Business Genius. A More Inspired Approach to Business Growth

Praise for Look At More «Andy Stefanovich is a masterful storyteller and a true 'curator of inspiration.' Look At More gives you a dose of Andy's adrenaline and creative can-do spirit, and it provides you with a powerful how-to guide for inspiring workplace innovation that lasts.»—Beth Comstock, chief marketing officer, GE «Andy Stefanovich has always exhorted his clients to 'look at more stuff, think about it harder.' With this inspired and inspiring book, he shares dozens upon dozens of ways to put that principle to work. Look At More offers a way to real business transformation.» —Daniel H. Pink, author, A Whole New Mind and Drive «Andy offers the reader a unique insight into what it really takes to create innovation within the structure of a corporate environment today. Andy doesn't think outside the box. He blows it up and starts again, helping large corporations think and behave like start-ups.» —Duncan Wardle, vice president, Creative Inc., Disney Company «Andy Stefanovich delivers a host of innovative approaches to transform you and your business. The addictive narrative, while informative and actionable, is as creative as he wants us all to be.»—Ivy Ross, executive vice president, marketing, Gap Brand at Gap Inc. «Look At More gives business leaders a practical and comprehensive framework to build, maintain, and most importantly inspire innovation not only at work but in all parts of life.»—Stew Friedman, Wharton professor and author, Total Leadership

25 Steps to Found and Scale a High-Growth Business The Startup Checklist is the entrepreneur's essential companion. While most entrepreneurship books focus on strategy, this invaluable guide provides the concrete steps that will get your new business off to a strong start. You'll learn the ins and outs of startup execution, management, legal issues, and practical processes throughout the launch and growth phases, and how to avoid the critical missteps that threaten the foundation of your business. Instead of simply referring you to experts, this discussion shows you exactly which experts you need, what exactly you need them to do, and which tools you will use to support them—and you'll gain enough insight to ask smart questions that help you get your money's worth. If you're ready to do big things, this book has you covered from the first business card to the eventual exit. Over two thirds of startups are built on creaky foundations, and over two thirds of startup costs go directly toward cleaning up legal and practical problems caused by an incomplete or improper start. This book helps you sidestep the messy and expensive clean up process by giving you the specific actions you need to take right from the very beginning. Understand the critical intricacies of legally incorporating and running a startup Learn which experts you need, and what exactly you need from them Make more intelligent decisions independent of your advisors Avoid the challenges that threaten to derail great young companies The typical American startup costs over $30,000 and requires working with over two dozen professionals and service providers before it even opens for business—and the process is so complex that few founders do it correctly. Their startups errors often go unnoticed until the founder tries to seek outside capital, at which point they can cost thousands of dollars to fix. . . or even completely derail an investment. The Startup Checklist helps you avoid these problems and lay a strong foundation, so you can focus on building your business.

Combining the principles of Eastern and Western business practices for powerful success As an entrepreneur, manager, and problem-solver, Tomio Taki has shared advice with businesspeople ranging from managers of mom-and-pops to high-powered executives from across the globe. The Innovation Instinct showcases the author's breadth of life experience and illustrates how the principles of Eastern and Western business practices can be meshed together as a powerful source for success. Lessons range from the benefits of asking the simple questions to the importance of establishing oneself and knowing when to go against the grain. Tomio Taki has consulted for, financed, or directly managed both private and public companies on nearly every continent. He has been involved in ventures ranging from being the man behind Donna Karen New York to owning and operating private golf clubs around the world. In short, Taki's business and related successes are striking, having helped companies rise from the ashes of potential bankruptcy to streamlining and growing corporate giants. The wisdom he shares in The Innovation Instinct includes: Language is less of an obstacle across borders; instead, cultural differences are what propel and vitiate communication among businesspersons Certain fundamental aspects of business and life cross latitudinal and longitudinal lines When businesspeople seek to understand the cultures of their counterparts, they will discover lasting success with their global business relationships.

In the modern economy, businesses must have heart The marketing industry is broken. Consumers are tired of interruption, push, mass media and the manipulation of marketing and advertising generally. They want to deal with honest, ethical companies that have heart and purpose and that care about serving all their stakeholders instead of their pockets. Conscious Marketing proves that marketing can really work if the paradigm is shifted—radically. In Conscious Marketing: How to Create an Awesome Business With a New Approach to Marketing, author Carolyn Tate demonstrates just how beneficial this shift can be. By practising the four tenets of conscious marketing, companies can raise their brand's profile and attract customers for life. The book shows how building a business with a higher-purpose can lead to sustainability, profitability and industry leadership. Conscious marketing works for both multinational corporations and cash-strapped small business alike. In the modern market, a business that does well and contributes to the elevation of humanity and the planet attracts the best customers, employees, suppliers and investors. These people evangelize, and the brand reach expands exponentially further and to a more loyal audience than traditional marketing will ever capture. This concept and other topics in the book include: What's wrong with marketing and why it doesn't work What «conscious» means to the consumer, business, leader and marketer The who, what, why and how of conscious marketing Navigating the shift from traditional to conscious practices The book includes a three-part guide to crafting an actionable plan, including where to find help. Marketing doesn't have to be the budgetary dead weight it has become. It can be fun, human and inspiring for everyone involved, but change requires a deep shift in thinking and behaviour that goes way beyond the transaction or the sale. To stay relevant in the modern economy, businesses must show what's at their core, why they do what they do and why it matters. Conscious Marketing is a comprehensive guide to fixing the problem, with a sustainable solution.

Practical, prescriptive advice on successfully marketing your event planning business Recent years have been tough on the event planning industry. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, economic downturns, wars, and SARS have all negatively impacted the business. There are fewer corporate dollars dedicated to travel budgets and special events, creating even more pressure on businesses in an already highly competitive industry. This book tells you all you need to know to market your business and build your client base in good times and bad. Marketing Your Event Planning Business shows you how to gain a competitive advantage by setting yourself apart from the competition, pursuing new markets, and soliciting sales. It covers all the vital topics in event planning marketing, including how to diversify your client base, develop niche markets, improve your customer service, establish emergency business plans, and much more. Ideal for event planners, marketing managers in the industry, and professionals in the hospitality, culinary, or travel industries Includes actionable advice on successfully marketing an event planning business Features illustrative examples, practical tips, and useful checklists and other resources Marketing Your Event Planning Business is packed with practical tips and examples, giving you creative new ways to showcase your talents, build your business, and bring added value to your clients.

Raising a Business is aimed at women who have recently started, or are planning to start, a business. It is designed to teach women how they can successfully prepare their business for, and manage, growth. It outlines the key areas that business owners need to look at to create a profitable, sustainable and successful business. The author, Sonia Williams, interviewed several successful Australian businesswomen, who share their strategies, tips and advice for growing a business.

An MBA for the SME! Do you want to take your small business to the next level? Are you itching to achieve breakthrough success? Then it’s time to give your business a full health check with the Business Doctors. The Business Doctors are a network of independent business advisors who offer their expert advice and guidance to small business owners and entrepreneurs in every industry sector. In Breaking Big they will help you assess where your business is right now and take you through ten strategic steps to get to the next level. Breaking Big is: Based on the concept of an «entrepreneurial bootcamp,» it provides workouts to wake up small business owners and inspire them to kick their businesses into high gear A unique opportunity for entrepreneurs and SME owners to get back to basics and take a good look their core values and business vision Grounded in the authors' experience of helping hundreds of small business owners overcome real-life business issues, setbacks, and potential pitfalls

Praise for Everything I Know About Business I Learned from My Mama «Not your typical success book by any means. It's laugh-out-loud funny, full of great stories and outstanding business ideas, and has real heart. This is one I would spend my money on!» –Larry Winget, New York Times bestselling author of It's Called Work for a Reason! and star of the A&E hit reality series Big Spender «Every now and then I find a book that is so inspiring I immediately start making a list of all the people I know who must have a copy. Everything I Know About Business I Learned from My Mama is one of those books.» –Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Work You Love «This book is a great combination: both entertaining and educational. You'll get some terrific ideas and insights and have so much fun in the process, you might not even realize you're learning. I recommend it.» –Mark Sanborn, author of The Fred Factor «This is one of those rare books that works on every level. Knox is an absolute pleasure to read, his stories are joyfully engaging, and there's a business lesson on every page. I enthusiastically recommend that you get this book immediately. Like me, you won't put it down until you've reached the last page. Hey, Tim, write another one soon!» –Joe Calloway, author of Work Like You're Showing Off! «Think of this book as Jeff Foxworthy meets Donald Trump. You get all of The Donald's wisdom dished up in some of the most hilarious business adventures ever described. Only Tim would learn a major business lesson from having his daddy try to electrocute him. If it ain't fun, don't do it. By that advice, you should read this book. It's an entrepreneur's gold mine nestled in a silly foam container.» –Jerry Newman, author of My Secret Life on the McJob

Achieve your goals by selectively engaging the right people and connecting well with them Smart executives who want to reach virtually any business goal-from raising capital to finding sales leads to finding the perfect job-know that networking is the key to their success. But traditional networking approaches-meet as many people as possible, amass huge numbers of «connections» and «friends» in your LinkedIn and Facebook networks-rarely produce more than a handful of relationships that pay off. In Well-Connected, networking maven and coach Gordon Curtis explains that the secret to building truly effective relationships is to narrow–rather than widen–your network. His proven methodology for building key relationships that deliver results every time emphasizes selectively engaging the right people and connecting with them well : First, identify a «critical enabler,» someone who has access to the knowledge you need and is inclined to help you; second, unlock the critical enabler's willingness and ability to provide what you need by offering her something valuable before you ask her or him for anything. Well-Connected reveals a breakthrough approach to networking that delivers predictable, positive results Filled with success stories, the book provides an accessible action plan for all readers Networking maven Gordon Curtis has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Sunday Globe, Fast Company Magazine Well-Connected serves as the playbook for sophisticated business people who know there's a better way to connect with the right people to get things done better and faster.

Dave Hitz likes to solve fun problems. He didn’t set out to be a Silicon Valley icon, a business visionary, or even a billionaire. But he became all three. It turns out that business is a mosaic of interesting puzzles like managing risk, developing and reversing strategies, and looking into the future by deconstructing the past. As a founder of NetApp, a data storage firm that began as an idea scribbled on a placemat and now takes in $4 billion a year, Hitz has seen his company go through every major cycle in business—from the Jack-of-All-Trades mentality of a start-up, through the tumultuous period of the IPO and the dot-com bust, and finally to a mature enterprise company. NetApp is one of the fastest-growing computer companies ever, and for six years in a row it has been on Fortune magazine’s list of Best Companies to Work For. Not bad for a high school dropout who began his business career selling his blood for money and typing the names of diseases onto index cards. With colorful examples and anecdotes, How to Castrate a Bull is a story for everyone interested in understanding business, the reasons why companies succeed and fail, and how powerful lessons often come from strange and unexpected places. Dave Hitz co-founded NetApp in 1992 with James Lau and Michael Malcolm. He served as a programmer, marketing evangelist, technical architect, and vice president of engineering. Presently, he is responsible for future strategy and direction for the company. Before his career in Silicon Valley, Dave worked as a cowboy, where he got valuable management experience by herding, branding, and castrating cattle.