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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.
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.
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.
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.
Management icon Henry Mintzberg dismantles twenty dangerous business myths in this essential guide for thoughtful leaders.
Henry Mintzberg, legendary management thinker and recipient of the Thinkers50 Lifetime Achievement Award, has spent decades challenging conventional wisdom about how organizations work. In this powerful distillation of his life's work, Mintzberg tackles the most persistent and damaging myths in business—from “if you can't measure it, you can't manage it” to the blind worship of “strategic planning.”
With characteristic wit and clarity, Mintzberg offers refreshing alternatives that will transform how you think about leadership, structure, and organizational effectiveness. He replaces tired maxims like “managing is controlling” with more nuanced approaches that embrace “controlled disorder” and suggests that “ordinary creativity” often matters more than exceptional genius.
Drawing from his extensive body of work across sixty years, Mintzberg provides a masterclass in critical thinking for anyone who leads teams or organizations. His irreverent style makes complex ideas accessible without sacrificing depth, making this book as intellectually stimulating as it is practically valuable.
Whether you're a seasoned executive, an aspiring manager, or a student of organizational behavior, this concise volume will challenge your assumptions and provide a clear-eyed framework for more effective, humane management.
Henry Mintzberg, legendary management thinker and recipient of the Thinkers50 Lifetime Achievement Award, has spent decades challenging conventional wisdom about how organizations work. In this powerful distillation of his life's work, Mintzberg tackles the most persistent and damaging myths in business—from “if you can't measure it, you can't manage it” to the blind worship of “strategic planning.”
With characteristic wit and clarity, Mintzberg offers refreshing alternatives that will transform how you think about leadership, structure, and organizational effectiveness. He replaces tired maxims like “managing is controlling” with more nuanced approaches that embrace “controlled disorder” and suggests that “ordinary creativity” often matters more than exceptional genius.
Drawing from his extensive body of work across sixty years, Mintzberg provides a masterclass in critical thinking for anyone who leads teams or organizations. His irreverent style makes complex ideas accessible without sacrificing depth, making this book as intellectually stimulating as it is practically valuable.
Whether you're a seasoned executive, an aspiring manager, or a student of organizational behavior, this concise volume will challenge your assumptions and provide a clear-eyed framework for more effective, humane management.
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.
How to develop a growth mindset, with practical tools to reach your financial goals from the self-development expert and bestselling author of Eat that Frog!
Discover the 32 laws that have helped self-made millionaires with successful goal setting, time management, money saving, and financial investments.
Legendary author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy returns with a series of 32 immutable laws, each one key to developing a mindset necessary for success-while also delivering practical, proven methods and techniques to double and even triple your income.
Spread across a structured two-part framework, this book supplies readers the laws that helped Tracy and other self-made millionaires achieve their success. Inside, you'll learn:
• 32 foundational laws necessary for a growth mindset
• Step-by-step processes for putting the laws into practice
• How to move past self-limiting beliefs
• A time-tested system for setting and attaining goals
• Strategies for saving money and investing in your future
• And more
Achieving financial freedom can seem daunting. But by using the lessons and exercises contained in this book, you too can harness the laws of money and success to reach your full potential.
Discover the 32 laws that have helped self-made millionaires with successful goal setting, time management, money saving, and financial investments.
Legendary author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy returns with a series of 32 immutable laws, each one key to developing a mindset necessary for success-while also delivering practical, proven methods and techniques to double and even triple your income.
Spread across a structured two-part framework, this book supplies readers the laws that helped Tracy and other self-made millionaires achieve their success. Inside, you'll learn:
• 32 foundational laws necessary for a growth mindset
• Step-by-step processes for putting the laws into practice
• How to move past self-limiting beliefs
• A time-tested system for setting and attaining goals
• Strategies for saving money and investing in your future
• And more
Achieving financial freedom can seem daunting. But by using the lessons and exercises contained in this book, you too can harness the laws of money and success to reach your full potential.
This new edition of an award-winning risk management classic is more actionable than ever with new chapters on facilitating risk conversations and running a risk workshop.
Risk isn't just about threat; it's also about opportunity. You have to be ready to take advantage of the most unexpected good or bad events, or you'll lose out on major revenue opportunities. The Active Threat and Opportunity Management (ATOM) methodology helps companies, leaders, and project managers worldwide find the best strategy for taking advantage of unexpected events.
This Project Management Institute award-winning methodology is already used by top corporations. Will your organization be the next to take advantage of these brand-new chapters on risk workshops and risk facilitation? Exploit these ingenious techniques to get everyone in your organization on the same page about how much risk can be tolerated and make sure your MBA students and project managers are prepared to tackle the ups and downs of this risky world.
Risk isn't just about threat; it's also about opportunity. You have to be ready to take advantage of the most unexpected good or bad events, or you'll lose out on major revenue opportunities. The Active Threat and Opportunity Management (ATOM) methodology helps companies, leaders, and project managers worldwide find the best strategy for taking advantage of unexpected events.
This Project Management Institute award-winning methodology is already used by top corporations. Will your organization be the next to take advantage of these brand-new chapters on risk workshops and risk facilitation? Exploit these ingenious techniques to get everyone in your organization on the same page about how much risk can be tolerated and make sure your MBA students and project managers are prepared to tackle the ups and downs of this risky world.
Project Management for Small Projects shows you how to tailor bureaucratic planning processes to a sleek minimum while still keeping your project running like a well-oiled machine.
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) recommends tailoring the planning processes to fit the size of your project, but it doesn't always fully explain how. Using too much process can be as detrimental to a project as not using a process at all. For years, this book has helped managers of small projects design processes that are neither too big nor too small but "just right." It provides simplified but compliant tools for immediate use in managing small projects. And since most small projects tend to be similar in structure or outcome, a template for one project can be used for future projects. This new edition of Project Management for Small Projects has been updated to align with the latest PMBOK. In addition, there is new material on Agile project management and on the essential leadership skills for small project managers.
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) recommends tailoring the planning processes to fit the size of your project, but it doesn't always fully explain how. Using too much process can be as detrimental to a project as not using a process at all. For years, this book has helped managers of small projects design processes that are neither too big nor too small but "just right." It provides simplified but compliant tools for immediate use in managing small projects. And since most small projects tend to be similar in structure or outcome, a template for one project can be used for future projects. This new edition of Project Management for Small Projects has been updated to align with the latest PMBOK. In addition, there is new material on Agile project management and on the essential leadership skills for small project managers.
For a lucky few, light conversation at parties and social events is a breeze. For the rest of us, there is Carol Fleming (bestselling author of It's the Way You Say It), who breaks even the shortest bit of small talk into an understandable process that anyone can master.
Much of your personal success hinges on the effectiveness of your personal communication skills. Whether or not new doors are opened to you may depend on how well you can meet one of life's most frustrating social challenges--starting and developing conversations with strangers, aka "small talk." Small talk is usually considered to be a light, pleasant, and safe verbal exchange, which allows people the time and association to get a sense of each other. It consists of introductions, exchange of personal information and interests when meeting new people and searching for a topic of mutual interest. According to Carol Fleming, conversationalist-extraordinaire, the business of small talk means:
-Bringing people together
-Facilitating understanding
-Finding friendships, building trust and maintaining relationships
-Developing your business
-Exposing you to different points of view
This book teaches you the concrete skills of social behavior, and promises to increase your understanding of what small talk is and what it does, while revealing the rituals and strategies for developing conversation. You may not think you have the "gift of gab," but Carol Fleming will convince you that you can master the fine art of small talk in all your business and social encounters.
Much of your personal success hinges on the effectiveness of your personal communication skills. Whether or not new doors are opened to you may depend on how well you can meet one of life's most frustrating social challenges--starting and developing conversations with strangers, aka "small talk." Small talk is usually considered to be a light, pleasant, and safe verbal exchange, which allows people the time and association to get a sense of each other. It consists of introductions, exchange of personal information and interests when meeting new people and searching for a topic of mutual interest. According to Carol Fleming, conversationalist-extraordinaire, the business of small talk means:
-Bringing people together
-Facilitating understanding
-Finding friendships, building trust and maintaining relationships
-Developing your business
-Exposing you to different points of view
This book teaches you the concrete skills of social behavior, and promises to increase your understanding of what small talk is and what it does, while revealing the rituals and strategies for developing conversation. You may not think you have the "gift of gab," but Carol Fleming will convince you that you can master the fine art of small talk in all your business and social encounters.
“This is an important book; it is a necessary book. It comprehensively addresses the rapidly expanding role of the project manager, a role that is striving to keep up with the corresponding expansion in the definition of project success.”
-from the Foreword by Michael O'Brochta
This is a classic, bestselling, practical guide that addresses the "soft" project management skills that are so essential to successful project, program, and portfolio management. Through a storytelling approach, the authors explain the necessary skills and how to use them to create an environment that supports project success. They demonstrate both the "why" and the "how" of creatively applying soft project management skills in the areas of leadership, conflict resolution, negotiations, change management, and more.
This second edition features new sections on ethics, business analysis, agile project management, managing across generations and between cultures, and more. Skills like leadership, negotiations, conflict management, and navigating organizational politics have always been important for project managers who want to succeed. Now the authors show how you can adjust and hone those skills given the forces and trends in today's business world.
-from the Foreword by Michael O'Brochta
This is a classic, bestselling, practical guide that addresses the "soft" project management skills that are so essential to successful project, program, and portfolio management. Through a storytelling approach, the authors explain the necessary skills and how to use them to create an environment that supports project success. They demonstrate both the "why" and the "how" of creatively applying soft project management skills in the areas of leadership, conflict resolution, negotiations, change management, and more.
This second edition features new sections on ethics, business analysis, agile project management, managing across generations and between cultures, and more. Skills like leadership, negotiations, conflict management, and navigating organizational politics have always been important for project managers who want to succeed. Now the authors show how you can adjust and hone those skills given the forces and trends in today's business world.
The future of work is here. You can no longer survive by copying and pasting old office techniques into a digital environment; it's exhausting, unproductive, and unsuccessful. There is a better way! Are you ready to rethink everything you know about how remote works?
Drawing on their years of experience working at remote companies DuckDuckGo and Automattic, plus dozens of interviews with leading experts, Ali Greene and Tamara Sanderson have written the ultimate playbook for managing remote teams.
This book addresses challenges such as communicating effectively (with fewer meetings!), eliminating frustration over what tools to use, establishing team norms, and focusing on getting things done. You will learn how to work best remotely and create a workplace designed for freedom, flexibility, and focus.
For decades, we've planned our lives around our work. Now it's time to intentionally design work to fit our lives.
Drawing on their years of experience working at remote companies DuckDuckGo and Automattic, plus dozens of interviews with leading experts, Ali Greene and Tamara Sanderson have written the ultimate playbook for managing remote teams.
This book addresses challenges such as communicating effectively (with fewer meetings!), eliminating frustration over what tools to use, establishing team norms, and focusing on getting things done. You will learn how to work best remotely and create a workplace designed for freedom, flexibility, and focus.
For decades, we've planned our lives around our work. Now it's time to intentionally design work to fit our lives.
