A Vow So Bold and Deadly

Marketing's undisputed doyen offers an unbeatable guide on what not to do As the cost of marketing rises, its effectiveness is in decline. CEOs want a return on their marketing investment, but can't be sure their marketing efforts are even working. Truly, marketers have to shape up or watch their business go south. In this clear and comprehensive guide, renowned marketing expert Philip Kotler identifies the ten most common-and most damaging-mistakes marketers make, and how to avoid them. But these ten mistakes are much more than simple mess-ups; they're glaring deficiencies that prevent companies from succeeding in the marketplace. In Ten Deadly Marketing Sins, Kotler covers each sin in-depth in its own chapter and offers practical, proven guidance for reversing them. Marketers will learn how to stay market-focused and customer-driven, fully understand their customers, keep track of the competition, manage relationships with stakeholders, find new opportunities, develop effective marketing plans, strengthen product and service policies, build brands, get organized, and use technology to the fullest. Covering crucial topics every marketer must understand, Ten Deadly Marketing Sins is a must-have for anyone who want to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging marketplace. Packed with the kind of marketing wisdom only Kotler can provide, this is an indispensable resource for every company-and every marketer-who wants to develop better products, better marketing plans, and better customer relationships. Ten Deadly Marketing Sins is an unbeatable resource from the most respected thinker in modern marketing. Philip Kotler (Chicago, IL) is the S. C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management and the author of 15 books, including Marketing Insights from A to Z (0-471-26867-4) and Lateral Marketing (0-471-45516-4), both published by Wiley.

In this frank, funny, and often challenging memoir about life in and out of the church, twenty-something Patton Dodd reveals his quest for an authentic experience of God. On his journey he attempts to pinpoint and justify his belief in God, first with the fervent absolutes that characterize a new believer’s faith but then with a growing awareness of the cultural complexities that define his faith and encompass his understanding of Christianity. When a spiritual awakening in his last year of high school wrenches Dodd out of his rebellious party days, he embarks on a quest for God. He exchanges pot smoking for worship dancing, gives up MTV for Christian pop, and enrolls at a Christian university. Soon, however, he finds himself ill at ease with the other Christians around him and with the cloying superficiality of the Christian subculture. Dodd tells his story in contradictory terms—conversion and confusion, acceptance and rejection, spiritual highs and psychological lows. With painstaking honesty, he tries to negotiate a relationship with his faith apart from the cultural trappings that often clothe it. Dodd’s moving story paints a nuanced and multilayered portrait of an earnest quest for God: the hunger for genuine faith, the bleak encounters with doubt, and the consuming questions that challenge the intellect and the soul. This is a story that will resonate with the emerging generation of young adults attempting to break new ground within their own faith tradition.

The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head... literally.Debut author L.L. McKinney delivers an action-packed twist on an old classic, full of romance and otherworldly intrigue .

The first time the Nightmares came, it nearly cost Alice her life. Now she's trained to battle monstrous creatures in the dark dream realm known as Wonderland with magic weapons and hardcore fighting skills. Yet even warriors have a curfew.Life in real-world Atlanta isn't always so simple, as Alice juggles an overprotective mom, a high-maintenance best friend, and a slipping GPA. Keeping the Nightmares at bay is turning into a full-time job. But when Alice's handsome and mysterious mentor is poisoned, she has to find the antidote by venturing deeper into Wonderland than she’s ever gone before. And she'll need to use everything she's learned in both worlds to keep from losing her head... literally.Debut author L.L. McKinney delivers an action-packed twist on an old classic, full of romance and otherworldly intrigue .

Helpful, Accessible Guidance for Budding Hedge Funds So You Want to Start a Hedge Fund provides critical lessons and thoughtful insights to those trying to decipher the industry, as well as those seeking to invest in the next generation of high performers. This book foregoes the sensational, headline-grabbing stories about the few billionaire hedge fund managers to reach the top of the field. Instead, it focuses on the much more common travails of start-ups and small investment firms. The successes and failures of a talented group of competitive managers—all highly educated and well trained—show what it takes for managers and allocators to succeed. These accounts include lessons on funding, team development, strategy, performance, and allocation. The hedge fund industry is concentrated in the largest funds, and the big funds are getting bigger. In time, some of these funds will not survive their founders and large sums will get reallocated to a broader selection of different managers. This practical guide outlines the allocation process for fledgling funds, and demonstrates how allocators can avoid pitfalls in their investments. So You Want to Start a Hedge Fund also shows how to: Develop a sound strategy and raise the money you need Gain a real-world perspective about how allocators think and act Structure your team and investment process for success Recognize the patterns of successful start-ups The industry is approaching a significant crossroads. Aggregate growth is slowing and competition is shifting away from industry-wide growth, at the expense of traditional asset classes, to market share capture within the industry. So You Want to Start a Hedge Fund provides guidance for the little funds—the potential future leaders of the industry.

Rage, resentment, envy, jealousy, and hatred— these emotions seem to dominate our times. They rule our highways, our workplaces, our homes, and our hearts. In this provocative book of essays, writer Garret Keizer considers anger in all its baffling forms. Poignantly aware of his own temper, and of his ties to a religion that glorifies meekness, the author looks at anger as a paradox in our struggle to remain human in the midst of an infuriating world. Interweaving personal anecdotes, mythological stories, sacred texts, and Keizer's insightful observations, The Enigma of Anger will prove a welcome companion for anyone who has ever wrestled with wrath-or wished to make better use of it.