“As so many Americans feel powerless to confront a financial system designed to serve the few, Shuman offers us real choices: tools that align our lives with our values. That's power. I love this highly readable, timely, surprising book.”
—Frances Moore Lappé, author of Daring Democracy and Diet for a Small Planet

Americans agree on very little these days, but red state conservatives and blue state progressives can agree on one critical point: Wall Street can no longer be trusted. Yet most of us continue to invest our money in the stocks and bonds of Fortune 500 companies, transferring our capital far from where we live and work. Local investing expert Michael Shuman offers another alternative. He shows how we can use two well-established—but rarely used—investment tools to keep our money close and get a return as good as or better than what we'd get investing in distant, indifferent corporations.

Shuman explains the nuts and bolts of self-directed IRAs and solo 401(k)s and how they can be combined with other recently legalized local investing tools. He details how to set these accounts up, identify and evaluate a whole range of local investment opportunities, and make sure account holders stay on the right side of the law. While the book is written for people without a lot of investment experience—Shuman explains concepts like “liquidity” and “diversification” in simple terms—even if you're as experienced as Warren Buffett, this book will make you rethink everything you know about investing. With Shuman's expert advice, you can strengthen your investment portfolio and your community, neighborhoods, and schools at the same time!

This balanced guide to agility gets past the hype and frustration to help frustrated leaders transform their agile transformations.

Agile transformations are supposed to make organizations modern, competitive, and relevant. But in the well-intentioned effort to move into the future, change leaders find themselves frustrated by pushback, limited impact, poor practices, and unfair criticism. What's going on?

Jesse Fewell's book cuts through the “quick-fix” hype of agile theory and explains a recurring transformational pattern that unpacks what holds organizations back. The boost is the initial gains from logical first steps; the barrier is the unavoidable roadblock that must come next; and the rebound is the way forward to further gains by leaning against the concept of the original boost. With these counterintuitive rebounds, Fewell identifies seven leadership moves that can be used to unblock stalled agile transformations.

No, your transformation is not a failure. It turns out the buy-in, the talent, the alignment, and the growth you need to break through are already in front of you; it's all simply hidden under the surface—undiscovered, unutilized, and untapped.

“Maya Hu-Chan shares a blueprint for becoming a more empathetic, self-aware, and inclusive leader. Saving Face guides us to consider different perspectives, to think first and speak last, and to respect others above all else.”
—Frances Hesselbein, former CEO, Girl Scouts of the USA, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient

Organizations now need to attract, retain, and motivate teams and employees across distance, time zones, and cultural differences. Building authentic and lasting human relations may be the most important calling for leaders in this century. According to management and global leadership specialist Maya Hu-Chan, the concept of “saving face” can help any leader preserve dignity and create more empathetic cross-cultural relationships.

“Face” represents one's self-esteem, self-worth, identity, reputation, status, pride, and dignity. Saving face is often understood as saving someone from embarrassment, but it's also about developing an understanding of the background and motivations of others to discover the unique facets we all possess. Without that understanding, we risk causing others to lose face without even knowing it. Hu-Chan explains saving face through anecdotes and practical tools, such as her BUILD leadership model (Benevolence, Understanding, Interacting, Learning, and Delivery). This book illustrates how we can give face to create positive first impressions, avoid causing others to lose face, and, most importantly, build trust and lasting relationships inside and outside the workplace.

“Shows how humans have brought us to the brink and how humanity can find solutions. I urge people to read with humility and the daring to act.”
—Harpal Singh, former Chair, Save the Children, India, and former Vice Chair, Save the Children International

In conversations with people all over the world, from government officials and business leaders to taxi drivers and schoolteachers, Blair Sheppard, global leader for strategy and leadership at PwC, discovered they all had surprisingly similar concerns. In this prescient and pragmatic book, he and his team sum up these concerns in what they call the ADAPT framework: Asymmetry of wealth; Disruption wrought by the unexpected and often problematic consequences of technology; Age disparities--stresses caused by very young or very old populations in developed and emerging countries; Polarization as a symptom of the breakdown in global and national consensus; and loss of Trust in the institutions that underpin and stabilize society. These concerns are in turn precipitating four crises: a crisis of prosperity, a crisis of technology, a crisis of institutional legitimacy, and a crisis of leadership.

Sheppard and his team analyze the complex roots of these crises--but they also offer solutions, albeit often seemingly counterintuitive ones. For example, in an era of globalization, we need to place a much greater emphasis on developing self-sustaining local economies. And as technology permeates our lives, we need computer scientists and engineers conversant with sociology and psychology and poets who can code. The authors argue persuasively that we have only a decade to make headway on these problems. But if we tackle them now, thoughtfully, imaginatively, creatively, and energetically, in ten years we could be looking at a dawn instead of darkness.

"What is impressive is not only how Winters builds a case for the urgency and need for bold, inclusive conversations but that she also gives specific strategies and competencies to turn her theory into practice.
-Dr. Sheila Robinson, publisher and CEO, Diversity Woman Media"What is impressive is not only how Winters builds a case for the urgency and need for bold, inclusive conversations but that she also gives specific strategies and competencies to turn her theory into practice.
-Dr. Sheila Robinson, publisher and CEO, Diversity Woman Media

Effective dialogue across different dimensions of diversity, such as race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation, fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion, which in turn leads to greater productivity, performance, and innovation. Whether in the workplace, faith communities, or educational settings, our differences can tear us apart rather than bring us together if we do not know how to communicate. Recognizing our collective responsibility to earnestly address our differences and increase understanding and empathy will not only enhance organizational goals but will also lead to a healthier, kinder, and more compassionate world.

Award-winning diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant Mary-Frances Winters has been leading workshops on what she calls Bold, Inclusive Conversations for years. In this book she offers specific dialogue strategies to foster greater understanding on the following topics:
Recognizing the importance of creating equity and sharing power
Dealing with the "fragility" of dominant groups--their discomfort in engaging with historically subordinated groups
Addressing the exhaustion historically marginalized groups feel from constantly explaining their different lived experience
Exploring how to build trust and create psychologically safe spaces for dialogue
This guide is comprehensive for anyone who wants to break down the barriers that separate us and facilitate discussions on potentially polarizing topics.