Not only are they the boss, but also the salesperson, HR manager, copywriter, operations manager, online marketing guru, and so much more. It's no wonder why so many people give up the dream of starting a business--it's just too much for one person to handle.But outsourcing expert and Virtual CEO, Chris Ducker knows how you can get the help you need with resources you can afford. Small business owners, consultants, and online entrepreneurs don't have to go it alone when they discover the power of building teams of virtual employees to help run, support, and grow their businesses.Focusing on business growth, Ducker explains every detail you need to grasp, from figuring out which jobs you should outsource to finding, hiring, training, motivating, and managing virtual assistants. With additional tactics and online resources, Virtual Freedom is the ultimate resource of the knowledge and tools necessary for building your dream business with the help of virtual staff.

    The best salespeople don't just build relationships with customers. They challenge them. The need to understand what top-performing reps are doing that their average performing colleagues are not drove Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson, and their colleagues at Corporate Executive Board to investigate the skills, behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes that matter most for high performance. And what they discovered may be the biggest shock to conventional sales wisdom in decades.Based on an exhaustive study of thousands of sales reps across multiple industries and geographies, The Challenger Sale argues that classic relationship building is a losing approach, especially when it comes to selling complex, large-scale business-to-business solutions. The authors' study found that every sales rep in the world falls into one of five distinct profiles, and while all of these types of reps can deliver average sales performance, only one-the Challenger- delivers consistently high performance.Instead of bludgeoning customers with endless facts and features about their company and products, Challengers approach customers with unique insights about how they can save or make money. They tailor their sales message to the customer's specific needs and objectives. Rather than acquiescing to the customer's every demand or objection, they are assertive, pushing back when necessary and taking control of the sale.The things that make Challengers unique are replicable and teachable to the average sales rep. Once you understand how to identify the Challengers in your organization, you can model their approach and embed it throughout your sales force. The authors explain how almost any average-performing rep, once equipped with the right tools, can successfully reframe customers' expectations and deliver a distinctive purchase experience that drives higher levels of customer loyalty and, ultimately, greater growth.

    The reader is guided through the process of "getting" this new vision, and then through the specifics of applying it. It's simple, believable, and mechanical; not mystical or theoretical.

    We depend more than we realize on wishful thinking and romanticized ideas of history. In the new paperback edition of this fascinating book, a book that has appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, Slashdot.org, Lifehacker.com and in The New York Times, bestselling author Scott Berkun pulls the best lessons from the history of innovation, including the recent software and web age, to reveal powerful and suprising truths about how ideas become successful innovations -- truths people can easily apply to the challenges of today. Through his entertaining and insightful explanations of the inherent patterns in how Einstein’s discovered E=mc2 or Tim Berner Lee’s developed the idea of the world wide web, you will see how to develop existing knowledge into new innovations.Each entertaining chapter centers on breaking apart a powerful myth, popular in the business world despite it's lack of substance. Through Berkun's extensive research into the truth about innovations in technology, business and science, you’ll learn lessons from the expensive failures and dramatic successes of innovations past, and understand how innovators achieved what they did -- and what you need to do to be an innovator yourself. You'll discover:Why problems are more important than solutionsHow the good innovation is the enemy of the greatWhy children are more creative than your co-workersWhy epiphanies and breakthroughs always take timeHow all stories of innovations are distorted by the history effectHow to overcome people’s resistance to new ideasWhy the best idea doesn’t often winThe paperback edition includes four new chapters, focused on appling the lessons from the original book, and helping you develop your skills in creative thinking, pitching ideas, and staying motivated."For centuries before Google, MIT, and IDEO, modern hotbeds of innovation, we struggled to explain any kind of creation, from the universe itself to the multitudes of ideas around us. While we can make atomic bombs, and dry-clean silk ties, we still don’t have satisfying answers for simple questions like: Where do songs come from? Are there an infinite variety of possible kinds of cheese? How did Shakespeare and Stephen King invent so much, while we’re satisfied watching sitcom reruns? Our popular answers have been unconvincing, enabling misleading, fantasy-laden myths to grow strong." -- Scott Berkun, from the text"Berkun sets us free to change the world." -- Guy Kawasaki, author of Art of the StartScott was a manager at Microsoft from 1994-2003, on projects including v1-5 (not 6) of Internet Explorer. He is the author of three bestselling books, Making Things Happen, The Myths of Innovation and Confessions of a Public Speaker. He works full time as a writer and speaker, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes magazine, The Economist, The Washington Post, Wired magazine, National Public Radio and other media. He regularly contributes to Harvard Business Review and Bloomberg Businessweek, has taught creative thinking at the University of Washington, and has appeared as an innovation and management expert on MSNBC and on CNBC. He writes frequently on innovation and creative thinking at his blog: scottberkun.com and tweets at @berkun.

    In this guide, Chris Vander Mey provides a simplified, no-BS approach to the entire software lifecycle, distilled from lessons he learned as a manager at Amazon and Google.In the first part of the book, you’ll learn a step-by-step shipping process used by many of the best teams at Google and Amazon. Part II shows you the techniques, best practices, and skills you need to face an array of challenges in product, program, project, and engineering management.Clearly define your product and develop your mission and strategyAssemble your team and understand enough about systems to communicate with themCreate a beautiful, intuitive, and simple user experienceTrack your team’s deliverables and closely manage the testing processCommunicate clearly to gracefully handle requests, senior-management interactions, and feedback from various sourcesBuild metrics to track progress, spot problems, and celebrate successStick to your launch checklist and plan for marketing and PR

    and Others Don't is a 2001 management book by James C. Collins that aims to describe how companies transition from being average companies to great companies and how companies can fail to make the transition. “Good to Great” attained long-running positions on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week best-seller lists, sold 2.5 million hardcover copies since publication, and has been translated into 32 languages."Greatness" is defined as financial performance several multiples better than the market average over a sustained period. Collins finds the main factor for achieving the transition to be a narrow focusing of the company’s resources on their field of competence. Collins used a large team of researchers who studied "6,000 articles, generated more than 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and created 384 megabytes of computer data in a five-year project". In this book summary of "Good to Great" you can discover the condensed wisdom to be gained from the book. You can discover what differences there were in companies that managed to achieve greatness. Do you want to know the characteristics of a leader most likely to take their company from good to great? Do you want to know how to hire the right people? The book summary includes information on each of the topics covered in “Good To Great” in a format that will help you while reducing the time required for reading the entire book.Chapter One: Good is the Enemy of GreatChapter Two: Level 5 Leadership Chapter Three: First Who… Then What Chapter Four: Confront the Brutal Facts Chapter Five: The Hedgehog Concept Chapter Six: A Culture of DisciplineChapter Seven: Technology AcceleratorsChapter Eight: The Flywheel and the Doom LoopChapter Nine: From Good to Great to Built to LastThe author of “Good to Great”, James C. "Jim" Collins, III is an American business consultant, author, and lecturer on the subject of company sustainability and growth. Jim Collins frequently contributes to Harvard Business Review, Business Week, Fortune and other magazines, journals, etc. Collins began his research and teaching career on the faculty at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he now conducts research and teaches executives from the corporate and social sectors.

    You'll find a collection of the major lessons and shortcuts we've learned that will shift the odds in your favor. We're sharing our tips, secrets, and advice in a frank, founder-to-founder discussion with you.We make no bones about our bias. We're on your side, the founder's side. While venture capitalists, investors, and accelerators/incubators can add great value in the startup ecosystem, this book isn't about their points of view. We'll tell you where our interests as founders diverge from those on the other side of the table--investors, bankers, advisors, board members, and others--and what to do when that happens. The Startup Playbook is not a recipe, it's not a template, it's not a list of tasks to do. It's our insider's guide to starting a company and running it successfully in those critical early months. Between us, we've started over a dozen high-tech software companies and raised over $500 million in investment capital. We've acquired over thirty-five companies, had three of our startups go public, sold six of them, and we made billions of dollars for shareholders. We've also invested in over eighty startups, advised and mentored over two hundred companies and actively worked with venture capitalists (VCs), incubators, and accelerators to help launch many other new startups.We've had plenty of failures, too. And we've probably learned more from those than from the successes. We share those lessons as well. The Startup Playbook is full of our advice, guidance, do's, and don'ts from our years of experience as founders many times. We want to share our hard-earned knowledge with you to make success easier for you to achieve."This book is extraordinarily fresh and exciting. In an accessible, straight talk fashion, this book is a manual, and an inspiration. The Startup Playbook is smart and avoids the 'I am so smart' over-writing endemic to the genre. Read this as it is presented. You'll be doing yourself a tremendous favor."-- Amazon Reviewer

    She examined their business strategies. Looked for common themes. Researched their backgrounds, habits, and characteristics.The results of this research are fascinating. While no two bloggers earn money in the exact same way, they do all share some common traits.The Essential Habits Of 6-Figure Bloggers is a collection of real-life stories. It's also a success manual for bloggers.In this book, the author lays out the three essential habits of six-figure bloggers. These habits are not about specific tactics (though these are covered). They go deeper. In fact, you can apply these three habits to anything. Not just blogging.Want to lose weight? Pay off your debt? Build a retirement fund? Run a marathon? Practice the three success habits and you can achieve anything you want in life.The ideas in these pages aren't new. Instead, this book provides a framework so that you can sort through the mass of information, tools, and techniques and create your own version of success.You'll learn the three habits and how to apply them to your blog, or any other situation.When you read this book you will learn from top bloggers, master the three success habits, and create a six-figure blog that leverages your unique talents and experiences.In this book, you'll find easy step-by-step instructions on how to:* Pick a blogging niche that's profitable and exciting. * Earn money from your blog - using six proven monetization strategies. * Create systems to stay on track - even when the going gets tough.* Dream bigger than ever before and achieve anything you want.While blogging is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it is a flexible and fulfilling way to make money from home. In this book you will meet bloggers who are earning six- and even seven-figures a year.If you love to write and have a message to share, you can do this too. How would your life change if you could build a profitable, online business you love?When you read this book, you will learn from those who are already doing what you want to do. You'll discover what it really takes to create a six-figure blog. Get your copy today by clicking the BUY NOW button at the top of this page!

    I've already ordered ten copies." -- SETH GODIN, bestselling author of THE ICARUS DECEPTION --"Fun and insightful lessons from a man who's lived life on his terms." -- KAMAL RAVIKANT, bestselling author of LOVE YOURSELF LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT HAVE YOU EVER: --Wished you were someone else? --Struggled to fit in with the crowd at school, at work, at the local American Legion Post? --Said something hurtful to your beloved for no apparent reason? --Regretted the choices you've made to stay safe and secure? I'M NOT FOR EVERYONE. NEITHER ARE YOU. Is a highly concentrated, straight-to-the-bloodstream three part collection of axioms designed to help you to discover your singular inner style and to best express it in all of your personal and professional relationships. Without apology. Written down as "notes to myself" over the course of eight decades plus as a dancer/advertising superstar/performer/playwright/author, David Leddick teaches us that how you see yourself is how others see you So find your own style and express it as freely as you would a work of art.

    The reality is that most innovations come from a process of rigorous examination through which great ideas are identified and developed before being realized as new offerings and capabilities.This book introduces the idea of design thinking‚ the collaborative process by which the designer′s sensibilities and methods are employed to match people′s needs not only with what is technically feasible and a viable business strategy. In short‚ design thinking converts need into demand. It′s a human−centered approach to problem solving that helps people and organizations become more innovative and more creative.Design thinking is not just applicable to so−called creative industries or people who work in the design field. It′s a methodology that has been used by organizations such as Kaiser Permanente to icnrease the quality of patient care by re−examining the ways that their nurses manage shift change‚ or Kraft to rethink supply chain management. This is not a book by designers for designers; this is a book for creative leaders seeking to infuse design thinking into every level of an organization‚ product‚ or service to drive new alternatives for business and society.

    But have you ever wondered how Google makes billions of dollars while providing search, email, and maps for free? How do they figure out which ads perfectly capture your interests? And how do they search the entire internet so quickly, anyway?By answering real-world questions like this, Swipe to Unlock gives you a peek under the hood of the technology you use every day, decodes technologists' weirdest buzzwords, and shows you how technology is changing the society we live in for better or for worse. Unlock the answers you need to become a better-educated consumer, digital citizen, or technology professional.

    The answers aren't easy -- just incredibly successful.

    Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk is an amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy

    At under 200 pages it's quick reading too. Makes a great airplane book.

    Business Model You uses the same powerful one-page tool to teach readers how to draw "personal business models," which reveal new ways their skills can be adapted to the changing needs of the marketplace to reveal new, more satisfying, career and life possibilities. Produced by the same team that created Business Model Generation, this book is based on the Business Model Canvas methodology, which has quickly emerged as the world's leading business model description and innovation technique.This book shows readers how to:Understand business model thinking and diagram their current personal business model Understand the value of their skills in the marketplace and define their purpose Articulate a vision for change Create a new personal business model harmonized with that vision, and most important, test and implement the new model When you implement the one-page tool from Business Model You, you create a game-changing business model for your life and career.