A compelling vision. Bold leadership. Decisive action.Unfortunately, these prerequisites of success are almost always theingredients of failure, too. In fact, most managers seeking tomaximize their chances for glory are often unwittingly settingthemselves up for ruin. The sad truth is that most companies haveleft their futures almost entirely to chance, and don’t evenrealize it. The reason? Managers feel they must make choices withfar-reaching consequences today, but must base those choices onassumptions about a future they cannot predict. It is thiscollision between commitment and uncertainty that creates THESTRATEGY PARADOX. This paradox sets up a ubiquitous but little-understood tradeoff.Because managers feel they must base their strategies onassumptions about an unknown future, the more ambitious of themhope their guesses will be right – or that they can somehow adaptto the turbulence that will arise. In fact, only a small number oflucky daredevils prosper, while many more unfortunate, bu

Cathie Black is the wise, funny mentor that every woman dreamsof having. She was a pioneer in advertising sales at a time whenwomen didn’t sell; served as president and publisher of thefledgling USA Today ; and, in her current position as thepresident of Hearst Magazines, persuaded Oprah to launch amagazine. In 2006 she was named one of Fortune’s “50 Most PowerfulWomen in American Business” for the seventh consecutive year. Now,in the exuberant, down-to-earth voice that is her trademark, Cathieexplains how she achieved “the 360° life”—a blend of professionalaccomplishment and personal contentment—and how any woman can seizeopportunity in the workplace. No matter where you are in your career, Basic Black offersinvaluable lessons that will help you land the job, promotion, orproject you’re vying for. At the core of the book are Cathie’scandid, personal stories. She walks us through her decision to riskdropping a huge ad agency that handled the USA Today campaign in favor of a small bo

In this remarkable New York Times bestseller, Joel Osteenoffers unique insights and encouragement that will help readersovercome every obstacle in their lives.

Because starting a small business is not only a huge financialrisk but also a complete lifestyle change, anyone who wants to behis or her own boss needs to approach entrepreneurship thoughtfullyand with careful planning. That’s why there is no better resourcethan The Wall Street Journal Complete Small Business Guidebook, apractical guide for turning your entrepreneurial dreams into asuccessful company, from America’s most trusted source of financialadvice. It answers would-be business owners’ biggest question—howdo I fund my venture?—then explains the mechanics of building,running and growing a profitable business. You’ll learn: ? How to write a winning business plan ? Secrets to finding extra money during the lean years andbeyond ? Ways to keep your stress in check while maintaining a work/lifebalance ? How to manage your time, including taking vacations anddealing with sick days ? Strategies for keeping your business running smoothly—frominvesting in technology to hiring the right peop

The authors present important research showing thatcorporatist institutions generate smaller non-competitive wagedifferentials than a decentralized system. A theoreticalexplanation is developed based on the hold-up problem ininvestments, arguing that corporatist institutions solve theproblem by specifying ex ante nominal contracts that remove thenecessity of ex post bargaining over the surplus of an employmentrelationship. The authors also argue that such institutions allowsufficient flexibility to accommodate aggregate shocks, even moreso than decentralized systems. Corporatism or Competition? is thefirst book to bring together the mass of research on comparativewage differences, wage movements and employment behaviour indifferent countries with different institutional frameworks, in anorganized and coherent fashion.

Knowledge has become the most important factor in economiclife. It is the chief ingredient of what we buy and sell, the rawmaterial with which we work. Intellectual capital--not naturalresources, machinery, or even financial capital--has become the oneindispensable asset of corporations. Intellectual Capital is a groundbreaking book, visionaryin scope and practical in applications, that offers powerful newways of looking at what companies do and how to lead them. It isthe first book to show how to turn the untapped, unmapped knowledgeof an organization into its greatest competitive weapon. Intellectual Capital cuts through the vague rhetoric of"paradigm shifts" to show how the Information Age economy reallyworks--and how to make it work for you and your business. Readerswill learn how to discover and map the human, structural, andcustomer capital that embody the knowledge assets of a corporation;how successful companies manage their intellectual capital toimprove performance; how intellectual capital

What is that makes urban myths so persistent but many everydaytruths so eminently forgettable? How do newspapers set aboutensuring that their headlines make you want to read on? And why dowe remember complicated stories but not complicated facts? In thecourse of over ten years of study, Chip and Dan Heath haveestablished what it is that determines whether particular ideas orstories stick in our minds or not, and "Made to Stick" is thefascinating outcome of their painstaking research.Packed full ofcase histories and thought-provoking anecdotes, it shows, amongother things, how one Australian scientist convinced the world he'ddiscovered the cause of stomach ulcers by drinking a glass filledwith bacteria, how a gifted sports reporter got people to watch afootball match by showing them the outside of the stadium, and howhigh-concept pitches such as 'Jaws on a spaceship' ("Alien") and'Die Hard on a bus' ("Speed") convince movie executives to investvast sums of money in a project on the basis of almost noinformati

Business revolves around making decisions, often riskydecisions, usually with incomplete information and too often inless time than we need. Executives at every level, in everyindustry, are confronted with information overload, less leeway formistakes, and a business environment that changes rapidly. In lightof this increased pressure and volatility, the old-fashioned waysof making decisions–depending on intuition, common sense, andspecialized expertise–are simply no longer sufficient. Distillingover thirty years of groundbreaking research, WinningDecisions , written by two seasoned business advisers and worldleaders in behavioral decision studies, is a comprehensive,one-of-a-kind guide to the proven methods of making criticalbusiness decisions confidently, quickly–and correctly. Decision-making is a business skill which managers often take forgranted in themselves and others–but it's not as easy as some mightthink. The authors, whose expertise has been sought out by over ahundred companies, includi

In Shift, Carlos Ghosn, the brilliant, audacious, and widelyadmired CEO of Nissan, recounts how he took the reins of the nearlybankrupt Japanese automotive company and achieved one of the mostremarkable turnarounds in automotive—and corporate—history. When Carlos Ghosn (pronounced like “phone”) was named COO ofNissan in 1999, the company was running out of gas and careeningtoward bankruptcy. Eighteen short months later, Nissan was back inthe black, and within several more years it had become the mostprofitable large automobile company in the world. In Shift, Ghosndescribes how he went about accomplishing the seemingly impossible,transforming Nissan once again into a powerful global automotivemanufacturer. The Brazilian-born, French-educated son of Lebanese parents,Ghosn first learned the management principles and practices thatwould shape his decisions at Nissan while rising through the ranksat Michelin and Renault. Upon his arrival at Nissan, Ghosn beganhis new position by embarkin

In 1984, The LittleKingdom told the story of Apple's first decade alongside thehistories of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Now Moritz revisits hisclassic biography in light of what Apple has become, offering forthe first time in paperback the only from the ground up account ofApple's early years.

"[A]...breakthrough for the genre....Peters is not onlythe father of the postmodern corporation...he may well haveproduced the first piece of postmodern management literature."--LosAngeles Times "No matter where you are in your career, this book is a mustread. The younger your thinking the more you'll get out ofit." --The Cleveland Plain Dealer "A manual for businesses that want to survive and thrive in aworld continually undergoing change." --St. PetersburgTimes "Tom Peters has done it again."--J.W. Marriot, Jr., CEO, MarriotInternational, Inc. "[Peters] yields potent insights...his keen attention to thehuman element in organizational growth and change shinesthrough...No cutting-edge manager can afford to ignoreit."--Publishers Weekly -- Review

Now in a striking new hardcover edition, Fooled by Randomnessis the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you thinkabout business and the world. Nassim Nicholas Taleb–veteran trader,renowned risk expert, polymathic scholar, erudite raconteur, andNew York Times bestselling author of The Black Swan–has written amodern classic that turns on its head what we believe about luckand skill. This book is about luck–or more precisely, about how we perceiveand deal with luck in life and business. Set against the backdropof the most conspicuous forum in which luck is mistaken forskill–the world of trading–Fooled by Randomness providescaptivating insight into one of the least understood factors in allour lives. Writing in an entertaining narrative style, the authortackles major intellectual issues related to the underestimation ofthe influence of happenstance on our lives. The book is populated with an array of characters, some of whomhave grasped, in their own way, the significance

Do you think it's possible to truly enjoy your job? No matterwhat it is or where you are? Timothy Gallwey does, and in thisgroundbreaking book he tells you how to overcome the innerobstacles that sabotage your efforts to be your best on thejob. Timothy Gallwey burst upon the scene twenty years ago with hisrevolutionary approach to excellence in sports. His bestsellingbooks The Inner Game of Tennis and The Inner Game ofGolf , with over one million copies in print, changed the way wethink about learning and coaching. But the Inner Game that Gallweydiscovered on the tennis court is about more than learning a betterbackhand; it is about learning how to learn, a critical skill that,in this case, separates the productive, satisfied employee from therest of the pack. For the past twenty years Gallwey has taken hisInner Game expertise to many of America's top companies, includingAT T, Coca-Cola, Apple, and IBM, to teach their managers andemployees how to gain better access to their own internalresourc

Technological advances and the global marketplace are changingthe way we live and work. Doing the work you love is the critical factor to personal fulfillment and economic success. Noone understands this more than Laurence G. Boldt, whose Zen andthe Art of Making a Living helped many carve out new andrewarding career paths. But how do you find the courage to startthe search for a new career? And how do you tap into your own bestresources to discover what you want to do and what you’re good at?This remarkable guide offers simple yet profound strategies to helpyou answer those questions by focusing on four key elements to besought in any life’s work: Integrity, Service, Enjoyment, andExcellence. Boldt has reduced the quest for meaningful work to itsessence and will lead you to an understanding of what you could andshould be doing with your life.

Michael Goldhaber, writing in Wired, said, "If there isnothing very special about your work, no matter how hard you applyyourself you won't get noticed and that increasingly means youwon't get paid much either. In times past you could be obscure yetsecure -- now that's much harder." Again: the white collar job as now configured is doomed. Soon.("Downsizing" in the nineties will look like small change.) Sowhat's the trick? There's only one: distinction. Or as we call it,turning yourself into a brand . . . Brand You. A brand is nothing more than a sign of distinction. Right? Nike.Starbucks. Martha Stewart. The point (again): that's not the waywe've thought about white collar workers--ourselves--over the pastcentury. The "bureaucrat" on the finance staff is de factofaceless, plugging away, passing papers. But now, in our view, she is born again, transformed frombureaucrat to the new star. She works in a professional servicefirm and works on projects that she'll be able to brag about yearsfrom now. I call

MAKE RICK PITINO YOUR PERSONAL COACH AND ACHIEVE MORE THAN YOUEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE. For Rick Pitino, the first coach to bring teams from threedifferent schools to the Final Four, success isn’t aboutshortcuts. Pitino’s secret–and the reason he has become botha great coach and one of the most sought-after motivationalspeakers in the nation–is his strategy of overachievement. Now, in Success Is a Choice, he takes the same proven methods thathave earned him and his teams legendary status and gives you aten-step plan of attack that will help you become a winner atanything you set your mind to:

An Apple Store customer asks for the latest iPhone in blackbut suddenly changes to white when he sees others choosing it. Acitizen of a former communist country picks~ a drink at random;soda is soda, he says. A young man and woman decide tomarry--knowing that they'll meet for the first time on theirwedding day. In THE ART OF CHOOSING, Columbia University profes- sor SheenaIyengar, a leading expert on choice, asks fascinating questions:Are our choices innate or created by culture? Why do we sometimeschoose against our best interests? How much control do we reallyhave? What's the relationship between choice and freedom? Drawingon her award-winning, discipline: spanning research, thisremarkable book illuminates the joys and challenges ofchoosing--and shows us how we can choose better, one choice at atime.

om Peters has, for the past 12 years, been telling American business that the rules have changed. Now he goes farther in The Tom Peters Seminar , the first in an exciting new series aimed at helping everyone, Fortune 500 chairmen, middle managers trying to hold onto their place on the ladder (a mistake!), and hotel housekeepers, thrive in the brave new world of business in the 90s. He presents the provocative and sometimes scary analysis and advice that have led thousands from all over the globe to attend his trademark seminars. The bold new ideas vault business people beyond reengineering, beyond total quality management, beyond empowerment, and even beyond change, and toward nothing less than reinvention and revolution. The result is timely audio loaded with "how-tos" for mastering

One of the most popular and respected style guides ever written,this handbook by a seasoned writer with more than forty years ofexperience offers ten principles and seven axioms that professionalwriters use to express their thoughts clearly and effectively. Thislatest edition is expanded to include an extensive glossary ofAmerican idiomatic expressions, developed to assist users fromother backgrounds and cultures; new chapters with tips onlittle-known facts of usage, such as compound words, hyphenation,numeration, and capitalization; and explanations of technicalproblems encountered in writing and editing with tips and exercisesto help solve them. For anyone faced with the challenges of writtenEnglish, Writing with Precision can help readers write moreclearly, more effectively, and more precisely than they everhave. Previous editions of Writing with Precision have beenselected by the Writer's Digest , McMillan , Fortune , and Reader's Digest book clubs.

The companion to the blockbuster bestseller, Getting Things Done . Since its publication in 2001, Getting ThingsDone has become, as Time magazine put it, "the definingself-help business book" of the decade. Having inspired millions ofreaders around the world, it clearly spoke to an urgent need in anincreasingly time-pressured society. Now, in the highly anticipatedsequel Making It All Work , Allen unlocks the full power ofhis methods across the entire span of life and work. WhileGetting Things Done functioned as an essential tool kit, Making It All Work is an invaluable road map, providing bothbearings to help you determine where you are in life and directionson how to get to where you want to go.

From experts at McKinsey Company's world-renowned growthpractice comes a highly practical, field-tested approach toinitiating and sustaining growth in companies of all sizes. .Growth unleashes benefits beyond the economic. It revitalizesorganizations and invigorates the people in them, creating energy,a sense of purpose, and the glow of being on a winning team. Likethe alchemy of old, it seeks to transform the everyday into theexalted by means that seem little short of magical. Yet growth isoften elusive, achieved at unacceptable costs, or managed in fitsand starts. Based on over three years of research and applicationat high-performing companies around the world, The Alchemy ofGrowth is a comprehensive, practical approach to initiating,achieving, and sustaining profitable growthtoday and tomorrow. Asthe book shows, the secret is to manage business opportunitiesacross three time horizons at once: extending and defending corebusinesses, building new businesses, and seeding options for thefuture. The Alchemy

From two leaders in executive education at Harvard BusinessSchool, here are the mental habits and proven strategies you needto achieve outstanding results in any negotiation. Whether you’ve “seen it all” or are just starting out,Negotiation Genius will dramatically improve your negotiatingskills and confidence. Drawing on decades of behavioral researchplus the experience of thousands of business clients, the authorstake the mystery out of preparing for and executingnegotiations—whether they involve multimillion-dollar deals orimproving your next salary offer. What sets negotiation geniuses apart? They are the men andwomen who know how to: ?Identify negotiation opportunities where others see noroom for discussion ?Discover the truth even when the other side wants toconceal it ?Negotiate successfully from a position of weakness ?Defuse threats, ultimatums, lies, and other hardballtactics ?Overcome resistance and “sell” proposals using proveninfluence tactics