The moment of clarity : using the human sciences to solve your hardest business problems

by Christian Madsbjerg    (Get the Book)
The authors describe the experience as a fog, a time when the business and its executives know something's wrong but can't quite define it. Consultants Madsbjerg and Rasmussen are proponents of sensemaking, a nonlinear process derived from the human sciences (like anthropology and ethnography) in which judgment and intuition help drive answers. Their statements of assumptions will have every head nodding: among others, that people are rational and fully informed, that tomorrow will look like today, and that hypotheses are objective and unbiased. Yet what they do is so innately smart and practical that it's a real surprise more corporations haven't adopted it. Look at LEGO, one of their four detailed case histories. In the early 2000s, sales slipping, the company turned to a new CEO and new thinking about the role of play in kids' lives. Adidas, too, turned to sensemaking, realizing that its core appeal was no longer to athletes or wannabes but rather as an inclusive brand inviting all of us to join a movement of living a healthier and better life. Strong, seductive arguments that hopefully will sway the logic and process makers among us. --Booklist

Appreciative inquiry : a positive revolution in change

by David L. Cooperrider    (Get the Book)
Originally part of Berrett-Koehler Communication's "Collaborating for Change" series, this short introduction to Appreciative Inquiry is the best way for organisations to be introduced to AI by the originators and leaders of the movement itself. Now with a new introduction and updated with revisions throughout, "Appreciative Inquiry" offers an approach that works because it acknowledges the prevailing attitudes toward change. It offers a fresh view based on the possibility of a more desirable future, experience with the whole system and activities that signal "something different is happening this time." That difference systematically taps the potential of human beings to make themselves, their organisations and their communities more adaptive and more effective. This approach is based on solid, proven principles for unleashing people's creativity, knowledge and spirit toward a common purpose. (Summary)

Jim Cramer's get rich carefully

by Jim Cramer    (Get the Book)
Cautious investors are weary of low returns on bonds and CDs but wary of the stock market, given recent precipitous declines and minor crashettes. Cramer, former hedge fund manager, host of CNBC's Mad Money, and founder of TheStreet.com, asserts that conservative investors need not shy away from stocks. Cramer identifies several megatrends (and stocks) that promise strong returns, including technology that embraces the holy trinity of social, mobile, and the Cloud; healthy eating; frugality; biotechnology; and energy. Beyond the trends, Cramer highlights bankable CEOs offering strong management that also promises strong returns on the stocks in their companies. In highly accessible language, Cramer explains how the stock market is influenced by economic data, Fed policy, world events, the actions of hedge funds, and the trend toward sector funds even when the underlying fundamentals of a stock remain stable. Drawing on his long experience, both mistakes and successes, Cramer demystifies the stock market and offers sound investing advice and an insightful overview of the market for cautious investors. --Booklist

The contest of the century : the new era of competition with China--and how America can win

by Geoff Dyer    (Get the Book)
After decades of dominance in world geopolitics, the U.S. is now facing a growing rivalry with China that will be the major factor in world politics in the coming decades. But that rivalry is not likely to be as intense and bitter as the Cold War rivalry with the Soviet Union. Instead, it will be characterized by a constant balancing of power and shifting coalitions, according to Dyer, economics correspondent for the Financial Times. Dyer focuses on three phenomena: the rising Chinese challenge to U.S. power in military might in Asia, nationalist policies on the world stage, and the challenge to the U.S. dollar by the strengthening Chinese currency. Dyer places the current rise of China in the broader context of changes in the Chinese Communist Party, including reform of its image since the Tiananmen Square massacre and more expansive economic, if not political, policies. Finally, Dyer addresses fatalistic views of the rise of China, arguing that the U.S. can continue to exert enormous influence if it stabilizes its own economy and neither confronts China nor isolates itself. A thoughtful, insightful look at changing geopolitics. --Booklist

Chris Christie : the inside story of his rise to power

by Bob Ingle    (Get the Book)
In this exhaustive biography, journalists Ingle (coauthor, The Soprano State) and Symons explore the life and times of New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who came to national attention after cleaning house in state government, which resulted in "convictions or guilty pleas of more than 130 public officials." The authors detail Christie's personal background, discussing his parents and their partisan differences, his plans at age 10 to become a lawyer, his marriage and children, and his switch from pro-choice to pro-life after hearing his daughter's prenatal heartbeat. But the bulk of the volume focuses on Christie's 25-year political career-from law firm partner to county freeholder, an unsuccessful election for state senator, a stint as U.S. attorney for New Jersey under Bush, and finally, the governorship. The authors highlight Christie's frank nature ("I weigh too much because I eat too much."), his "tough 'Jersey guy' image," and his willingness to defend his opinions even when they are in opposition to the default GOP platform (e.g., his support of certain firearm restrictions). Speculation abounds regarding Christie's political aspirations, and Ingle and Symons provide an excellent introduction to this provocative politician. "He's demanding, he's loyal, he's combative, he's entertaining, he's mouthy-but never boring." Neither is this book. --Publishers weekly

Finding the space to lead : a practical guide to mindful leadership

by Janice Marturano     (Get the Book)
New Jersey-based Marturano (founder & executive director, Inst. for Mindful Leadership; Huffington Post) outlines a method for executives and leaders to use meditation and self-awareness to create a meaningful daily work experience for both the executive and the employee. Based on her experiences within a Fortune 500 company, the author provides a practical guide to developing what she identifies as the four attributes of mindful leadership: clarity, focus, creativity, and compassion. The book is divided into three parts. The first outlines mindful leadership and offers the author's own story of how she came to use this method in her role as a vice president at General Mills. The second part introduces basic meditation practices (walking, breathing, pausing) as a way to strengthen values-based leadership. The final section presents a path to becoming the kind of leader who makes a difference within an organization. While the suggested daily meditations may feel too New Agey and turn away readers looking for a results-oriented management text, the emphasis on remembering how to stop and refocus during the day could find traction with those too exhausted from daily task management. --Library Journal

On the edge : the art of high impact leadership

by Alison Levine    (Get the Book)
In her assured, personable debut, Levine-team captain of the first American Women's Everest Expedition and a former associate at Goldman Sachs-takes lessons learned on the slopes of the world's tallest mountains and applies them to everyday business challenges for executives at all levels, as well as politicians, educators, and students. On the premise that "everyone is in a leadership position," Levine covers topics including extreme preparation, the importance of failure, succeeding in difficult conditions, networking, ego management, making the most of weakness, building trust and loyalty, and bringing your A-game to every challenge. Levine writes, "leadership in extreme environments requires the willpower, the teamwork, the high moral character, and the emotional intelligence necessary to overcome exceptional hurdles, solve complex problems, and face any sudden, uncontrollable, high-risk situation, including those that exist in today's business world." The book is best suited to readers looking for their advice framed in an adventure story; the lessons within are cast in broad strokes, appealing, perhaps, to business readers who prefer not to read the words "synergy" or "laser-focus" yet again. If they can get past the feeling of inferiority from reading the work of a business-savvy extreme climber who's also funny, readers will find much to learn here. --Publishers Weekly