Most teams underperform. Yours can beat the odds. If you need the best practices and ideas for superior teambuilding--but don't have time to find them--this book is for you.Here are 10 inspiring and useful perspectives, all in oneplace. This collection of HBR articles will help you: - Boost team performance through mutual accountability - Motivate large, diverse groups to tackle complex projects - Increase groups' emotional intelligence - Reverse the fortunes of a struggling team - Prevent decision deadlock - Extract results from a bunch of touchy superstars - Fight constructively with top-management colleagues - Ensure productivity in far-flung teams

The No Asshole Rule was awarded a Quill Award as the Best Business Book of 2007. When Robert Sutton's "No Asshole Rule" appeared in the Harvard Business Review, readers of this staid publication were amazed at the outpouring of support for this landmark essay. The idea was based on the notion, as adapted in hugely successful companies like Google and SAS, that employees with malicious intents or negative attitudes destroyed any sort of productive and pleasant working environment, and would hinder the entire operation's success. Now using case studies from these and many more corporations that have had unquestioned success using variations of "The No Asshole Rule," Sutton's book aims to show managers that by hiring mean-spirited employees - regardless of talent - saps energy from everyone who must deal with said new hires. FEATURING A NEW CHAPTER ON THE RULE AND ITS SURPRISING IMPACT! In this new version of The No Asshole Rule, Bob Sutton provides an uproarious account of the world-wide reaction to his best-se

Since Peter Senge published his groundbreaking book The FifthDiscipline, he and his associates have frequently been asked by thebusiness community: "How do we go beyond the first steps ofcorporate change? How do we sustain momentum?" They know thatcompanies and organizations cannot thrive today without learning toadapt their attitudes and practices. But companies that establishchange initiatives discover, after initial success, that even themost promising efforts to transform or revitalizeorganizations--despite interest, resources, and compelling businessresults--can fail to sustain themselves over time. That's becauseorganizations have complex, well-developed immune systems, aimed atpreserving the status quo. Now, drawing upon new theories about leadership and the long-termsuccess of change initiatives, and based upon twenty-fiveyears of experience building learning organizations, the authors of TheFifth Discipline Fieldbook show how to accelerate success and avoidthe obstacles that can stall momentum. The

"As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater goodby bringing people and resources together to create value that nosingle individual can create alone..." So begins the MBA Oath, conceived in early 2009 byMax Anderson, Peter Escher, and a team of Harvard Business Schoolstudents. They saw that in the wake of the financial crisis, theMadoff scandal, and other headlines, MBAs were being vilified.People were angry because business leaders, many of whom were MBAs,seemed not to care about anything beyond their own privateinterests. Many began to question the worth of business schools andthe MBA degree. The oath quickly spread beyond Harvard, becoming a worldwidemovement for a new generation of leaders who care about society aswell as the bottom line. Thousands of graduating MBAs have nowpledged to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity, just asmedical students swear by the Hippocratic oath before they canpractice. This book is the manifesto for the movement. It provides not only astrong case for wh

"A powerful and penetrating exploration of what separatesgreat companies and great leaders from the rest." -Polly LaBarre,coauthor of Mavericks at Work Why are some people and organizations more innovative, moreinfluential, and more profitable than others? Why do some commandgreater loyalty? In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in theworld, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, andcommunicate in the exact same way-and it's the complete opposite ofwhat everyone else does. People like Martin Luther King Jr., SteveJobs, and the Wright brothers might have little in common, but theyall started with why. Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weavestogether a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead andinspire.

Learning Was Never Like This ! Take control of your life... free your natural genius to performto its true potential. Quantum Learning features a revolutionarynew format that introduces the reader to a world of learning unlikeany other. Never before has a guide been designed to accomodate the uniquelearning style of the individual. Whether you're a professional, astudent, or a person who simply wants to improve his or herlearning capacity, this extraordinary guide will increase yourpersonal power, help you learn more, earn more, and take you whereyou want to go. Inside you will learn: -How to spark your motivation. -How to master high-tech note-taking techniques. -How to discover your own personal learning style and cultivate awinning attitude. - How to work your own memory miracles, how to write withconfidence, and much, much more!

Do you think of your company's talent as an investment to bemanaged like a portfolio? You should, according to authors Becker,Huselid, and Beatty, if you're interested in strategy execution.Many companies fall into the trap of spending too much time andmoney on low performers, while high performers aren't getting thenecessary resources, development opportunities, or rewards. In "TheDifferentiated Workforce", the authors expand on their previousbooks, "The HR Scorecard" and "The Workforce Scorecard", andrecommend that you manage your workforce like a portfolio - withdisproportionate investments in the jobs that create the mostwealth. Based on two decades of academic research and experienceworking with hundreds of executives, "The Differentiated Workforce"gives you the tools to translate your talent into strategicimpact.

In this absorbing tale, you watch the timeless principles ofservant leadership unfold through the story of John Daily, abusinessman whose outwardly successful life is spiraling out ofcontrol. He is failing miserably in each of his leadership roles asboss, husband, father, and coach. To get his life back on track, hereluctantly attends a weeklong leadership retreat at a remoteBenedictine monastery. To John's surprise, the monk leading the seminar is a formerbusiness executive and Wall Street legend. Taking John under hiswing, the monk guides him to a realization that is simple yetprofound: The true foundation of leadership is not power, butauthority, which is built upon relationships, love, service, andsacrifice. Along with John, you will learn that the principles in this bookare neither new nor complex. They don't demand special talents;they are simply based on strengthening the bonds of respect,responsibility, and caring with the people around you. Perhaps thisis why The Servant has touche

I, WOZ offers readers a unique glimpse into the offbeat andbrilliant but ethical mind that conceived the Macintosh. After 25years avoiding the public eye, Steve Wozniak reveals the full storyof the Apple computer, from its conception to his views on theiconic cult status it has achieved today. In June 1975 Steve'scuriosity and determination inspired him to build a computer, thefirst Apple. Six months later, he sold the machine, and for theself-professed 'engineer's engineer', success was imminent. Butthis story is full of life lessons, critical decisions, hugetriumphs and big mistakes. Steve speaks also of his childhood,phone hacking pranks, working at Hewlett-Packard, the life-changingplane crash and teaching.

The Profit Zone, a Business Week Top Ten Book of the Year,examines 12 of today's great success stories--from GE toSwatch--and reveals how vital adaptations kept these companies onthe edge of the ever-changing profit zone. Charts graphsthroughout.

Praise for Best Practices in Talent Management "This book includes the most up-to-date thinking, tools, models,instruments and case studies necessary to identify, lead, andmanage talent within your organization and with a focus on results.It provides it all—from thought leadership to real-worldpractice." Patrick Carmichael head of talent management, refining, marketing, andinternational operations, Saudi Aramco "This is a superb compendium of stories that give the reader apeek behind the curtains of top notch organizations who havewrestled with current issues of talent management. Their lessonslearned are vital for leaders and practitioners who want a veryvaluable heads up." Beverly Kaye Founder/CEO: Career Systems International and Co-Author, Love'Em or Lose 'Em "This is a must read for organization leaders and HRpractitioners who cope with the today's most critical businesschallenge—talent management. This book provides a vast amount ofthought provoking ideals, tools, and models, for building

It's all in the family Family businesses are the backbone of any economy, but they canpresent a host of challenges that can affect their chances ofsuccess. The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to a Successful FamilyBusiness is the most current and comprehensive book that tells theproprietors of family concerns how to deal with such unique issues,including expansion beyond the original family business, and familyversus hired management. *80 percent of all businesses in America are family-run *Written by a nationally known author team *Instructive anecdotes about successful businesses providepractical, hands on Advice

Asked to explain why a few people truly excel, most of usoffer one of two answers. The first is hard work. Yet we all knowplenty of hard workers who have been doing the same job for yearsor decades without becoming great. The other possibility is thatthe elite possess an innate talent for excelling in their field. Weassume that Mozart was born with an astounding gift for music, andWarren Buffett carries a gene for brilliant investing. The troubleis, scientific evidence doesn't support the notion that specificnatural talents make great performers. According to distinguished journalist Geoff Colvin, both the hardwork and natural talent camps are wrong. What really makes all thedifference is a highly specific kind of effort-"deliberatepractice"- that few of us pursue when we're practicing golf orpiano or stockpicking. Based on a wide array of scientific research, Talent Is Overratedshares the secrets of extraordinary performance and shows how toapply these principles. It features the stories o

From the man the Wall Street Journal hailed as "theguru of Revenue Management" comes revolutionary ways to recoverfrom the after effects of downsizing and refocus your business ongrowth. Whatever happened to growth? In Revenue Management, RobertG. Cross answers this question with his ground-breaking approach torevitalizing businesses: focusing on the revenue side of the ledgerinstead of the cost side. The antithesis of slash-and-burn methodsthat left companies with empty profits and dissatisfiedstockholders, Revenue Management overturns conventionalthinking on marketing strategies and offers the key to initiatingand sustaining growth. Using case studies from a variety of industries, smallbusinesses, and nonprofit organizations, Cross describes no-tech,low-tech, and high-tech methods that managers can use to increaserevenue without increasing products or promotions; predict consumerbehavior; tap into new markets; and deliver products and servicesto customers effectively and efficiently

Having made the U.S. financial crisis comprehensible for usall in The Big Short, Michael Lewis realised that he hadn't begunto get grips with the full story. How exactly had it come to hitthe rest of the world in the face too? Just how broke are wereally? Boomerang is a tragi-comic romp across Europe, in which Lewisgives full vent to his storytelling genius. The cheap credit thatrolled across the planet between 2002 and 2008 was more than asimple financial phenomenon: it was temptation, offering entiresocieties the chance to reveal aspects of their characters theycould not normally afford to indulge. Icelanders wanted to stopfishing and become investment bankers. The Greeks wanted to turntheir country into a pi?ata stuffed with cash and allow as manycitizens as possible to take a whack. The Irish wanted to stopbeing Irish. The Germans wanted to be even more German. MichaelLewis's investigation of bubbles across Europe is brilliantly,sadly hilarious. He also turns a merciless eye on America: on

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.

Many managers dream of becoming a Chief Executive Officer in China. Maybe they think that CEO stands for Cash Enhancement Opportunity - but of course, failure could turn the assignment into a Career Ending Option. So how can you ensure that your assignment in China is successful? Management Professor Fernandez and business journalist Underwood tackled this question by interviewing 20 top executives working in China, plus eight experienced consultants. They discussed topics like managing in China, setting up local operations, adapting regional/global businesses to China, tackling the local market and living in China. But how do you report the results of 28 interviews? The easiest solution would be to present each interview as a separate chapter. However, Fernandez and Underwood wanted to understand the challenges facing international executives in China today. So they took the harder - but more useful - approach of analysing the interviews and then writing about the main underlying themes, quoting from

THE RIGHT PHRASE FOR EVERY SITUATION . . . EVERY TIME DON'TMISS THESE OTHER BOOKS IN THE PERFECT PHRASES SERIES How do you get face time with someone who doesn't accept salescalls? What is the best way to present the value of your offering?How do you handle price objections? Answer: You need to speak theright language. This fully revised second edition of the popular Perfect Phrasesfor the Sales Call provides an arsenal of persuasive language andword-for-word practice scenarios to help you address any challenge.Learn the most effective language for: Getting past gatekeepers and selling to the decision makers Presenting your product or service in the best light Handling objections, stalling, and other delaying tactics Building trust and cultivating relationships

Opening in theaters November 20, 2009, The Blind Side is afeature movie based on Michael's Lewis's New York Times bestseller,produced by Alcon Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros.Pictures. The Blind Side tells the inspirational story of MichaelOher, a homeless black teen taken under the wing of the Touhys, awealthy white Memphis family. Oher's size and speed on the footballfield bring him accolades. But learning the game's strategy andmaking it as a student take the help of his new family, coaches,and tutor. Sandra Bullock stars as Leigh Anne Touhy, thesharp-witted and compassionate matriarch. Tim McGraw stars as hersports-enthusiast husband. Oscar winner Kathy Bates plays Miss Sue,Oher's indefatigable tutor. Quinton Aaron has his first major roleas Oher. John Lee Hancock, who directed The Rookie and The Alamo,writes and directs the film. Michael Oher was just drafted in thefirst round of the NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. This editionincludes a new afterword bringing Oher's life up to date thro

In this instant New York Times Bestseller, Geoff Smart andRandy Street provide a simple, practical, and effective solution towhat The Economist calls “the single biggest problem in businesstoday”: unsuccessful hiring. The average hiring mistake costs acompany $1.5 million or more a year and countless wasted hours.This statistic becomes even more startling when you consider thatthe typical hiring success rate of managers is only 50percent. The silver lining is that “who” problems are easily preventable.Based on more than 1,300 hours of interviews with more than 20billionaires and 300 CEOs, Who presents Smart and Street’s A Methodfor Hiring. Refined through the largest research study of its kindever undertaken, the A Method stresses fundamental elements thatanyone can implement–and it has a 90 percent success rate. Whether you’re a member of a board of directors looking for a newCEO, the owner of a small business searching for the right peopleto make your company grow, or a pare

Updated with a new chapter that draws on behavioral finance, the field that studies the psychology of investment decisions, here is the best-selling, authoritative, and gimmick-free guide to investing. Burton G. Malkiel evaluates the full range of investment opportunities from stocks, bonds, and money markets to real estate investment trusts and insurance, home ownership, and tangible assets such as gold and collectibles. This edition includes new strategies for rearranging your portfolio for retirement along with the book's classic life-cycle guide to investing, which matches the needs of investors in any age bracket. A Random Walk Down Wall Street long ago established itself as a must-read, the first book to purchase before starting a portfolio, and it remains the best investing guide money can buy.

There used to be two teams in every workplace: management andlabor. Now there’s a third team, the linchpins. These peopleinvent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make thingshappen, and create order out of chaos. They figure out what to dowhen there’s no rule book. They delight and challenge theircustomers and peers. They love their work, pour their bestselves into it, and turn each day into a kind ofart. Linchpins are the essential building blocks of greatorganizations. Like the small piece of hardware that keeps a wheelfrom falling off its axle, they may not be famous but they’reindispensable. And in today’s world, they get the best jobs and themost freedom. Have you ever found a shortcut that others missed?Seen a new way to resolve a conflict? Made a connection withsomeone others couldn’t reach? Even once? Then you have what ittakes to become indispensable, by overcoming the resistance thatholds peopleback. As Godin writes, “Every day I meet

How anyone can be more effective with less effort by learninghow to identify and leverage the 80/20 principle--the well-known,unpublicized secret that 80 percent of all our results in businessand in life stem from a mere 20 percent of our efforts. The 80/20 principle is one of the great secrets of highlyeffective people and organizations. Did you know, for example, that 20 percent of customers accountfor 80 percent of revenues? That 20 percent of our time accountsfor 80 percent of the work we accomplish? The 80/20 Principle showshow we can achieve much more with much less effort, time, andresources, simply by identifying and focusing our efforts on the 20percent that really counts. Although the 80/20 principle has longinfluenced today's business world, author Richard Koch reveals howthe principle works and shows how we can use it in a systematic andpractical way to vastly increase our effectiveness, and improve ourcareers and our companies. The unspoken corollary to the 80/20 princip

Most of us think of leaders as courageous risk takers,orchestrators of major events-in a word, heroes. Yet while suchfigures are inspiring and admirable, Harvard Business SchoolProfessor Joseph Badaracco argues that their larger-than-lifeaccomplishments are simply not what makes the world work. Whatdoes, he says, is the sum of millions of small yet consequentialdecisions that men and women working far from the limelight makeevery day: how a line worker for a pharmaceutical company respondswhen he discovers a defect in a product's safety seal; how amanager deals with a valued employee suspected of stealing; how atrader handles a transaction error that will cost a clientmoney.Badaracco calls them "quiet leaders"-people who chooseresponsible, behind-the-scenes action over public heroism toresolve tough leadership challenges. These individuals don't fitthe stereotype of the bold and gutsy leader, and they don't wantto. What they want is to do the "right thing" for theirorganizations, their coworkers, and t