During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. Csikszentmihalyi demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness, unlock our potential, and greatly improve the quality of our lives.

    

    It's the art of anticipating your opponent's next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by developing a new way of seeing the world. Using a diverse array of rich case studies—from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history—the authors show how nearly every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component to it. Are the winners of reality-TV contests instinctive game theorists? Do big-time investors see things that most people miss? What do great poker players know that you don't? Mastering game theory will make you more successful in business and life, and this lively book is the key to that mastery.

    Paul Friga distills the guiding principles first presented in the bestselling The McKinsey Way and the tested-in-the-trenches methodologies outlined in The McKinsey Mind, and combines them with many of the principles and procedures implemented by the military and other organizations. The result is nothing less than the business equivalent of a Special Forces Field Manual.True to its stated goal of arming consultants and corporate problem solvers with a blueprint for achieving consistently phenomenal results, The McKinsey Engagement is short on theory and long on action. Each chapter focuses on one element in the celebrated TEAM FOCUS problem-solving model and features a concise discussion of a key concept or principle, followed by:Clear rules of engagementA set of operating tacticsSophisticated problem solving toolsEasy-to-follow action stepsExercises, checklists, and training tipsWar stories and best practices case studiesA toolkit for bringing clarity, discipline, and purpose to all your problem-solving and change management initiatives, The McKinsey Engagement is an indispensable guide for consultants, as well as for executives, managers, students, and corporate trainers.

    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.

    Even as technology exerts new pressures to speed up our lives, it turns out that the choices we make--unconsciously and consciously, in time frames varying from milliseconds to years--benefit profoundly from delay. As this winning and provocative book reveals, taking control of time and slowing down our responses yields better results in almost every arena of life ... even when time seems to be of the essence.The procrastinator in all of us will delight in Partnoy's accounts of celebrity "delay specialists," from Warren Buffett to Chris Evert to Steve Kroft, underscoring the myriad ways in which delaying our reactions to everyday choices--large and small--can improve the quality of our lives.

    By 2008, it was bust. The Irish government's hopeless attempts to save Anglo have led the state to ruin - culminating in a punitive IMF bailout in late 2010 and threatening the future of the euro. Now, for the first time, the full story of the bank the Sunday Times described as 'a building society on crack' is being told - by the journalist who has led the way in coverage of Anglo and its many secrets. Drawing on his unmatched sources in and around Anglo, Simon Carswell of the Irish Times shows how the business model that brought Anglo twenty years of spectacular growth was also at the heart of its - and Ireland's - downfall. He paints a vivid and disturbing picture of life inside Anglo - the credit committee meetings, the lightning-quick negotiations with property developers, the culture of lavish entertainment - and of the men who presided over its dizzying rise and fall: Sean FitzPatrick, David Drumm, Willie McAteer and many others. This is not only the first full account of the Anglo disaster; it will also be the definitive one.

    A Whole New Mind takes readers to a daring new place, and a provocative and necessary new way of thinking about a future that's already here.

    While I've been a CEO for 30 years, I still learned much worth knowing from The Excellence Dividend. You will too." --John C. Bogle, founder, Vanguard For decades Tom Peters has been preaching the gospel of putting people first, and in today's rapidly changing business environment, this message is more important than ever. With his unparalleled expertise and inimitable charisma, Peters offers brilliantly simple, actionable guidelines for success that any business leader can immediately implement. He provides a roadmap for your organization and for you as an individual to thrive amidst the tech tsunami, and he has a lot of fun doing it. The Excellence Dividend is an important new book from one of today's greatest business thinkers.

    We’re a little taller or shorter than the average, our salary is a bit higher or lower than the average, and we wonder about who it is that is buying the average-priced home. All around us, we think, are the average people—with the average height, the average salary and the average house.But the average doesn’t just influence how we see ourselves—our entire social system has been built around this average-size-fits-all model. Schools are designed for the average student. Healthcare is designed for the average patient. Employers try to fill average job descriptions with employees on an average career trajectory. Our government implements programs and initiatives to serve the average person. For more than a century, we’ve believed that the best way to run our institutions is by focusing on the average person. But when you actually drill down into the numbers, you find an amazing fact: no one is average—which means that our society built for everyone is actually serving no one.In the 1950s, the American Air Force found itself with a massive problem—performance in expensive, custom-made planes was suffering terribly, with crashes peaking at seventeen in a single day. Since the state-of-the-art planes they were flying had been meticulously crafted to fit the average pilot, pilot error was assumed to be at fault. Until, that is, the Air Force investigated just how many of their pilots were actually average. The shocking answer: out of thousands of active-duty pilots, exactly zero were average. Not one. This discovery led to simple solutions (like adjustable seats) that dramatically reduced accidents, improved performance, and expanded the pool of potential pilots. It also led to a huge change in thinking: planes didn’t need to be designed for everyone—they needed to be designed so they could adapt to suit the individual flying them.The End of Average shows how success lies in customizing to our individual needs in all aspects of our lives, from the way we mark tests to the medical treatment we receive. Using principles from The Science of the Individual, it shows how we can break down the average to create individualized success that benefits everyone in the long run. It's time we stopped settling for average, and in The End of Average, Todd Rose will show you how.

       In Get Smart!, internationally-acclaimed business guru, speaker, author, and productivity expert Brian Tracy has laid the groundwork on how to easily reconfigure your negative thinking patterns and habits, and reprogram your brain to achieve its maximum potential. In this invaluable book, readers will encounter:   ·         The latest brain research on how to think, in order to get results ·         Practical, easy-to-understand advice and immediately actionable steps and exercises ·         How to train the brain to think correctly and help to create a brilliant future ·         Tapping in to the power of positive thinking ·         How to harness the true potential of the human mind ·         And so much more   Whether your goal is making more sales, coming up with better business plans, or simply finding ways to make extra money or have more residual income, this book will serve as your personal express elevator going straight to the top!

    What's the Future of Business doesn't just explore trends and theories; it introduces a dynamic, actionable path to transformation. -- Evan Greene, CMO, The Recording Academy, Producers of the GRAMMY Awards Rethink your business model to incorporate the power of user experiences What's the Future of Business? will galvanize a new movement that aligns the tenets of user experience with the vision of innovative leadership to improve business performance, engagement, and relationships for a new generation of consumerism. It provides an overview of real-world experiences versus user experiences in relation to products, services, mobile, social media, and commerce, among others. This book explains why experience is everything and how the future of business will come down to shared experiences.Aligns the tenets of user experience with the concepts of innovative leadership to improve business performance and engagement and to motivate readers to rethink business models and customer and employee relationships Motivates readers to rethink business models, products and services, marketing, and customer and employee relationships with desired experiences in mind Brian Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media, and is the author of Engage! and The End of Business as Usual! Discover how user experience design affects your business, and how you can harness its power for meaningful revenue growth

    Know risk, reap the rewards. In our risk-avoidance culture, we place a high premium on safety. We insure our vacations. We check crash tests on cars. We extend the warranties on our appliances. But by insulating ourselves from the unknown--the risks of life--we miss the great adventure of living our lives to their full potential.Ben Carson spent his childhood as an at-risk child on the streets of Detroit, and today he takes daily risks in performing complex surgeries on the brain and the spinal cord. Now, offering inspiring personal examples, Dr. Carson invites us to embrace risk in our own lives. From a man whose life dramatically portrays the connection between great risks and greater successes, here are insights that will help you dispel your fear of risk so you can dream big, aim high, move with confidence, and reap rewards you've never imagined.By avoiding risk, are you also avoiding the full potential of your life?The surgery was as risky as anything Dr. Ben Carson had seen. The Bijani sisters--conjoined twins--shared part of a skull, brain tissue, and crucial blood flow. One or both of them could die during the operation. But the women wanted separate lives. And they were willing to accept the risk to reach the goal, even against the advice of their doctors. . . . As a child on the dangerous streets of Detroit, and as a surgeon in operating theaters around the world, Dr. Ben Carson has learned all about risk--he faces it on a daily basis. Out of his perilous childhood, a world-class surgeon emerged precisely because of the risks Dr. Carson was willing to take.In his compelling new book, he examines our safety-at-all-costs culture and the meaning of risk and security in our lives. In our 21st-century world, we insulate ourselves with safety. We insure everything from vacations to cell phones. We go on low-cholesterol diets and buy low-risk mutual funds. But in the end, everyone faces risk, like the Bijani twins did with their brave decision. Even if our choices are not so dramatic or the outcome so heartbreaking, what does it mean if we back away instead of move forward? Have we so muffled our hearts and minds that we fail to reach for all that life can offer us--and all that we can offer life?Take the Risk guides the reader through an examination of risk, including:A short review of risk-taking in history.An assessment of the real costs and rewards of risk.Learning how to assess and accept risks.Understanding how risk reveals the purpose of your lives.

    This is the most influential force in your life, yet you are virtually unaware of it. Once you become aware of your personal time zone, you can begin to see and manage your life in exciting new ways. In The Time Paradox, Drs. Zimbardo and Boyd draw on thirty years of pioneering research to reveal, for the first time, how your individual time perspective shapes your life and is shaped by the world around you. Further, they demonstrate that your and every other individual's time zones interact to create national cultures, economics, and personal destinies. You will discover what time zone you live in through Drs. Zimbardo and Boyd's revolutionary tests. Ask yourself: • Does the smell of fresh-baked cookies bring you back to your childhood? • Do you believe that nothing will ever change in your world? • Do you believe that the present encompasses all and the future and past are mere abstractions? • Do you wear a watch, balance your checkbook, and make to-do lists -- every day? • Do you believe that life on earth is merely preparation for life after death? • Do you ruminate over failed relationships? • Are you the life of every party -- always late, always laughing, and always broke? These statements are representative of the seven most common ways people relate to time, each of which, in its extreme, creates benefits and pitfalls. The Time Paradox is a practical plan for optimizing your blend of time perspectives so you get the utmost out of every minute in your personal and professional life as well as a fascinating commentary about the power and paradoxes of time in the modern world. No matter your time perspective, you experience these paradoxes. Only by understanding this new psychological science of time zones will you be able to overcome the mental biases that keep you too attached to the past, too focused on immediate gratification, or unhealthily obsessed with future goals. Time passes no matter what you do -- it's up to you to spend it wisely and enjoy it well. Here's how.

    Thaler, and Cass R. Sunstein: a revelatory look at how we make decisionsNew York Times bestsellerNamed a Best Book of the Year by The Economist and the Financial Times Every day we make choices—about what to buy or eat, about financial investments or our children’s health and education, even about the causes we champion or the planet itself. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. Nudge is about how we make these choices and how we can make better ones. Using dozens of eye-opening examples and drawing on decades of behavioral science research, Nobel Prize winner Richard H. Thaler and Harvard Law School professor Cass R. Sunstein show that no choice is ever presented to us in a neutral way, and that we are all susceptible to biases that can lead us to make bad decisions. But by knowing how people think, we can use sensible “choice architecture” to nudge people toward the best decisions for ourselves, our families, and our society, without restricting our freedom of choice.