Sort by:
A practical and irreverent guide to taking the sting out of feedback and reclaiming it as a motivating, empowering experience for everyone involved.
Feedback! Ugh. Say the word to a colleague, your spouse, or a friend, and watch the person's blood pressure rise and defenses go up. For most of us, it's a word loaded with experiences that may include bias, politics, pain, regret, and anger. However, if we take a step back and think about its true intent, we realize that feedback needn't be a bad thing. We humans want to improve, grow, and advance, and we need insights that can help us move in the right direction. If we close ourselves off from understanding how others experience us, then we close ourselves off to a life of learning and growth. The authors address how feedback got such a bad rap and how we can fix it. They provide three key Fs (focused, fair, and frequent) for positive feedback. They also include a slew of practical exercises and strategies to change how we view and experience feedback.
Feedback! Ugh. Say the word to a colleague, your spouse, or a friend, and watch the person's blood pressure rise and defenses go up. For most of us, it's a word loaded with experiences that may include bias, politics, pain, regret, and anger. However, if we take a step back and think about its true intent, we realize that feedback needn't be a bad thing. We humans want to improve, grow, and advance, and we need insights that can help us move in the right direction. If we close ourselves off from understanding how others experience us, then we close ourselves off to a life of learning and growth. The authors address how feedback got such a bad rap and how we can fix it. They provide three key Fs (focused, fair, and frequent) for positive feedback. They also include a slew of practical exercises and strategies to change how we view and experience feedback.
Collaborative strategies work when they're designed by teams-where each person is heard, valued, and held accountable. This book is a practical guide for project team leaders and individual contributors who want their teams to play by a better set of rules.
Where do teams go wrong? Having the right people with the right skills doesn't mean they'll know how to work together as a team. David and Mary Sherwin maintain it's all in the design. Through a blend of straightforward activities, conversational stories, and dialogues that help model different forms of team interaction, this book will help teams:
• Create workday rituals that aid them in making better decisions and following through on their work responsibilities
• Identify patterns of behavior that are getting in the way of team performance, and design and test potential ways to them
• Reinforce habits that help team members bring the human element into their interactions and foster open communication
Readers of this book will be more prepared to set up and survive challenging projects alongside their coworkers with a shared sense of ownership, and an eye towards retaining the integrity of their teams in the long term. Using a process that has worked at some of the world's cutting edge companies, the authors detail the steps to take control of team design and plan for success. The key is to give every team member a voice in designing the team's rules, and in keeping it aligned with the design over the life of the team.
Where do teams go wrong? Having the right people with the right skills doesn't mean they'll know how to work together as a team. David and Mary Sherwin maintain it's all in the design. Through a blend of straightforward activities, conversational stories, and dialogues that help model different forms of team interaction, this book will help teams:
• Create workday rituals that aid them in making better decisions and following through on their work responsibilities
• Identify patterns of behavior that are getting in the way of team performance, and design and test potential ways to them
• Reinforce habits that help team members bring the human element into their interactions and foster open communication
Readers of this book will be more prepared to set up and survive challenging projects alongside their coworkers with a shared sense of ownership, and an eye towards retaining the integrity of their teams in the long term. Using a process that has worked at some of the world's cutting edge companies, the authors detail the steps to take control of team design and plan for success. The key is to give every team member a voice in designing the team's rules, and in keeping it aligned with the design over the life of the team.
Smart machines are replacing more and more jobs. Edward Hess and Katherine Ludwig show how to develop abilities that machines don't have so we can thrive in this Smart Machine Age. Underlying them all is a sense of personal humility: honestly recognizing our limitations and working to mitigate them.
In nearly every industry, smart machines are replacing human labor. It's not just factory jobs-automated technologies are handling people's investments, diagnosing illnesses, and analyzing written documents. If we humans are going to endure, Edward Hess and Katherine Ludwig say we're going to need a dose of humility.
We need to be humble enough to let go of the idea that “smart” means knowing the most, using that information quickest, and making the fewest mistakes. Smart machines will always be better than we are at those things. Instead, we need to cultivate important abilities that smart machines don't have (yet): thinking critically, creatively, and innovatively and building close relationships with others so we can collaborate effectively. Hess and Ludwig call this being NewSmart.
To develop these abilities, we need to practice four specific behaviors: keeping our egos out of our way, managing our thoughts and emotions to curb any biases or defensiveness, listening to others with an open mind, and connecting with others socially and emotionally. What all these behaviors have in common is, again, humility-avoiding self-centeredness so we can learn from and work with other humans. Hess and Ludwig offer a guide to developing these NewSmart abilities and to creating organizations where these qualities are encouraged and rewarded.
In nearly every industry, smart machines are replacing human labor. It's not just factory jobs-automated technologies are handling people's investments, diagnosing illnesses, and analyzing written documents. If we humans are going to endure, Edward Hess and Katherine Ludwig say we're going to need a dose of humility.
We need to be humble enough to let go of the idea that “smart” means knowing the most, using that information quickest, and making the fewest mistakes. Smart machines will always be better than we are at those things. Instead, we need to cultivate important abilities that smart machines don't have (yet): thinking critically, creatively, and innovatively and building close relationships with others so we can collaborate effectively. Hess and Ludwig call this being NewSmart.
To develop these abilities, we need to practice four specific behaviors: keeping our egos out of our way, managing our thoughts and emotions to curb any biases or defensiveness, listening to others with an open mind, and connecting with others socially and emotionally. What all these behaviors have in common is, again, humility-avoiding self-centeredness so we can learn from and work with other humans. Hess and Ludwig offer a guide to developing these NewSmart abilities and to creating organizations where these qualities are encouraged and rewarded.
Bestselling author Jennifer Kahnweiler (Quiet Influence and The Introverted Leader-over 20,000 copies sold each) offers a five-step process that will help introverts and extroverts understand and appreciate each other and work together to achieve more than they ever could on their own.
Mick and Keith. Jobs and Woz. FDR and Eleanor. Gilbert and Sullivan. History is filled with examples of successful introvert-extrovert partnerships. But how can two people who sometimes seem to be from different planets not just work together but make extraordinary products, create great works of art, and even change history?
Jennifer Kahnweiler says the key is to remember that these relationships are most successful when opposites stop emphasizing their differences and use approaches that move them towards results. She provides a five-step process that helps introverts and extroverts understand each other's “cultures,” use their inevitable conflicts to spur creativity, find the right roles within their partnership, enjoy each other's company, and adapt and adjust their roles when working with clients. These partnerships require constant maintenance-opposites don't attract, they have to work at it. But when they succeed they produce exponential results. Blending the two points of view allows both partners to see and act on things neither partner would have separately.
Mick and Keith. Jobs and Woz. FDR and Eleanor. Gilbert and Sullivan. History is filled with examples of successful introvert-extrovert partnerships. But how can two people who sometimes seem to be from different planets not just work together but make extraordinary products, create great works of art, and even change history?
Jennifer Kahnweiler says the key is to remember that these relationships are most successful when opposites stop emphasizing their differences and use approaches that move them towards results. She provides a five-step process that helps introverts and extroverts understand each other's “cultures,” use their inevitable conflicts to spur creativity, find the right roles within their partnership, enjoy each other's company, and adapt and adjust their roles when working with clients. These partnerships require constant maintenance-opposites don't attract, they have to work at it. But when they succeed they produce exponential results. Blending the two points of view allows both partners to see and act on things neither partner would have separately.
The Lean Startup concept has revolutionized the way businesses are developed. Now Michel Gelobter applies this powerful concept to the social sector.
In business, the lean start-up movement is turning the traditional approach to innovation on its head. Rather than developing an elaborate plan, raising money to fund it, and then following it to its uncertain conclusion-a process that can take years-entrepreneurs in companies new and old are launching small inexpensive initiatives to test ideas, quickly learning from failures and successes, and using that data to further refine the ideas and test them again. Social entrepreneur Michel Gelobter says there's no reason the social sector can't do the same.
Gelobter goes through the lean startup process step by step, showing exactly how nonprofits and advocacy organizations can adapt it to increase their impact. He uses dozens of real-world examples: a homelessness group that discovered the one metric they needed to improve to get more people off the streets; a technology-based literacy startup that was able to reach two million children in two years, when it took a more traditionally-oriented program fifteen; and many others. From the glimmer of an idea to make the world a better place to deep reform in the heart of the world's largest government and non-profit bureaucracies, Michel Gelobter shows how the lean start-up can drive a revolution in policy and social change.
In business, the lean start-up movement is turning the traditional approach to innovation on its head. Rather than developing an elaborate plan, raising money to fund it, and then following it to its uncertain conclusion-a process that can take years-entrepreneurs in companies new and old are launching small inexpensive initiatives to test ideas, quickly learning from failures and successes, and using that data to further refine the ideas and test them again. Social entrepreneur Michel Gelobter says there's no reason the social sector can't do the same.
Gelobter goes through the lean startup process step by step, showing exactly how nonprofits and advocacy organizations can adapt it to increase their impact. He uses dozens of real-world examples: a homelessness group that discovered the one metric they needed to improve to get more people off the streets; a technology-based literacy startup that was able to reach two million children in two years, when it took a more traditionally-oriented program fifteen; and many others. From the glimmer of an idea to make the world a better place to deep reform in the heart of the world's largest government and non-profit bureaucracies, Michel Gelobter shows how the lean start-up can drive a revolution in policy and social change.
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
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.
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.
“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.
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.