And servant leadership—the idea that managing with respect, honesty, love, and spirituality empowers employees—helps individuals answer that calling. Bestselling author and former Fortune 500 executive James A. Autry reveals the servant leader’s tools, a set of skills and ideals that will transform the way business is done. It helps leaders nurture the needs and goals of those who look to them for leadership. The result is a more productive, successful, and happier organization, and a more meaningful life for the leader. Autry reveals how to remain true to the servant leadership model when handling day-to-day and long-term management situations, including how to: •Provide guidance during conflict and crisis•Assure your continued growth and progress as a leader•Train managers in the principles of servant leadership•Transform a company with morale problems into a great place to workPracticed by one-third of the companies on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, servant leadership is a thriving philosophy. Ultimately, Autry explores how it can be a valuable, refreshing, and rewarding approach to leading others in business life.“When I first read Jim’s work, I was thrilled. Finally, someone had clearly and con-cisely articulated these principles in a way that people can quickly adopt into their lives.”—from the foreword by Howard Behar, retired president, Starbucks“This is an awesome book. James Autry’s gift is that he brings lofty ideals down to earth with general illustrations that make them easy to understand and apply. I highly recommend it!”—Jack Canfield, coauthor, Chicken Soup for the Soul“The Servant Leader describes the kind of leadership upon which Starbucks Coffee Company has been built and is a concept that is closely aligned with our mission and guiding principles.” —Howard Schultz, chairman, Starbucks

    This time, he turns his keen intellect and storytelling power to the fascinating, complex world of teams. Kathryn Petersen, Decision Tech's CEO, faces the ultimate leadership crisis: Uniting a team in such disarray that it threatens to bring down the entire company. Will she succeed? Will she be fired? Will the company fail? Lencioni's utterly gripping tale serves as a timeless reminder that leadership requires as much courage as it does insight. Throughout the story, Lencioni reveals the five dysfunctions which go to the very heart of why teams even the best ones-often struggle. He outlines a powerful model and actionable steps that can be used to overcome these common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team. Just as with his other books, Lencioni has written a compelling fable with a powerful yet deceptively simple message for all those who strive to be exceptional team leaders.

    I can't tell you how many times I have pulled the book off the shelf to get some direction in creating my own questions. It has been a great asset in helping me have meaningful and directed conversations at a critical time in my new job. And it has saved me precious time. - Great book!?Marlene Lockwood, Group Leader, St. Helen's Hospital, Deer Park, CaliforniaCommunication within many organizations has been reduced to email, electronic file transfer, and hasty sound bytes at hurried meetings. More and more, people appear to have forgotten the value of wisdom gained by ordinary conversations.But, at different times in history, conversation has been regarded as an art form - a crucial component of human relations. Conversation has the power to solve a problem, heal a wound, generate commitment, bond a team, generate new options, or build a vision. Conversations can shift working patterns, build friendships, create focus and energy, cement resolve.The Art of Focused Conversation convincingly restores this most human of attributes to prime place within businesses and organizations, and demonstrates what can be accomplished through the medium of focused conversation. The first Part describes the theory and background of the conversation method, which has been effectively used for group consensus making in: 1) problem solving; 2) troubleshooting; 3) coaching; 4) research and 5) interpretation of data. It also discusses how to prepare a conversation, how to lead a conversation, and what the common mistakes are. Part two then provides 100 sample conversations designed for use in many different situations, including: 1) reviewing and evaluating; 2) preparation and planning; 3) coaching, and mentoring; 4) data and media interpretation; 5) decision making; 6) managing and supervising; and 7) personal reflection and group celebrations.Developed, tested, and extensively used by professionals in the field of organizational development, The Art of Focused Conversation is an invaluable resource for all those working to improve communications in firms and organizations."This book is absolutely fabulous. I started it last night, used a whole bunch of stuff

    These twenty-three prose poems are thoughtprovoking, witty, and thoroughly unexpected observations of a bygone era, and through the lens of Feinstein's camera they speak volumes about the faces and places that have graced the City of Angels. Images like those of Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, and Steve McQueen resonate with our collective memory, while photographs of hopeful starlets, movie studio backlots, and sunny, palm tree'd boulevards evoke the timeless allure of all things Hollywood."Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric" marks a unique collaboration: With his unerring eye, Barry Feinstein captured unforgettable moments in stunning black-and-white, such as Marilyn Monroe's swimming pool on the day she died, and Frank Sinatra celebrating at John F. Kennedy's Inaugural Ball. In the provocative accompanying text, Bob Dylan's quixotic, expressive lyricism redefines silver screen nostalgia.

    Sears distils over 20 years’ experience as a management consultant and coach into six simple conversational structures that cover every management situation. A natural storyteller with a great narrative gift, Sears delivers his message in an entirely unique manner – as a work of business fiction. In this compelling and highly instructive tale you can follow the journey of newly promoted Operations Manager Sam Mitchell as he faces the everyday pressures and challenges of managing a team, and then relate his experiences to real life scenarios in your workplace. Conversation #1 – What can you do about that? Conversation #2 – Who should really own this? Conversation #3 – How should we be behaving? Conversation #4 – Who’s really doing this? Conversation #5 – Where are we heading? Conversation #6 – How are we doing?   This highly practical guide concludes with a simple how-to chapter, explaining why and how each conversation works, and when to use them, as well as providing accompanying tips and techniques. The Six Conversations of a Brilliant Manager is an instantly-applicable and hugely powerful toolkit for every manager and HR department looking to get the very best out of their people.

    Dread no longer: Read This Before Our Next Meeting not only explains what’s wrong with “the meeting,” and meeting culture, but suggests how to make meetings more effective, efficient, and worthy of attending. It assesses when it’s necessary to skip the meeting and get right to work. Al Pittampalli shares examples of transforming workplaces by revamping the purpose of the meeting and a company's meeting culture. This book belongs on the shelf of any employee, employer and company looking to revolutionize what it means to do "work" all day and how to do it. Simply put: Stop wasting time. Read This Before Our Next Meeting is the call to action you (or your boss) needs to create the company that does the meaningful work it was created to do.

    Over the years, Ury has discovered that the greatest obstacle to successful agreements and satisfying relationships is not the other side, as difficult as they can be. The biggest obstacle is actually our own selves—our natural tendency to react in ways that do not serve our true interests.But this obstacle can also become our biggest opportunity, Ury argues. If we learn to understand and influence ourselves first, we lay the groundwork for understanding and influencing others. In this prequel to Getting to Yes, Ury offers a seven-step method to help you reach agreement with yourself first, dramatically improving your ability to negotiate with others.Practical and effective, Getting to Yes with Yourself helps readers reach good agreements with others, develop healthy relationships, make their businesses more productive, and live far more satisfying lives.

    So do professors, facilitators and all changemakers. The challenge is how. Liberating Structures are novel, practical and no-nonsense methods to help you accomplish this goal with groups of any size.Prepare to be surprised by how simple and easy they are for anyone to use. This book shows you how with detailed descriptions for putting them into practice plus tips on how to get started and traps to avoid. It takes the design and facilitation methods experts use and puts them within reach of anyone in any organization or initiative, from the frontline to the C-suite.Part One: The Hidden Structure of Engagement will ground you with the conceptual framework and vocabulary of Liberating Structures. It contrasts Liberating Structures with conventional methods and shows the benefits of using them to transform the way people collaborate, learn, and discover solutions together.Part Two: Getting Started and Beyond offers guidelines for experimenting in a wide range of applications from small group interactions to system-wide initiatives: meetings, projects, problem solving, change initiatives, product launches, strategy development, etc.Part Three: Stories from the Field illustrates the endless possibilities Liberating Structures offer with stories from users around the world, in all types of organizations –– from healthcare to academic to military to global business enterprises, from judicial and legislative environments to R&D.Part Four: The Field Guide for Including, Engaging, and Unleashing Everyone describes how to use each of the 33 Liberating Structures with step-by-step explanations of what to do and what to expect.Discover today what Liberating Structures can do for you, without expensive investments, complicated training, or difficult restructuring. Liberate everyone’s contributions –– all it takes is the determination to experiment.

    It brings an understanding of the psychology of conflict and the knowledge that many disputes can be traced back to inequalities of rank and power between parties, providing tools that will enable people to use conflict to build community.

     New York Times contributor Kate Stone Lombardi unveils the surprisingly close relationship between mothers and sons. Mother after mother confessed to Lombardi that her husband, brothers, and even female friends and family criticize the fact that she is "too close" to her sons. Many of these women are often startled by the strong connection they feel with their sons; but rarely do they talk about it because society tells them to push their little boys away and not "baby" them with too much cuddling and comforting. It is as if there were an existing playbook-based on gender preconceptions dating back to Freud, Oedipus, and beyond-that prescribes the way mothers and their sons should interact. Lombardi's much-needed narrative is the first and only book to share truly revealing interviews with mothers who have close relationships with their sons, as well as interviews with these women's sons and husbands. Lombardi persuasively argues that the rise of the new male-one who is more emotionally intelligent and more sensitive without being less "manly"-is directly attributable to women who are rejecting the "mama's boy" taboo. Highlighting new scientific studies, The Mama's Boy Myth begins a fresh story-one that will be welcomed by mothers, fathers, and sons alike.

    This is a growing problem?possibly effecting over 25 percent of the US population?and a predictable one that can be managed and keep everyday problems from becoming high conflict disputes.

    Yet it is their good opinion you need to win if you hope to get ahead.Among the curmudgeon's day-to-day tips for the workplace:- Excise the word "like" from your spoken English - Don't suck up - Stop "reaching out" and "sharing" - Rid yourself of piercings, tattoos, and weird hair colors - Make strong language countHis larger career advice includes:- What to do if you have a bad boss - Coming to grips with the difference between being nice and being good - How to write when you don't know what to say - Being judgmental (it's good, and you don't have a choice anyway)And on the great topics of life, the curmudgeon urges us to leave home no matter what, get real jobs (not internships), put ourselves in scary situations, and watch Groundhog Day repeatedly (he'll explain).Witty, wise, and pulling no punches, The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead is an indispensable sourcebook for living an adult life.

    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.

    Full of human moments that capture the excitement and drama of lean implementation, as well as clear explanations of how tools and systems go hand-in-hand, this book will teach and inspire every person working to make lean a reality in their organization today.This book will help you learn both the how of doing lean, as well as the why behind the tools, enabling you to become lean.Lean is the most important business model for competitive success today. Yet companies still struggle to sustain enduring and deep-rooted business success from their lean implementation efforts.The most important problem for these companies is becoming lean: how can they advance beyond realizing isolated gains from deploying lean tools, to fundamentally changing how they operate, think, and learn? In other words, how can companies learn to go beyond lean turnaround to achieve lean transformation?"The Lean Manager: A Novel of Lean Transformation," by lean experts Michael and Freddy Ballé, addresses this critical problem. As we move from what Jim Womack, author, lean management authority, and LEI founder, calls “the era of lean tools to the era of lean management,” The Lean Manager gives companies a definitive guide for sustaining their ability to learn and improve operations and financial performance, while continually developing people.“The only way to become and stay lean is to produce lean managers,” says Womack. “Every isolated effort will recede—or fail—unless companies learn to use the lean process as a way of developing individual problem-solvers with the ownership, initiative, and know-how to solve problems, learn, and ultimately coach new individuals in this discipline. That’s why this book matters so much.”"The Lean Manager," the sequel to the Ballé’s international bestselling business novel "The Gold Mine," tells the compelling story of plant manager Andrew Ward as he goes through the challenging but rewarding journey to becoming a lean manager. Under the guidance of Phil Jenkinson (whose own lean journey was at the core of "The Gold Mine"), Ward learns to use a deep understanding of lean tools, as well as a technical know-how of his plant’s operations, to foster a lean attitude that sustains continuous improvement. Where "The Gold Mine" shows you how to introduce a complete lean system, "The Lean Manager" demonstrates how to sustain it. Ward moves beyond fluency with tools to changing his behavior as a manager and leader. He shifts from giving orders and answers to asking the right questions so people identify and address problems. He learns how to use tools to unleash the creativity and motivation of people, so they learn how to solve problems as well as coach and teach others to solve problems. Ward learns how to create lean managers.

    From getting a job to getting a pay rise, and from closing a deal to managing the people around you, it makes a big difference. Robert Phipps, one of the world's leading body language experts shows you how to make it work for you. Busting some of the biggest body language myths, Phipps shows how to read other people's body language and to use yours to succeed in business and life.Loaded with practical tips, this book covers everything you ever need to know about body language, in a variety of business situations: GreetingsMeetingsPartingsPresentationsNegotiationsMotivationDeceptionManagingInterviewingDisciplining