Offer people the chance to test your ideas themselves–a “try before you buy” philosophy. People want to believe your ideas, so give them a reason to. Examples include the Nobel-winning scientist no one believed, flesh-eating bananas, and the human-scale principle.

    The result is Solving Tough Problems. Written in a relaxed, persuasive style, this is not a "how-to" book with glib answers, but rather, a very personal story of the author's progress from a young "expert" convinced of the need to provide cold, "correct" answers to an effective facilitator of positive change - by learning how to create environments that enable new ideas and creative solutions to emerge. The book explores the connection between individual learning and institutional change, and how leaders can move beyond politeness and formal statements, beyond routine debate and defensiveness, toward deeper and more productive dialogue. Both tough and inspiring, the book explores models, technologies, and examples that foster and facilitate "dialogues of the heart."

    Part intellectual journey, part memoir, Hamlet's BlackBerry sets out to solve what William Powers calls the conundrum of connectedness. Our computers and mobile devices do wonderful things for us. But they also impose an enormous burden, making it harder for us to focus, do our best work, build strong relationships, and find the depth and fulfillment we crave.Hamlet's BlackBerry argues that we need a new way of thinking, an everyday philosophy for life with screens. To find it, Powers reaches into the past, uncovering a rich trove of ideas that have helped people manage and enjoy their connected lives for thousands of years. New technologies have always brought the mix of excitement and stress that we feel today. Drawing on some of history's most brilliant thinkers, from Plato to Shakespeare to Thoreau, he shows that digital connectedness serves us best when it's balanced by its opposite, disconnectedness.Using his own life as laboratory and object lesson, Powers demonstrates why this is the moment to revisit our relationship to screens and mobile technologies, and how profound the rewards of doing so can be. Lively, original, and entertaining, Hamlet's BlackBerry will challenge you to rethink your digital life.

    True persuasion is not about arm-twisting or out-maneuvering your adversary. True persuasion is the creation of consensus from conflict or indifference.

    But it doesn’t have to be that way. What if you could leverage your so-called vices and shortcomings and make them your super powers? — Rebellious. Audacious. Obsessed. Hot-Blooded. Weird. Hypnotic. Emotional —These seven vices are what acclaimed leadership and brand experts Sunny Bonnell and Ashleigh Hansberger identify as keys to becoming a Rare Breed—those standout leaders and achievers—in any career.Rare Breed is an unorthodox business book for the rebels, outsiders, and provocateurs — anyone with the ambition to lead, create, inspire and provoke change on your own terms by owning all of who you are, not just the pretty parts. But be careful, each virtue has a seductive and dualistic nature that can lead to success or sabotage.Unique stories. Unconventional advice. Practical tools. Bonnell and Hansberger lay it all out to help fellow Rare Breeds understand, unlock, and direct the potential that’s been slumbering in them to rise above the ordinary, own who they are, and push things forward.

    Ambiguity is the corporate default state, a condition so prevalent that "tolerance for ambiguity" has become a clich�d job requirement.It doesn't have to be this way.In Clarity First, Karen provides methods and insights for achieving clarity to unleash potential, innovate at higher levels, and solve the problems that matter to deliver outstanding business results. Both a visionary road map and practical guide, this book will help leaders:-Identify and communicate the organization's true purpose-Set achievable priorities-Deliver greater customer value through more efficient processes-Provide greater transparency about true versus assumed performance-Build strong problem-solving and critical thinking capabilities throughout the organization-Develop personal clarity to be a more direct, purposeful, and successful leaderEliminating ambiguity is the first step for leaders and organizations to achieve strategic goals. Learn how to gain the clarity needed to make better decisions, lead more effectively, and boost organizational performance.When it comes to leading an outstanding organization, every great leader needs Clarity First.

    Learn rarely taught tips and concepts that will immediately elevate your coaching while avoiding the common pitfalls. New and experienced coaches alike will benefit greatly from the detailed strategies and wisdom shared from Marion’s years of experience. —Cheryl Richardson, NYTimes Bestselling author of Take Time for Your Life Marion Franklin, the Coach’s Coach, has been training and mentoring coaches for more than 20 years. Every student she has mentored or taught who sought ACC, PCC, or MCC has gotten their credential using the material in this book designed for all levels of coaches. No matter where you are in your coaching journey, this book has something for you. This book is different because it: • Includes brilliant tools for beginner-to-seasoned coaches •. Offers advanced techniques for developing powerful questions without any lists • Provides principles of human behavior that help you quickly identify what’s really going on • Contains the 25 Themes that underlie every coaching situation and make coaching and questioning much simpler • Shares a step-by-step, easy to follow, way to create a shift in perspective • Presents 17 strategies that clients unknowingly use that actually work against, not for them Begin using even one or two of the concepts and principles in this book and notice your coaching immediately elevate to a new level. Your clients will notice the difference! You will experience this innovative approach to masterful coaching with two full laser-coaching sessions with commentary — much like eavesdropping in on the mind of a master coach. Marion shares unprecedented concepts that will help new coaches and even the most experienced coaches gain new insights and ideas, including a deeper understanding of what they already know. • Automatically improve your coaching by applying one rarely known principle. • Never feel stuck around what question to ask. • Feel more confident by quickly identifying what’s really going on. • Know exactly what to listen for in every conversation. • Discover a simple “2 inquiry” approach that instantly enables you to deepen your curiosity. This book will not only boost your confidence and mastery as a coach, it will enable you to produce sustained results for your clients. I designed this book to not only show you what laser-focused coaching looks, sounds, and feels like, but to show you HOW TO coach for permanent, life-altering change. When using the Laser-Focused approach, you’ll be able to: • avoid getting seduced by the story • ask questions that get right to the heart of the matter • have the client do all of the summary • know how to create the shift and what to do afterwards • recognize the client’s underlying pattern and know how to address it and so much more The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching –– A revolutionary, unprecedented approach makes coaching easier while also enhancing your ability to help clients create deep and profound change. Transform your coaching into something so powerful and life-changing that your coaching consistently flows and becomes effortless.

    Business Analyst’s Mentor Book includes tips and best practices in a broad range of topics like:- business analysis skills - requirements gathering and documentation - scope management - change request management - conflict management - use cases- UML - agile and waterfall methodologies - user interface design - usability testing - software testing - automation tools Real-life examples are provided to help readers apply these best practices in their own IT organizations.The book answers the most frequent questions of business analysts regarding software requirements management.

    Too often we approach our lives' biggest hurdles with dread, execute them with anxiety, and leave them with regret.By accessing our personal power, we can achieve "presence," the state in which we stop worrying about the impression we're making on others and instead adjust the impression we've been making on ourselves. As Harvard professor Amy Cuddy's revolutionary book reveals, we don't need to embark on a grand spiritual quest or complete an inner transformation to harness the power of presence. Instead, we need to nudge ourselves, moment by moment, by tweaking our body language, behavior, and mind-set in our day-to-day lives.Amy Cuddy has galvanized tens of millions of viewers around the world with her TED talk about "power poses." Now she presents the enthralling science underlying these and many other fascinating body-mind effects, and teaches us how to use simple techniques to liberate ourselves from fear in high-pressure moments, perform at our best, and connect with and empower others to do the same.Brilliantly researched, impassioned, and accessible, Presence is filled with stories of individuals who learned how to flourish during the stressful moments that once terrified them. Every reader will learn how to approach their biggest challenges with confidence instead of dread, and to leave them with satisfaction instead of regret."Presence feels at once concrete and inspiring, simple but ambitious — above all, truly powerful." —New York Times Book Review

    People don't listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral? Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger has spent the last decade answering these questions. He's studied why New York Times articles make the paper's own Most E-mailed List, why products get word of mouth, and how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children. In this book, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and YouTube videos.Contagious combines groundbreaking research with powerful stories. Learn how a luxury steakhouse found popularity through the lowly cheese-steak, why anti-drug commercials might have actually increased drug use, and why more than 200 million consumers shared a video about one of the seemingly most boring products there is: a blender. If you've wondered why certain stories get shared, e-mails get forwarded, or videos go viral, Contagious explains why, and shows how to leverage these concepts to craft contagious content. This book provides a set of specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread - for designing messages, advertisements, and information that people will share. Whether you're a manager at a big company, a small business owner trying to boost awareness, a politician running for office, or a health official trying to get the word out, Contagious will show you how to make your product or idea catch on.

    With so much riding on innovation, creativity, and spark, it is essential to attract and retain quality talent--but what good does this talent do if no one is able to speak their mind? The traditional culture of "fitting in" and "going along" spells doom in the knowledge economy. Success requires a continuous influx of new ideas, new challenges, and critical thought, and the interpersonal climate must not suppress, silence, ridicule or intimidate. Not every idea is good, and yes there are stupid questions, and yes dissent can slow things down, but talking through these things is an essential part of the creative process. People must be allowed to voice half-finished thoughts, ask questions from left field, and brainstorm out loud; it creates a culture in which a minor flub or momentary lapse is no big deal, and where actual mistakes are owned and corrected, and where the next left-field idea could be the next big thing.This book explores this culture of psychological safety, and provides a blueprint for bringing it to life. The road is sometimes bumpy, but succinct and informative scenario-based explanations provide a clear path forward to constant learning and healthy innovation.* Explore the link between psychological safety and high performance * Create a culture where it's "safe" to express ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes * Nurture the level of engagement and candor required in today's knowledge economy* Follow a step-by-step framework for establishing psychological safety in your team or organization Shed the "yes-men" approach and step into real performance. Fertilize creativity, clarify goals, achieve accountability, redefine leadership, and much more. The Fearless Organization helps you bring about this most critical transformation.

    I learned about myself and gained new insights into the work I've been doing for thirty years. It is a spectacular read." -John Riccitiello, CEO, Electronic Arts This is not a management book. This is a book for managers. Ever have the feeling that no matter how rewarding your job is that there's an entirely different level of success and fulfillment available to you? Lingering in the mist, just out of reach . . . There is, and Stan Slap is going to help you get it. You hold in your hands the book that entirely redraws the potential of being a manager. It will show you how to gain the one competency most critical to achieving business impact, but it won't stop there. This book will put a whole new level of meaning into your job description. You Will Never Really Work for Your Company Until Your Company Really Works for You Bury My Heart at Conference Room B is about igniting the massive power of any manager's emotional commitment to his or her company-worth more than financial, intellectual and physical commitment combined. Sometimes companies get this from their managers in the early garage days or in times of tremendous gain, but it's almost unheard of to get it on a sustained, self-reinforced basis. Of course your company is only going to get it if you're willing to give it. Slap proves that emotional commitment comes from the ability to live your deepest personal values at work and then provides a remarkable process that allows you to use your own values to achieve tremendous success. This is not soft stuff; it is the stuff of hard-core results. Bury My Heart at Conference Room B is the highest-rated management development solution at a number of the world's highest-rated companies -- companies that don't include "patience" on their list of corporate values. It has been exhaustively researched and bench tested with tens of thousands of real managers in more than seventy countries. You'll hear directly from managers about how this legendary method has transformed their careers and their lives. As Big as It Gets Stan Slap is doing nothing less than making the business case for a manager's humanity-for every manager and the companies that depend on them. Bury My Heart at Conference Room B gives managers the urgency to change their world and the energy to do it. It will stir the soul, race the heart, and throb the foot used for acceleration. Buckle Up. We're Going Off-Road. Slap is smart, provocative, wickedly funny and heartfelt. He fearlessly takes on some of the most cherished myths of management for the illogic they are and celebrates the experience of being a manager in all of its potential and potential weirdness. And he talks to managers like they really talk to themselves.

    You meet someone new—at a party or at work—and you just hit it off. There is an instant sense of camaraderie. In a word, you “click.” From the bestselling authors of Sway, Click is a fascinating psychological investigation of the forces behind what makes us click with certain people, or become fully immersed in whatever activity or situation we’re involved in.    From two co-workers who fall head over heels for each other while out to dinner and are married a month later (and fifteen years later remain just as in love), to a team of scientists who changed the world with the magic of their invention, these kinds of peak experiences, when our senses are completely focused on the moment, are something that individuals—and companies—strive to achieve. After all, when you’re in the “zone,” you’re happier and more productive. Why is it that we click in certain situations and with certain people, but not with others? Can this kind of magical connection be consciously encouraged?  Is there a way to create such peak experiences, whether on a date or in your job?   According to Ori and Rom Brafman, there is.  In a powerful, story-driven narrative that weaves together cutting-edge research in psychology and sociology, the Brafmans explore what it means to “click”: the common factors present when our brain and senses are fully engaged. They identify five “accelerators” that increase the likelihood of these kinds of magic connections in our work and relationships.  From actors vying for a role on a popular TV series to police officers negotiating with hostage takers, we learn how one can foster an environment where we can click with another person and shape our thinking, behavior, and emotions.  A fascinating journey into how we engage with the world around us, Click will transform our thinking about those moments when we are in the zone and everything seems to fall into place. Acclaim for Sway:“A provocative new book about the psychological forces that lead us to disregard facts or logic and behave in surprisingly irrational ways.” –New York Times “A unique and compulsively readable look at unseen behavioral trends.” –Fortune"A breathtaking book that will challenge your every thought, Sway hovers above the intersection of Blink and Freakonomics."--Tom Rath, coauthor of the New York Times #1 bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket?“[An] engaging journey through the workings—and failings—of the mind…Their stories of senselessness…are as fascinating as the lessons we learn from them.” –Fast Company"Count me swayed--but in this instance by the pull of entirely rational forces. Ori and Rom Brafman have done a terrific job of illuminating deep-seated tendencies that skew our behavior in ways that can range from silly to deadly. We'd be fools not to learn what they have to teach us."--Robert B. Cialdini, author of New York Times bestseller Influence"If you think you know how you think, you'd better think again! Take this insightful, delightful trip to the sweet spot where economics, psychology, and sociology converge, and you'll discover how our all-too-human minds actually work."--Alan M. Webber, founding editor of Fast Company

    An essential book that unlocks the secrets of highly successful groups and provides readers with a toolkit for building a cohesive, innovative culture, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Talent Code