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Winner of the 2025 North American Book Award Bronze Medal for Leadership and Management, selected by Porchlight Book Company as one of the Best Business Books of 2025, and recipient of the 2026 Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Nonfiction. Winner of the 2026 PenCraft Seasonal Book Award Winter Competition for Nonfiction Business/Finance.
“What’s wrong with nice?!” A simple and powerful question. It demands we interrogate the unspoken rules that shape our lives, often without our realizing it.
“It costs nothing to be nice!” What a travesty of logic. Niceness is not free—it comes at a steep price. It’s a velvet glove over an iron fist, stifling dissent, prioritizing comfort over progress, and conditioning us to accept the status quo. Niceness is one of the most insidious social constructs, keeping us compliant, silent, and complicit in inequity. If we don’t question it, we stay exactly where power wants us—agreeable, easy to manage, and stuck.
The Price of Nice is about breaking free. Amira Barger deconstructs our cultural obsession with niceness, exposes its hidden costs, and offers a practical framework for real change. With sharp analysis and personal insight, she helps readers disrupt the narratives that keep them stuck and reclaim their power.
Guided by four dimensions rooted in social psychology—think, feel, do, revisit—this book offers immediate, adaptable practices for creating change. Because breaking free isn’t only what you know—it’s what you do next.
If you're tired of “good enough,” this book will challenge you, change you, and call you to more.
“What’s wrong with nice?!” A simple and powerful question. It demands we interrogate the unspoken rules that shape our lives, often without our realizing it.
“It costs nothing to be nice!” What a travesty of logic. Niceness is not free—it comes at a steep price. It’s a velvet glove over an iron fist, stifling dissent, prioritizing comfort over progress, and conditioning us to accept the status quo. Niceness is one of the most insidious social constructs, keeping us compliant, silent, and complicit in inequity. If we don’t question it, we stay exactly where power wants us—agreeable, easy to manage, and stuck.
The Price of Nice is about breaking free. Amira Barger deconstructs our cultural obsession with niceness, exposes its hidden costs, and offers a practical framework for real change. With sharp analysis and personal insight, she helps readers disrupt the narratives that keep them stuck and reclaim their power.
Guided by four dimensions rooted in social psychology—think, feel, do, revisit—this book offers immediate, adaptable practices for creating change. Because breaking free isn’t only what you know—it’s what you do next.
If you're tired of “good enough,” this book will challenge you, change you, and call you to more.
Written for anyone with any level of training responsibility—novice trainers, "accidental trainers," and those with years of experience—The Professional Trainer is a comprehensive, all-in-one guide that covers the entire training process and includes a wealth of practical tools, techniques, and models. Experienced trainer Robert Vaughn provides a step-by-step guide that includes both conceptual background and a host of hands-on tools and exercises. He details how to:
Identify and clarify the training needs of the employees and the organization
Plan and design training—on-the-job, off-the-job, and online
Choose the best training approach, and select media and facilities to support it
Deliver the training—and find out if it worked
If you are new to training, this book will serve as a complete overview of the process. For experienced trainers, its many practical tools make it an invaluable troubleshooting reference.
Identify and clarify the training needs of the employees and the organization
Plan and design training—on-the-job, off-the-job, and online
Choose the best training approach, and select media and facilities to support it
Deliver the training—and find out if it worked
If you are new to training, this book will serve as a complete overview of the process. For experienced trainers, its many practical tools make it an invaluable troubleshooting reference.
If it's essential to project management... it's in here!
The first edition of The Project Management Answer Book addressed all the key principles of project management that every project manager needs to know. With a new chapter on scrum agile, updates throughout, and many new PMP® test tips, this new edition builds on that solid foundation.
The structure of this update maps closely to the PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, and is designed to assist anyone studying for the PMP® and other certification exams. Helpful sections cover:
• Networking and social media tips for PMs, including the best professional organizations, virtual groups, and podcast resources
• The formulas PMs need to know, plus a template to help certification candidates prepare and self-test for their exams
• Quick study sheet for the processes covered on the PMP® exam
• Key changes in PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, for readers familiar with earlier versions who want “the skinny” on the new version.
PMs at every level will find real gold in the information nuggets provided in this new edition. Those new to project management will find the comprehensive coverage and the depth of the answers especially valuable, and will like the easy-to-read style and Q&A format. For experienced managers looking for new tools and skills to help them pass their PMP® or other certification exams, this is a must-have resource.
The first edition of The Project Management Answer Book addressed all the key principles of project management that every project manager needs to know. With a new chapter on scrum agile, updates throughout, and many new PMP® test tips, this new edition builds on that solid foundation.
The structure of this update maps closely to the PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, and is designed to assist anyone studying for the PMP® and other certification exams. Helpful sections cover:
• Networking and social media tips for PMs, including the best professional organizations, virtual groups, and podcast resources
• The formulas PMs need to know, plus a template to help certification candidates prepare and self-test for their exams
• Quick study sheet for the processes covered on the PMP® exam
• Key changes in PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, for readers familiar with earlier versions who want “the skinny” on the new version.
PMs at every level will find real gold in the information nuggets provided in this new edition. Those new to project management will find the comprehensive coverage and the depth of the answers especially valuable, and will like the easy-to-read style and Q&A format. For experienced managers looking for new tools and skills to help them pass their PMP® or other certification exams, this is a must-have resource.
If it's essential to project management... it's in here!
The first edition of The Project Management Answer Book addressed all the key principles of project management that every project manager needs to know. With a new chapter on scrum agile, updates throughout, and many new PMP® test tips, this new edition builds on that solid foundation.
The structure of this update maps closely to the PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, and is designed to assist anyone studying for the PMP® and other certification exams. Helpful sections cover:
• Networking and social media tips for PMs, including the best professional organizations, virtual groups, and podcast resources
• The formulas PMs need to know, plus a template to help certification candidates prepare and self-test for their exams
• Quick study sheet for the processes covered on the PMP® exam
• Key changes in PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, for readers familiar with earlier versions who want “the skinny” on the new version.
PMs at every level will find real gold in the information nuggets provided in this new edition. Those new to project management will find the comprehensive coverage and the depth of the answers especially valuable, and will like the easy-to-read style and Q&A format. For experienced managers looking for new tools and skills to help them pass their PMP® or other certification exams, this is a must-have resource.
The first edition of The Project Management Answer Book addressed all the key principles of project management that every project manager needs to know. With a new chapter on scrum agile, updates throughout, and many new PMP® test tips, this new edition builds on that solid foundation.
The structure of this update maps closely to the PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, and is designed to assist anyone studying for the PMP® and other certification exams. Helpful sections cover:
• Networking and social media tips for PMs, including the best professional organizations, virtual groups, and podcast resources
• The formulas PMs need to know, plus a template to help certification candidates prepare and self-test for their exams
• Quick study sheet for the processes covered on the PMP® exam
• Key changes in PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition, for readers familiar with earlier versions who want “the skinny” on the new version.
PMs at every level will find real gold in the information nuggets provided in this new edition. Those new to project management will find the comprehensive coverage and the depth of the answers especially valuable, and will like the easy-to-read style and Q&A format. For experienced managers looking for new tools and skills to help them pass their PMP® or other certification exams, this is a must-have resource.
Take These Six Steps to Reach Your Project Management and Leadership Goals!
Starting with an insightful self-assessment, The Project Management Coaching Workbook: Six Steps to Unleashing Your Potential offers tools, questions, reviews, guiding practices, and exercises that will help you build your roadmap to project management and leadership success.
Based on her experience as a coach and mentor, Susanne Madsen offers a proven six-step method designed to help you understand and articulate what you want to achieve—and then assist you in achieving those goals.
This workbook will help project managers at any level overcome some of the most common challenges they face by:
• Effectively managing a demanding workload
• Leading and motivating a team
• Building effective relationships with senior stakeholders
• Managing risks, issues, and changes to scope
• Delegating effectively
Starting with an insightful self-assessment, The Project Management Coaching Workbook: Six Steps to Unleashing Your Potential offers tools, questions, reviews, guiding practices, and exercises that will help you build your roadmap to project management and leadership success.
Based on her experience as a coach and mentor, Susanne Madsen offers a proven six-step method designed to help you understand and articulate what you want to achieve—and then assist you in achieving those goals.
This workbook will help project managers at any level overcome some of the most common challenges they face by:
• Effectively managing a demanding workload
• Leading and motivating a team
• Building effective relationships with senior stakeholders
• Managing risks, issues, and changes to scope
• Delegating effectively
Take These Six Steps to Reach Your Project Management and Leadership Goals!
Starting with an insightful self-assessment, The Project Management Coaching Workbook: Six Steps to Unleashing Your Potential offers tools, questions, reviews, guiding practices, and exercises that will help you build your roadmap to project management and leadership success.
Based on her experience as a coach and mentor, Susanne Madsen offers a proven six-step method designed to help you understand and articulate what you want to achieve—and then assist you in achieving those goals.
This workbook will help project managers at any level overcome some of the most common challenges they face by:
• Effectively managing a demanding workload
• Leading and motivating a team
• Building effective relationships with senior stakeholders
• Managing risks, issues, and changes to scope
• Delegating effectively
Starting with an insightful self-assessment, The Project Management Coaching Workbook: Six Steps to Unleashing Your Potential offers tools, questions, reviews, guiding practices, and exercises that will help you build your roadmap to project management and leadership success.
Based on her experience as a coach and mentor, Susanne Madsen offers a proven six-step method designed to help you understand and articulate what you want to achieve—and then assist you in achieving those goals.
This workbook will help project managers at any level overcome some of the most common challenges they face by:
• Effectively managing a demanding workload
• Leading and motivating a team
• Building effective relationships with senior stakeholders
• Managing risks, issues, and changes to scope
• Delegating effectively
Make Better Decisions While Managing Projects!
Decision-making is critical in project management. Lack of decision-making knowledge, avoidable mistakes, and improper definitions can negatively impact your company's ability to generate profit. The Project Manager's Guide to Making Successful Decisions is a practical handbook that focuses on the significance of project decision-making skills that will all you to reach workable and effective results. This valuable resource highlights numerous decisions necessary to support the project management life cycle, presents various techniques that facilitate the decision-making process, provides an overview of decision analysis as it relates to project management, and much more!
+ Understand different types of decision-making processes and cycles
+ Recognize how to frame the decision and gather better information
+ Define alternatives and assessments to make the right decision
+ Analyze short case studies demonstrating project decision making success
Decision-making is critical in project management. Lack of decision-making knowledge, avoidable mistakes, and improper definitions can negatively impact your company's ability to generate profit. The Project Manager's Guide to Making Successful Decisions is a practical handbook that focuses on the significance of project decision-making skills that will all you to reach workable and effective results. This valuable resource highlights numerous decisions necessary to support the project management life cycle, presents various techniques that facilitate the decision-making process, provides an overview of decision analysis as it relates to project management, and much more!
+ Understand different types of decision-making processes and cycles
+ Recognize how to frame the decision and gather better information
+ Define alternatives and assessments to make the right decision
+ Analyze short case studies demonstrating project decision making success
Make Better Decisions While Managing Projects!
Decision-making is critical in project management. Lack of decision-making knowledge, avoidable mistakes, and improper definitions can negatively impact your company's ability to generate profit. The Project Manager's Guide to Making Successful Decisions is a practical handbook that focuses on the significance of project decision-making skills that will all you to reach workable and effective results. This valuable resource highlights numerous decisions necessary to support the project management life cycle, presents various techniques that facilitate the decision-making process, provides an overview of decision analysis as it relates to project management, and much more!
+ Understand different types of decision-making processes and cycles
+ Recognize how to frame the decision and gather better information
+ Define alternatives and assessments to make the right decision
+ Analyze short case studies demonstrating project decision making success
Decision-making is critical in project management. Lack of decision-making knowledge, avoidable mistakes, and improper definitions can negatively impact your company's ability to generate profit. The Project Manager's Guide to Making Successful Decisions is a practical handbook that focuses on the significance of project decision-making skills that will all you to reach workable and effective results. This valuable resource highlights numerous decisions necessary to support the project management life cycle, presents various techniques that facilitate the decision-making process, provides an overview of decision analysis as it relates to project management, and much more!
+ Understand different types of decision-making processes and cycles
+ Recognize how to frame the decision and gather better information
+ Define alternatives and assessments to make the right decision
+ Analyze short case studies demonstrating project decision making success
Find the Answers You Need to Comply with the Prompt Payment Act!
It can be challenging for federal agencies to comply with the Prompt Payment Act. Although the basic rules are simple, they can be difficult to interpret and apply properly — until now. Designed as a reference, The Prompt Payment Act Answer Book lays out the prompt payment rules in a question-and-answer format, enabling readers to find answers to hundreds of specific questions. Practitioners will find the information they need to get and stay in compliance with the Prompt Payment Act and will benefit from real-world examples they can apply in everyday operations.
• Government payment personnel: Get advice on how to structure your processes to comply with prompt payment rules, avoid negative audit findings, and deal with contractor inquiries about interest entitlements
• Auditors: Structure your prompt payment audits and pertinent information effectively
• Contractors and vendors: Verify that your invoices are being handled properly, determine whether you are due interest penalties, and learn how to appeal improper payment amounts
Plus! Two quantitative sections show you how to calculate payment due dates and interest penalties, and two quizzes help reinforce learning.
It can be challenging for federal agencies to comply with the Prompt Payment Act. Although the basic rules are simple, they can be difficult to interpret and apply properly — until now. Designed as a reference, The Prompt Payment Act Answer Book lays out the prompt payment rules in a question-and-answer format, enabling readers to find answers to hundreds of specific questions. Practitioners will find the information they need to get and stay in compliance with the Prompt Payment Act and will benefit from real-world examples they can apply in everyday operations.
• Government payment personnel: Get advice on how to structure your processes to comply with prompt payment rules, avoid negative audit findings, and deal with contractor inquiries about interest entitlements
• Auditors: Structure your prompt payment audits and pertinent information effectively
• Contractors and vendors: Verify that your invoices are being handled properly, determine whether you are due interest penalties, and learn how to appeal improper payment amounts
Plus! Two quantitative sections show you how to calculate payment due dates and interest penalties, and two quizzes help reinforce learning.
Find the Answers You Need to Comply with the Prompt Payment Act!
It can be challenging for federal agencies to comply with the Prompt Payment Act. Although the basic rules are simple, they can be difficult to interpret and apply properly — until now. Designed as a reference, The Prompt Payment Act Answer Book lays out the prompt payment rules in a question-and-answer format, enabling readers to find answers to hundreds of specific questions. Practitioners will find the information they need to get and stay in compliance with the Prompt Payment Act and will benefit from real-world examples they can apply in everyday operations.
• Government payment personnel: Get advice on how to structure your processes to comply with prompt payment rules, avoid negative audit findings, and deal with contractor inquiries about interest entitlements
• Auditors: Structure your prompt payment audits and pertinent information effectively
• Contractors and vendors: Verify that your invoices are being handled properly, determine whether you are due interest penalties, and learn how to appeal improper payment amounts
Plus! Two quantitative sections show you how to calculate payment due dates and interest penalties, and two quizzes help reinforce learning.
It can be challenging for federal agencies to comply with the Prompt Payment Act. Although the basic rules are simple, they can be difficult to interpret and apply properly — until now. Designed as a reference, The Prompt Payment Act Answer Book lays out the prompt payment rules in a question-and-answer format, enabling readers to find answers to hundreds of specific questions. Practitioners will find the information they need to get and stay in compliance with the Prompt Payment Act and will benefit from real-world examples they can apply in everyday operations.
• Government payment personnel: Get advice on how to structure your processes to comply with prompt payment rules, avoid negative audit findings, and deal with contractor inquiries about interest entitlements
• Auditors: Structure your prompt payment audits and pertinent information effectively
• Contractors and vendors: Verify that your invoices are being handled properly, determine whether you are due interest penalties, and learn how to appeal improper payment amounts
Plus! Two quantitative sections show you how to calculate payment due dates and interest penalties, and two quizzes help reinforce learning.
Discover the Purpose Advantage!
Customers, employees, and investors are no longer satisfied with companies providing good products, good prospects, and good profits—they want them to do some social good, too. These “purpose-driven” companies do better on nearly every traditional metric: greater customer loyalty, higher retention, more innovation, and a healthier bottom line. But a nice mission statement and donations to charity won't make your company stand out. Using scores of real-world examples and practical exercises, John Izzo and Jeff Vanderwielen help leaders find a truly authentic purpose, one that is a natural fit for them and their organization. They describe concrete actions leaders can take to ensure that employees own it, customers and recruits connect with it, and every corporate action and activity reflects it.
Customers, employees, and investors are no longer satisfied with companies providing good products, good prospects, and good profits—they want them to do some social good, too. These “purpose-driven” companies do better on nearly every traditional metric: greater customer loyalty, higher retention, more innovation, and a healthier bottom line. But a nice mission statement and donations to charity won't make your company stand out. Using scores of real-world examples and practical exercises, John Izzo and Jeff Vanderwielen help leaders find a truly authentic purpose, one that is a natural fit for them and their organization. They describe concrete actions leaders can take to ensure that employees own it, customers and recruits connect with it, and every corporate action and activity reflects it.
Discover the Purpose Advantage!
Customers, employees, and investors are no longer satisfied with companies providing good products, good prospects, and good profits—they want them to do some social good, too. These “purpose-driven” companies do better on nearly every traditional metric: greater customer loyalty, higher retention, more innovation, and a healthier bottom line. But a nice mission statement and donations to charity won't make your company stand out. Using scores of real-world examples and practical exercises, John Izzo and Jeff Vanderwielen help leaders find a truly authentic purpose, one that is a natural fit for them and their organization. They describe concrete actions leaders can take to ensure that employees own it, customers and recruits connect with it, and every corporate action and activity reflects it.
Customers, employees, and investors are no longer satisfied with companies providing good products, good prospects, and good profits—they want them to do some social good, too. These “purpose-driven” companies do better on nearly every traditional metric: greater customer loyalty, higher retention, more innovation, and a healthier bottom line. But a nice mission statement and donations to charity won't make your company stand out. Using scores of real-world examples and practical exercises, John Izzo and Jeff Vanderwielen help leaders find a truly authentic purpose, one that is a natural fit for them and their organization. They describe concrete actions leaders can take to ensure that employees own it, customers and recruits connect with it, and every corporate action and activity reflects it.
Consumers of the future are going to want their consumption hand in hand with a demonstrated commitment to bettering our world- it is the companies that can deliver on this that will thrive in the coming decades.
More and more, employees, customers, and investors want their work and money to not only provide for their own material needs but to also help create a better world for all. Bestselling author John Izzo teams up with Jeff VanderWein to show leaders and companies how to transform their corporate culture so they can succeed in the midst of this Purpose Revolution.
Today people want more than just a good job or a good deal--increasingly, they want to feel like they're doing good as well, that their work and money are contributing to some greater purpose. John Izzo and Jeff VanderWielen call it The Purpose Revolution, and in this revelatory book they argue that it will dramatically transform the world of business.
While they describe the Purpose Revolution's impact on consumers and investors, their prime focus is on how to activate purpose among employees and how to embed purpose in the culture of your organization. Because you can't fake purpose--it has to be a genuine part of your organizational DNA if you're going to attract customers and investors. Using many examples, the authors illustrate how to lead in this new age of social good, how to attract and engage talented employees, how to create a purposeful culture, and how to win loyalty from employees, customers, and investors.
More and more, employees, customers, and investors want their work and money to not only provide for their own material needs but to also help create a better world for all. Bestselling author John Izzo teams up with Jeff VanderWein to show leaders and companies how to transform their corporate culture so they can succeed in the midst of this Purpose Revolution.
Today people want more than just a good job or a good deal--increasingly, they want to feel like they're doing good as well, that their work and money are contributing to some greater purpose. John Izzo and Jeff VanderWielen call it The Purpose Revolution, and in this revelatory book they argue that it will dramatically transform the world of business.
While they describe the Purpose Revolution's impact on consumers and investors, their prime focus is on how to activate purpose among employees and how to embed purpose in the culture of your organization. Because you can't fake purpose--it has to be a genuine part of your organizational DNA if you're going to attract customers and investors. Using many examples, the authors illustrate how to lead in this new age of social good, how to attract and engage talented employees, how to create a purposeful culture, and how to win loyalty from employees, customers, and investors.