Every book in the Berrett-Koehler catalog, in one place. Browse our full collection of titles spanning leadership, management, workplace culture, social change, and beyond.
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For a lucky few, light conversation at parties and social events is a breeze. For the rest of us, there is Carol Fleming (bestselling author of It's the Way You Say It), who breaks even the shortest bit of small talk into an understandable process that anyone can master.
Much of your personal success hinges on the effectiveness of your personal communication skills. Whether or not new doors are opened to you may depend on how well you can meet one of life's most frustrating social challenges--starting and developing conversations with strangers, aka "small talk." Small talk is usually considered to be a light, pleasant, and safe verbal exchange, which allows people the time and association to get a sense of each other. It consists of introductions, exchange of personal information and interests when meeting new people and searching for a topic of mutual interest. According to Carol Fleming, conversationalist-extraordinaire, the business of small talk means:
-Bringing people together
-Facilitating understanding
-Finding friendships, building trust and maintaining relationships
-Developing your business
-Exposing you to different points of view
This book teaches you the concrete skills of social behavior, and promises to increase your understanding of what small talk is and what it does, while revealing the rituals and strategies for developing conversation. You may not think you have the "gift of gab," but Carol Fleming will convince you that you can master the fine art of small talk in all your business and social encounters.
Much of your personal success hinges on the effectiveness of your personal communication skills. Whether or not new doors are opened to you may depend on how well you can meet one of life's most frustrating social challenges--starting and developing conversations with strangers, aka "small talk." Small talk is usually considered to be a light, pleasant, and safe verbal exchange, which allows people the time and association to get a sense of each other. It consists of introductions, exchange of personal information and interests when meeting new people and searching for a topic of mutual interest. According to Carol Fleming, conversationalist-extraordinaire, the business of small talk means:
-Bringing people together
-Facilitating understanding
-Finding friendships, building trust and maintaining relationships
-Developing your business
-Exposing you to different points of view
This book teaches you the concrete skills of social behavior, and promises to increase your understanding of what small talk is and what it does, while revealing the rituals and strategies for developing conversation. You may not think you have the "gift of gab," but Carol Fleming will convince you that you can master the fine art of small talk in all your business and social encounters.
Project Management for Small Projects shows you how to tailor bureaucratic planning processes to a sleek minimum while still keeping your project running like a well-oiled machine.
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) recommends tailoring the planning processes to fit the size of your project, but it doesn't always fully explain how. Using too much process can be as detrimental to a project as not using a process at all. For years, this book has helped managers of small projects design processes that are neither too big nor too small but "just right." It provides simplified but compliant tools for immediate use in managing small projects. And since most small projects tend to be similar in structure or outcome, a template for one project can be used for future projects. This new edition of Project Management for Small Projects has been updated to align with the latest PMBOK. In addition, there is new material on Agile project management and on the essential leadership skills for small project managers.
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) recommends tailoring the planning processes to fit the size of your project, but it doesn't always fully explain how. Using too much process can be as detrimental to a project as not using a process at all. For years, this book has helped managers of small projects design processes that are neither too big nor too small but "just right." It provides simplified but compliant tools for immediate use in managing small projects. And since most small projects tend to be similar in structure or outcome, a template for one project can be used for future projects. This new edition of Project Management for Small Projects has been updated to align with the latest PMBOK. In addition, there is new material on Agile project management and on the essential leadership skills for small project managers.
“In this precise primer on firearms practices and policies, progressive talk-show host Hartmann examines the history of routine gun usage and extreme gun violence and assesses the influence of gun ownership on contemporary political, economic, and social norms…A brief but powerful analysis of a searing national crisis.” -Booklist
Taking his typically in-depth, historically informed view, Thom Hartmann examines how guns have played important roles throughout American history, from early European settlement to the Revolutionary War and Manifest Destiny, through the use of Slave Patrols in the Deep South (which became the “well-regulated militias” so debated in 1787), to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and recent school massacres.
Looking at the present, Hartmann documents how inequality in America and the number of people killed in mass shootings have grown together over the last fifty years. Finally, he identifies a handful of common-sense and powerful solutions that would address the issue at different levels: from getting money out of politics to get the National Rifle Association out of lobbying, to passing laws that would treat gun ownership like car ownership (title, license, insurance), to addressing the social despair and economic inequality that drive violent crime and mass shootings.
Taking his typically in-depth, historically informed view, Thom Hartmann examines how guns have played important roles throughout American history, from early European settlement to the Revolutionary War and Manifest Destiny, through the use of Slave Patrols in the Deep South (which became the “well-regulated militias” so debated in 1787), to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and recent school massacres.
Looking at the present, Hartmann documents how inequality in America and the number of people killed in mass shootings have grown together over the last fifty years. Finally, he identifies a handful of common-sense and powerful solutions that would address the issue at different levels: from getting money out of politics to get the National Rifle Association out of lobbying, to passing laws that would treat gun ownership like car ownership (title, license, insurance), to addressing the social despair and economic inequality that drive violent crime and mass shootings.
This new edition of an award-winning risk management classic is more actionable than ever with new chapters on facilitating risk conversations and running a risk workshop.
Risk isn't just about threat; it's also about opportunity. You have to be ready to take advantage of the most unexpected good or bad events, or you'll lose out on major revenue opportunities. The Active Threat and Opportunity Management (ATOM) methodology helps companies, leaders, and project managers worldwide find the best strategy for taking advantage of unexpected events.
This Project Management Institute award-winning methodology is already used by top corporations. Will your organization be the next to take advantage of these brand-new chapters on risk workshops and risk facilitation? Exploit these ingenious techniques to get everyone in your organization on the same page about how much risk can be tolerated and make sure your MBA students and project managers are prepared to tackle the ups and downs of this risky world.
Risk isn't just about threat; it's also about opportunity. You have to be ready to take advantage of the most unexpected good or bad events, or you'll lose out on major revenue opportunities. The Active Threat and Opportunity Management (ATOM) methodology helps companies, leaders, and project managers worldwide find the best strategy for taking advantage of unexpected events.
This Project Management Institute award-winning methodology is already used by top corporations. Will your organization be the next to take advantage of these brand-new chapters on risk workshops and risk facilitation? Exploit these ingenious techniques to get everyone in your organization on the same page about how much risk can be tolerated and make sure your MBA students and project managers are prepared to tackle the ups and downs of this risky world.
How to develop a growth mindset, with practical tools to reach your financial goals from the self-development expert and bestselling author of Eat that Frog!
Discover the 32 laws that have helped self-made millionaires with successful goal setting, time management, money saving, and financial investments.
Legendary author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy returns with a series of 32 immutable laws, each one key to developing a mindset necessary for success-while also delivering practical, proven methods and techniques to double and even triple your income.
Spread across a structured two-part framework, this book supplies readers the laws that helped Tracy and other self-made millionaires achieve their success. Inside, you'll learn:
• 32 foundational laws necessary for a growth mindset
• Step-by-step processes for putting the laws into practice
• How to move past self-limiting beliefs
• A time-tested system for setting and attaining goals
• Strategies for saving money and investing in your future
• And more
Achieving financial freedom can seem daunting. But by using the lessons and exercises contained in this book, you too can harness the laws of money and success to reach your full potential.
Discover the 32 laws that have helped self-made millionaires with successful goal setting, time management, money saving, and financial investments.
Legendary author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy returns with a series of 32 immutable laws, each one key to developing a mindset necessary for success-while also delivering practical, proven methods and techniques to double and even triple your income.
Spread across a structured two-part framework, this book supplies readers the laws that helped Tracy and other self-made millionaires achieve their success. Inside, you'll learn:
• 32 foundational laws necessary for a growth mindset
• Step-by-step processes for putting the laws into practice
• How to move past self-limiting beliefs
• A time-tested system for setting and attaining goals
• Strategies for saving money and investing in your future
• And more
Achieving financial freedom can seem daunting. But by using the lessons and exercises contained in this book, you too can harness the laws of money and success to reach your full potential.
America's most popular progressive radio host and New York Times bestselling author Thom Hartmann reveals how and why neoliberalism became so prevalent in the United States and why it's time for us to turn our backs to it.
While America is at a crossroads regarding its economic future, many of us don't fully understand how we got here. In this powerful and accessible book, Thom Hartmann demystifies neoliberalism and explains how we can use this pivotal point in time to create a more positive future.
This book traces the history of neoliberalism-which applies to a set of capitalistic philosophies favoring free trade, financial austerity, and deregulation-up to the present. Hartmann explains how neoliberalism was sold as a cure for wars and the Great Depression. He outlines the impact that it has had on America, looking at different sectors, including healthcare, unemployment, and education.
Hartmann highlights how America can go one of two ways: continue going down the road to neoliberal oligarchy, as supported by the GOP, or choose to return to FDR's Keynesian economics, raise taxes on the rich, reverse free trade, and create a more pluralistic society.
While America is at a crossroads regarding its economic future, many of us don't fully understand how we got here. In this powerful and accessible book, Thom Hartmann demystifies neoliberalism and explains how we can use this pivotal point in time to create a more positive future.
This book traces the history of neoliberalism-which applies to a set of capitalistic philosophies favoring free trade, financial austerity, and deregulation-up to the present. Hartmann explains how neoliberalism was sold as a cure for wars and the Great Depression. He outlines the impact that it has had on America, looking at different sectors, including healthcare, unemployment, and education.
Hartmann highlights how America can go one of two ways: continue going down the road to neoliberal oligarchy, as supported by the GOP, or choose to return to FDR's Keynesian economics, raise taxes on the rich, reverse free trade, and create a more pluralistic society.
When it comes to leading, there is a critical difference between communicating as a boss and communicating as a bully. Celebrated communicator Dianna Booher explains why a leader's success depends on knowing how to communicate strategically with audiences in an organization at their level of interest and relevancy.
“People don't leave an organization; they leave a boss” has become a truism in the workplace for good reason. The most common issue is that employees who get promoted from supervisor to manager or from manager to senior executive don't have adequate leadership communication skills for the job. As a result, they are stuck in micromanagement mode.
This book addresses this micromanagement problem by providing principles to help professionals think, coach, converse, speak, write, and meet strategically to deliver results. Booher guides readers through the transition from being a tactical thinker conducting day-to-day administrative work to being a strategic thinker dealing with critical problem analysis, generating innovative ideas, and aiming at a targeted solution. While strategic thinking is the first step to standing out, if you are unable to communicate your strategic thinking, you will remain stuck. Booher's research-based practice of strategic communication gives managers the training they desperately need as they move into leadership positions.
The ability to translate their knowledge, experience, and judgment for different groups and different levels in an organization transforms leaders from ordinary to extraordinary.
“People don't leave an organization; they leave a boss” has become a truism in the workplace for good reason. The most common issue is that employees who get promoted from supervisor to manager or from manager to senior executive don't have adequate leadership communication skills for the job. As a result, they are stuck in micromanagement mode.
This book addresses this micromanagement problem by providing principles to help professionals think, coach, converse, speak, write, and meet strategically to deliver results. Booher guides readers through the transition from being a tactical thinker conducting day-to-day administrative work to being a strategic thinker dealing with critical problem analysis, generating innovative ideas, and aiming at a targeted solution. While strategic thinking is the first step to standing out, if you are unable to communicate your strategic thinking, you will remain stuck. Booher's research-based practice of strategic communication gives managers the training they desperately need as they move into leadership positions.
The ability to translate their knowledge, experience, and judgment for different groups and different levels in an organization transforms leaders from ordinary to extraordinary.
Top diversity experts Katz and Miller offer a short, engaging guide to four simple behaviors that fundamentally change the quality and nature of people's workplace interactions, thereby opening doors to more productive interpersonal relationships, greater job satisfaction, and increased organizational success.
“Everyday Project Management is a practical guide for anyone new or needing to learn more about project management. Unlike many other books, it does not rely on arcane concepts and terms, and simply tells it like it is.”
-Todd C. Williams, President of eCameron, Inc., and author of Filling Execution Gaps and Rescue the Problem Project
Everyday Project Management provides the direction you need to apply project management's time-tested tools for keeping things on time and under budget. It introduces the wide variety of tasks you will have to tackle, such as assembling a team, mapping out a plan, monitoring progress, keeping your team motivated, and using appropriate planning tools, such as project management software or wall charts. In addition, you'll gain a clearer picture of the project manager's role in the conception, planning, execution, control, and completion of a project. Each chapter offers essential, bite-sized nuggets of wisdom that will help you succeed, outlining the kinds of challenges you'll encounter, the interpersonal issues that will arise, and ways to stay on time and on budget in pursuit of the desired, quality outcome.
-Todd C. Williams, President of eCameron, Inc., and author of Filling Execution Gaps and Rescue the Problem Project
Everyday Project Management provides the direction you need to apply project management's time-tested tools for keeping things on time and under budget. It introduces the wide variety of tasks you will have to tackle, such as assembling a team, mapping out a plan, monitoring progress, keeping your team motivated, and using appropriate planning tools, such as project management software or wall charts. In addition, you'll gain a clearer picture of the project manager's role in the conception, planning, execution, control, and completion of a project. Each chapter offers essential, bite-sized nuggets of wisdom that will help you succeed, outlining the kinds of challenges you'll encounter, the interpersonal issues that will arise, and ways to stay on time and on budget in pursuit of the desired, quality outcome.
They say the rules are made to be broken. But which rules? When should you break them? And how do you do it? Ira Chaleff explores when following orders does more harm than good and what to do about it.
Abu Ghraib prison. Enron. Abuse in the Catholic Church. NSA surveillance of blameless citizens. Needless deaths at Veterans Administration hospitals. These scandals could have been prevented if, early on, people had said no to their higher-ups. And why didn't they? Because, says Ira Chaleff, they didn't know how. It's much harder than it might seem. In this very timely new book, the author of the classic The Courageous Follower goes deeply into when and how to disobey orders and disagree with decisions in an intelligent, helpful, and ethical way.
Chaleff took his inspiration, and the book's title, from a concept used in guide dog training. Guide dogs must be able to recognize a command that would put the human and themselves at risk of serious harm, learn how to effectively resist the command, and identify alternate safer options for achieving a legitimate goal. This is precisely what Chaleff helps human beings do. He delves into the psychological dynamics of obedience, drawing in particular on Stanley Milgram's seminal Yale experiments where volunteers were induced to administer shocks to innocent people. Using dozens of vivid examples involving major historical events and everyday situations, he offers advice on judging whether a situation calls for intelligent disobedience, how to most effectively express opposition, and how we can create a culture where, rather than “just following orders,” citizens are encouraged to think about whether or not those orders actually make sense.
Abu Ghraib prison. Enron. Abuse in the Catholic Church. NSA surveillance of blameless citizens. Needless deaths at Veterans Administration hospitals. These scandals could have been prevented if, early on, people had said no to their higher-ups. And why didn't they? Because, says Ira Chaleff, they didn't know how. It's much harder than it might seem. In this very timely new book, the author of the classic The Courageous Follower goes deeply into when and how to disobey orders and disagree with decisions in an intelligent, helpful, and ethical way.
Chaleff took his inspiration, and the book's title, from a concept used in guide dog training. Guide dogs must be able to recognize a command that would put the human and themselves at risk of serious harm, learn how to effectively resist the command, and identify alternate safer options for achieving a legitimate goal. This is precisely what Chaleff helps human beings do. He delves into the psychological dynamics of obedience, drawing in particular on Stanley Milgram's seminal Yale experiments where volunteers were induced to administer shocks to innocent people. Using dozens of vivid examples involving major historical events and everyday situations, he offers advice on judging whether a situation calls for intelligent disobedience, how to most effectively express opposition, and how we can create a culture where, rather than “just following orders,” citizens are encouraged to think about whether or not those orders actually make sense.
The twentieth-anniversary edition of the book that helped launch the anticorporate movement examines how much corporate control has grown and the new challenges for those who work for a more economically equitable society.
When Corporations Rule the World has become a modern classic. Korten's warnings about the growing global power of multinational corporations seem prophetic today. The book has become a bible of the anticorporate movement.
Korten illuminates how the convergence of ideological, political, and technological forces has led to an ever-greater concentration of economic and political power in a handful of corporations and financial institutions, separating their interests from the human interest and leaving the market system blind to all but its own short-term financial gains. He documents the devastating human and environmental consequences of the successful efforts of corporations to reconstruct values and institutions everywhere to serve narrow financial ends. He explains why human survival depends on a community-based, life-centered alternative beyond the outmoded strictures of communism and capitalism and suggests specific steps to achieve it.
This twentieth-anniversary edition includes a new prologue and a new epilogue. The new prologue reflects on events since 1995 that relate to the expansion of corporate power, such as the growth of the global anticorporate movement, the global war on terror that began after 9/11, the financial crash of 2008, and more. The epilogue provides a look ahead at what is required for a future free of corporate domination.
When Corporations Rule the World has become a modern classic. Korten's warnings about the growing global power of multinational corporations seem prophetic today. The book has become a bible of the anticorporate movement.
Korten illuminates how the convergence of ideological, political, and technological forces has led to an ever-greater concentration of economic and political power in a handful of corporations and financial institutions, separating their interests from the human interest and leaving the market system blind to all but its own short-term financial gains. He documents the devastating human and environmental consequences of the successful efforts of corporations to reconstruct values and institutions everywhere to serve narrow financial ends. He explains why human survival depends on a community-based, life-centered alternative beyond the outmoded strictures of communism and capitalism and suggests specific steps to achieve it.
This twentieth-anniversary edition includes a new prologue and a new epilogue. The new prologue reflects on events since 1995 that relate to the expansion of corporate power, such as the growth of the global anticorporate movement, the global war on terror that began after 9/11, the financial crash of 2008, and more. The epilogue provides a look ahead at what is required for a future free of corporate domination.
The only government contract law textbook to outline both practice and theory in simple, clear English for beginners.
An introduction to the procurement field that spares the reader from the necessity of trudging through dense and complex texts written in hard-to-follow “legalese." Here you will find clear and concise explanations of the legal principles involved in government contract law, written by an authority on the subject. This is a text that instructors have used and enjoyed for ten years, and now it is being updated to include the latest case studies and regulations.
An introduction to the procurement field that spares the reader from the necessity of trudging through dense and complex texts written in hard-to-follow “legalese." Here you will find clear and concise explanations of the legal principles involved in government contract law, written by an authority on the subject. This is a text that instructors have used and enjoyed for ten years, and now it is being updated to include the latest case studies and regulations.
A powerful pocket guide for practitioners that distills all of the research and materials found in Otto Scharmer's seminal texts Theory U and Leading from the Emerging Future.
Theory U has evolved into a movement in both academic and organizational development programs on a global scale, yet all of the available literature on the subject can only be found in pricier and lengthier (400+ pages) works - putting it beyond the reach of many. Here, for the first time, the movement's key founder presents the core premise and application of Theory U in a competitively priced paperback that runs just 168 pages. The new developments into a short handbook that focuses on three essential components; the core principles of Theory U, the give movements that makes the process of Theory U, and social applications. The work presents the basic principles of Theory U and its usage in a compact format to be used as a simple introductory work to the field of presencing.
Theory U has evolved into a movement in both academic and organizational development programs on a global scale, yet all of the available literature on the subject can only be found in pricier and lengthier (400+ pages) works - putting it beyond the reach of many. Here, for the first time, the movement's key founder presents the core premise and application of Theory U in a competitively priced paperback that runs just 168 pages. The new developments into a short handbook that focuses on three essential components; the core principles of Theory U, the give movements that makes the process of Theory U, and social applications. The work presents the basic principles of Theory U and its usage in a compact format to be used as a simple introductory work to the field of presencing.
Business communication expert and bestselling author Dianna Booher shares practical wisdom on how to write effective emails that get results and how to organize documents to gain control and increase your productivity.
The majority of business writing is email writing. Yet many of us still struggle to write effective emails that get results. And we feel overwhelmed by the volume of email we receive to the point where we feel like we are in email jail! In this book, you will learn how to:
•Compose actionable emails quickly by following Booher's philosophy of Think First, Draft Fast, and Edit Last
•Write brief emails so they get read and get a quick response
•Organize a common-sense file storage system that helps you find documents and emails quickly to attach and send
•Present a professional image when you email prospects, customers, and coworkers
•Be aware of legal liabilities and security risks as you send and receive email
The majority of business writing is email writing. Yet many of us still struggle to write effective emails that get results. And we feel overwhelmed by the volume of email we receive to the point where we feel like we are in email jail! In this book, you will learn how to:
•Compose actionable emails quickly by following Booher's philosophy of Think First, Draft Fast, and Edit Last
•Write brief emails so they get read and get a quick response
•Organize a common-sense file storage system that helps you find documents and emails quickly to attach and send
•Present a professional image when you email prospects, customers, and coworkers
•Be aware of legal liabilities and security risks as you send and receive email
