“Applicants looking for the competitive edge in gettingaccepted at the business school of their choice may want to perusethis book.” –Security Traders Handbook Every year, thousands apply for a finite number of places inbusiness schools. With similar grades, backgrounds, and goals,sometimes the only thing that can make an applicant stand out isthe application essay. It’s the best chance you have to shine andtip the balance in your favor. Essays That Worked for Business Schools shows that the bestessays are brief, sincere, and personal. Some are off the wall,some are bold, all are unique to their creator. One applicantwrites about starting his own airline. Another tells about thecorruption in his job as a defense contractor. And a third reflectson his license plate. From the thousands submitted each year, theforty essays in this book were considered some of the best byadmissions officers at the nation’s top business schools. As thiscollection demonstrates, with creativity and effor

For all of the millions of Americans who are out of work, soonto be out of work, or wishing to be freed from unrewardingwork—here is the must-have book that will show you how you can makea living by working when, where, and how you want. Newly revised and updated, Barbara J. Winter’s guide tosuccessful self-employment is now more relevant than ever before.Drawing on the techniques and ideas of her popular seminars as wellas her own thirty years of business expertise and that of othersuccessful entrepreneurs, Winter offers the practical, proven wayto launch your own profitable venture. Her indispensable adviceranges from why creativity is more important than capital to how toavoid the most common pitfalls of self-employment and how todevelop multiple profit centers. And for this new edition, she has added timely advice on topicsincluding: ?how to find opportunity in a chaotic economy ?why smart, small and spunky is the 21st Century businessmodel ?using the Internet to o

“The invaluable advice in How to Wow guarantees your successin any meeting situation, from the boardroom to the breakfasttable.” –Keith Ferrazzi, author of Never Eat Alone In today’s fast-paced world, where an elevator ride with your CEOcan turn into an impromptu meeting, your lunch date can become ajob interview, and your conversation at a cocktail party may be apreamble to a potential business merger, knowing how to marketyourself in any situation is vital. Corporate coach Frances ColeJones has helped numerous CEOs, celebrities, and publicpersonalities present their best selves on camera and onstage, inboardrooms and in person; now in her new book, How to Wow, sheshares her strategies for making your mark in business and inlife. Every encounter, Jones believes, provides you with an opportunityto positively influence colleagues, employers, neighbors–evencompetitors. Not only your words, but your tone of voice and yourbody language speak volumes. The question, however, is: A

Over the course of a forty-year career in the worlds oflaw, sports, business, and politics, Ron Shapiro has worked withand advised an incredible variety of people. What he’s found isthat the secret ingredient for getting into the winner’s circle issimply the discipline of methodical preparation: that old-school,step-by-step way of having all your ducks in a row, whether you arean executive getting ready to do a deal or make a speech; a pitcherstudying the traits of opposing hitters and keeping a meticulousnotebook of their strengths and weaknesses; an international tradenegotiator who knows all about the issues and the people on theother side before sitting down at the table; or a surgeon whorehearses like a classical musician. Deep down, you know you should do it. But how often do you wingit and fly by the seat of your pants because “Gosh, I don’t havetime . . . I’ve done this before . . . I know what I’m doing”? Itis obvious that you have to get ready for whatever game you’replaying

We live in an exciting and rapidly changing time—every day itseems new inventions and innovations that change our way of lifearrive on the scene. But while our day-to-day lives have becomeeasier, the larger picture is now more complicated. Businesses arealso faced with this quandary. Change is occurring in the economicsphere as quickly and often as it is in our individual lives, andthe new global economy is presenting even more challenges tocompanies that must operate in an often unfamiliar worldwide arena.As a result, the modern business world is in dire need of acomplete overhaul if companies are to adapt to an environment thatis far different from the one in which they initially achievedsuccess. Enter Reinhard Mohn, the innovative entrepreneur who builtBertelsmann into a global powerhouse. Drawing on his more thanfifty years of experience in the private sector, Mohn explains howentrepreneurial leaders have a unique ability to lead businessesinto the future by adapting to new socioeconomic realities. He

Meetings are unavoidable--but they don’t have to beunproductive. This tool-packed guide will help readers transformmeetings from time-sinks to springboards for effective action bylearning how to: - Set smart agendas - Keep meetings on track - Handle problem behaviors and time-wasters - Motivate participants to take action

Ex?cel?lence (n.) 1. The clearly false and destructive theorythat a company ought to be great at everything it does. 2. Amistaken goal in which the predictable outcome is that the companyends up world-class at nothing—not well-differentiated andtherefore not thought of by consumers at the moment of need. Based on exhaustive research, The Myth of Excellence providesconclusive evidence of the futility of trying to be excellent inall aspects of a commercial transaction—price, product, access,experience, and service. Instead, the strategy for your productsand services should be to dominate on one element, differentiate ona second, and be at industry par (i.e., average) on the rest. Yes,it is okay to be average as long as your customers knowspecifically where and how you are superior and world-class.

During her two decades at The New England Journal of Medicine,Dr. Marcia Angell had a front-row seat on the appalling spectacleof the pharmaceutical industry. She watched drug companies strayfrom their original mission of discovering and manufacturing usefuldrugs and instead become vast marketing machines with unprecedentedcontrol over their own fortunes. She saw them gain nearly limitlessinfluence over medical research, education, and how doctors dotheir jobs. She sympathized as the American public, particularlythe elderly, struggled and increasingly failed to meet spiralingpre*ion drug prices. Now, in this bold, hard-hitting new book,Dr. Angell exposes the shocking truth of what the pharmaceuticalindustry has become–and argues for essential, long-overduechange. Currently Americans spend a staggering $200 billion each year onpre*ion drugs. As Dr. Angell powerfully demonstrates, claimsthat high drug prices are necessary to fund research anddevelopment are unfounded: The truth is that drug compa

This is a book for people like us, and we all know who weare. We make our own hours, keep our own profits, chart our own way.We have things like gigs, contracts, clients, andassignments. All of us are working toward our dreams: doingour own work, on our own time, on our own terms. We have no realboss, no corporate nameplate, no cubicle of our very own.Unfortunately, we also have no 401(k)s and no one matching them, nobenefits package, and no one collecting our taxes until April15th. It’s time to take stock of where you are and where you want tobe. Ask yourself: Who is planning for your retirement? Who coversyour expenses when clients flake out and checks are late? Who issetting money aside for your taxes? Who is responsible for yourhealth insurance? Take a good look in the mirror: You are. The Money Book for Freelancers, Part-Timers, and theSelf-Employed describes a completely new, comprehensive system forearning, spending, saving, and surviving as an independent worker.From

For centuries, it has been assumed that there are vast limitsto human capacity. Now, although a host of scientific discoveriesprove this wrong, a mindset of limits persists, blocking us fromour greatest possibilities and leaving us feeling bombarded bystress, change, and uncertainty. No matter how hard we work, nomatter how much we give, we're still not getting what we hoped for.There is another way. Dr. Robert Cooper, a neuroscience pioneer and leadership advisor,urges us to take a radically different view of human capacity. Weare mostly unused potential, he says, employing less than 10percent of our brilliance or hidden talents. In easy-to-followsteps, he explains how to develop and apply the art and science ofyour hidden capacity. The art is the motivation and inspiration coming from thewonderful stories that are the heart of The Other 90%. Dr. Cooperdraws on his wide-ranging insights and experiences to show how it'spossible to make a difference in yourself and others. However, ins

Is Your Job Making You “Stupid”? Adam Smith, author of The Wealth of Nations , once wrote that aperson who spends his life performing the same repetitive tasks“generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for ahuman creature to become.” Wow! Now that’s not a pretty picture.Unfortunately, much of our work today consists of those boring,repetitive tasks. But maybe you’re one of the many who have gotten caught up inthinking work is just something you do to support your weekends.Work is that necessary evil, a means to an end, or just a cursefrom God. You probably take your role of providing for yourself andthose depending on you seriously. But you don’t expect to enjoyyour work—you just do what has to be done. Only now you’re seeing that even loyalty and dependability bringno guarantees. Lately you’ve seen coworkers who have been let goafter years of faithful service. Perhaps your entire industryhasbeen shaken by outsourcing or changing technology. Mayb

"This is a provocative, persuasive and important book. Eventhose who passionately disagree with its conclusions will come awayenriched and enlightened from the process of confronting itsarguments." —Michael Medved, Nationally Syndicated Talk Radio Host andColumnist, USA Today “In the 21st century 'stay-at-home mom' is neither a complimentnor an epithet, but the latest chapter in the ongoing stories ofwomen, marriage, and careers in America. Megan Basham's fascinatingstudy of women in the oldest and most challenging workplace ofall–the home--is the owner's manual for women and men who look uponmarriage as a genuine partnership, and the key to success.” —Philip Terzian, Literary Editor, The Weekly Standard “Megan Basham offers wise and eloquent counsel for those willingto ignore popular opinion as they pursue family happiness.” —Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief, World “Meghan Barsham’s book tells us three timely truths you will no

At age seven, Cameron Johnson sold tomatoes door-to-door fromhis family’s farm. Pete Amico quit his job on his first day becausehe didn’t feel like taking orders from his boss.Greg Herro built asuccessful business selling diamonds made from the carbon extractedfrom ashes. If any of these people remind you of yourself, you justmight have the kind of personality to take the small business worldby storm. In 8 Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs, BrentBowers reveals the eight patterns that highly successfulentrepreneurs share—and what we can learn from them. In coveringsmall business for decades at the Wall Street Journal and the NewYork Times, Bowers has chronicled the rise and fall of hundreds ofstart-ups. In this book, he draws on extensive interviews andresearch, as well as on the experiences and expertise of businessconsultants, venture capitalists, academia, and the entrepreneursthemselves, to describe the key characteristics shared by dozens ofsuccessful small-business owners and their

This little book could make a big change in the way you viewyour team. There’s little more energizing and fulfilling in life than thesatisfaction of working well with others to accomplish a commongoal. And this powerful little book can help you experience moreteam satisfaction than ever before Making use of his exceptional,humor-laced storytelling style, Bill Butterworth makes the basicsof teamwork easy to grasp and easy to put to work. He sketches amemorable overview of teamwork that includes: ?the three great needs of team members ?the four great barriers to teamwork, and ?the five great traits of effective teams. It all adds up to a succinct understanding of how to work well asa team that will satisfy leaders, managers, coaches–anyone whowants to know how to make a group perform at high levels whileenjoying the camaraderie and satisfaction of being “us.” Also look for the On-the-Fly-Guide to Balancing Work andLife!

The devaluation of the American dollar, with the subsequentinflation, iseerily similar to the chaotic markets of the 1970s.The factors that createdthe stagflation and the gold and silverbull markets of the late seventiesand early eighties are back. AsYogi Berra said, "It's deja vu all overagain." Only this time,they're even more exaggerated-offeringonce-in-a-lifetimeopportunities for middle-class Americans, if they lookbeyond theWall Street stock-market propaganda. This book can helpyoupanic-proof your life and your finances, and reap huge profitswithrelatively small investments in gold, silver, certain ETFs,mutual funds,and mining stocks.How to Prosper During the Coming BadYears in the 21st Century is amust-have survival and moneymakingguide for people who want to profit fromthe rough economic seasthat are upon us-and come through with their shareof treasure.--This text refers to the Kindle Edition.

With corporate scandals dominating the headlines on aregular basis, business ethics are more important than ever. Thisamusing primer highlights everything an aspiring CEO should knowabout maintaining integrity in corporate America. You llfind: - Guidance on making fair and honest business decisions - A quiz to test your own ethics - Advice on promoting ethical behavior - Simple lessons for making your workplace a positiveenvironment - And much, much more. It's the perfect gift for office newbies, seasoned executives,and college graduates everywhere!