Accelerate your career with our comprehensive professional development library. These carefully curated titles provide actionable advice for advancing in your field, mastering new skills, and staying competitive in today's evolving workplace. Covering everything from negotiation tactics and networking strategies to time management and personal branding, our collection helps ambitious professionals at every career stage unlock their potential and achieve their goals.
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This book teaches leaders how to focus on people development rather than product development. Innovation comes from people, not products or technology. Deborah Piscione's twelve-step process is a comprehensive guide to success for leaders that shows them how to harness the creative energy in their organization, thereby bringing better products to market.
For too long, companies and their leadership teams focused primarily on their products or services. Leaders are deeply dialed in to the minutiae of their companies' operations. But veteran Silicon Valley consultant Deborah Perry Piscione says investments in new technologies or operations do not create innovations-people do. For innovation to happen, organizations need to be people-centric. In this breakthrough book she shows how, by following her People Equation, every organization can develop a mindset, an organizational structure, and a product development process that will maximize creativity and innovation.
Using examples from her consulting work and from her research into successful business practices, Piscione shows how to create a culture where risk taking is rewarded, mavericks are encouraged, collaboration between highly competent people is nurtured, and, when experiments and new initiatives are proposed, the response is to ask how rather than question why. This requires upending the usual organizational pyramid, giving more decision-making power to frontline workers and less to the C-level executives traditionally at the top. Once this is all in place, you can take advantage of Piscione's twelve-step Improvisational Innovation process for bringing new products and services to market. This is a comprehensive guide to harnessing the creative energy in every organization.
For too long, companies and their leadership teams focused primarily on their products or services. Leaders are deeply dialed in to the minutiae of their companies' operations. But veteran Silicon Valley consultant Deborah Perry Piscione says investments in new technologies or operations do not create innovations-people do. For innovation to happen, organizations need to be people-centric. In this breakthrough book she shows how, by following her People Equation, every organization can develop a mindset, an organizational structure, and a product development process that will maximize creativity and innovation.
Using examples from her consulting work and from her research into successful business practices, Piscione shows how to create a culture where risk taking is rewarded, mavericks are encouraged, collaboration between highly competent people is nurtured, and, when experiments and new initiatives are proposed, the response is to ask how rather than question why. This requires upending the usual organizational pyramid, giving more decision-making power to frontline workers and less to the C-level executives traditionally at the top. Once this is all in place, you can take advantage of Piscione's twelve-step Improvisational Innovation process for bringing new products and services to market. This is a comprehensive guide to harnessing the creative energy in every organization.
There is a crisis of meaning in our lives, work, and society. The solution is to begin the search for deeper meaning. The authors summarize the universal and timeless wisdom of Viktor Frankl and provide new insights based on their work leading the Meaning Movement.
World-renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning was named by the Library of Congress as one of the ten most influential books of the 20th century. Dr. Frankl's story of finding a reason to live in the most horrible circumstance imaginable-Nazi concentration camps-continues to inspire millions.
Drawing on the entire body of Frankl's work, Alex Pattakos and Elaine Dundon elaborate seven Core Principles and demonstrate how they can be applied to everyday life and work in the 21st century. These principles include the ultimate freedom to choose our attitude no matter the situation-the idea most closely associated with Frankl-but his ageless wisdom goes well beyond this. The third edition is revised and updated throughout and includes four new chapters: looking at meaning in a holistic, integrated way; envisioning what a meaning-centered world would look like; and exploring Frankl's legacy in the 21st century. Prisoners of Our Thoughts opens up new opportunities for finding personal meaning through living an authentic life.
World-renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning was named by the Library of Congress as one of the ten most influential books of the 20th century. Dr. Frankl's story of finding a reason to live in the most horrible circumstance imaginable-Nazi concentration camps-continues to inspire millions.
Drawing on the entire body of Frankl's work, Alex Pattakos and Elaine Dundon elaborate seven Core Principles and demonstrate how they can be applied to everyday life and work in the 21st century. These principles include the ultimate freedom to choose our attitude no matter the situation-the idea most closely associated with Frankl-but his ageless wisdom goes well beyond this. The third edition is revised and updated throughout and includes four new chapters: looking at meaning in a holistic, integrated way; envisioning what a meaning-centered world would look like; and exploring Frankl's legacy in the 21st century. Prisoners of Our Thoughts opens up new opportunities for finding personal meaning through living an authentic life.
Master facilitator Larry Dressler shows group leaders, OD consultants, and coaches who work with polarized or anxious groups how developing an open, authentic, intentional "presence" can both help them guide their groups more effectively and move the facilitator forward on a path toward self-mastery.
In a world of persistent and often overwhelming chaos, this book makes one simple promise: If you close the gaps in the three areas of your life, you will achieve fulfillment, success, and inner peace.
We all ask ourselves the question, “Has my life made a difference?” We want our lives to have meaning. We want to live balanced, productive lives in which we contribute through our work, our relationships, and our example to others. And we search for inner peace to deal with all of the chaos that exists in the world today.
In this new book, Franklin Covey cofounder Hyrum Smith shows that the key to achieving a meaningful, fulfilling, and peaceful life is closing three gaps that we all struggle with. The first is the BELIEF GAP: the gap between what we believe to be true and what is actually true. The second is the TIME GAP: the gap between what we plan to do-our goals and dreams-and what we actually get done. The third is the VALUES GAP: the gap between what we value-what matters most to us-and what we actually do.
Using inspiring true stories of people who have overcome difficult challenges, the author tells how to close each of these three gaps in our personal and work lives. Smith provides new understanding and tools to move from the life we currently have to the life we really want.
We all ask ourselves the question, “Has my life made a difference?” We want our lives to have meaning. We want to live balanced, productive lives in which we contribute through our work, our relationships, and our example to others. And we search for inner peace to deal with all of the chaos that exists in the world today.
In this new book, Franklin Covey cofounder Hyrum Smith shows that the key to achieving a meaningful, fulfilling, and peaceful life is closing three gaps that we all struggle with. The first is the BELIEF GAP: the gap between what we believe to be true and what is actually true. The second is the TIME GAP: the gap between what we plan to do-our goals and dreams-and what we actually get done. The third is the VALUES GAP: the gap between what we value-what matters most to us-and what we actually do.
Using inspiring true stories of people who have overcome difficult challenges, the author tells how to close each of these three gaps in our personal and work lives. Smith provides new understanding and tools to move from the life we currently have to the life we really want.
A new edition of the bestselling book (75,000 copies sold) that shows how the teachings of Jesus can bring a new angle to your leadership style. No matter what your religious background, this book will help you map out the high road to your personal and professional goals.
Bestselling authors and renowned diversity consultants Fred Miller and Judith Katz bring their long-awaited new book that shows any manager or member of a team how to create safe environments for everyone in their company.
Do you feel safe enough at work to share your ideas, thoughts, and experiences? Raise tough issues? Deal with conflicts? Do your best work?
Many people feel unsafe in work interactions. They hold back, hesitate, and make themselves smaller out of fear of ridicule or retribution. The lack of safety is why new ideas and new people often have such a hard time succeeding in today's organizations, and directly contribute to why stress levels are so high. Many people have the skills they need to do their best work and the ideas to solve problems but lack the safety to apply them. This book describes what constitutes a safe environment and the actions-by both leaders and team members-necessary to create collaborative, inclusive workplaces in which people feel safe enough to be their best selves. Written in plain, everyday language, Safe Enough to Soar identifies the default mindsets and behaviors that create hostile work environments and block collaboration, engagement, partnership, and the acceptance of new ideas and new people. Expert authors Fred Miller and Judith Katz chart a simple, step-by-step process that will enable organization's individuals, work-groups, and teams to skip past the dysfunctional mire of defensiveness, micro-aggressions, cover-your-ass compromises, and judging, and launch them into the innovation-inspiring, collaboration-fostering zone of organizational bravery. When people feel safe enough to act and interact, they step up, speak up, and fully engage…and they and their organizations spread their wings and soar.
Do you feel safe enough at work to share your ideas, thoughts, and experiences? Raise tough issues? Deal with conflicts? Do your best work?
Many people feel unsafe in work interactions. They hold back, hesitate, and make themselves smaller out of fear of ridicule or retribution. The lack of safety is why new ideas and new people often have such a hard time succeeding in today's organizations, and directly contribute to why stress levels are so high. Many people have the skills they need to do their best work and the ideas to solve problems but lack the safety to apply them. This book describes what constitutes a safe environment and the actions-by both leaders and team members-necessary to create collaborative, inclusive workplaces in which people feel safe enough to be their best selves. Written in plain, everyday language, Safe Enough to Soar identifies the default mindsets and behaviors that create hostile work environments and block collaboration, engagement, partnership, and the acceptance of new ideas and new people. Expert authors Fred Miller and Judith Katz chart a simple, step-by-step process that will enable organization's individuals, work-groups, and teams to skip past the dysfunctional mire of defensiveness, micro-aggressions, cover-your-ass compromises, and judging, and launch them into the innovation-inspiring, collaboration-fostering zone of organizational bravery. When people feel safe enough to act and interact, they step up, speak up, and fully engage…and they and their organizations spread their wings and soar.
Ira Chaleff's bestseller (over 40,000 copies sold across two editions) becomes even more relevant today as failures in leadership grow astronomically requiring greater vigilance and oversight on the part of the citizenry.
Change has become constant, complex, multifaceted, and overwhelming. To meet this challenge, Bill Pasmore presents four keys to help leaders decide where and how to most effectively focus their change initiatives.
It's not news that globalization and ever-faster technological innovation have increased the pace of change exponentially. Existing change models were devised to deal with individual changes, one by one, but that's not a luxury leaders have any more. Bill Pasmore, senior vice president at the Center for Creative Leadership and a professor at Columbia University, offers a four-part model that will allow leaders to deal with multiple changes simultaneously without drowning in the churn.
First, Pasmore urges leaders to think fewer. He shows you how to “back away from the buffet table”-sort through the dizzying array of potential change efforts you could undertake and identify a few focused “healthy” choices that will most benefit your organization. Next, Pasmore says, think scarcer-be realistic about the resources you actually have at your disposal, including how many people in your organization are willing and able to lead change efforts. Then, having narrowed your choices, allocated your resources, and found your change agents, you need to think faster. Pasmore offers advice for streamlining change processes, getting buy-in throughout the organization, and increasing the pace of change. And finally, he says, think smarter: build in processes to learn from change initiatives while they're happening and apply that learning to new and ongoing change initiatives.
Change is not the problem - thinking about change in old-fashioned narrow and prescribed terms is. Recognizing it for the complex machine that it is and accurately taking stock of your resources and speed is what works.
It's not news that globalization and ever-faster technological innovation have increased the pace of change exponentially. Existing change models were devised to deal with individual changes, one by one, but that's not a luxury leaders have any more. Bill Pasmore, senior vice president at the Center for Creative Leadership and a professor at Columbia University, offers a four-part model that will allow leaders to deal with multiple changes simultaneously without drowning in the churn.
First, Pasmore urges leaders to think fewer. He shows you how to “back away from the buffet table”-sort through the dizzying array of potential change efforts you could undertake and identify a few focused “healthy” choices that will most benefit your organization. Next, Pasmore says, think scarcer-be realistic about the resources you actually have at your disposal, including how many people in your organization are willing and able to lead change efforts. Then, having narrowed your choices, allocated your resources, and found your change agents, you need to think faster. Pasmore offers advice for streamlining change processes, getting buy-in throughout the organization, and increasing the pace of change. And finally, he says, think smarter: build in processes to learn from change initiatives while they're happening and apply that learning to new and ongoing change initiatives.
Change is not the problem - thinking about change in old-fashioned narrow and prescribed terms is. Recognizing it for the complex machine that it is and accurately taking stock of your resources and speed is what works.
What makes for a truly exceptional leader? Certainly, leaders need people skills, execution skills, a deep knowledge of industry trends, the ability to articulate a vision, and more-they must be competent-but that's just the tip of the iceberg. What's below the waterline? What's deep inside the best leaders that makes them different?
The Spanish language edition of the bestselling title The Heart of Leadership is ready to help you answer the question-Are you the type of leader people want to follow? You can be--but first, you've got to understand what sets great leaders apart from all the rest.
Certainly, leaders need people skills, execution skills, a deep knowledge of industry trends, the ability to articulate a vision, and more--they must be competent--but that's just the tip of the iceberg. What's below the waterline? What's deep inside the best leaders that makes them different?
Mark Miller contends it is their leadership character. In his latest enlightening and entertaining business fable, he describes the five unique character traits exhibited by exceptional leaders and how to cultivate them.
The Heart of Leadership begins with young and ambitious Blake Brown being passed over for a desperately wanted promotion, despite an outstanding individual performance. Confused and frustrated, he turns to his former mentor, Debbie Brewster. Rather than attempting to solve Blake's problem for him, she sends him on a quest to meet with five of his late father's colleagues, each of whom holds a piece of the puzzle he's trying to solve.
As Blake puts the pieces together, he discovers that in the final analysis, a lack of skills isn't what holds most leaders back; skills are too easy to learn. Without demonstrated leadership character, however, a skill set will never be enough. Most often, when leaders fail to reach their full potential, it is an issue of the heart. This is Blake's ultimate revelation.
This book shows us that leadership needn't be the purview of the few--it is within reach for millions around the world. The Heart of Leadership is a road map for every person who desires to make a difference in the lives of others and become a leader people want to follow.
The Spanish language edition of the bestselling title The Heart of Leadership is ready to help you answer the question-Are you the type of leader people want to follow? You can be--but first, you've got to understand what sets great leaders apart from all the rest.
Certainly, leaders need people skills, execution skills, a deep knowledge of industry trends, the ability to articulate a vision, and more--they must be competent--but that's just the tip of the iceberg. What's below the waterline? What's deep inside the best leaders that makes them different?
Mark Miller contends it is their leadership character. In his latest enlightening and entertaining business fable, he describes the five unique character traits exhibited by exceptional leaders and how to cultivate them.
The Heart of Leadership begins with young and ambitious Blake Brown being passed over for a desperately wanted promotion, despite an outstanding individual performance. Confused and frustrated, he turns to his former mentor, Debbie Brewster. Rather than attempting to solve Blake's problem for him, she sends him on a quest to meet with five of his late father's colleagues, each of whom holds a piece of the puzzle he's trying to solve.
As Blake puts the pieces together, he discovers that in the final analysis, a lack of skills isn't what holds most leaders back; skills are too easy to learn. Without demonstrated leadership character, however, a skill set will never be enough. Most often, when leaders fail to reach their full potential, it is an issue of the heart. This is Blake's ultimate revelation.
This book shows us that leadership needn't be the purview of the few--it is within reach for millions around the world. The Heart of Leadership is a road map for every person who desires to make a difference in the lives of others and become a leader people want to follow.
Time has become a precious commodity, so business leaders who can save their customers' time more effectively than competitors do will win their loyalty. This book shows how it's done.
Traditionally, corporate efforts to improve have focused on making internal processes run faster. But customers value their personal time far more than a company's time. Real-time companies beat the competition by being faster and more responsive in meeting customer needs.
For example, one company profiled in this book allows customers to customize their products online to the exact shape, size, color, and graphic label they wish. Through lean manufacturing, just-in-time inventory, and digital technologies, customers receive their finished products in days.
The book describes how to apply this real-time message across all areas of products and services: (1) development, (2) functioning (how the product or service actually works), (3) production and delivery, and (4) usage (servicing, maintaining, repairing, and enhancing products and services). Numerous examples describe how companies and organizations of all types and sizes are transforming their products and services to real time in many different ways.
Traditionally, corporate efforts to improve have focused on making internal processes run faster. But customers value their personal time far more than a company's time. Real-time companies beat the competition by being faster and more responsive in meeting customer needs.
For example, one company profiled in this book allows customers to customize their products online to the exact shape, size, color, and graphic label they wish. Through lean manufacturing, just-in-time inventory, and digital technologies, customers receive their finished products in days.
The book describes how to apply this real-time message across all areas of products and services: (1) development, (2) functioning (how the product or service actually works), (3) production and delivery, and (4) usage (servicing, maintaining, repairing, and enhancing products and services). Numerous examples describe how companies and organizations of all types and sizes are transforming their products and services to real time in many different ways.
Entrepreneurs in developing countries who assume they will have the same legal, governmental, and institutional protections as their counterparts in the West will fail. To succeed, they need to build trust within the existing structures--and this book shows how it's done.
Western countries have created layers of laws, regulations and other kinds of structural protections to enable entrepreneurs to build businesses. These don't necessarily exist, or aren't consistently enforced, in developing countries. But there is a solution and that solution is trust. This book, by an eminent business scholar and developing world entrepreneur, shows how to build trust in three crucial ways:
1. Change Your Mindset: Let go of your expectations and realize that you have to understand and trust the rules of the society you're operating in, not fight against or go around them.
2. Work with the Pre-existing Social Fabric: You can't change customs and practices that have been in place for hundreds, even thousands of years. Work with what already exists and build on top of it (while communicating and acting transparently every step of the way).
3. Partner with and work with existing governmental structures: You can only scale your venture with their help--find change agents within the government and ally with them.
Western countries have created layers of laws, regulations and other kinds of structural protections to enable entrepreneurs to build businesses. These don't necessarily exist, or aren't consistently enforced, in developing countries. But there is a solution and that solution is trust. This book, by an eminent business scholar and developing world entrepreneur, shows how to build trust in three crucial ways:
1. Change Your Mindset: Let go of your expectations and realize that you have to understand and trust the rules of the society you're operating in, not fight against or go around them.
2. Work with the Pre-existing Social Fabric: You can't change customs and practices that have been in place for hundreds, even thousands of years. Work with what already exists and build on top of it (while communicating and acting transparently every step of the way).
3. Partner with and work with existing governmental structures: You can only scale your venture with their help--find change agents within the government and ally with them.
The Hamster Revolution is a timely solution to both the widespread problem of email overload as well as most people's inefficient (or nonexistent) systems for categorizing and storing email messages. This book provides the practical steps needed to deal with these problems and become more efficient in our work.
Transform your leadership. Unlock your team's potential.
In today's rapidly evolving workplace, traditional management is no longer enough. Drawing from three decades of global executive coaching expertise, Damian Goldvarg offers a proven approach to leadership that creates trust, engagement, and measurable results.
This valuable guide breaks down essential coaching competencies, inspired by the International Coaching Federation, into actionable frameworks you can implement immediately. Discover how to accomplish the following:
• Create psychological safety that empowers innovation
• Master the art of active listening and powerful questioning
• Transform conflict into productive collaboration
• Lead virtual teams with confidence and clarity
• Develop strategic thinking that prepares your organization for the future
Through real-world examples from global organizations, Goldvarg provides a roadmap for evolving from manager to coach-leader. Whether you're a seasoned executive or emerging leader, these proven techniques will help you build the collaborative, high-performing teams needed to thrive in our complex business landscape.
Don't just manage. Coach. Lead. Transform.
In today's rapidly evolving workplace, traditional management is no longer enough. Drawing from three decades of global executive coaching expertise, Damian Goldvarg offers a proven approach to leadership that creates trust, engagement, and measurable results.
This valuable guide breaks down essential coaching competencies, inspired by the International Coaching Federation, into actionable frameworks you can implement immediately. Discover how to accomplish the following:
• Create psychological safety that empowers innovation
• Master the art of active listening and powerful questioning
• Transform conflict into productive collaboration
• Lead virtual teams with confidence and clarity
• Develop strategic thinking that prepares your organization for the future
Through real-world examples from global organizations, Goldvarg provides a roadmap for evolving from manager to coach-leader. Whether you're a seasoned executive or emerging leader, these proven techniques will help you build the collaborative, high-performing teams needed to thrive in our complex business landscape.
Don't just manage. Coach. Lead. Transform.
The authors of the award-winning (2007 Nautilus Book Award and 2008 Axiom Book Award) and bestselling book Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace take the next step by showing how to rebuild trust in any workplace or organization after it has been broken, which is increasingly common because of harsh cutbacks, betrayal of commitments, relationship conflicts, and many other causes.
This new edition of a bestseller (150,000 copies sold) about acquiring all the business you need through referrals adds powerful new concepts and expands into the digital age
Nobody likes cold calls. And nobody really needs to make them. The Referral of a Lifetime teaches a step-by-step system that will allow anyone to generate a steady stream of new business through consistent referrals from existing customers and friends and, at the same time, maximize business with existing customers. Through an entertaining fictional story, Tim Templeton emphasizes the importance of applying the Golden Rule in business-building an ongoing relationship with customers based on genuine respect and caring, rather than just making the sale and moving on. But it's not enough to simply hope your customers will refer you-Templeton offers a proven system to make sure that they do.
In this completely updated and expanded edition Templeton introduces the concept of the Perfect Client Avatar, a detailed profile of your ideal client that you keep in mind at all times to focus your efforts as you build your business. And he adds a new principle to his process: social proof. Templeton shows how the power of social media can help you leverage reviews, testimonials, and case studies of satisfied clients to expand your business 24/7-add clients while you sleep! Your customers and clients already know every new contact you will ever need to succeed-by applying Tim Templeton's system they will naturally refer them to you.
Nobody likes cold calls. And nobody really needs to make them. The Referral of a Lifetime teaches a step-by-step system that will allow anyone to generate a steady stream of new business through consistent referrals from existing customers and friends and, at the same time, maximize business with existing customers. Through an entertaining fictional story, Tim Templeton emphasizes the importance of applying the Golden Rule in business-building an ongoing relationship with customers based on genuine respect and caring, rather than just making the sale and moving on. But it's not enough to simply hope your customers will refer you-Templeton offers a proven system to make sure that they do.
In this completely updated and expanded edition Templeton introduces the concept of the Perfect Client Avatar, a detailed profile of your ideal client that you keep in mind at all times to focus your efforts as you build your business. And he adds a new principle to his process: social proof. Templeton shows how the power of social media can help you leverage reviews, testimonials, and case studies of satisfied clients to expand your business 24/7-add clients while you sleep! Your customers and clients already know every new contact you will ever need to succeed-by applying Tim Templeton's system they will naturally refer them to you.
North American Book Awards How-to Gold Medalist. Winner of The BookFest Award for Best Nonfiction Book in Business Leadership – Professional Growth. Longlist selection for the 2025 Non-Obvious Book Awards. Recipient of the 2026 Literary Titan Gold Book Award for Nonfiction.
Break free from perfectionism and finish your creative projects. This unconventional guide shows you how to overcome creative blocks and finally complete your work through strategic imperfection.
The world is full of creative people. So why do some get their ideas out in the world while others don't? Why are some incredibly prolific while others struggle with deadlines or can't complete projects? In this book, Jason F. McLennan-a master in “getting stuff done”-shares secrets to boosting productivity, innovation, and personal success. By adopting his “¾ baked” philosophy and the key lessons that surround it, readers will be able to dramatically increase their output while also keeping their creative juices flowing.
McLennan's recipe for creative success includes the following ideas:
• Look forward to failure
• Discover the power of feedback
• Learn to become a “trim tab”
• Harness the power of momentum to drive creativity
We've all heard the phrase “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” Perfection is often what holds so many people back. Trying to reach it means that nothing much can get completed, and inspiration itself is often blocked as people either procrastinate or endlessly self-edit. By chasing perfection, it remains elusively further away.
The world is full of half-baked ideas-but almost no perfect ones. With The Magic of Imperfection, readers will learn how to seriously amp up what they do, how fast they do it, and simultaneously how well it gets done.
Break free from perfectionism and finish your creative projects. This unconventional guide shows you how to overcome creative blocks and finally complete your work through strategic imperfection.
The world is full of creative people. So why do some get their ideas out in the world while others don't? Why are some incredibly prolific while others struggle with deadlines or can't complete projects? In this book, Jason F. McLennan-a master in “getting stuff done”-shares secrets to boosting productivity, innovation, and personal success. By adopting his “¾ baked” philosophy and the key lessons that surround it, readers will be able to dramatically increase their output while also keeping their creative juices flowing.
McLennan's recipe for creative success includes the following ideas:
• Look forward to failure
• Discover the power of feedback
• Learn to become a “trim tab”
• Harness the power of momentum to drive creativity
We've all heard the phrase “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” Perfection is often what holds so many people back. Trying to reach it means that nothing much can get completed, and inspiration itself is often blocked as people either procrastinate or endlessly self-edit. By chasing perfection, it remains elusively further away.
The world is full of half-baked ideas-but almost no perfect ones. With The Magic of Imperfection, readers will learn how to seriously amp up what they do, how fast they do it, and simultaneously how well it gets done.