For the first time, William Poundstone reveals the toughest questions used at Microsoft and other Fortune 500 companies -- and supplies the answers. He traces the rise and controversial fall of employer-mandated IQ tests, the peculiar obsessions of Bill Gates (who plays jigsaw puzzles as a competitive sport), the sadistic mind games of Wall Street (which reportedly led one job seeker to smash a forty-third-story window), and the bizarre excesses of today's hiring managers (who may start off your interview with a box of Legos or a game of virtual Russian roulette). How Would You Move Mount Fuji? is an indispensable book for anyone in business. Managers seeking the most talented employees will learn to incorporate puzzle interviews in their search for the top candidates. Job seekers will discover how to tackle even the most brain-busting questions, and gain the advantage that could win the job of a lifetime. And anyone who has ever dreamed of going up against the best minds in business may discover that these puzzles are simply a lot of fun. Why are beer cans tapered on the end, anyway?

    But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with others. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return. Using his own pioneering research as Wharton's youngest tenured professor, Grant shows that these styles have a surprising impact on success. Although some givers get exploited and burn out, the rest achieve extraordinary results across a wide range of industries. Combining cutting-edge evidence with captivating stories, this landmark book shows how one of America's best networkers developed his connections, why the creative genius behind one of the most popular shows in television history toiled for years in anonymity, how a basketball executive responsible for multiple draft busts transformed his franchise into a winner, and how we could have anticipated Enron's demise four years before the company collapsed - without ever looking at a single number. Praised by bestselling authors such as Dan Pink, Tony Hsieh, Dan Ariely, Susan Cain, Dan Gilbert, Gretchen Rubin, Bob Sutton, David Allen, Robert Cialdini, and Seth Godin-as well as senior leaders from Google, McKinsey, Merck, Estee Lauder, Nike, and NASA - Give and Take highlights what effective networking, collaboration, influence, negotiation, and leadership skills have in common. This landmark book opens up an approach to success that has the power to transform not just individuals and groups, but entire organizations and communities.

     The Workbook's easy-to-use worksheets make efficient planning simple and practical and supports your success in three ways:Reflection: Think about your approach to leadership and become more conscious about how well you engage in each of the Practices.Application Apply the Practices and commitments to all your projects.Implications Record what you've learned about yourself, your team, your organization, and your project. Develop your leadership potential with The Leadership Challenge Workbook!

    Fred must cleverly convince and enlist key players, such as Louis, the head penguin; Alice, the number two bird; the intractable NoNo the weather expert; and a passle of school-age penguins if he is to save the colony.Their delightfully told journey illuminates in an unforgettable way how to manage the necessary change that surrounds us all. Simple explanatory material following the fable enhances the lasting value of these lessons.Our Iceberg Is Melting is at once charming, accessible and profound; a treat for virtually any reader.

    Not only is the cliché flawed-preexisting passions are rare and have little to do with how most people end up loving their work-but it can also be dangerous, leading to anxiety and chronic job hopping.After making his case against passion, Newport sets out on a quest to discover the reality of how people end up loving what they do. Spending time with organic farmers, venture capitalists, screenwriters, freelance computer programmers, and others who admitted to deriving great satisfaction from their work, Newport uncovers the strategies they used and the pitfalls they avoided in developing their compelling careers.Matching your job to a preexisting passion does not matter, he reveals. Passion comes after you put in the hard work to become excellent at something valuable, not before. In other words, what you do for a living is much less important than how you do it.With a title taken from the comedian Steve Martin, who once said his advice for aspiring entertainers was to "be so good they can't ignore you," Cal Newport's clearly written manifesto is mandatory reading for anyone fretting about what to do with their life, or frustrated by their current job situation and eager to find a fresh new way to take control of their livelihood. He provides an evidence-based blueprint for creating work you love.So Good They Can't Ignore You will change the way we think about our careers, happiness, and the crafting of a remarkable life.

    Some fall by the wayside. And some people are just plain lucky. They are blessed with Bloody Good Luck!But is it possible to attract good luck? Can we train ourselves to be lucky? Apparently, it seems that Dame Luck isn’t that fickle. She is well within our reach.In his first non-fiction foray, bestselling author Ashwin Sanghi explores that critical, much-longed-for element called luck. Through entertaining and informative anecdotes,narrations of personal experiences and vignettes of homespun wisdom, Ashwin gives us a whole new insight into how people can work towards being lucky.It seems that luck isn’t entirely the twist of fate that it is made out to be!

    However well intentioned they may be, leaders who deceive themselves always end up undermining their own performance.This straightforward book explains how leaders can discover their own self-deceptions and learn how to escape destructive patterns. The authors demonstrate that breaking out of these patterns leads to improved teamwork, commitment, trust, communication, motivation, and leadership.

    Because of that, he is constantly going the extra mile handling the mail – and sometimes watching over the houses – of the people on his route, treating everyone he meets as a friend. Where others might see delivering mail as monotonous drudgery, Fred sees an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those he serves.We’ve all encountered people like Fred in our lives. In THE FRED FACTOR, Mark Sanborn illuminates the simple steps each of us can take to transform our own lives from the ordinary – into the extraordinary. Sanborn, through stories about Fred and others like him, reveals the four basic principles that will help us bring fresh energy and creativity to our life and work: how to make a real difference everyday, how to become more successful by building strong relationships, how to create real value for others without spending a penny, and how to constantly reinvent yourself. By following these principles, and by learning from and teaching other “Freds,” you, too, can excel in your career and make your life extraodinary. As Mark Sanborn makes clear, each of us has the potential be a Fred.THE FRED FACTOR shows you how.

    What Personality Is 2. The Personality Pattern 3. Symbols of Self 4. Molding the Personality Pattern 5. Persistence and Change Part II: Personality Determinants 6. Physical Determinants 7. Intellectual Determinants 8. Emotional Determinants 9. Social Determinants 10. Aspirations and Achievements 11. Sex Determinants 12. Educational Determinants 13. Family Determinants Part III: Evaluation Of Personality 14. Sick Personalities 15. Healthy Personalities Index

    Giving a problem employee a paid day off to think may seem a questionable tactic, but it's a key feature of this book's revolutionary discipline without punishment system.

    Most leaders recognize that developing these clearly articulated statements is time well spent; they help keep the organization on track and pointed toward clear goals. A written leadership philosophy, which we call "The Leader's Compass", achieves the same thing on a personal level; it lets people know what you expect, what you value, how you'll act, and how you'll measure performance, with the additional benefits of making the workplace less stressful and more productive. And, like a compass, it helps to keep you, the leader, on course".

    Written in an accessible style, it enters into lively discussion of classical and contemporary ideas about organizations and their management. It shows that getting to grips with these ideas means asking fundamental questions about what it means to be human and about the nature of modern society.This book is for you if:*you get impatient with heavy, conventional and lengthy textbooks*you are fed up with the trite simplicities of the management gurus*you are dismayed by dry, worthy, alternative views*you want to show your lecturer you have done some extra readingIt is an antidote to the boring textbook and it is compatible with any degree course on management and organizations. It will challenge your thinking and it will help you get a good mark in your exam. And it's cheap. Should you buy it? It's a no-brainer.

    For this reason, more and more software companies are rapidly turning to Agile development to cope with fast changing markets, unknown or changing product requirements, borderless competition, and to solve complex problems. Yet little has been written to guide product managers through the transition in working with Agile teams and the numerous benefits that it affords. "'Agile Excellence for Product Managers'" is a plain speaking guide on how to work with Agile development teams to achieve phenomenal product success. It covers the why and how of agile development (including Scrum, XP, and Lean, ) the role of product management, release planning, release management, road mapping, creating and prioritizing a product backlog, documentation, product launches, organizational implications and more. It is a must read for product managers making the switch to Agile development as well as product owners and project managers looking for better ways to organize and lead in their companies.

    In the perfect follow-up to 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, the innovative book that has sold over one million copies, Bob Nelson reveals what real companies across America are doing to get the very best out of their employees-and why it's the key to their success. Energizing is listening-AT&T's Universal Card Service's employee suggestion system yields 1,200 ideas a month and millions of dollars in savings. Energizing is encouraging risk-taking-Hershey Foods gives out The Exalted Order of the Extended Neck Award. Energizing is Starbuck's making employees partners, Saturn creating teams that function as independent small businesses, Springfield Remanufacturing's opening its books to all employees. With case studies, examples, techniques, research highlights, and quotes from business leaders, 1001 Ways to Energize Employees is invaluable for managers seeking to increase employee enthusiasm and involvement.

    Abraham Maslow was-and is-one of the world's most esteemed experts on human behavior and motivation. However, while perhaps most famous for his work in the area of humanistic psychology, his legacy of work encompasses much more, extending into the realms of business and management. Having explored and studied the relationship between human behavior and the work situation, Maslow translated the science of the mind into the art of management-an important interpretation first published in the far-sighted treatise, Eupsychian Management, and whose impact continues to be felt today. Now, this seminal work has been updated, primed to introduce new readers to-and reacquaint old admirers with-what some have called the renowned psychologist's best book. Bringing into perspective the lasting impact of Maslow's groundbreaking principles, Maslow on Management illustrates how they have withstood the test of time to become integral components of current management practices, such as continuous improvement, Theory X, and empowerment. Offering insight into using these and other tools to effectively tackle present-day business situations, from heightened competitiveness to globalization to emerging technologies, Maslow on Management covers a wealth of timeless topics, including:* Self-actualization-the freedom to effectuate one's own ideas, try things out, make decisions, and make mistakes* Synergy-what is beneficial for the individual is beneficial for everyone; individual success should not occur at the expense of others; align organizational goals with personal goals* Enlightened management policy-assume that all your people have the impulse to achieve; everyone prefers to be a prime mover rather than a passive helper; everyone wants to feel important, needed, useful, successful, and proud; there is no dominance-subordination hierarchyTo complement Dr. Maslow's original writings and to demonstrate how his forward-thinking ideas are being played out in today's business world, Maslow on Management features interviews with Perot Systems Chairman Mort Meyerson, NonLinear Systems founder Andrew Kay, Esalen Institute founder Michael Murphy, and other prominent figures who provide incisive commentary on subjects ranging from creativity in business to leadership lessons for the digital age. Epitomizing the genius of its author and embodying his elegant ruminations, Maslow on Management is still as important as it was when it first appeared. A true classic, this is essential reading for all managers.