Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Management & Leadership

What's happened to real? In a world of jargon, acronyms, and distrust, does authenticity in leadership mean anything anymore? The answer is a resounding yes. Businesses and organizations are starving for real communication and authentic leadership. But there's a lot of baggage and distrust to overcome. With real-life case studies, pointers, and guidelines, leadership consultant Gabrielle Dolan shows you how authenticity can earn trust with honest communication, and why it's well worth the effort.

There's an 80 percent chance you're poor. Time poor, that is. Four out of five adults report feeling that they have too much to do and not enough time to do it. These time-poor people experience less joy each day. They laugh less. They are less healthy, less productive, and more likely to divorce. In one study, time stress produced a stronger negative effect on happiness than unemployment. How can we escape the time traps that make us feel this way and keep us from living our best lives?

Scott Page, a leading thinker, writer, and speaker whose ideas and advice are sought after by corporations, nonprofits, universities, and governments around the world, makes a clear and compellingly pragmatic case for diversity and inclusion. He presents overwhelming evidence that teams that include different kinds of thinkers outperform homogenous groups on complex tasks, producing what he calls "diversity bonuses".

The author of the classic best seller Lincoln on Leadership answers the question: How would President Lincoln handle the pressing crises of our modern world? Abraham Lincoln is recognized as one of history's finest leaders, a great president when the United States was under tremendous strain. But suppose he were alive today. How would Lincoln deal with today's high-pressure issues, from politics to business?

Becoming an effective leader who lifts your organization to new heights may seem challenging, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. Strong leadership is rooted in basic principles. Although the specific nature of the organizations you may work for throughout your career will vary on a case-by-case basis, the essential steps you must take to lead with skill will remain constant. The Blueprint explains what those steps are. More importantly, it demonstrates how we can take them in our own careers and lives.

Leaders already know that innovation calls for a different set of activities, skills, methods, metrics, mind-sets, and leadership approaches. And it is well understood that creating a new business and optimizing an already existing one are two fundamentally different management challenges. The real problem for leaders is doing both simultaneously. How do you meet the performance requirements of the existing business-one that is still thriving-while dramatically reinventing it?

In April of 2000, Gary Erickson turned down a $120 million offer to buy his thriving company. Today, instead of taking it easy for the rest of his life and enjoying a luxurious retirement, he's working harder than ever. Why would any sane person pass up the financial opportunity of a lifetime?

Hidden Truths is an audiobook about leadership that every existing or future leader must listen to. It offers insights about C-suite jobs that few employees really understand - insights that can help them help their leaders perform better and prepare themselves to be leaders. When everyone from board members to junior executives are on the same page as to leadership roles and responsibilities, the organization performs at a higher level.

Thompson and Ware, nationally known consultants in the fields of management and leadership, offer a practical guide that focuses on the skills G.W. Bush has used throughout his career and in the White House. Each useful chapter highlights one of his leadership lessons. From identifying core values to getting results, this clearly written guide is filled with timeless and time-tested advice.

Will Africa be the world's next hub of manufacturing? China is answering in the affirmative and investing accordingly. This book dispels the notion that this crucial story is merely about China's exploitation of Africa's resources, illuminating deep questions about our own Western approach to development and the implications for the future of manufacturing. The fact that China sees Africa not for its poverty but for its potential wealth is a striking departure from the attitude of the West, in particular the United States.

A provocative work that challenges the traditional and widely accepted principles of business management - and proves that they are outdated, outmoded, or simply don't work. Do open floor plans really work? Are there companies that put their employees' welfare first, and their clients second? Are annual performance reviews necessary? Dr. David Burkus is a highly regarded and increasingly influential business school professor who challenges many of the established principles of business management.

Why are some organizations more innovative than others? How can we tap in to, empower, and leverage the natural innovation within our organizations that is so vital to our future success? Now more than ever, companies and institutions of all types and sizes are determined to create more innovative organizations. In study after study, leaders say that fostering innovation and the need for transformational change are among their top priorities.

It's very likely that best practices - ideas, processes, and strategies that are commonplace in your industry - are actually hurting your business. Although best practices can help businesses operate more competitively and efficiently, they are often outdated, harmful, and a hindrance to innovation. In Breaking Bad Habits, Freek Vermeulen, a strategy professor at London Business School, offers the tools to identify bad practices, eliminate them from your organization, and then move on to create new sources of innovation and growth by outthinking your competitors.

Pork dorks. Craftsters. American Girl fans. Despite their different tastes, these eclectic diehards have a lot in common: they're obsessed about a specific brand, product, or category. They pursue their passions with fervor, and they're extremely knowledgeable about the things they love. They aren't average consumers - they're superconsumers. Although small in number, superconsumers can have an outsized impact on a company's bottom line.

Are you a high potential? Your managers and HR department are constantly wondering that about you - and assessing whether or not you have what it takes to advance. Here's how to get them to answer yes. Being seen as a high potential leader is essential to getting promoted and reaching an organization's upper echelons, but most companies keep their top talent list a closely guarded secret. And the assessment process they use to decide who is and isn't a future leader is an even greater mystery.

Three powerful African-American female executives celebrate their gender and heritage as they share their secrets for success in this effective guide for businesswomen. Ways to communicate thoughtfully, trust yourself, and exude self-esteem are just a few tactics the authors discuss for those who want to enter the workforce as confident leaders.

Goliath's Revenge is the practical guide for how executives and aspiring leaders of established companies can run the Silicon Valley playbook for themselves and capitalize on digital disruption. Technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, internet of things, blockchain, and immersive experiences are changing the basis of competition in every industry. New competitors are emerging while traditional ones are falling behind.

Whether you want to reset your career, strike out on your own, or just ignite more joy in what you do, this Illuminating book shows you how to create a working life that reveals meaning while rewriting our collective future. When we connect with something larger than ourselves, we enjoy the fruits of our labour as well as the journey - the sweat and the struggle. It's the unyielding commitment to a purpose that gives shapers their shimmer. The benefits of this shine are plentiful: enhanced well-being, more community engagement, a healthier economy, and better work for all.

Your employees and teams may be quite capable of handling their specific areas of focus, but unless you get them to work together, your products, services, and profits will suffer. While progress has been made, maximizing collaboration is still a challenge for many companies. They need a new approach. Over the last quarter century, California's Silicon Valley has become synonymous with building complex, successful businesses. Companies and leaders there have succeeded because they did more than apply existing business models - they created a new model.

You have a great idea. Now what? That first mile - where an innovation moves from an idea on paper to the market - is often plagued by failure. In fact less than 1 percent of ideas launched by big companies end up having real impact. The ideas aren't the problem. It's the process. The First Mile focuses on the critical moment when an innovator moves from planning to reality. It is a perilous place where hidden traps snare entrepreneurs, and roadblocks slow innovators inside large companies.