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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Using a proven three-part framework, this book shows how anyone-from a CEO to frontline employee-can play a pivotal role in creating a diverse and welcoming workplace.
Creating a diverse workplace needs to be an ongoing effort, not just the subject of occasional training. As Celeste Warren says, needed change won't take place unless all employees feel that they have a role to play in creating the culture they would like to see in their organization.
Regardless of what position you hold, you have the ability to impact change and create a more inclusive environment. Anyone can commit to becoming an unofficial Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador in his or her organization. Warren offers a straightforward three-stage model:
Become aware of your strengths, weaknesses, and conscious and unconscious biases.Take an inventory of your surroundings: what is getting in the way of there being an inclusive environment in your organization? Develop a personal action plan.
Depending on your position, the actions you take can be as simple as consistently raising DEI-related issues in staff meetings or as far-reaching as leading an Employee Resource Group or developing a new hiring policy. In separate chapters, Warren offers specific advice for chief diversity and inclusion officers, C-suite leaders, first-line managers, human resources practitioners, and individual contributors. This book features examples, exercises, and practical tools that show you how to assess where your organization is at and develop a purpose and strategy that can make diversity a workplace reality.
Creating a diverse workplace needs to be an ongoing effort, not just the subject of occasional training. As Celeste Warren says, needed change won't take place unless all employees feel that they have a role to play in creating the culture they would like to see in their organization.
Regardless of what position you hold, you have the ability to impact change and create a more inclusive environment. Anyone can commit to becoming an unofficial Diversity and Inclusion Ambassador in his or her organization. Warren offers a straightforward three-stage model:
Become aware of your strengths, weaknesses, and conscious and unconscious biases.Take an inventory of your surroundings: what is getting in the way of there being an inclusive environment in your organization? Develop a personal action plan.
Depending on your position, the actions you take can be as simple as consistently raising DEI-related issues in staff meetings or as far-reaching as leading an Employee Resource Group or developing a new hiring policy. In separate chapters, Warren offers specific advice for chief diversity and inclusion officers, C-suite leaders, first-line managers, human resources practitioners, and individual contributors. This book features examples, exercises, and practical tools that show you how to assess where your organization is at and develop a purpose and strategy that can make diversity a workplace reality.
The coauthors of the seminal book The Virtual Corporation describe how the rise of artificial intelligence and virtual environments are ushering in an epic cultural transformation-and how we can thrive in this new era.
We are at the dawn of the Autonomous Revolution, a turning point in human history as decisive as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. More and more, AI-based machines are replacing human beings, and online environments are gathering our data and using it to manipulate us. This loss of human autonomy amounts to nothing less than a societal phase change, a fundamental paradigm shift. The same institutions will remain-schools, banks, churches, and corporations-but they will radically change form, obey new rules, and use new tools.
William H. Davidow and Michael S. Malone go deeply into the enormous implications of these developments. They show why increases in productivity no longer translate into increases in the GDP and how zero cost, one-to-many communications have been turned into tools for cybercrime and propaganda. Many of the book's recommendations-such as using taxes to control irresponsible internet behavior and enabling people to put their data into what are essentially virtual personal information “safety deposit boxes”-are bold and visionary, but we must figure out how we will deal with these emerging challenges now, before the Autonomous Revolution overcomes us.
We are at the dawn of the Autonomous Revolution, a turning point in human history as decisive as the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. More and more, AI-based machines are replacing human beings, and online environments are gathering our data and using it to manipulate us. This loss of human autonomy amounts to nothing less than a societal phase change, a fundamental paradigm shift. The same institutions will remain-schools, banks, churches, and corporations-but they will radically change form, obey new rules, and use new tools.
William H. Davidow and Michael S. Malone go deeply into the enormous implications of these developments. They show why increases in productivity no longer translate into increases in the GDP and how zero cost, one-to-many communications have been turned into tools for cybercrime and propaganda. Many of the book's recommendations-such as using taxes to control irresponsible internet behavior and enabling people to put their data into what are essentially virtual personal information “safety deposit boxes”-are bold and visionary, but we must figure out how we will deal with these emerging challenges now, before the Autonomous Revolution overcomes us.
This book is a comprehensive guide to an exciting new approach that managers at any level can use to transform their corners of government.
Whether people want more government or less, everyone wants efficient government. But most innovation efforts try to change the very nature of government-such as dismantling bureaucracy or privatizing services-and thus they usually fail.
Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder accept government on its own terms and simply ask how some existing organizations are dramatically improving their performance. What they found is that the best innovations come not from the top down but from the bottom up.
Drawing on their study of seventy government organizations and interviews with nearly 1,000 people in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden, they found that the most innovative agencies and offices solicited and implemented ideas from frontline workers, the people who directly serve the public.
These often modest, pragmatic improvements can have a huge cumulative effect. For example, the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses was able to cut its average wait time from an hour and forty minutes to just seven minutes. Robinson and Schroeder offer a comprehensive guide for systematically collecting, evaluating, and implementing game-changing frontline ideas.
Reading group discussion guide available in book.
Whether people want more government or less, everyone wants efficient government. But most innovation efforts try to change the very nature of government-such as dismantling bureaucracy or privatizing services-and thus they usually fail.
Alan Robinson and Dean Schroeder accept government on its own terms and simply ask how some existing organizations are dramatically improving their performance. What they found is that the best innovations come not from the top down but from the bottom up.
Drawing on their study of seventy government organizations and interviews with nearly 1,000 people in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden, they found that the most innovative agencies and offices solicited and implemented ideas from frontline workers, the people who directly serve the public.
These often modest, pragmatic improvements can have a huge cumulative effect. For example, the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses was able to cut its average wait time from an hour and forty minutes to just seven minutes. Robinson and Schroeder offer a comprehensive guide for systematically collecting, evaluating, and implementing game-changing frontline ideas.
Reading group discussion guide available in book.
Twenty-nine leading scholars and executives provide a visionary look at the future of business, propelling past damaging industrial-age values to uncover the key ingredients of humanistic, ecologically sustainable, and intergenerational prosperity.
This edited collection, featuring contributions by some of the world's most prominent thinkers on the future of business, is an interdisciplinary and international collaborative project to articulate a new 21st century theory of business. This book will be our greatest aid in meeting the organizational opportunities and ecological challenges of the future.
Through the exploration of robust cases and stories packed with deep insight and vital science, twenty of the world's leading thinkers explore how we can adapt our current notions of value, markets, models of cooperation and collective action, and intergenerational concern to create a world where economies and businesses can excel, all people can thrive, and nature can flourish for future generations.
This book is not dispassionate but rather designed to galvanize change and unite a global community of inquiry. It expounds on the conceptual cornerstones of the new kind of business practice that will enable the ascent to better prosperity.
This edited collection, featuring contributions by some of the world's most prominent thinkers on the future of business, is an interdisciplinary and international collaborative project to articulate a new 21st century theory of business. This book will be our greatest aid in meeting the organizational opportunities and ecological challenges of the future.
Through the exploration of robust cases and stories packed with deep insight and vital science, twenty of the world's leading thinkers explore how we can adapt our current notions of value, markets, models of cooperation and collective action, and intergenerational concern to create a world where economies and businesses can excel, all people can thrive, and nature can flourish for future generations.
This book is not dispassionate but rather designed to galvanize change and unite a global community of inquiry. It expounds on the conceptual cornerstones of the new kind of business practice that will enable the ascent to better prosperity.
Relentless speed and unconstrained activity are not necessary for growth-you need only look to companies like Enron, Pets.com, and Groupon to see that “fast” does not always mean “good.” Leading growth consultant Alison Eyring provides a different view on growth, preaching restraint, not rushing in.
“It's a marathon, not a sprint.” We hear this truism all the time, but in business there's constant pressure to go all out and never let up. Leaders are driven to set stretch targets, relentlessly reduce costs, launch new initiatives, expand into new markets, hire more people, develop more capabilities, and execute flawlessly. It all sounds great-until the company overextends itself and collapses like a badly trained racehorse in the home stretch.
So what is the right pace for steady, sustainable growth? How do you know when to push yourself and when to back off? Growth consultant Alison Eyring (who also happens to be a distance runner) says the answer is what she calls Intelligent Restraint. Eyring shows precisely how you can evaluate your company's current capacity for growth so you can restrain yourself from exceeding it, no matter how tempting the supposed opportunities seem. Then she offers a set of practices for gradually building that capacity so you can grow steadily but sensibly in a way that strengthens your company instead of stretching it to the breaking point.
“It's a marathon, not a sprint.” We hear this truism all the time, but in business there's constant pressure to go all out and never let up. Leaders are driven to set stretch targets, relentlessly reduce costs, launch new initiatives, expand into new markets, hire more people, develop more capabilities, and execute flawlessly. It all sounds great-until the company overextends itself and collapses like a badly trained racehorse in the home stretch.
So what is the right pace for steady, sustainable growth? How do you know when to push yourself and when to back off? Growth consultant Alison Eyring (who also happens to be a distance runner) says the answer is what she calls Intelligent Restraint. Eyring shows precisely how you can evaluate your company's current capacity for growth so you can restrain yourself from exceeding it, no matter how tempting the supposed opportunities seem. Then she offers a set of practices for gradually building that capacity so you can grow steadily but sensibly in a way that strengthens your company instead of stretching it to the breaking point.
Conversations about social change devolve quickly into conflict when participants don't agree. Experienced practitioners Jason Jay and Gabriel Grant offer advocates and aspiring change agents six easy steps for opening the lines of communication when conversations get stuck.
The tough problems in the world are made harder when we can't even talk about them. We try to address issues that matter, but conversations break down because they become emotionally charged and we lose sight of our common goals. Scarred from these breakdowns with coworkers, family, and friends, we find it easier and safer to stick with people who already agree with us.
Getting unstuck requires the courage to confront our own inner contradictions and then to re-engage with people in a newly authentic way. This book invites readers to join in a spirit of serious play, laughing at ourselves as we take on the important work of self-reflection and renewing our conversations. Breaking through Gridlock includes six steps and a series of proven exercises to help readers along the way. We encourage readers to invite a friend to join them on the journey.
The tough problems in the world are made harder when we can't even talk about them. We try to address issues that matter, but conversations break down because they become emotionally charged and we lose sight of our common goals. Scarred from these breakdowns with coworkers, family, and friends, we find it easier and safer to stick with people who already agree with us.
Getting unstuck requires the courage to confront our own inner contradictions and then to re-engage with people in a newly authentic way. This book invites readers to join in a spirit of serious play, laughing at ourselves as we take on the important work of self-reflection and renewing our conversations. Breaking through Gridlock includes six steps and a series of proven exercises to help readers along the way. We encourage readers to invite a friend to join them on the journey.
This new edition of a classic, bestselling book has been revised and updated throughout and includes a new chapter on “Forgiveness in the Workplace”
Discover eight powerful mindset shifts that enable leaders and seekers of all ages to thrive in a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty.
Being adaptable and flexible have always been hallmarks of effective leadership, but recent events have seriously stress tested this idea. How do you find calm in the midst of all this chaos?
You need a new mindset, one that treats constant change and uncertainty as a feature, not a bug. Flux helps you develop eight "flux superpowers" that take conventional ideas and turn them on their heads. They'll enable you to see change in new ways, develop new responses, and ultimately reshape your relationship to change. The eight flux superpowers are:
1. Run slower
2. See what's invisible
3. Get lost
4. Start with trust
5. Know your "enough"
6. Create your portfolio career
7. Be all the more human (and serve other humans)
8. Let go of the future
The world is in constant flux, but we can learn to navigate change gracefully and confidently. Whether you're sizing up your career or reassessing your values, designing a product or building an organization, trying to inspire your colleagues or simply show up more fully in the world, activating your flux superpowers will keep you grounded even when the ground is constantly shifting beneath you.
This book will include a discussion guide.
Being adaptable and flexible have always been hallmarks of effective leadership, but recent events have seriously stress tested this idea. How do you find calm in the midst of all this chaos?
You need a new mindset, one that treats constant change and uncertainty as a feature, not a bug. Flux helps you develop eight "flux superpowers" that take conventional ideas and turn them on their heads. They'll enable you to see change in new ways, develop new responses, and ultimately reshape your relationship to change. The eight flux superpowers are:
1. Run slower
2. See what's invisible
3. Get lost
4. Start with trust
5. Know your "enough"
6. Create your portfolio career
7. Be all the more human (and serve other humans)
8. Let go of the future
The world is in constant flux, but we can learn to navigate change gracefully and confidently. Whether you're sizing up your career or reassessing your values, designing a product or building an organization, trying to inspire your colleagues or simply show up more fully in the world, activating your flux superpowers will keep you grounded even when the ground is constantly shifting beneath you.
This book will include a discussion guide.
This newly updated and revised edition of the classic (60,000 copies sold) celebrates the global growth of the THEORY U phenomenon and its evolution in multiple industries worldwide.
With the release of THEORY U almost ten years ago, Otto Scharmer set in motion a revolution in thought. Scharmer explained that what we pay attention to and how we pay attention is key to what we create. What prevents us from attending to situations more effectively is that we aren't fully aware of and in touch with the inner place from which attention and intention originate. This is what Scharmer calls our blind spot. By moving through Scharmer's U process, we consciously access the blind spot and learn to connect to our authentic Self-the deepest source of knowledge and inspiration-in the realm of “presencing,” a term coined by Scharmer that combines the concepts of presence and sensing.
Now, ten years later, Scharmer revisits the phenomenon THEORY U has become and updates and reports on the progress and evolution since initial release. He includes new materials, updates studies and examples, and includes eight pages of rich new graphics and charts in full color to better visually convey the book's premise.
With the release of THEORY U almost ten years ago, Otto Scharmer set in motion a revolution in thought. Scharmer explained that what we pay attention to and how we pay attention is key to what we create. What prevents us from attending to situations more effectively is that we aren't fully aware of and in touch with the inner place from which attention and intention originate. This is what Scharmer calls our blind spot. By moving through Scharmer's U process, we consciously access the blind spot and learn to connect to our authentic Self-the deepest source of knowledge and inspiration-in the realm of “presencing,” a term coined by Scharmer that combines the concepts of presence and sensing.
Now, ten years later, Scharmer revisits the phenomenon THEORY U has become and updates and reports on the progress and evolution since initial release. He includes new materials, updates studies and examples, and includes eight pages of rich new graphics and charts in full color to better visually convey the book's premise.
2023 Axiom Business Books Award Silver Medalist (Business Commentary)
2023 Nautilus Book Award Silver Medalist (Social Change & Social Justice)
This is the first in-depth examination of the important ongoing fusion of activism, capitalism, and social change masterfully told through a compelling narrative filled with vivid stories and striking studies.
Corporations and their executives are at the forefront of some of the most contentious and important social issues of our time. Through pronouncements, policies, boycotts, sponsorships, lobbying, and fundraising, corporations are actively engaged in issues like immigration reform, gun regulation, racial justice, gender equality, and religious freedom.
Despite corporate social activism being everywhere these days-witness how quickly companies and progressives united to oppose North Carolina's “bathroom bill” or support the Black Lives Matter movement-there has been no in-depth examination of the far-reaching consequences of this movement. What first principles should guide businesses' approaches? How should activists engage with businesses in a way that is most beneficial to their causes? What are potential pitfalls and risks associated with corporate social activism for activists, businesses, and society at large? Weaving studies and stories, Temple University professor of law, Tom C. W. Lin offers a road map for how we got here and a compass for where we are going as a nation of capitalists and activists seeking profit and progress.
2023 Nautilus Book Award Silver Medalist (Social Change & Social Justice)
This is the first in-depth examination of the important ongoing fusion of activism, capitalism, and social change masterfully told through a compelling narrative filled with vivid stories and striking studies.
Corporations and their executives are at the forefront of some of the most contentious and important social issues of our time. Through pronouncements, policies, boycotts, sponsorships, lobbying, and fundraising, corporations are actively engaged in issues like immigration reform, gun regulation, racial justice, gender equality, and religious freedom.
Despite corporate social activism being everywhere these days-witness how quickly companies and progressives united to oppose North Carolina's “bathroom bill” or support the Black Lives Matter movement-there has been no in-depth examination of the far-reaching consequences of this movement. What first principles should guide businesses' approaches? How should activists engage with businesses in a way that is most beneficial to their causes? What are potential pitfalls and risks associated with corporate social activism for activists, businesses, and society at large? Weaving studies and stories, Temple University professor of law, Tom C. W. Lin offers a road map for how we got here and a compass for where we are going as a nation of capitalists and activists seeking profit and progress.
“Not only does Anholt explain the challenges facing the world with unique clarity, he also provides genuinely new, informative, practical, innovative solutions. . . . The book is a must-read for anyone who cares about humanity's shared future.”
-H. E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmaajo), President of the Federal Republic of Somalia
Why doesn't the world work? Why, despite all the power, technology, money and knowledge that humanity has accumulated, are we are still unable to defeat global challenges like climate change, war, poverty, migration, extremism, and inequality?
Simon Anholt has spent decades helping countries from Austria to Zambia to improve their international standing. Using colorful descriptions of his experiences-dining with Vladimir Putin at his country home, taking a group of Felipe Calderon's advisors on their first Mexico City subway ride, touring a beautiful new government hospital in Afghanistan that nobody would use because it was in Taliban-controlled territory-he tells how he began finding answers to that question.
Ultimately, Anholt hit on the Good Country Equation, a formula for encouraging international cooperation and reinventing education for a globalized era. Anholt even offers a “selfish” argument for cooperation: he shows that it generates goodwill, which in turn translates into increased trade, foreign investment, tourism, talent attraction, and even domestic electoral success. Arnholt insists we can change the way countries behave and the way people are educated in a single generation-because that's all the time we have.
-H. E. Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmaajo), President of the Federal Republic of Somalia
Why doesn't the world work? Why, despite all the power, technology, money and knowledge that humanity has accumulated, are we are still unable to defeat global challenges like climate change, war, poverty, migration, extremism, and inequality?
Simon Anholt has spent decades helping countries from Austria to Zambia to improve their international standing. Using colorful descriptions of his experiences-dining with Vladimir Putin at his country home, taking a group of Felipe Calderon's advisors on their first Mexico City subway ride, touring a beautiful new government hospital in Afghanistan that nobody would use because it was in Taliban-controlled territory-he tells how he began finding answers to that question.
Ultimately, Anholt hit on the Good Country Equation, a formula for encouraging international cooperation and reinventing education for a globalized era. Anholt even offers a “selfish” argument for cooperation: he shows that it generates goodwill, which in turn translates into increased trade, foreign investment, tourism, talent attraction, and even domestic electoral success. Arnholt insists we can change the way countries behave and the way people are educated in a single generation-because that's all the time we have.
If you're on the internet, you're already global. Now, get access to an innovative data-driven model for profitably expanding the international presence you already have.
Companies looking to expand used to think about “entering international markets,” but today you're global from the moment you create a website. Nataly Kelly, Chief Growth Officer at Rebrandly (a global tech company with customers in more than 100 countries) and former VP International Ops and Strategy at HubSpot, says now the goal should be market intensification-building on the presence you already have.
Kelly's MARACA model enables companies to distill the mass amounts of data available to determine if, how, and where they should expand by looking at three key areas of measurement:
MA: market availability-the size of the market opportunity within a given country
RA: real-time analytics-data indicating how your company is currently performing in that market
CA : customer addressability-the measure of your company's ability to address the market, no matter its size
The book is based on Kelly's experiences with building a global business both at HubSpot and as a consultant, but also contains numerous examples from successful global companies of various sizes, such as Airbnb, Canva, Dashlane, GoStudent, Facebook, LinkedIn, Lottie Dolls, Netflix, Revolut, Teamwork, and Zoom. Including information on building a globally minded corporate culture, this is a complete strategic guide to discovering international growth opportunities.
Companies looking to expand used to think about “entering international markets,” but today you're global from the moment you create a website. Nataly Kelly, Chief Growth Officer at Rebrandly (a global tech company with customers in more than 100 countries) and former VP International Ops and Strategy at HubSpot, says now the goal should be market intensification-building on the presence you already have.
Kelly's MARACA model enables companies to distill the mass amounts of data available to determine if, how, and where they should expand by looking at three key areas of measurement:
MA: market availability-the size of the market opportunity within a given country
RA: real-time analytics-data indicating how your company is currently performing in that market
CA : customer addressability-the measure of your company's ability to address the market, no matter its size
The book is based on Kelly's experiences with building a global business both at HubSpot and as a consultant, but also contains numerous examples from successful global companies of various sizes, such as Airbnb, Canva, Dashlane, GoStudent, Facebook, LinkedIn, Lottie Dolls, Netflix, Revolut, Teamwork, and Zoom. Including information on building a globally minded corporate culture, this is a complete strategic guide to discovering international growth opportunities.
Design and cultivate remote work teams that actually work.
From the experts who brought you The Long-Distance Leader and The Long-Distance Teammate comes the proven and practical guide for leaders to consciously design teams, define and create their desired culture, and encourage and nurture employee engagement-all from a distance.
Team design and culture are often presented as separate concepts when they are in fact intertwined in the remote work setting. Using the 3C model of communication, collaboration, and cohesion, leaders will be given the tools to overcome challenges, such as proximity bias and deteriorating social connections, to create an environment where everyone can contribute and add value equally, regardless of location.
The 3Cs are
• Communication-While communication is a fundamental part of being human, it is also a critical foundation of successful work. Without it, teams break down.
• Collaboration-Remote leaders face the misguided belief that physical presence is required to have a collaborative team. The truth is that proximity has nothing to do with successful collaboration.
• Cohesion-This dimension includes decidedly nonstructural aspects, such as relationships, trust, and accountability. While difficult to measure, a team's cohesion is critical to its success.
Using this framework, leaders of all levels will learn to assess, design, and develop their communication channels, methods for remote collaboration, and ability to foster cohesion to build successful long-distance teams. While a hybrid culture will be different, it can, when done right, be better than what existed before.
From the experts who brought you The Long-Distance Leader and The Long-Distance Teammate comes the proven and practical guide for leaders to consciously design teams, define and create their desired culture, and encourage and nurture employee engagement-all from a distance.
Team design and culture are often presented as separate concepts when they are in fact intertwined in the remote work setting. Using the 3C model of communication, collaboration, and cohesion, leaders will be given the tools to overcome challenges, such as proximity bias and deteriorating social connections, to create an environment where everyone can contribute and add value equally, regardless of location.
The 3Cs are
• Communication-While communication is a fundamental part of being human, it is also a critical foundation of successful work. Without it, teams break down.
• Collaboration-Remote leaders face the misguided belief that physical presence is required to have a collaborative team. The truth is that proximity has nothing to do with successful collaboration.
• Cohesion-This dimension includes decidedly nonstructural aspects, such as relationships, trust, and accountability. While difficult to measure, a team's cohesion is critical to its success.
Using this framework, leaders of all levels will learn to assess, design, and develop their communication channels, methods for remote collaboration, and ability to foster cohesion to build successful long-distance teams. While a hybrid culture will be different, it can, when done right, be better than what existed before.