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In America as Empire, Jim Garrison urges us to face up to the complexities and responsibilities inherent in the indisputable fact that America is now the world's single preeminent power. "America", Garrison writes, "has become what it was founded not to be: established as a haven for those fleeing the abuse of power, it has attained and now wields near absolute power. It has become an empire."
Garrison traces the roots of the American empire to the very beginnings of the republic, in particular to the historic willingness of United States' to use military might in the defense of two consistent --- if sometimes contradictory --- foreign policy objectives: protection of American commercial interests and promotion of democracy.
How long can the American empire last? Garrison looks at American history within the context of the rise and fall of empires and argues that the U. S. can gain important insights into durability from the Romans. He details the interplay between military power, political institutions, and legal structures that enabled the Roman empire at it's apogee to last for longer than America has as a country.
But the real question is, what kind of empire can and should America be? As the sole superpower, America must lead in shaping a new global order, just as after World War II Roosevelt and Truman took the lead in shaping a new international order. That international order is now crumbling under the pressures of globalization, persistent poverty, terrorism and fundamentalism. Garrison outlines the kinds of cooperative global structures America must promote if its empire is to leave a lasting legacy of greatness. Garrison calls for Americans to consciously see themselves as a transitional empire, one whose task is not to dominate but to catalyze the next generation of global governance mechanisms that would make obsolete the need for empire. If this is done, America could be the final empire.
Garrison traces the roots of the American empire to the very beginnings of the republic, in particular to the historic willingness of United States' to use military might in the defense of two consistent --- if sometimes contradictory --- foreign policy objectives: protection of American commercial interests and promotion of democracy.
How long can the American empire last? Garrison looks at American history within the context of the rise and fall of empires and argues that the U. S. can gain important insights into durability from the Romans. He details the interplay between military power, political institutions, and legal structures that enabled the Roman empire at it's apogee to last for longer than America has as a country.
But the real question is, what kind of empire can and should America be? As the sole superpower, America must lead in shaping a new global order, just as after World War II Roosevelt and Truman took the lead in shaping a new international order. That international order is now crumbling under the pressures of globalization, persistent poverty, terrorism and fundamentalism. Garrison outlines the kinds of cooperative global structures America must promote if its empire is to leave a lasting legacy of greatness. Garrison calls for Americans to consciously see themselves as a transitional empire, one whose task is not to dominate but to catalyze the next generation of global governance mechanisms that would make obsolete the need for empire. If this is done, America could be the final empire.
This is the first book on creating and running a social enterprise to combine theoretical discussions with current cases from around the world, filling a huge gap in the literature. It serves as an eminently practical blueprint for those who wish to build, sustain, and grow social ventures.
Social Ventures seek to bring the discipline and energy of private enterprise to the task of solving problems like poverty, lack of clean water, and poor environmental quality. Although several textbooks exist to introduce the concept to students--business schools and universities have scrambled to create social enterprise programs and classes to respond to student interest--most books are cursory and do not dig deeply into every step and process needed. Using famed case studies and examples from their own program at Santa Clara University, this book provides a path for any social entrepreneur to build an idea, get funding, and get going.
Social Ventures seek to bring the discipline and energy of private enterprise to the task of solving problems like poverty, lack of clean water, and poor environmental quality. Although several textbooks exist to introduce the concept to students--business schools and universities have scrambled to create social enterprise programs and classes to respond to student interest--most books are cursory and do not dig deeply into every step and process needed. Using famed case studies and examples from their own program at Santa Clara University, this book provides a path for any social entrepreneur to build an idea, get funding, and get going.
For the past 20 years, corporations have been receiving huge tax breaks and subsidies in the name of "jobs, jobs, jobs." But, as Greg LeRoy demonstrates in this important new book, it's become a costly scam.
Playing states and communities off against each other in a bidding war for jobs, corporations reduce their taxes to next-to-nothing and win subsidy packages that routinely exceed $100,000 per job. But the subsidies come with few strings attached. So companies feel free to provide fewer jobs, or none at all, or even outsource and lay people off. They are also free to pay poverty wages without health care or other benefits.
All too often, communities lose twice. They lose jobs--or gain jobs so low-paying they do nothing to help the community--and lose revenue due to the huge corporate tax breaks. That means fewer resources for maintaining schools, public services, and infrastructure. In the end, the local governments that were hoping for economic revitalization are actually worse off. They're forced to raise taxes on struggling small businesses and working families, or reduce services, or both.
Greg LeRoy uses up-to-the-minute examples, naming names--including Wal-Mart, Raytheon, Fidelity, Bank of America, Dell, and Boeing--to reveal how the process works. He shows how carefully corporations orchestrate the bidding wars between states and communities. He exposes shadowy "site location consultants" who play both sides against the middle, and he dissects government and corporate mumbo-jumbo with plain talk. The book concludes by offering common-sense reforms that will give taxpayers powerful new tools to deter future abuses and redirect taxpayer investments in ways that will really pay off.
Playing states and communities off against each other in a bidding war for jobs, corporations reduce their taxes to next-to-nothing and win subsidy packages that routinely exceed $100,000 per job. But the subsidies come with few strings attached. So companies feel free to provide fewer jobs, or none at all, or even outsource and lay people off. They are also free to pay poverty wages without health care or other benefits.
All too often, communities lose twice. They lose jobs--or gain jobs so low-paying they do nothing to help the community--and lose revenue due to the huge corporate tax breaks. That means fewer resources for maintaining schools, public services, and infrastructure. In the end, the local governments that were hoping for economic revitalization are actually worse off. They're forced to raise taxes on struggling small businesses and working families, or reduce services, or both.
Greg LeRoy uses up-to-the-minute examples, naming names--including Wal-Mart, Raytheon, Fidelity, Bank of America, Dell, and Boeing--to reveal how the process works. He shows how carefully corporations orchestrate the bidding wars between states and communities. He exposes shadowy "site location consultants" who play both sides against the middle, and he dissects government and corporate mumbo-jumbo with plain talk. The book concludes by offering common-sense reforms that will give taxpayers powerful new tools to deter future abuses and redirect taxpayer investments in ways that will really pay off.
Richard Leider and David Shapiro helped hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people discover the true purpose of their lives with their classic bestseller Repacking Your Bags. Now they focus their attention on the second half of life, showing readers how to claim their rightful place as new elders, men and women who, the authors write, "use the second half of life as an empty canvas, a blank page, a hunk of clay to be crafted on purpose."
Claiming Your Place at the Fire uses dozens of inspiring and surprising stories of new elders, as well as thought-provoking exercises like the Fireside Chats that conclude each chapter, to help readers address four key questions:
Who am I? How do I stoke the wisdom gained in the first half of my life to burn more brightly in the second half?
Where do I belong? What makes a place the right place for me in the second half?
What do I care about? Where do I want to use my gifts and talents in the second half? What is my purpose? How do I leave a legacy that has real meaning for myself and my loved ones?
What is my purpose? How do I leave a legacy that has real meaning for myself and my loved ones?
For the next 12 years, there will be 10,000 people a day in the U.S. alone turning 50. Never before have so many entered into the second half of life so vital, healthy, and free. And never before have so many had such a hunger for direction in how to live this stage of their lives in a purposeful way. Claiming Your Place at the Fire shows how to embrace the lessons that we learn as we age and share these lessons in a manner that is relevant and meaningful to ourselves and the people whose lives we touch.
Claiming Your Place at the Fire uses dozens of inspiring and surprising stories of new elders, as well as thought-provoking exercises like the Fireside Chats that conclude each chapter, to help readers address four key questions:
Who am I? How do I stoke the wisdom gained in the first half of my life to burn more brightly in the second half?
Where do I belong? What makes a place the right place for me in the second half?
What do I care about? Where do I want to use my gifts and talents in the second half? What is my purpose? How do I leave a legacy that has real meaning for myself and my loved ones?
What is my purpose? How do I leave a legacy that has real meaning for myself and my loved ones?
For the next 12 years, there will be 10,000 people a day in the U.S. alone turning 50. Never before have so many entered into the second half of life so vital, healthy, and free. And never before have so many had such a hunger for direction in how to live this stage of their lives in a purposeful way. Claiming Your Place at the Fire shows how to embrace the lessons that we learn as we age and share these lessons in a manner that is relevant and meaningful to ourselves and the people whose lives we touch.
Revolutionize Your World: The Power of Radical Engagement
In a world crying out for change, Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems is your guidebook for action. Adam Kahane, the best-selling author of Collaborating with the Enemy and a global authority on solving tough problems, delivers game-changing advice for anyone ready to make a difference.
This is a manifesto for world-changers. Drawing on decades of work with leaders from national and organizational presidents to front-line managers and grass-roots activists, Kahane distills seven potent habits that enable ordinary citizens to become extraordinary agents of transformation.
Imagine:
•Cracking open entrenched systems with simple actions
•Collaborating across deep divides to achieve the impossible
•Uncovering hidden leverage points others miss
•Persevering through setbacks with renewed purpose and energy
Through riveting real-world examples, Kahane shows how these habits have sparked revolutions, brokered peace, and reimagined societies. Now he's handing you the keys to that transformative power.
Whether you're battling climate change, reinventing healthcare, or simply trying to make your community better, this book is your essential guide. It's time to stop feeling powerless and start creating the change you want to see.
Don't just survive in a changing world-step in to transform it.
In a world crying out for change, Everyday Habits for Transforming Systems is your guidebook for action. Adam Kahane, the best-selling author of Collaborating with the Enemy and a global authority on solving tough problems, delivers game-changing advice for anyone ready to make a difference.
This is a manifesto for world-changers. Drawing on decades of work with leaders from national and organizational presidents to front-line managers and grass-roots activists, Kahane distills seven potent habits that enable ordinary citizens to become extraordinary agents of transformation.
Imagine:
•Cracking open entrenched systems with simple actions
•Collaborating across deep divides to achieve the impossible
•Uncovering hidden leverage points others miss
•Persevering through setbacks with renewed purpose and energy
Through riveting real-world examples, Kahane shows how these habits have sparked revolutions, brokered peace, and reimagined societies. Now he's handing you the keys to that transformative power.
Whether you're battling climate change, reinventing healthcare, or simply trying to make your community better, this book is your essential guide. It's time to stop feeling powerless and start creating the change you want to see.
Don't just survive in a changing world-step in to transform it.
Most businesses spend far too much of their time and energy struggling to get new customers or hang on to existing ones-even customers who are ultimately more trouble than they're worth. Attracting Perfect Customers invites readers to move beyond the notions that "business is war" and winning market share means "beating" the other guy. The authors outline a simple strategic process for making businesses so highly attractive that perfect customers and clients are naturally drawn right to them.
Sound too good to be true? Hall and Brogniez have successfully shown clients how to do it for years, and now they share their secrets. They prove that it is no longer productive or profitable to conduct business using the war-like marketing techniques of targeting customers and outmaneuvering the competition. In fact, these techniques seem antiquated and labor-intensive when compared to the Strategic Attraction Planning process, which requires just five minutes each day and enables any business to easily attract customers that are a perfect fit for their organization-the kind of customers it is a pleasure to serve.
Attracting Perfect Customers takes you step by step through the entire strategic attraction process. The authors reveal the six success standards of strategic synchronicity and share simple, fun, and easy-to-follow exercises that can be applied to any organization. They walk you through the process of creating your own personalized Strategic Attraction Plan and provide 21 supportive tips for making any company more attractive to its perfect customers.
Attracting Perfect Customerswill take you to a place where there is an abundance of perfect customers and clients with whom you can build strong, satisfying, profitable, and lasting relationships.
Sound too good to be true? Hall and Brogniez have successfully shown clients how to do it for years, and now they share their secrets. They prove that it is no longer productive or profitable to conduct business using the war-like marketing techniques of targeting customers and outmaneuvering the competition. In fact, these techniques seem antiquated and labor-intensive when compared to the Strategic Attraction Planning process, which requires just five minutes each day and enables any business to easily attract customers that are a perfect fit for their organization-the kind of customers it is a pleasure to serve.
Attracting Perfect Customers takes you step by step through the entire strategic attraction process. The authors reveal the six success standards of strategic synchronicity and share simple, fun, and easy-to-follow exercises that can be applied to any organization. They walk you through the process of creating your own personalized Strategic Attraction Plan and provide 21 supportive tips for making any company more attractive to its perfect customers.
Attracting Perfect Customerswill take you to a place where there is an abundance of perfect customers and clients with whom you can build strong, satisfying, profitable, and lasting relationships.
Former director of the Young Democrats of America, the California Democratic Party and HUD Special Counsel to the Clinton-Gore administration, Christine Pelosi updates her classic leadership guide for leaders and campaign managers to reflect the changes in the political and social climate that have taken place since the first edition was published in 2007.
A modern, feminist take on the classic choose-your-own-journey book, inspiring readers to embrace the fact that there is no singular right path-just your own!
So many women enter their adult lives believing that they should know where they are going and how to get there. This can make life decisions feel intimidating and overwhelming. While some choices that lie ahead are fairly predictable, such as those surrounding career, partnership, and motherhood, the effects of these choices can lead to more complicated and unexpected turns that are seldom discussed.
Rather than suggesting a rule book, Rebekah Bastian, vice president at Zillow and recognized thought leader, inspires you to Blaze Your Own Trail. “I have the benefit of being a living example of crooked paths, magnificent screw-ups, and shocking successes,” she writes. Through storylines and supportive data that explore workplace sexism, career changes, marriage, child-rearing, existential crises, and everything in between, you will learn to embrace and feel less alone in your own nonlinear journey. Even better, you can turn back decisions and make different ones. Blaze Your Own Trail includes nineteen possible outcomes and many routes to get there. You will find that you have the strength to make it through any of them.
So many women enter their adult lives believing that they should know where they are going and how to get there. This can make life decisions feel intimidating and overwhelming. While some choices that lie ahead are fairly predictable, such as those surrounding career, partnership, and motherhood, the effects of these choices can lead to more complicated and unexpected turns that are seldom discussed.
Rather than suggesting a rule book, Rebekah Bastian, vice president at Zillow and recognized thought leader, inspires you to Blaze Your Own Trail. “I have the benefit of being a living example of crooked paths, magnificent screw-ups, and shocking successes,” she writes. Through storylines and supportive data that explore workplace sexism, career changes, marriage, child-rearing, existential crises, and everything in between, you will learn to embrace and feel less alone in your own nonlinear journey. Even better, you can turn back decisions and make different ones. Blaze Your Own Trail includes nineteen possible outcomes and many routes to get there. You will find that you have the strength to make it through any of them.
The toughest challenges for entrepreneurs have never been addressed. Until now. Mission-driven business veterans Margot Fraser and Lisa Lorimer present a valuable resource for social entrepreneurs facing the challenges of staying true to their core values while still trying to turn a profit.
Bill Torbert and associates illustrate how individuals and organizations can progress through more and more sophisticated "action-logics" -- strategies for analyzing the world and reacting to it -- until they will eventually be able to practice action inquiry continually. Offering action inquiry exercises at the end of the chapters, the book moves from junior managers beginning to practice action inquiry through CEO's transforming whole companies, to world leaders transforming whole countries, as exemplified by Czech president Vaclav Havel. Through short stories of leadership and organizational transformations, this groundbreaking book illustrates how action inquiry increases personal integrity, relational mutuality, company profitability, and long-term organizational and environmental sustainability.
Extensively revised and expanded, Future Search, which is the classic, definitive, bestselling book on one of most powerful methods for changing and improving all types of organizations and communities, includes a host of new tools, and three new chapters. If you want to do strategic planning, product innovation, quality improvement, organizational restructuring, or any other major change in a participative, whole system way, this book is your guide. Over 30,000 of the original edition sold.
Leaders have countless resources and books aimed at helping them discover their strengths–which is fantastic–but none of them address what happens when these strengths are inevitably overplayed and start to do more damage than good, or what to do to rectify that dilemma. Until now.
In this impassioned critique of America's growing disengagement from civic life and ideals, Drum Major Institute Executive Director Andrea Batista Schlesinger dissects the forcible erosion of our youngest generation's capacity for inquiry and provides recommendations for restoring the social, educational and political infrastructures that are prerequisites for a healthy democracy.
In this no-holds-barred nonfiction narrative, activist, organizer, and immigration expert Rinku Sen reveals the racial and cultural conflicts embedded in the current immigration debate and explodes the myth that those living in both sending and receiving countries can enjoy the economic benefits of immigration while keeping their cultures static.
This first comprehensive guide to helping mentors and mentees bridge gaps between and among cultures-a growing issue in today's diverse workplace-is coauthored by the founder and CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence.
As the workplace has become more diverse, mentoring has become more challenging. Mentors and mentees may come from very different backgrounds and have limited understanding of each other's cultures and outlooks. But mentoring remains the most powerful tool for creating meaningful relationships, furthering professional development, and increasing engagement and retention. Younger workers and emerging leaders in particular are demanding it.
Lisa Z. Fain and Lois J. Zachary offer a timely, evidence-based, practical guide for helping mentors develop the level of cultural competency needed to bridge differences. Firmly rooted in Zachary's well-known four-part mentoring model, the book uses three fictional scenarios featuring three pairs of diverse mentors and mentees to illustrate how key concepts can play out in real life. It offers an array of accessible tools and strategies designed to help you increase your self-awareness and prepare you to embrace and leverage differences in your mentoring relationships. But beyond tips and techniques, Fain and Zachary emphasize that authenticity is the key-the ultimate purpose of this book is to help the mentor and mentee make a genuine connection and learn from each other. That's when the magic really happens.
As the workplace has become more diverse, mentoring has become more challenging. Mentors and mentees may come from very different backgrounds and have limited understanding of each other's cultures and outlooks. But mentoring remains the most powerful tool for creating meaningful relationships, furthering professional development, and increasing engagement and retention. Younger workers and emerging leaders in particular are demanding it.
Lisa Z. Fain and Lois J. Zachary offer a timely, evidence-based, practical guide for helping mentors develop the level of cultural competency needed to bridge differences. Firmly rooted in Zachary's well-known four-part mentoring model, the book uses three fictional scenarios featuring three pairs of diverse mentors and mentees to illustrate how key concepts can play out in real life. It offers an array of accessible tools and strategies designed to help you increase your self-awareness and prepare you to embrace and leverage differences in your mentoring relationships. But beyond tips and techniques, Fain and Zachary emphasize that authenticity is the key-the ultimate purpose of this book is to help the mentor and mentee make a genuine connection and learn from each other. That's when the magic really happens.
Though celebrated as a black pioneer who became an officer and president at companies like Avon and Carson Products (now part of L'Oreal), Joyce Roché secretly felt like an impostor. Recounting her own struggle to feel she deserved her hard-won victories, she includes interviews with other business leaders to provide guidance for women, minorities, and anyone who struggles to own the right to succeed.
Research shows that women consistently undervalue their skills and readiness for challenging jobs, promotions, and assignments – while men have the opposite bias. How can women compete on this tilted playing field if they talk themselves out of the game before they start? Helene Lerner tells women that NOW is the time to step up as a leader, ready or not.
