Celebrations infuse life with passion and purpose. They summon the human spirit, reattach us to our roots, and help us soar toward new visions. Celebrations touch our hearts and fire our imaginations, bonding people together and connecting us to shared myths and values. Corporate Celebration shows how the ceremony and ritual of celebration can be brought to the workplace to restore company spirit, reinvigorate employee morale, build commitment and loyalty, improve quality and financial performance, and instill work with meaning and joy. This practical guide provides advice on the what, why, and how of corporate celebration.

The authors first distill what we know about the role that ritual and ceremony play in human organizations, then offer examples from multiple sectors and companies. They show how ceremonies can be used to build relationships, relieve tension, level the hierarchy, create excitement, transform losses into gains, and provide access to life's deeper lessons. In the second part, they examine a wide variety of situations where ritual and ceremony play a vital role-including recognition, triumphs, tragedies, transitions, product launches, and community outreach efforts. They detail the psychological benefits of seven types of celebrations: cyclical celebrations, recognition ceremonies, celebrations of triumph, rituals of comfort and letting go, succession rites, altruistic celebration, and play.

In the third part, they observe the makings, motions, and roles of key players, drawing practical wisdom from executives, managers, and employees who have participated in successful corporate rituals and celebrations. Acknowledging the potential downside of contrived or meaningless symbolic activity, they show how intended perks can become actual perils. Finally, they provide clear guidelines for the design of meaningful, top-flight celebrations, which arise from shared vision and values, recognize individuals as heroes and heroines, and authentically reflect the corporate spirit.

In a time when many organizations are suffering from eroded cultural values due to restructuring, reengineering, and downsizing, Corporate Celebration offers a refreshing approach to creating community in the workplace and revitalizing business.

• By the author of the bestselling Corporate Cultures, which was one of the most influential and groundbreaking business books of the 1980s
• Provides a provocative, practical guide for leaders looking for more effective ways to improve morale and performance
• Shows how celebration is an important factor in many of the major issues in today's business environment: leadership, profit, purpose, community, team building, and more
• Links celebration and fun to the financial bottom line

The handbook of an extraodinary project:

Outlines the basics of a universally acceptable agreement

Shows what everyone can do to make this agreement a reality

Creating an enforceable international guarantee of basic human rights Outlines the basics of a universally acceptable agreement Shows what everyone can do to make this agreement a reality In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a deeply inspiring document that has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects. But because its provisions are not enforceable, its promise has not been fulfilled. Human rights violations continue in every corner of the globe, the cause of countless individual tragedies as well as large-scale disasters like war, poverty and environmental ruin. It’s time to take the next step. 2048 sets out a visionary, audacious, but, Kirk Boyd insists, achievable goal: drafting an enforceable international agreement that will allow the people of the world to create a social order based upon human rights and the rule of law. Boyd and the 2048 Project aim to have this agreement, the International Convention on Human Rights, in place by the 100th anniversary of the Universal Declaration. Written documents have always played a key role in advancing human rights: the Code of Hammurabi, the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence. The express purpose of the International Convention is to safeguard what Boyd calls the Five Freedoms, adding freedom for the environment to Franklin Roosevelt’s famous Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Boyd skillfully anticipates objections to the notion of a universal and enforceable written agreement—that it would be culturally insensitive, too expensive, unacceptably limit national sovereignty—and convincingly answers them. In fact some promising first steps have already been taken. He describes existing transnational agreements with effective compliance mechanisms that can serve as models. But Boyd wants to inspire more than argue. In 2048 he urges everyone to participate in the drafting of the agreement via the 2048 website and describes specific actions people can take to help make it a reality. “What you do with what you read” Boyd writes, “is as important as what this book says.” Little by little, working together creatively with the tools now available, we can take the next step forward in the evolution of human rights.

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The commons — those creations of nature and society we inherit together and must preserve for our children — is under siege. Our current version of capitalism — the corporate, globalized version 2.0 — is rapidly squandering this heritage. Now, Peter Barnes offers a solution: protect the commons by giving it property rights and strong institutional managers. Barnes shows how capitalism — like a computer — is run by an operating system. Our current operating system gives too much power to profit-maximizing corporations that devour the commons and distribute most of their profits to a sliver of the population. And government — which in theory should defend the commons — is all too often a tool of those very corporations. Barnes proposes a revised operating system — Capitalism 3.0 — that protects the commons while preserving the many strengths of capitalism as we know it. His major innovation is the commons trust, a market based legal entity with the power to limit the use of scare commons, charge rent, and pay dividends — in both cash and services — to everyone. In Barnes' vision, an array of commons trusts would institutionalize our obligations to future generations, fellow citizens, and nature. Once established, they'd use markets and property rights to create a better world for us all. Capitalism 3.0 offers a practical alternative to our current flawed economic system. It points the way to a future in which we can retain capitalism's virtues while mitigating its vices.

• Watch a video of Peter Barnes on ForaTV
• By a cofounder and former president of Working Assets
• Offers a startlingly original way to adapt capitalism to the 21st century
• Shows that protecting "the commons"--humanity's shared natural and cultural heritage--is the key to revitalizing capitalism and safeguarding the planet

Moses paints a vivid picture of the current dislocations in the workplace-the extraordinary productivity pressures, the erosion of personal time-and their gut-wrenching effects on individuals and their families. She reveals how changes in the workplace have affected different generations differently-from 20-somethings trying to get a foothold in the workplace to 30-somethings concerned about getting ahead to aging boomers recently displaced from the workforce-and examines their values, their psychological profile, and their future opportunities. She also presents a striking vision of the future, showing what it will be like to live and work in tomorrow's world, where we will all be free agents.

In clear, practical terms, Career Intelligence shows how individuals can benefit from key future trends and details the skills they will need to succeed-from learning how to self-market to being able to communicate in powerful ways, from understanding business trends to preparing for areas of competence. Chock full of concrete examples and anecdotes that everyone can relate to, Career Intelligence also offers advice to parents concerned about "career proofing" their children; gives managers insights into how to promote career independence and self-reliance in their staff; and discusses solid ways organizations can improve morale and productivity. Comprehensive, practical, and eminently readable, Career Intelligence provides a visionary blueprint for ongoing career success.

• By the bestselling author of Career Planning Workbook-used by almost one million people in over 1,500 organizations worldwide
• Shows people how to take control of your career, even in the face of tumultuous changes in today's workplace
• Presents 12 new rules for career success based on leading-edge insights into today's radically changed workplace

What are America's leading companies doing to excel in quality?

In this time when "change is everything," leaders and people at all levels of organizations need guideposts to live, work and grow by - unshakable principles that can be relied upon implicitly, irrespective of how much technology and globalization drive people to change. Today, organizations and individuals alike need a compass with which to set a course that is true and that they can believe in no matter what.
In this groundbreaking book, Laurence Ackerman reveals that identity - the unique characteristics that define who we are-is such a compass. Surprisingly, Identity Is Destiny shows that organizations who are best able to adapt to change are those whose leaders understand and "invest in"-rather than change-their companies' unique identities. It is when leaders align strategic development and day-to-day operations with their company's unique, value-creating capacities that identity truly becomes destiny.
The author illustrates how identity gives rise to culture, that identity precedes strategy, and that, most important, companies like individuals, can never be other than who they are.
Ackerman describes three features that mark organizations who are led according to their true identities: grand efficiency - having all parts of the enterprise working in sync; integrity - in the sense of unity, or "wholeness;" and endurance-the possibility of the company living in perpetuity. The author goes on to provide a comprehensive blueprint for "identity-based management"-everyday decision-making and action-that reveals a path to authentic leadership.
When it is clear who a company is, Ackerman explains, everything else follows naturally: making acquisitions that fulfill their promise; hiring and retaining people who "fit in;" developing marketing and product strategies that make sense for customers and the company alike; establishing partnerships that work.