“I’ve got the name for our publishing operation. We just saidwe were going to publish a few books on the side at random. Let’scall it Random House.” So recounts Bennett Cerf in this wonderfullyamusing memoir of the making of a great publishing house. Anincomparable raconteur, possessed of an irrepressible wit and anabiding love of books and authors, Cerf brilliantly evokes theheady days of Random House’s first decades. Part of the vanguard of young New York publishers whorevolutionized the book business in the 1920s and ’30s, Cerf helpedusher in publishing’s golden age. Cerf was a true personality,whose other pursuits (columnist, anthologist, author, lecturer,radio host, collector of jokes and anecdotes, perennial judge ofthe Miss America pageant, and panelist on What’s My Line? )helped shape his reputation as a man of boundless energy andenthusiasm and brought unprecedented attention to his company andto his authors. At once a rare behind-the-scenes account of bookpublishing and a fascinat

If you’re enrolled in an executive education or MBA program,you’ve probably encountered a powerful learning tool: the businesscase. But if you’re like many people, you may find analyzing casesand writing about them challenging or frustrating. That’s notsurprising—cases are not simple narratives, and good ones aretypically nonlinear and can even be purposefully misleading. Applythe conventional approach to understanding business cases, and youmay waste time (at best) and arrive at weak or meager conclusions(at worst). The Case Study Handbook presents a powerful new approach foranalyzing, discussing, and writing about cases. By using sampleHarvard Business School cases, you’ll master a number of usefultopics, including: How to recognize case situations and apply appropriate tools tosolve problems, make decisions, or develop evaluations How to quickly establish a base of knowledge about a case How to write persuasive case-based essays How to talk about cases effectively

There's no way around it. Your success is at risk if you can'tcommunicate effectively. If you want to make a difference in yourorganization, you must develop a communication playbook ofstrategic responses to challenging situations so the people aroundyou thrive. The good news is that you can learn how to become amaster communicator. All you need is desire and this eminentlypractical guide. In "Mastering Communication at Work," leadershipcommunication experts Ethan F. Becker and Jon Wortmann describeeasy-to-implement techniques for communicating in ways that empowerteams, serve clients, and develop stronger relationships. You'lllearn the secrets to making trust-building an innate part of yourlife--and use your new talent to reduce your stress and improveyour organization on every level. "Mastering Communication at Work"will instantly get you on track with Clear, actionable advice youcan put to use right away De*ions of the communicationtendencies everyone needs to be able to identify and execute Simpledrills

Shattering the myth that you need money to make money,serial entrepreneur and millionaire Yanik Silver reveals the 11X-Factors that allowed him to grow eight different business ideasfrom scratch to 7-figures + each. Following in the footsteps ofSilver and many other successful bootstrappers, uncover the secretsto turning your big idea into significant profits - without takingon debt, partnering with outside investors, or even writing abusiness plan. Yanik Silver (Potomac, MD) is a serial entrepreneurwho has successfully bootstrapped 8 different product and serviceideas to reach the 7-figure sales mark without funding, taking ondebt or even a real business plan. He's been featured on "FoxBusiness News", TIME.com, "USA Today", SmartMoney.com, "MSN Money",Portfolio.com, Entrepreneur.com, WORTH.com, "The Boston Globe","Denver Business Journal", and many others.

Financial Products provides a step-by-step guide to some ofthe most important ideas in financial mathematics. It describes andexplains interest rates, discounting, arbitrage, risk neutralprobabilities, forward contracts, futures, bonds, FRA and swaps. Itshows how to construct both elementary and complex (Libor) zerocurves. Options are described, illustrated and then priced usingthe Black Scholes formula and binomial trees. Finally, there is achapter describing default probabilities, credit ratings and creditderivatives (CDS, TRS, CSO and CDO). An important feature of thebook is that it explains this range of concepts and techniques in away that can be understood by those with only a basic understandingof algebra. Many of the calculations are illustrated using Excelspreadsheets, as are some of the more complex algebraic processes.This accessible approach makes it an ideal introduction tofinancial products for undergraduates and those studying forprofessional financial qualifications.

Mathematical Analysis (often called Advanced Calculus) isgenerally found by students to be one of their hardest courses inMathematics. This text uses the so-called sequential approach tocontinuity, differentiability and integration to make it easier tounderstand the subject.Topics that are generally glossed over inthe standard Calculus courses are given careful study here. Forexample, what exactly is a 'continuous' function? And how exactlycan one give a careful definition of 'integral'? The latterquestion is often one of the mysterious points in a Calculus course- and it is quite difficult to give a rigorous treatment ofintegration! The text has a large number of diagrams and helpfulmargin notes; and uses many graded examples and exercises, oftenwith complete solutions, to guide students through the trickypoints. It is suitable for self-study or use in parallel with astandard university course on the subject.

Praise For Toxic People "From corporate America to the smallest business owner, this book should be mandatory reading because it provides toxic relief that will put money in your pocket and calm in your personality. A dose of this reading would enhance the success of business school students and smooth out a few bumps in a rocky marriage." Richard L. Labrum, Vice President, Wealth Management, Smith Barney "If you're just sick to death of those people who zap the energy right out of you, Marsha has the cure! In no-nonsense terms, she gives us the pre*ion for dealing with toxic people. She mixes in the right dosage of personal experience, humor, and practical advice to create a compelling message that is highly relevant in our personal and professional lives. I highly recommend this book to everyone interested in cleaning up toxic behaviors!" John Ryan, Vice President, American Express "Marsha Petrie Sue is the Muhammad Ali of communicators. She can dance and look pretty, and

Babson College president provides a simple, systematic, andresearch-based method - identical to the one taught at Babson - forachieving success in an uncertain world. In a world where you canno longer plan or predict your way to success, what is the best wayto achieve your goals? It's a daunting question, but today - whenchange seems to be the only constant - it's one that everyone, fromentrepreneurs and managers to newly minted grads, must resolve. Thesimple answer, say the authors of "Just Start": you must act. Andthen go from there. Written by a trio of seasoned business leaders- Babson College President Leonard Schlesinger, organizationlearning expert Charles Kiefer, and veteran journalist and authorPaul B. Brown - "Just Start" draws both from academic research andproven practices in organizations to lay out a simple yet reliablemethod for moving forward on anything when you are faced withvolatility. The key, say the authors, is not only to thinkdifferently (much like an entrepreneur would), but to

The story of the men, ideas and organizations thatrevolutionized how we understand business. Imagine, if you can, theworld of business without corporate strategy. Remarkably, fiftyyears ago that's the way it was. Businesses made plans, certainly,but without understanding the underlying dynamics of competition,costs, and customers. It was like trying to design a large-scaleengineering project without knowing the laws of physics. But in the1960s, four mavericks and their posses created instigated aprofound shift in thinking that turbocharged business as neverbefore, with implications far beyond what even they imagined. InThe Lords of Strategy, renowned business journalist and editorWalter Kiechel tells, for the first time, the story of the four menwho invented corporate strategy as we know it and set in motion themodern, multibillion-dollar consulting industry: Bruce Henderson,founder of Boston Consulting Group Bill Bain, creator of Bain Company Fred Gluck, longtime Managing Director of McKinsey Compan

This book describes and analyses the activities and proceduresthrough which the professional economist may advise on matters ofpublic policy, specifically on the performance of an economicsystem. The author shows that the decision-making component withina system may be defined in terms of optimal policies for attainingwell-specified objectives, but that the choice of rules by whichthe system is governed must remain 'outside' the system due to itsdependence upon the legislative process. He proposes a 'generatingmechanism' for arriving at public policy choices based on theinteraction between the economic system and the legislativeprocess.

Inanonlineandsocialmediaworld,measurementisthekeytosuccessIfyoucanmeasureyourkeybusinessrelationships,youcanimprovethem.Eventhoughrelationshipsare"fuzzyandintangible,"theycanbemeasuredandmanaged–withpowerfulresults.MeasureWhatMattersexplainssimple,step–by–stepproceduresformeasuringcustomers,socialmediareputation,influenceandauthority,themedia,andotherkeyconstituencies.Basedonhundredsofcasestudiesabouthoworganizationshaveusedmeasurementtoimprovetheirreputations,strengthentheirbottomlines,andimproveefficienciesallaroundLearnhowtocollectthedatathatwillhelpyoubetterunderstandyourcompetition,dostrategicplanning,understandkeystrengthsandweaknesses,andbetterrespondtocustomerpreferencesAuthorrunsasuccessfulblogandservesasameasurementconsultanttocompaniessuchasFacebook,SouthwestAirlines,Raytheon,andAllstateDon′tdrawconclusionsormakekeydecisionsbasedonguesswork.Instead,MeasureWhatMattersandthedifferencewillshowinthemostimportantmeasure:yourbottomline.

IDEO, the widely admired, award-winning design and developmentfirm that brought the world the Apple mouse, Polaroid's I-Zoneinstant camera, the Palm V, and hundreds of other cutting-edgeproducts and services, reveals its secrets for fostering a cultureand process of continuous innovation. There isn't a business in America that doesn't want to be morecreative in its thinking, products, and processes. At manycompanies, being first with a concept and first to market arecritical just to survive. In The Art of Innovation, Tom Kelley,general manager of the Silicon Valley based design firm IDEO, takesreaders behind the scenes of this wildly imaginative and energizedcompany to reveal the strategies and secrets it uses to turn outhit after hit.

IN LITTLE MORE THAN HALF A DECADE, Facebook has gone from a dorm-room novelty to a company with 500 million users. It is one of the fastest growing companies in history, an essential part of the social life not only of teenagers but hundreds of millions of adults worldwide. As Facebook spreads around the globe, it creates surprising effects—even becoming instrumental in political protests from Colombia to Iran. Veteran technology reporter David Kirkpatrick had the full cooperation of Facebook’s key executives in researching this fascinating history of the company and its impact on our lives. Kirkpatrick tells us how Facebook was created, why it has flourished, and where it is going next. He chronicles its successes and missteps, and gives readers the most complete assessment anywhere of founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the central figure in the company’s remarkable ascent. This is the Facebook story that can be found nowhere else. How did a nineteen-year-old Harvard student create a company tha

This classic, newly updated, is an indispensable source foranyone–from mid-level managers to CEOs–who must execute keybusiness initiatives quickly and effectively. Once groundbreakingand now time-honored, Managing at the Speed of Change has helpedcountless business leaders learn how to orchestrate transitionsvital to their organizations’ success. Rather than focusing on whatto change, this book’s aim is far more valuable: It shows readershow to change. Daryl R. Conner, founder and chairman of the consulting firmConner Partners, is a leading expert on change management. He hasserved as “change doctor” for clients that include non-profitenterprises, government agencies and administrations, and Fortune500 companies in an array of industries such as AbbottLaboratories, PepsiCo, American Express, Catholic Healthcare West,JPMorgan Chase, and the U.S. Navy. Based on Conner’s long-term research and his decades ofconsulting experience, Managing at the Speed of Change uses simple,easy-t

In Seduced by Success, Robert J. Herbold, the former Chief Operating Officer of Microsoft, shows you how to avoid the nine traps of success-the “legacy practices” that almost felled such giants as General Motors, Kodak and Sony. Herbold, a 26-year-veteran of Procter & Gamble who lived through each trap, gives you proven tactics for preventing arrogance, bloat, and neglect while capitalizing on your accomplishments, sustaining your momentum, and retaining your position in the marketplace. The nine traps every successful organization must avoid are Neglect: Sticking with Yesterday's Business Model Pride: Allowing Your Products to Become Outdated Boredom: Clinging to Your Once-Successful Branding Complexity: Ignoring Your Business Processes Bloat: Rationalizing Your Loss of Speed and Agility Mediocrity: Letting Your Star Employees Languish Lethargy: Getting Lulled into a Culture of Comfort Timidity: Not Confronting Turf Wars and Obstructionists

The Remarkable discoveries about what drives and sustainssuccessful women leaders. Based on five years of proprietary research, How Remarkable WomenLead speaks to you as no other book has, with its hopeful outlookand unique ideas about success. It's the new "right stuff" ofleadership, raising provocative issues such as whether feminineleadership traits (for women and men) are better suited for ourfast-changing, hyper-competitive, and increasingly complexworld. The authors, McKinsey Company consultants Joanna Barsh andSusie Cranston, establish the links between joy, happiness, anddistinctive performance with the groundbreaking model of CenteredLeadership. The book's personal stories and related insights show you themagic that happens when you put the five elements of CenteredLeadership–meaning, framing, connecting, engaging, andenergizing–to work. They include: How Alondra de la Parra built on her strengths and passions toinfuse her life with meaning and make her way in the

Zeroing in on the specific skills that make great managersstand out from the pack, this comprehensive guide is both anessential primer for new managers and a valuable resource forseasoned executives. From hiring and retaining good people tomotivating and developing team members, from understanding keyfinancial statements to delegating work effectively, and fromsetting goals for others to managing your own career, thisactionable guide walks readers through every aspect of managing ina complex business world. Filled with practical tools and tips,this essential toolkit helps managers to stay at the top of theirgame.