On Jan. 27, 2004, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts accomplished one of the most spectacular turnarounds in modern American politics when he capped a surprise win in the Iowa caucus with a victory in the New Hampshire primary. The 2004 Democratic presidential nomination is now (in the words of Robert Novak) "John Kerry's to lose." Who is the man leading in the race to become the Democratic Party's nominee for president in 2004? And what kind of political leader is he?
The outlines of John Kerry's life are familiar: A decorated Vietnam veteran who became an influential, if unlikely, anti-war protester. A lanky 60-year-old who quenches his thirst for danger with high-speed kiteboarding, windsurfing, piloting, motorcycling, and, in some cases, driving. A senator with a reputation as an investigator and foreign policy expert. A man married to one of the richest women in America. But beyond this broad picture, Kerry is something of a mystery to the public, largely because of a complex yet riveting personal and professional history outlined in this book.
John F. Kerry: The Complete Biography , the first full and in-depth book about the candidate's life, is based on a highly regarded series on Kerry published in the Boston Globe, plus years of additional reporting. It will explore his background, his service in the military (including significant experiences omitted from Douglas Brinkley's bestselling Tour of Duty), his early legal and political career, his legislative record and the remarkable turnaround in his political fortunes during the 2004 election cycle. This incisive, frank look at Kerry's life, and at his strengths and liabilities, is important reading for anyone interested in the presidential campaign.
Companies Do What the Boss Does Groom 'Em, or Broom 'Em Hire Slow, Fire Fast Don't Be Tired The Rule of the Ds Delegate Down, Down, Down Don't Hire a Dog and Bark Yourself Don't Shoot from the Lip Never Be Little, Never Belittle Listen to Phonies, Fools, and Frauds Don't Check Expense Accounts
"Quit" Is for Scrabble It's Okay to Be Quirky
Did you ever have a great boss? Everyone should have one, but not enough people do. If you're a boss, or hope to become one, or have a less-than-great boss, then this is the book that could change your career-and your life.
In times like these, being a great boss can be harder than ever. If you want surprising and useful advice on how to handle the tough stuff -- from having to fire a long-time employee to being a new boss with a demoralized team -- the stories, observations, and advice contained in this gem of a book will set your feet in the right direction. And if you just want advice on living up to the legend who preceded you in the job, or even ways to emulate someone who was a great boss to you, Jeffrey Fox has gathered anecdotes from some of the mightiest and most respected bosses in America. The bestselling author who brought you How to Become CEO and How to Become a Rainmaker knows the territory about which he speaks.
Fox is the master of the counterintuitive angle. For every boss who has implied "I know what's best, that's why I'm the boss," Fox counsels, "Listen to Phonies, Fools, and Frauds" and "Don't Check Expense Accounts." His stories from bosses who have cared equally for employees' lives and the bottom line will inspire you to see that profit counts, but so do camaraderie, motivation, and a great place to work.
In a time of considerable corporate downsizing, it's more important than ever for bosses to surround themselves with motivated employees. Jeffrey Fox's newest volume will have a place on the shelves of top brass everywhere who want to remain leaders of their pack.
Breakthrough International Negotiation gives readers unusual insight into what it takes to conduct critical negotiations with far-reaching consequences. This valuable book also helps conflict resolution professionals develop the skills necessary to become savvy and successful negotiators.
Winner of the CPR Institute's prize for outstanding book in the field of negotiation and dispute resolution for 2001. CPR is the leading US professional organization of dispute resolution professionals.
"As a venture capitalist, I negotiate every day. Michael Watkins's book is the first I have found that truly grapples with the complications of real-world negotiations. I am struck by how often its tools and techniques apply to my past and current experiences in negotiation. This book is a powerful tool for anybody who wants to take control and come out on top. I wish I had read it twenty years ago."
—John F. Eckert, founder and managing partner, McLean Watson Capital Inc., and president, Canadian Venture Capital Association
"The best negotiators often seem to be guided by instinct, but Michael Watkins reveals powerful principles that can increase anyone's effectiveness in negotiation. He lays out a clear framework for conducting complex negotiations so you can ask the right questions and focus on the right issues. He then demonstrates how the framework applies to a variety of real-world dynamic situations. I highly recommend this book."
—Steven Cohen, partner and specialist in mergers and acquisitions, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
"Breakthrough Business Negotiation deserves a spot on every negotiator's bookshelf. Watkins has written a comprehensive guide that makes the daunting task of negotiation approachable for everyone. It is a rare gem that brings academic rigor to the real world. Even the most experienced negotiator will find much that is fresh and enjoyable here."
—Rob Aiello, managing director, Updata Capital
Winner of the CPR Institute's prize for outstanding book in the field of negotiation and dispute resolution for 2002. CPR is the leading US professional organization of negotiation and dispute resolution professionals.
Named one of the top-30 business books of 2003 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries.
“Two of the best minds in the business, Pfeffer and Salancik crafted this powerful argument that remains timely and timeless. That’s the true test of a classic. The External Control of Organizations is a trusted, durable, evocative work.” —Karl E. Weick,Rensis Likert Distinguished University Professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology, University of Michigan Business School
“Launching the resource dependence theory of organizations, this influential work was the first to recognize the power of the wider social-political environment as a force shaping organizational structure and behavior. Recognizing that all organizations must acquire resources from the environment as a condition of their survival, Pfeffer and Salancik demonstrate how resource dependence gives rise to power problems and, potentially, to political solutions.” —W. Richard Scott,Stanford University
"Adams scrapes his pen across the fears and absurdities of an age we entered when we weren't paying attention-the age of the bureaucratic vacuum." Dilbert is the Everyman in the down-sized, techno-centered workplace. He's the corporately innocent engineer who experiences the absurdities and oddities of office life from his (sometimes shrinking) cubicle. Complemented by his sarcastic and power-hungry dog, Dogbert (aspiring Supreme Ruler of the Earth whose secret happiness is "High expectations and your own bag of chips"), Dilbert provides humor on one of life's most insidious subjects: work. It's Obvious You Won't Survive by Your Wits Alone features nearly two years of Dilbert comic strips (including Sunday cartoons!) that have never appeared in book form.
Dilbert is the Everyman in the down-sized, techno-centered workplace of the '90s, who experiences the absurdities and oddities of office life from his cubicle. This collection of cartoons, starring Dilbert and his sarcastic and power-hungry canine companion Dogbert, features nearly two years of strips that have never before appeared in book form.
From mountain and valley, from hill and dale, people are asking, "How can I have more Dilbert in my life?" Help is at hand with a blast from the past in Scott Adams' very first compilation of Dilbert comic strips, Always Postpone Meetings with Time-Wasting Morons.
It is tempting to compare Adams' work to that of Leonardo da Vinci. The differences are striking. Adams displays good jokes and strong character development, whereas da Vinci has been skating for years on his ability to do shading. Advantage: Adams.
And though it may seem boorish to point this out, da Vinci wrote backwards. And he's dead. Advantage: Adams.
The choice is clear. Fans looking for a book which will stand the test of time, even beyond the time you spend flipping through it in the bookstore (for which the author receives no royalties whatsoever), should buy this book. Those who are not good comparison shoppers can buy the Mona Lisa.
"Since Adams parted company with Pacific Bell in 1995, the business he has built out of mocking business has turned into the sort of success story that the average cartoon hero could only dream of."—The London Financial Times
"Go ahead and cut that Dilbert cartoon. Pin it to the wall of your claustrophobic cubicle. Laugh at it around the water cooler, remarking how similar it is to the incomprehensible memos and ludicrous management strategies at your own company."—The Washington Post
Dilbert, Dogbert, and the rest of the world's favorite cubicle dwellers are sure to leave you rolling in your workspace with Scott Adams's cartoon collection, Journey to Cubeville.
Dilbert creator Scott Adams has something special for everyone who thinks their workplace is a living monument to inefficiency—or, for those who have been led to believe unnecessary work is like popcorn for the soul.
Adams lampoons everything in the business world that drives the sane worker into the land of the lunacy:
*Network administrators who have the power to paralyze an entire business with a mere keystroke
*Accountants who force you to battle ferociously to get reimbursed for a $2.59 ham sandwich you scarfed while traveling
*Managers obsessed with perfect-attendance certificates, dead-end projects, and blocking employees from fun web sites and decent office supplies
*Companies spending piles of dough on projects deeply rooted in stupidity, as well as a myriad of stupid consultants
An in-depth look at the role of power and influence in organizations. Pfeffer demonstrates the necessity of power in mobilizing political support and resources to get things done in any organization, and he looks at the personal attributes and structural factors that help managers advance organizational goals and achieve individual success.
New competitive realities have ruptured industry boundaries, overthrown much of standard management practice, and rendered conventional models of strategy and growth obsolete. In their stead have come the powerful ideas and methodologies of Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad, whose much-revered thinking has already engendered a new language of strategy. In this book, they develop a coherent model for how today's executives can identify and accomplish no less than heroic goals in tomorrow's marketplace. Their masterful blueprint addresses how executives can ease the tension between competing today and clearing a path toward leadership in the future.
With their breakthrough strategy for seizing industry leadership and dominating the markets of tomorrow, Hamel and Prahalad challenge executives the world over to stop the unrewarding and ultimately dead-end process of downsizing and enter the dynamic realm of industry transformation.
Blowing up the prevailing wisdom that companies must chase and acquire top talent in order to remain successful, Hidden Value argues instead that the source of sustained competitive advantage already exists within every organization. O'Reilly and Pfeffer, leading experts on organizational behavior and human resources, argue that how a firm creates and uses talent is far more important than how the firm attracts talent. The authors provide vivid, detailed case studies of several organizations in widely disparate industries — including Southwest Airlines, Cisco Systems, The Men's Wearhouse and NUMMI — to illustrate how long-term success comes from value-driven, interrelated systems that align good people management with corporate strategy.
In a refreshing break from management tomes that force-feed superficial frameworks and trite "rules," the authors instead allow the company stories to take center stage. They guide readers in discovering for themselves how seven different firms maximize talent, why one firm hasn't fully released the hidden value in its work force, and, most importantly, how the winning companies have made it tough for competitors to imitate them. Collectively, the stories reveal a common path to successthat places values before strategy, emphasizes implementation over planning, and focuses on getting the best out of all employees, not just individual stars. The authors also explore concerns or questions managers might have about how each company's experience parallels or conflicts with their own.
Providing a rare opportunity for managers to actively participate in an invaluable learning process, Hidden Value offers a customizable template for building high-performance, people-centered organizations.
This book, which introduces the Theory of Constraints, is changing how America does business. The Goal is a gripping, fast-paced business novel about overcoming the barriers to making money.
An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels the myths about starting your own business. Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.
Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from entrepreneurial infancy through adolescent growing pains to the mature entrepreneurial perspective: the guiding light of all businesses that succeed—and shows how to apply the lessons of franchising to any business, whether or not it is a franchise. Most importantly, Gerber draws the vital, often overlooked distinction between working on your business and working in your business.
The E-Myth Revisited will help you grow your business in a productive, assured way.
The creator of Dilbert, the fastest-growing comic strip in the nation (syndicated in nearly 1000 newspapers), takes a look at corporate America in all its glorious lunacy. Lavishly illustrated with Dilbert strips, these hilarious essays on incompetent bosses, management fads, bewildering technological changes and so much more, will make anyone who has ever worked in an office laugh out loud in recognition.
The Dilbert Principle: The most ineffective workers will be systematically moved to the place where they can do the least damage — management.
Since 1989, Scott Adams has been illustrating this principle each day, lampooning the corporate world through Dilbert, his enormously popular comic strip. In Dilbert, the potato-shaped, abuse-absorbing hero of the strip, Adams has given voice to the millions of Americans buffeted by the many adversities of the workplace.
Now he takes the next step, attacking corporate culture head-on in this lighthearted series of essays. Packed with more than 100 hilarious cartoons, these 25 chapters explore the zeitgeist of ever-changing management trends, overbearing egos, management incompetence, bottomless bureaucracies, petrifying performance reviews, three-hour meetings, the confusion of the information superhighway and more. With sharp eyes, and an even sharper wit, Adams exposes — and skewers — the bizarre absurdities of everyday corporate life. Readers will be convinced that he must be spying on their bosses, The Dilbert Principle rings so true!
All too often, new managers make mistakes such as rewarding good work with good pay, communicating clearly and improving departmental efficiency. Dogbert shows that this could have devastating consequences: Employees begin to expect fair treatment and compensation, productive workers show results (making managers look bad by comparison), and the department's future budget allotment could be decreased because it spends only what it needs.
Drawing from his years of experience tormenting Dilbert and advising his boss, our Machiavellian mutt uses pithy essays, illustrated by scores of comic strips, to teach neophyte managers such potent practices as:
The power of verbal instructions: Sound like a boss while maintaining complete deniability!
Empty promises of promotion: all the motivational benefits, none of the costs!
Pretending to care: Learn how to hear without listening!
Incentives: Inspire employees by giving them worthless knickknacks!
Once again firmly establishing Scott Adams as the spokesman for the absurdities of the workplace (and Dogbert as the guru of sticking it to the masses), Dogbert's Top Secret Management Handbook is the perfect gift for all cubicle dwellers and their bosses.
Do you want to get to the top? Do you want to know how to rise above the crowd and become a leader in your field? Then this is the book for you. In How to Get to the Top, bestselling author Jeffrey J. Fox combines his own experience as an extremely successful entrepreneur with lessons learned at the family dinner table by business leaders such as Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks; Tom Chappell, founder of Tom's of Maine; Leslie Blodgett, CEO of Bare Escentuals; and George Steinbrenner, principal owner of the New York Yankees. The essential guide on how to get to the top -- and stay there -- this compelling book contains hard-hitting advice on independence and self-reliance, management dynamics, and problem solving, including:
--You cant unsour the milk.
--Speak sweetly: You may have to eat your words.
--Tip as if you were the tippee.
--Act like you own the place.
--You have to know the rules to break them.
--Never be late.
--Always compliment the chef . . . especially at home.
--Teach your girls to whistle.
--Spend the company's money as you would your own.
--Dont teach the quarterback to catch.
One of this century's most highly regarded students of management, Peter F. Drucker sought out, identified, and examined the most important issues confronting managers, from corporate strategy to management style to social change. Through his unique perspective, this volume gives us the rare opportunity to trace the evolution of the great shifts in our workplaces, and to understand more clearly the role of managers. This book gathers together Drucker's articles from Harvard Business Review and frames them with a thoughtful introduction from the Review's editor Thomas A. Stewart.
In Shaping the Game: The New Leader’s Guide to Effective Negotiating, Watkins draws from extensive research and practical consulting work to reveal four fundamental objectives that should guide new leaders’ actions in every negotiation they undertake: create the most possible value; capture that value for yourself and your company; carefully tend to key relationships; and preserve your reputation. Watkins lays out hands-on strategies for becoming a world-class negotiator, including how to match your negotiation strategy to the situation, influence the perspectives of key counterparts, shape negotiation outcomes in your favor, and create the learning discipline necessary to become a world-class negotiator.
Navigating the myriad complex, high-stakes negotiating challenges that confront new leaders, this book provides all the tools readers need to make the right moves up the career ladder--and succeed in those roles once they get there.
Even the best-run companies can be blindsided by disasters they should have anticipated. These predictable surprises range from financial scandals to operational disruptions, from organizational upheavals to product failures.
In Predictable Surprises, Max Bazerman and Michael Watkins show you how to minimize your risk by understanding and lowering the psychological, organizational, and political barriers preventing you from foreseeing calamity. The authors also offer powerful tools-including incentives and formal coalitions-that business leaders can use to detect and fend off threats invisible to insiders.
Failure to recognize what's coming exposes your company to predictable surprises. Given the stakes involved, this book allows you to focus on the right problems and to act before it is too late.
About the Author:
Max H. Bazerman is the Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He is also formally affiliated with the Kennedy School of Government, the Harvard Psychology Department, and the Program on Negotiation
About the Author:
Michael D. Watkins is Professor of General Management at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, and confounder of Genesis Advisers, a leadership development company
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