Though following best practice can help in some ways, it also poses a danger: By emulating what a great leader did in a particular situation, you'll likely be terribly disappointed with your own results. Why? Your situation is different.Instead of focusing on what exceptional leaders do, we need to understand and emulate how they think. Successful businesspeople engage in what Martin calls integrative thinking creatively resolving the tension in opposing models by forming entirely new and superior ones. Drawing on stories of leaders as diverse as AG Lafley of Procter & Gamble, Meg Whitman of eBay, Victoria Hale of the Institute for One World Health, and Nandan Nilekani of Infosys, Martin shows how integrative thinkers are relentlessly diagnosing and synthesizing by asking probing questions including: What are the causal relationships at work here? and What are the implied trade-offs?Martin also presents a model for strengthening your integrative thinking skills by drawing on different kinds of knowledge including conceptual and experiential knowledge.Integrative thinking can be learned, and The Opposable Mind helps you master this vital skill.

    This highly accessible book is aimed at anyone who wants to improve their financial situation, from the financial novice who needs clear basic guidelines on how to deal with money to those who are more financially savvy but want to supplement their knowledge. Covering a range of topics, from saving, investing, debt management, buying a house to blunders to avoid, Become Your Own Financial Advisor provides people of all ages and levels of wealth with practical information on how to improve their finances. And, in the process, proves that financial freedom is possible for everyone.

    A rich tapestry of anecdotes, object lessons, parodies, insights, and predictions, The Cluetrain Manifesto illustrates how the Internet has radically reframed the seemingly immutable laws of business--and what business needs to know to weather the seismic aftershocks.

    It wasn’t even the long list of scandals exposed to a horrified nation — charging fees to dead people, blatant conflicts of interest, and taking $1 billion from customers in fees that banks were never entitled to.What made it so fascinating, so heart-breaking, and so enraging was the procession of faces through the witness box, and the team of counsel gazing into the dark heart of banking.Tearful victims, blank-faced executives, hapless regulators, and a couple of utter charlatans all had their day in court, watched by an audience of millions, and revealing — in their stories — the material to justify re-shaping the multi-trillion dollar financial services industry that forms a pillar of Australian life.A Wunch of Bankers covers not just the big shocks, but the small moments — lost in the flurry of daily reporting — that reveal how companies have used the law, limp enforcement, and basic human behaviour to take advantage of customers.Is there a phrase that judges how much life-insurance spruikers in call centres can terrify you about your impending death — and the grief-stricken ruins of an estate you’ll leave for your bereaved family — while still being legal?Yes, there is.Was there a meeting in which a bank’s executives ignored a warning of “Extreme” from its chief risk officer, to embark on an illegal scheme that accrued $3.6 billion in funds?There was.Mixed among the testimony are snippets from life on the road as the World’s Oldest Debuting TV Reporter — not just driving five hours one-way to talk to a man who almost blew his brains out over a bank nabbing his $22 million estate, but explaining how journalism can only ever give you a glimpse inside complex issues.In A Wunch of Bankers, Danel Ziffer bring out the colour and grit of the royal commission’s proceedings, and explores broader issues raised by the testimony. A mixture of analysis, reportage, and observations, it is densely researched and compellingly written.

    

    A well-timed purchase or a well-planned merger can boost both the immediate financial position and the long-term outlook for your organization.Conversely, these transactions can quickly spell your company's doom if they are not conceived and executed carefully, legally, and sensibly. Whether you're an M&A veteran or find yourself at the table for the first time, it's crucial to have an authoritative, soup-to-nuts reference to guide you through the many complex steps involved in these major business strategies.Mergers & Acquisitions from A to Z is a practical, hands-on resource for M&A participants on all sides of the transaction. The fully updated second edition covers the latest trends and best practices for structuring profitable deals, new rules and regulations in the age of the Sarbanes-Oxley act, and more. Clear and jargon-free, this authoritative book begins with a thorough overview, and then gives you extensive knowledge of the entire transaction process including:* Preparing for a Merger or Acquisition and Initiating the Deal. Understanding both the seller's and buyer's perspective is key, regardless of what your own role is in the transaction.* Preliminary Considerations and Documentation. The authors present the pros and cons of creating a letter of intent, and how to decide which kind to use (binding, non-binding, or hybrid).* Due Diligence. A thorough legal, financial, and operational analysis of the target business will identify and quantify any areas of concern.* Regulatory Considerations. These include general areas such as environmental, antitrust, securities, and others, as well as those issues specific to your industry or the situation.* Structuring the Deal. The architecture of the transaction will have profound effects on tax, accounting, shareholder, and other financial considerations for all the businesses involved.*Valuation and Pricing. Learn which valuation methods to use, and why the established value is only one component in calculating the actual purchase price.* Financing. How to determine if seller financing, venture capital, securities, and/or other alternatives are proper choices for your transaction.The book also offers complete sample documents including acquisition agreements and other legally required papers, strategies for alleviating post-closing challenges, and ""managing the deal-killers,"" the all-too-common mistakes and pitfalls that can derail even the most promising mergers and acquisitions. Finally, the authors take a look at a few of the alternatives to the M&A approach, including joint ventures, franchising, licensing, strategic alliances, and many others.The power your company can generate in concert with another is immense. With Mergers & Acquisitions from A to Z, you've got the crucial information and versatile tools to make the connection stronger, more durable, and more profitable for all involved."

    The underlying illness is shareholder primacy. In The Divine Right of Capital, she shows that the corporate drive to maximize shareholder profits at any cost is not only out of step with democratic and free-market principles, but is detrimental to the long-term health of individual companies and the economy as a whole. Kelly offers a far-reaching solution to rebuild corporations in a way that serves all.

    Labor unions hurt their members. Government regulation destroys jobs. These are just a few of the biggest lies in the web of misinformation spun by conservatives and the Chamber of Commerce. Holland's book dissects each malicious fiction to show how the Right is just plain wrong on the economy—wrong on jobs, wrong on the deficit, wrong on taxes, wrong on trade.Takes down old and new conservative myths about the economy, including healthcare, stimulus, progressive taxes, Wall Street regulation, and moreFilled with recent quotes from conservative politicians and pundits, from the misleading to the laughable to the totally outrageousTackles specific aspects of the Republicans' economic agenda, including their 2010 alternatives to Obama's budgetDeftly written and rigorously documented by Alternet senior writer/editor Joshua HollandWith the economy set to be the driving issue before and after the 2010 midterm elections, The Fifteen Biggest Lies about the Economy sets the record straight on every part of the conservatives' economic agenda.

    This is a must-have marketing reference.

    Using the greatest material from his popular Blog Maverick, he has collected and updated his postings on business and life to provide a catalog of insider knowledge on what it takes to become a thriving entrepreneur. Cuban tells his own rags-to-riches story of how he went from selling powdered milk and sleeping on friends' couches to owning his own company and becoming a multi-billion dollar success story. His unconventional yet highly effective ideas on how to build a successful business offer entrepreneurs at any stage of their careers a huge edge over their competitors.

    It all started back home in Virginia, with the blue sweater, a gift that quickly became her prized possession—until the day she outgrew it and gave it away to Goodwill. Eleven years later in Africa, she spotted a young boy wearing that very sweater, with her name still on the tag inside. That the sweater had made its trek all the way to Rwanda was ample evidence, she thought, of how we are all connected, how our actions—and inaction—touch people every day across the globe, people we may never know or meet.From her first stumbling efforts as a young idealist venturing forth in Africa to the creation of the trailblazing organization she runs today, Novogratz tells gripping stories with unforgettable characters—women dancing in a Nairobi slum, unwed mothers starting a bakery, courageous survivors of the Rwandan genocide, entrepreneurs building services for the poor against impossible odds. She shows, in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking, how traditional charity often fails, but how a new form of philanthropic investing called "patient capital" can help make people self-sufficient and can change millions of lives. More than just an autobiography or a how-to guide to addressing poverty, The Blue Sweater is a call to action that challenges us to grant dignity to the poor and to rethink our engagement with the world.

    Trump reveals the secrets of his success in this candid and unprecedented book of business wisdom and advice. Over the years, everyone has urged Trump to write on this subject, but it wasn’t until NBC and executive producer Mark Burnett asked him to star in The Apprentice that he realized just how hungry people are to learn how great personal wealth is created and first-class businesses are run. Thousands applied to be Trump’s apprentice, and millions have been watching the program, making it the highest rated debut of the season.In Trump: How To Get Rich, Trump tells all–about the lessons learned from The Apprentice, his real estate empire, his position as head of the 20,000-member Trump Organization, and his most important role, as a father who has successfully taught his children the value of money and hard work.With his characteristic brass and smarts, Trump offers insights on how to• invest wisely• impress the boss and get a raise• manage a business efficiently• hire, motivate, and fire employees• negotiate anything• maintain the quality of your brand• think big and live largePlus, The Donald tells all on the art of the hair!With his luxury buildings, award-winning golf courses, high-stakes casinos, and glamorous beauty pageants, Donald J. Trump is one of a kind in American business. Every day, he lives the American dream. Now he shows you how it’s done, in this rollicking, inspirational, and illuminating behind-the-scenes story of invaluable lessons and rich rewards.From the Hardcover edition.

    Drawing from his years of experience as a serial entrepreneur who built and nurtured a number of startups into multi-million-dollar enterprises, bestselling author Om Swami opens up in this book like never before. The Heart of Success is yet another masterpiece from the monk who actually sold his Porsche and picked up a pen for a living. No matter who you are—an entrepreneur or an aspiring one, a management graduate on your first internship or a seasoned manager—by the time you finish reading this book, you will be better equipped to succeed in business and life as well as handle the responsibility that comes with success. With plenty of humor and anecdotes, find out what it takes to be successful, no matter what.OM SWAMI has touched the lives of millions around the world through his bestsellers on spirituality and wellness. An MBA from University of Technology, Sydney, he has built and exited multi-million dollar businesses. An unconventional monk, he’s the brain behind the fastest-growing meditation and kindness movement in the world: Black Lotus. Om Swami writes on his blog, os.me, twice a month, and stays away from all forms of social media.

    And that evolution has huge implications for everything we see, buy and do online. Rejecting the zero-sum, vending-machine model of ecommerce practiced by other leading internet retailers, who view the Internet purely as a facilitator of speed and profit, Hiroshi Mikitani argues for an alternate model that benefits merchants, consumers, and communities alike by empowering players at every step in the process. He envisions retail "ecosystems," where small and mid-sized brick-and-mortar businesses around the world partner with online marketplaces to maximize their customer bases and service capabilities, and he shows why emphasizing collaboration over competition, customization over top-down control, and long-term growth over short-term revenue is by far the best use of the Internet's power, and will define the 3.0 era.Rakuten has already pioneered this new model, and Marketplace 3.0 offers colorful examples of its success in Japan and around the world. Mikitani reveals how the company enforces a global mindset (including the requirement that all its employees speak English, even in Tokyo); how it incorporates new acquisitions rather than seeking to completely remake or sell them for a quick profit; and how it competes with other retailers on speed and quality, without sacrificing the public good. Marketplace 3.0 is an exciting new vision for global commerce, from a company that's challenging all the accepted wisdom.

    The best you can do is learn from others.In 2015, Dan Andrews and Ian Schoen sold their product business, which they built over the course of 7 years and employed 15 people, for multi-seven figures. While they don't regret selling the business – there are many mistakes they made that were avoidable.Whether you are still in the early stages of building a business or thinking of selling, this book is designed to help you build with the future in mind.This book presents a series of 5 thought experiments including: - The Lifestyle Ladder- The Mock Tax Rebate featuring the Mediocre CEO Test- The Hidden Upsides- The Cash Conundrum- The Dirty SecretIt turns out there are patterns and predictable challenges coming your way when you prepare to exit your business. Knowing about them in advance is fun and potentially very profitable.The five thought experiments that you’ll read about in this book are designed to give you clarity and confidence as you think through what it might mean to sell your business.