"believe in this book!"-from the Foreword by Colleen Barrett,president emeritus, Southwest Airlines What makes the difference between having customers who like youand customers who love you? Lots of businesses are respected, but only an elite few havepassionate, loyal, vocal fans. The kind of customers who not onlycome back time and time again, but rave to friends, family, andeven strangers. The kind who can drive explosive growth via e-mail,blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Jeanne Bliss is an expert on what it takes to earn that kind ofcustomer. The bad news, she says, is that there's no shortcut; theworld's biggest marketing budget can't make people love you. Butthe good news is that a company can become beloved-if you commit tofive essential decisions about how to run your business. Bliss has studied and worked with dozens of beloved companies,ranging in size from large to small, from longtime successes likeWegman's and Harley-Davidson, to relatively new companies likeZappos, The

Award-winning website consultant Lori Culwell demonstrates howto create a website that will increase sales and generate repeatcustomers on a small business budget. Not just another "graphicdesign for the web" book, Culwell offers invaluable insider adviceon what it takes to build a high-profile website, including dozensof guidelines to avoid the pitfalls of bad usability, withinvaluable tips on: ? Enhancing brand awareness ? Creating graphic designs that keep customers engaged and notconfused ? Writing web-savvy content ? Capitalizing on user feedback ? Making the most of search engine optimization ? Using blogs and social networking sites to increase traffic andget the word out

Bruce Greenwald, one of the nation’s leading businessprofessors, presents a new and simplified approach to strategy thatcuts through much of the fog that has surrounded the subject. Basedon his hugely popular course at Columbia Business School, Greenwaldand his coauthor, Judd Kahn, offer an easy-to-follow method forunderstanding the competitive structure of your industry anddeveloping an appropriate strategy for your specific position. Over the last two decades, the conventional approach tostrategy has become frustratingly complex. It’s easy to get lost ina sophisticated model of your competitors, suppliers, buyers,substitutes, and other players, while losing sight of the bigquestion: Are there barriers to entry that allow you to do thingsthat other firms cannot?

The inspiring true story of Shark Tank star BarbaraCorcoran--and her best advice for anyone starting a business. Afterfailing at twenty-two jobs, Barbara Corcoran borrowed $1,000 from aboyfriend, quit her job as a diner waitress, and started a tinyreal estate office in New York City. Using the unconventionallessons she learned from her homemaker mom, she gradually built itinto a $6 billion dollar business. Now Barbara's even more famousfor the no-nonsense wisdom she offers to entrepreneurs on SharkTank, ABC's hit reality TV show. Shark Tales is down-to-earth, frank, and as heartwarming as it issmart. After reading it don't be surprised if you find yourselfthinking, "If she can do it, so can I." Nothing would make Barbarahappier.

The art of accounting-by the numbers. The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to Accounting, Third Edition takesthe guess work out of this basic business activity. This updatededition has all the current information any business person willneed to understand the "books," along with a useful workbook styleappendix to re-enforce the lessons learned throughout thebook. ? Fully updated including all new forms ? New workbook appendix with dozens of useful exercises ? Up-to-date information on the changes in payroll taxes,including the new Medicare tax

When a new project is handed to them, readers can use this guideto help juggle the gamut of tasks required to get the job done. Thehandy tools and checklists offer guidance on how to: · Identify necessary resources · Develop schedules and set deadlines · Set and monitor budgets · Communicate progress and problems

A revelatory exploration of the hottest trend in technologyand the dramatic impact it will have on the economy, science, andsociety at large. Which paint color is mostlikely to tell you that a used car is in good shape? How canofficials identify the most dangerous New York City manholes beforethey explode? And how did Google searches predict the spread of theH1N1 flu outbreak? The key to answering thesequestions, and many more, is big data. “Big data” refers to ourburgeoning ability to crunch vast collections of information,analyze it instantly, and draw sometimes profoundly surprisingconclusions from it. This emerging science can translate myriadphenomena—from the price of airline tickets to the text of millionsof books—into searchable form, and uses our increasing computingpower to unearth epiphanies that we never could have seen before. Arevolution on par with the Internet or perhaps even the printingpress, big data will change the way we think about business,health, politics, edu

Part Fast Food Nation, part Bobos in Paradise,STARBUCKED combines investigative heft with witty culturalobservation in telling the story of how the coffeehouse movementchanged our everyday lives, from our evolving neighborhoods andworkplaces to the ways we shop, socialize, and self-medicate. In STARBUCKED, Taylor Clark provides an objective, meticulouslyreported look at the volatile issues like gentrification and fairtrade that distress activists and coffee zealots alike. Through acast of characters that includes coffee-wild hippies, businesssharks, slackers, Hollywood trendsetters and more, STARBUCKEDexplores how America transformed into a nation of coffee gourmetsin only a few years, how Starbucks manipulates psyches and socialhabits to snare loyal customers, and why many of the things wethink we know about the coffee commodity chain are false. Starbucked is ...smart cultural criticism minus any academicgobbledygook. Mr. Clark is quite funny as he dryly sends up theexcess of the corporate

Takes meetings and conferences to the next level --Thistext refers to the KindleEdition edition.

A game plan for team players in every arena of life--business,family, sports--uses examples from the life of the great basketballcoach to show how any group can combine strengths and talents andbe successful. Reprint. No one knows the dynamics of a winning team better than Pat Riley,one of pro basketball's most successful coaches. The Winner Withinis his game plan for team players in every aspect of life:business, family, or sports. Riley uses his own examples ofsuccess--in and out of sports--to show how any group can blend itstalents to create lasting success. The pro basketball coach and popular motivational speaker presentshis recipe for leadership, personal growth, and control of shiftingdynamics, showing how to forge strong groups that can work togetherto create success

The quintessential guide to kick-starting your career-now updated to address the challenges of today's economy、 With our current economic situation, more peopleare unemployed now than at any other time in recent history andmany who do have jobs are overworked, maxed out, and miserable. Inthis revised and updated edition of I Don't Know What I Want,But I Know It's Not This , career coach Julie Jansen shows howanyone unhappy with their employment-or lack of-can implement areal and satisfying career transformation. A range of quizzes andper?sonality exercises help readers to identify the type of workfor which they're best suited, and then Jansen shows them how totransform this uncertain time from a period of crisis into anopportunity for positive change..

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

"One of the best baseball—and management—books out....Deserves aplace in the Baseball Hall of Fame."—Forbes Moneyball is a quest for the secret of success in baseball.Following the low-budget Oakland Athletics, their larger-than-lifegeneral manger, Billy Beane, and the strange brotherhood of amateurbaseball enthusiasts, Michael Lewis has written not only "thesingle most influential baseball book ever" (Rob Neyer, Slate) butalso what "may be the best book ever written on business" (WeeklyStandard). I wrote this book because I fell in love with a story. The storyconcerned a small group of undervalued professional baseballplayers and executives, many of whom had been rejected as unfit forthe big leagues, who had turned themselves into one of the mostsuccessful franchises in Major League Baseball. But the idea forthe book came well before I had good reason to write it—before Ihad a story to fall in love with. It began, really, with aninnocent question: how did one of the poorest teams in baseball,the Oa

Michael J. Gelb, author of the international bestseller How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci , and Sarah MillerCaldicott, a descendant of Thomas Edison, introduce a revolutionarynew system for successful innovation . Bestselling author Michael J. Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicottintroduce a carefully researched, easy-to-apply system of the fivesuccess secrets inspired by the creative methods of Thomas AlvaEdison. The greatest innovator in American history, Edison set thestage for America’s global leadership in innovation by his focus onpractical accomplishment. Now Gelb and Caldicott apply the bestpractices of this American genius to contemporary businesssituations to help today’s leaders harness their own innovativepotential. Innovate Like Edison is a blueprint for successthat will enable executives and entrepreneurs to revitalize theirown ingenuity and thrive in today’s culture of innovation.

Two top public-speaking coaches offer fresh advice on givingeffective speeches and presentations with the immediacy of aconversation. The best speeches don't sound like speeches, and the bestspeakers make listeners feel as though they are being addresseddirectly. The trick is to make every presentation as natural anddirect as a one-on-one conversation. This expert but accessibleguide reveals: - The six truths behind every conversation-and how to use them atthe podium - The three steps to inspiring any audience - The seven secrets for using voice and body language - The seven tools every speaker uses or misuses Whether addressing a few colleagues or a packed auditorium,readers will find practical and simple techniques for inspiringevery listener.

TheRight Phrase for Every Situation . . . Every Time Conflict in the workplace is inevitable. When you have the rightwords and phrases at your command, you can quickly resolve anyfracas, flap, or fray—and prevent it from spreading into anuncontrollable fire. Perfect Phrases for Conflict Resolution has hundreds ofready-to-use phrases, dialogs, and practice *s for anybusiness altercation, enabling you to rise above the conflict andfocus on solving the problem. You'll possess the language you needto manage any type of conflict with superiors, peers, or employeesconcerning: * Strategy * Resources * Priorities * Cooperation * Workload

As a manager, you make countless decisions every day. Some arestraightforward, such as assigning a team member to a project.Others are far more complex, such as determining how to handle anunderperforming product line. How can you boost the odds of makingthe best decisions for your organization? Treat decision-making asa process. This volume reveals key strategies for handling each step in theprocess. You'll find out how to: Generate a diverse set of alternative courses of action for thedecision at hand Assess the feasibility, risks, and ethical implications of eachalternative Select the best course of action Communicate your decision and carry it out

Problems that "just won't go away" can be settled throughmethods developed by one of America's leading experts in conflictresolution. In clear language, Weeks shows readers how to turnconflict into lasting partnerships and ensure a fruitfuloutcome.

Wondering how the most accomplished leaders from around the globe have tackled their toughest challenges? Now you can find out-with Lessons Learned. Concise and engaging, each volume in this new series offers 12-14 insightful essays by top leaders in industry, the public sector, and academia on the most pressing issues they’ve faced. The contributors share surprisingly personal anecdotes and offer authoritative and practical advice drawn from their years of hard-earned experience. The series launches with three volumes, each of which centers on a timely topic: Leading by Example Managing Your Career Managing Change A crucial resource for today’s busy executive, Lessons Learned gives you instant access to the wisdom and expertise of the world’s most talented leaders. 50 Lessons’ digital library holds more than 500 individual lessons from over 100 high-profile leaders from industry, the public sector, and academia from companies and institutions around the world

Now in paperback, the highly acclaimed exploration ofsushi’s surprising history, global business, and internationalallure One generation ago, sushi’s narrow reach ensuredthat sports fishermen who caught tuna in most of parts of the worldsold the meat for pennies as cat food. Today, the fatty cuts oftuna known as toro are among the planet’s most coveted luxuryfoods, worth hundreds of dollars a pound and capable of losingvalue more quickly than any other product on earth. So how did oneof the world’s most popular foods go from being practically unknownin the United States to being served in towns all across America,and in such a short span of time? A riveting combination of culinary biography, behind-the- scenesrestaurant detail, and a unique exploration of globalization’sdynamics, the book traces sushi’s journey from Japanese streetsnack to global delicacy. After traversing the pages of TheSushi Economy , you’ll never see the food on your plate—or theworld around you—quite the same way