprehension and misunderstanding about the process—what the authors call “negotiaphobia”. By providing a simple, straightforward process anyone can use The One Minute Negotiator to help conquer their fears and achieve the most beneficial outcome in all their dealings.

Innovation as Usual: How to Help Your People Bring Great Ideas to Life


Paddy Miller - 2013
    Every so often employees are sent to “Brainstorm Island”: an off-site replete with trendy lectures, creative workshops, and overenthusiastic facilitators. But once they return, it’s back to business as usual.Innovation experts Paddy Miller and Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg suggest a better approach. They recommend that leaders at all levels become “innovation architects,” creating an ecosystem in which people engage in key innovation behaviors as part of their daily work.In short, this book is about getting to a state of “innovation as usual,” where regular employees—in jobs like finance, marketing, sales, or operations—make innovation happen in a way that’s both systemic and sustainable.Instead of organizing brainstorming sessions, idea jams, and off-sites that rarely result in success, leaders should guide their people in what the authors call the “5 + 1 keystone behaviors” of innovation: focus, connect, tweak, select, stealthstorm, (and the + 1) persist:• Focus beats freedom: Direct people to look only for ideas that matter to the business• Insight comes from the outside: Urge people to connect to new worlds• First ideas are flawed: Challenge people to tweak and reframe their initial ideas• Most ideas are bad ideas: Guide people to select the best ideas and discard the rest• Stealthstorming rules: Help people navigate the politics of innovation• Creativity is a choice: Motivate everyone to persist in the five keystone behaviorsUsing examples from a wide range of companies such as Pfizer, Index Ventures, Lonza, Go Travel, Prehype, DSM, and others, Innovation as Usual lights the way toward embedding creativity in the DNA of the workplace.So cancel that off-site. Instead, read Innovation as Usual—and put innovation at the core of your business.

Management: Leading & Collaborating in the Competitive World


Thomas S. Bateman - 2005
    This text discusses and explains the traditional, functional approach to management, through planning, organising, leading and controlling.

15 Successful Communications Lessons (Collection)


FT Press Delivers - 2010
    Levine, and many more." Included in this collection: "Less Is More: The Proper Use of Graphics for Effective Presentations" (Jerry Weissman) "Grabbing Your Audience's Attention Immediately: If You Don't, Your Presentation May Be Doomed" (Jerry Weissman) "Don't Make Them Think : Creating the Best Flow for the Elements of any Great Presentation" (Jerry Weissman) "Grab Your Audience's Attention: First Impressions Set the Presentation On or Off Course" (Mark Magnacca) "Presenting to Win: How to Use Animation Effectively to Tell Your Story" (Jerry Weissman) "Presenting Data in Charts and Tables: Categorical and Numerical Variables" (David M. Levine and David F. Stephan) "How to Get Your Presentation Audience to Aha " (Jerry Weissman) "Capturing Your Audience Immediately (and You Are Off to a Great Presentation )" (Jerry Weissman) "Great Questions: The Most Important Tool in a Manager's Toolbox" (Terry J. Fadem) "How to Guide Conversations Toward Extraordinary Results" (Jurgen Wolff) "Unasked Questions Are Foolish Ones" (Terry J. Fadem) "Create Your Personal Questioning Style" (Terry J. Fadem) "How to Keep the Email Monster from Eating You Alive" (Jurgen Wolff) "How to Ask the Best Probing Questions" (Terry J. Fadem) "The Role of Listening in Asking the Right Questions" (Terry J. Fadem)