A Declaration of Energy Independence. How Freedom from Foreign Oil Can Improve National Security, Our Economy, and the Environment

The sales manager's step-by-step guide to better team performance As an experienced sales manager, how do you improve your team's performance? Which selling skills, developed to their fullest potential, have the greatest impact on revenues and profitability? You Can Always Sell More will guide you through a proven step-by-step system for evaluating, training, and coaching your sales force. It will help you establish a simple and effective evaluation and improvement planning process for even your most successful salespeople. Proven in a wide array of industries, this will also show you how to improve your ability to coach and lead a team of sales professionals. Jim Pancero (Eden Prairie, MN) is the founder of one of the country's most advanced sales and sales management training and consulting firms. He has conducted training sessions for over 200,000 experienced corporate sales-team members, association attendees, and graduate-level university students.

A guide to understanding and thriving in today's new economic environment Now that the housing and credit bubbles have burst, toppling banks and sending shockwaves through the stock market and around the world, it may seem like the worst has passed. But the full impact of the crises we have recently faced will create far more problems, and unless you're prepared, you'll struggle to regain your financial footing. In The Great Reflation, author Tony Boeckh helps you understand how these crises, and the policies passed to jumpstart the economy, will play out for investments and business, and provides you with the tools to excel in today's rapidly evolving financial landscape. He reveals how similar episodes compare with the current crises and what this could mean for your financial future. Arms you with practical insights that will allow you to evaluate different investment options Explores the implications of the end of the private debt cycle, the possible rise of a new age of thrift, and the new government debt crisis Reveals how you can profit from once-in-a-lifetime opportunities as well as proper portfolio allocation strategies While things may never return to «normal,» you can still make choices that will allow you to prosper. This book will show you how.

Mindfulness: How to Have a Better Relationship With Your Money Money. The word itself has a power of its own. It can induce feelings and start a train of thought instantly. Unfortunately, often these feelings and thoughts are negative and stressful. We believe that achieving a healthy relationship with money is necessary because it's attached, in some way, to almost every aspect of our lives. In reality, most people have enough money, even after the recent market collapse. What they don't have is the level of calm, clarity, and focus required to live peacefully with money. Mindfulness can help achieve that. The Mindful Investor is an indispensable guide for individual investors, business people, and professionals who are looking for a better way to manage their money. —From the Preface Praise for The Mindful Investor «As The Mindful Investor suggests, what's often needed most is not more money, but more perspective about money. Starting where Maria and Graham have suggested-at the end-is a great way to look back from a place when money truly won't matter anymore, and I can't think of a better first step to take when planning for today.» —Scott Kriens, Chairman, Juniper Networks «Having seen many thousands of business books over the course of my professional life, I was delighted to discover that The Mindful Investor offers a refreshing new approach to personal finance. Having benefited personally from Maria's teaching of Mindfulness meditation techniques, I can say that this is a book whose time has come and a must-read for anyone looking for an alternative to the madness of the markets.» —Jane Cooney, President, Books for Business «What a breath of fresh air. The world would be a better place if everyone used the tools and processes outlined in this easy-to-read, inspiring, and practical book.» —Rob Quartly, Juno Award Winning Filmmaker and Entrepreneur

Energy Systems Security features articles from the Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security covering topics related to electricity transmission grids and their protection, risk assessment of energy systems, analysis of interdependent energy networks. Methods to manage electricity transmission disturbances so as to avoid blackouts are discussed, and self-healing energy system and a nano-enabled power source are presented.

A stronger, more informed approach to the energy markets The Energy World Is Flat provides a forward-looking analysis of the energy markets and addresses the implications of their rapid transformation. Written by acknowledged expert Daniel Lacalle, who is actively engaged with energy portfolios in the financial space, this book is grounded in experience with the world of high-stakes finance, and relays a realist's perspective of the current and future state of the energy markets. Readers will be brought up to date on the latest developments in the area, and learn the strategies that allow investors to profit from these developments. An examination of the markets' history draws parallels between past and current shifts, and a discussion of technological advancements helps readers understand the issues driving these changes. Energy has always been at the forefront of the economic agenda, being both the key to and a driver for development and growth. Its centrality to the world of finance makes it imperative for investors and analysts to understand the energy markets, irrespective of where on the wide range of energy spectrum observers they fall. The Energy World Is Flat is a guide to the past, present, and future of these crucial markets, and the strategies that make them profitable. These include: Understanding the state of the energy markets, including key developments and changes Discovering the ten pillars of a successful energy investment strategy Reviewing the history of the energy markets to put recent changes into perspective Learning which technologies are driving the changes, and how it will affect investors The recent energy market changes were both unexpected and so fundamental in nature that they represent a true shift in the energy macro- and microeconomic landscape. Investors and analysts seeking a stronger approach to these markets need the expert guidance provided by The Energy World Is Flat.

Praise for How I Became a Quant «Led by two top-notch quants, Richard R. Lindsey and Barry Schachter, How I Became a Quant details the quirky world of quantitative analysis through stories told by some of today's most successful quants. For anyone who might have thought otherwise, there are engaging personalities behind all that number crunching!» –Ira Kawaller, Kawaller & Co. and the Kawaller Fund «A fun and fascinating read. This book tells the story of how academics, physicists, mathematicians, and other scientists became professional investors managing billions.» –David A. Krell, President and CEO, International Securities Exchange «How I Became a Quant should be must reading for all students with a quantitative aptitude. It provides fascinating examples of the dynamic career opportunities potentially open to anyone with the skills and passion for quantitative analysis.» –Roy D. Henriksson, Chief Investment Officer, Advanced Portfolio Management «Quants»–those who design and implement mathematical models for the pricing of derivatives, assessment of risk, or prediction of market movements–are the backbone of today's investment industry. As the greater volatility of current financial markets has driven investors to seek shelter from increasing uncertainty, the quant revolution has given people the opportunity to avoid unwanted financial risk by literally trading it away, or more specifically, paying someone else to take on the unwanted risk. How I Became a Quant reveals the faces behind the quant revolution, offering you?the?chance to learn firsthand what it's like to be a?quant today. In this fascinating collection of Wall Street war stories, more than two dozen quants detail their roots, roles, and contributions, explaining what they do and how they do it, as well as outlining the sometimes unexpected paths they have followed from the halls of academia to the front lines of an investment revolution.

Praise for Future Energy «Do not despair. Energy independence is in our future and this book has the road map! Bill Paul, one of the most astute observers of the energy scene, describes the new technologies that are taking us there and that will change our lives. A must-read book showing how business, citizens, and investors can take advantage.» —Consuelo Mack, Anchor and Managing Editor Consuelo Mack WealthTrack Concerns over the availability and security of world energy supplies, especially when it comes to crude oil, have many people wondering what the future of this industry holds and how technology will continue to change it. Thanks to the energy technology revolution currently taking place, a promising «new» oil industry is quickly beginning to take shape-and it will, without a doubt, affect every company, household, and investor. In Future Energy, author Bill Paul-a national energy and environmentaljournalist for more than thirty years-skillfully addresses the investment implications of this new oil industry and shows you how to profit from the changes that lie ahead. Filled with in-depth insights and expert advice, Future Energy will introduce you to some of the most essential issues found within this new environment, including: The companies that will be counted on as the producers andinfrastructure providers of the new oil industry Why you should consider holding «oil shock» absorbing investmentsin your portfolio How electricity will become a new transportation fuel, providingunprecedented transportation fuel diversity The role that substitute liquid fuels (SLFs) will play in the newoil industry And much more

A blueprint for managing people, not generations Unfairly Labeled challenges the very concept of «generational differences» as an unfair generalization, and offers a roadmap to intergenerational understanding. While acknowledging that generational stereotypes exist, author Jessica Kriegel argues that they are wrong—and that it's unreasonable to assume that the millions of people born in the same 20-year time span are motivated by the same things, attracted to the same things, and should be dealt with in the same way. Kriegel's experience as Organizational Developer at Oracle puts her squarely in the talent strategy realm, where she works to optimize leadership development, team effectiveness, and organizational design. Drawing upon her experiences with workers of all ages and types, she shows how behaviors know no generational boundaries and how to work with people based on their talents, strengths, and weaknesses rather than simply slapping on a generational label and fitting them into an arbitrary slot. There are 80 million Millenials in America, yet there are myriad books on «managing Millenials» and «working with Millenials» and «the problem with Millenials.» This book shows that whether you're working with Millenials, Generation X, or Baby Boomers, age is not the issue—it's the interpersonal dynamics that matter most. Examine the concept of «generational issues» Explore the disparate reality of each 20-year generational span Learn to understand and work effectively with other generations Facilitate intergenerational understanding sessions The human mind craves categorization, so the tendency to lump people together is natural. It may, however, be holding your organization back. The members of each generation have only one thing in common—their age—and even that varies by two whole decades. Why assume that they should all be managed the same way? Unfairly Labeled shows you a better way, and provides a roadmap to a more effective organizational strategy.

How the massive power shift in Russia threatens the political dominance of the United States There is a new cold war underway, driven by a massive geopolitical power shift to Russia that went almost unnoticed across the globe. In The Colder War: How the Global Energy Trade Slipped from America's Grasp, energy expert Marin Katusa takes a look at the ways the western world is losing control of the energy market, and what can be done about it. Russia is in the midst of a rapid economic and geopolitical renaissance under the rule of Vladimir Putin, a tenacious KGB officer turned modern-day tsar. Understanding his rise to power provides the keys to understanding the shift in the energy trade from Saudi Arabia to Russia. This powerful new position threatens to unravel the political dominance of the United States once and for all. Discover how political coups, hostile takeovers, and assassinations have brought Russia to the center of the world's energy market Follow Putin's rise to power and how it has led to an upsetting of the global balance of trade Learn how Russia toppled a generation of robber barons and positioned itself as the most powerful force in the energy market Study Putin's long-range plans and their potential impact on the United States and the U.S. dollar If Putin's plans are successful, not only will Russia be able to starve other countries of power, but the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) will replace the G7 in wealth and clout. The Colder War takes a hard look at what is to come in a new global energy market that is certain to cause unprecedented impact on the U.S. dollar and the American way of life.

A passionate, detailed, quantified argument for state-level tax reform An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of States explains why eliminating or lowering tax burdens at the state level leads to economic growth and wealth creation. A passionate argument for tax reform, the book shows that even states with small populations can benefit enormously with the right policies. The authors’ detailed exposition evaluates the impact state and local government policies have on a state’s relative performance and economic growth overall, backed up with economic data and analysis. Facts don’t lie. But they do point clearly to the failure of so-called progressive tax schemes designed more to curry favor with selected constituencies than to create an economic system that leads to individual wealth as the reward for hard work and entrepreneurial risk taking. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of States is a detailed and critical look at income taxation across the nation, and drills down into an analysis of the economic growth or malaise that results from tax policy. Arguing eloquently that a state cannot tax itself into prosperity, just as the impoverished cannot spend themselves into wealth, the authors point out what many inherently know but often fear to say out loud. The book provides detailed quantitative analysis, and discusses the policy variables that can have enormous effects on the financial well-being of states and individual residents, such as: Personal and corporate income tax rates Total tax burden as a percentage of personal income Estate and inheritance taxes Right-to-work laws An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of States shows everyone how to evaluate state-level fiscal and economic policies to become more competitive.