Showing results by publisher "Penguin Audio" in Management

Charles Handy is one of the giants of contemporary thought. His books on management – including Understanding Organizations and Gods of Management – have changed the way we view business. His work on broader issues and trends – such as Beyond Certainty and The Second Curve – has changed the way we view society. In his new book, Handy, looking back over a rich and varied life, shares the lessons he has learned along the way. What things really matter? What daily worries should we learn to treat as unimportant? How do we become more accepting of ourselves and of those around us?

Over his four deployments as a Navy SEAL sniper, Brandon Webb learned all about performing while experiencing heart-pounding stress. After returning to civilian life, he started his first business venture - and failed miserably. He realized that his big mistake was neglecting to apply what he already knew about focus under pressure. By drawing on the lessons of his SEAL training and early business struggles, Webb went on to build a second business, a media network called Hurricane.

That's Not How We Do It Here! is a business parable about a clan of meerkats who live in the Kalahari. Well-organised and efficient, the colony enjoys many years of successful growth until it suddenly comes under threat from a new form of predator and is forced to rethink its organizational structure. John Kotter uses this charming parable to explore why organizations often struggle no matter their past success and why they fall.

Tony Hsieh's first successful venture was in middle school, selling personalized buttons. At Harvard, he made a profit compiling and selling study guides. In 1998, Hsieh sold his first company to Microsoft for $265 million. About a decade later, he sold online shoe empire Zappos to Amazon for $1.2 billion. The secret to his success? Making his employees happy. At its peak, Zappos's employee-friendly culture was so famous across the tech industry that it became one of the hardest companies to get hired at, and CEOs from other companies regularly toured the headquarters.

Critical feedback, delivered frequently and expertly, can be a game changer - it can turn average performers into the hardest workers and stars into superstars. But fear of hurt feelings and awkward conversations often lead managers to hold back from offering crucial insights. According to recent studies, 44 per cent of managers dread giving feedback, while 65 per cent of employees wish their managers gave more.

Be yourself. Be fully present. Be in the moment. That is the message we hear constantly. Yet, the biggest obstacle to making wiser, more successful decisions is often... ourselves. Our limited perspective biases our choices, leading us to defend past actions rather than seek better alternatives. We need to step outside our narrow view and gain an objective, fresh perspective. In other words, we need a coach. In Distancing, former David Marquet and Michael Gillespie show us how to coach ourselves into making better decisions using a powerful mental technique called psychological distancing.

Create your next breakthrough. Mad Genius is a unique audiobook for entrepreneurs - and for employees who want to think like entrepreneurs. It will help you unleash the innate creative genius inside you. Every industry has its sacred cows and accepted practices. These are often based upon foundational premises that are no longer valid - if they ever were. There's a reason Facebook was birthed in a dorm room, Amazon.com came from people not in the bookstore business, and UBER was created by people who weren't from the taxi industry.

After five years of ground-breaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom share some unexpected answers, gripping stories, and a tapestry of unlikely connections. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional “spiders,” which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary “starfish,” which rely on the power of peer relationships. The Starfish and the Spider explores what happens when starfish take on spiders (such as the music industry vs. Napster, Kazaa, and the P2P services that followed).

Can we bring more meaning to our lives and help change the world at the same time? Richard Branson, at his brilliant and motivating best, reveals how with his exciting new vision for the future. It is time to turn capitalism upside down - to shift our values, to switch from a profit focus to caring for people, communities, and the planet.

LEGO is one of the world's best-loved and most familiar brands, adored by generations of children. What is less well known, though, is how close this iconic company came to total collapse in 2003. Brick by Brick is the compelling story of a Danish family-owned company that enjoyed decades of success before its inability to keep in step with a rapidly changing market brought it crashing to earth. It's also the story of an extraordinary recovery.

How do companies get ahead in the digital age? In this lively, accessible guide, Ram Charan - best-selling author and advisor to some of the world's top CEOs - reveals that the tech giants have radically rewritten the rules of business. If you want to be competitive, you need to learn to play a new game. Drawing on behind-the-scenes stories from the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Alibaba, Charan sketches out a map of today's business landscape.

The nine-to-five isn't the only way to make a living. More and more of us are becoming freelancers, side-hustlers or creative entrepreneurs, drawn to flexible working, a better work-life balance and a greater sense of self-worth - all on our own terms. That's exactly how Anna Codrea-Rado felt when she first went freelance. But now, having documented the hard-won lessons and mistakes made along the way, she knows what makes up a successful freelance career.

Drawing on four decades of hands-on management experience, the founder of Richer Sounds argues that ethically run businesses are invariably more efficient, more motivated and more innovative than those that care only about the bottom line. He uncovers the simple tools that the best leaders use to make their businesses fair, revealing how others can follow suit. And he also delves into the big questions that modern capitalism has to answer if it is to survive and to thrive.

In traditional companies, managers make decisions and workers execute the plan. But Holacracy is a revolutionary and tried-and-tested new system which turns everyone into a leader. The organisation looks like a nest of circles, not a pyramid—but it's not anarchy. It's finally clear who should make each decision—the person on the frontline has that authority—and the organisation succeeds by adapting swiftly to pursue its purpose.

In Creative Leadership, Rama Gheerawoo applies the mind of a design expert to the twenty-first-century organisation. In particular, his book shows how success in the future will increasingly be dependent on a mastery of three basic principles: creativity, clarity and empathy. Drawing on his own experience in leading over 100 design projects with government, business and the third sector, it sets out a blueprint for engagement and success that applies to everything from small enterprises, to large multinationals.

In this brilliant, one-stop guide WIRED journalist Matt Burgess explains everything you need to know about AI. He describes how it works. He looks at the ways in which it has already brought us everything from voice recognition software to self-driving cars and explores its potential for further revolutionary change in almost every area of our daily lives.

Every day outstanding organizations do things and promote values that ensure they will retain customers, grow revenues, increase market share, and build their reputations. Informed by his own commitment to the concept of personal accountability and enlivened by compelling true stories from exceptional organizations, in this insightful and accessible audiobook John Miller identifies the principles and behaviors that distinguish such organizations from the pack and provides listeners with ways to integrate them into their own work.

Greg Whyte learnt from an early age that the biggest obstacle in life was people telling him, "No, you can't". But we all have the ability to achieve what others may say is impossible. Don't listen to them. Success is not a chance event. With proper planning, preparation, and vision, Professor Whyte has the knowledge and methods that can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary, mortals into elite athletes, to deliver not dream.

Two of the most popular titles in the best-selling Perfect series are here combined in one insightful audiobook, to help improve your confidence and help you relax. The Perfect series is a range of practical guides that give clear and straightforward advice on everything from getting your first job to choosing your baby's name. Written by experienced authors offering tried-and-tested tips, each book contains all you need to get it right first time.

Perfect Positive Thinking is essential reading for anyone who wants to feel optimistic and enthusiastic. Written by a professional life coach, with years of experience in the field, it gives practical advice on how to overcome negative feelings, explains how to deal with problems like anxiety and self-doubt, and provides helpful tips on how to gain energy, motivation and a sense of purpose.