Intellectual Character. What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Get It

Gold Medal Winner, Human Resources and Employee Training, 2012 Axiom Business Book Awards Trust, Pride and Camaraderie—transform your company into a «Great Place to Work» The Great Place to Work Institute develops the annual ranking of the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. In this book, the authors explore the model of a Great Place to Work For-one which fosters employee trust, pride in what they do, and enjoyment in the people they work with. They answer the fundamental question, «What is the business value of creating a great workplace?» and brings the definition of a Great Place to work alive with anecdotes, best practices, and quotes from employees working at the best workplaces in the U.S. Reveals the essential ingredients in and the trends of the best places to work Explores Great Place to Work model developed in 1984 and validated through its enduring resonance in both the United States and in over 40 countries around the world Written by Michael Burchell and Jennifer Robin two Great Place to Work Institute Insiders If you organization is struggling with the challenges of leveraging human capital, discover why some companies have what it takes to be great.

One of the toughest lessons every business leader learns is how hard it is to generate sustained growth. Stalled growth is the rule, not the exception–even for the best-managed companies. That's especially true in unpredictable economic environments such as the one we're experiencing today. McKee has a unique understanding of what happens when growth stalls. His firm commissioned a study of 700 companies that had at one time been among the nation's fastest-growing businesses. Developed in concert with Decision Analyst, a leading national research and consulting firm, the study probed areas as diverse as corporate structure, competition, branding, finance, and strategy. The target respondent profile were CEOs, owners, principals, presidents, managing directors or chairmen of the board. In-depth follow-up interviews yielded fascinating stories and personal comments from executives who had been living on the front lines of real-life growth crises. McKee presents compelling knowledge about how and why companies lose their way, and offers practical advice about how they can rekindle growth. When Growth Stalls demonstrates that sluggish growth is generally produced not by mismanagement or strategic blundering but by natural market forces and management dynamics that are often unrecognized–and widespread. The book presents seven characteristics that commonly correlate with stalled growth and what to do about them. Some are external forces to which countless companies have fallen victim: economic upheavals, changing industry dynamics, and increased competition. What McKee points out, however, is how often they catch companies off-guard. More surprising are four subtle and highly destructive internal factors that conspire to keep companies down: lack of consensus among the management team, loss of nerve, loss of focus, and marketing inconsistency. McKee makes the case that, regardless of what's going on outside of an enterprise, it's what's inside that counts.

Get your message across the right way with clear communication Message Not Received provides the tools and techniques that make an effective writer and public speaker. Particularly on topics related to data and technology, effective communication can present a challenge in business settings. This book shows readers how those challenges can be overcome, and how to keep the message from getting lost in the face of mismatched levels of knowledge, various delivery media, and the library of jargon that too often serves as a substitute for real, meaningful language. Coverage includes idea crystallization, the rapidly changing business environment, Kurzweil's law of accelerating change, and our increasing inability to understand what we are saying to each other. Rich with visuals including diagrams, slides, graphs, charts, and infographics, this guide provides accessible information and actionable guidance toward more effectively conveying the message. Today, few professionals can ignore the tsunami of technology that permeates their lives, advancing far more rapidly that most of us can handle. As a result, too many people think that successful speaking means using buzzwords, jargon, and invented words that sound professional, but don't actually communicate meaning. This book provides a path through the noise, helping readers get their message across succinctly, efficiently, and effectively. Adapt your approach for more effective communication Learn the critical skill of crystallizing ideas Tailor your style to the method of delivery Ensure that your message is heard, understood, and internalized It doesn't matter whether you're pitching to a venture capitalist, explaining daily challenges to a non-tech manager, or speaking to hundreds of people – jargon-filled word salad uses a lot of words to say very little. Better communication requires a different approach, and Message Not Received gives you a roadmap to more effective speaking and writing for any audience or medium.

The first true revision of the classic book from the bestselling author of The Leadership Challenge As the world falls deeper into economic downturns and warfare, the question of credibility (how leaders gain and lose it) is more important than ever. Building on their research from The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner explore in Credibility why leadership is above all a relationship, with credibility as the cornerstone, and why leaders must «Say what you mean and mean what you say.» This first full revision of the book since its initial publication in 1993 features new case studies from around the world, fully updated data and research, and a streamlined format. Written by the premier leadership experts working today, Credibility: Reveals the six key disciplines that strengthen a leader's capacity for developing and sustaining credibility. Provides rich examples of real managers in action Includes updates to the applications and research This personal, inspiring, and genuine guide helps you understand the fundamental importance of credibility for building personal and organizational success.

How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes uses illustration, humor, and accessible storytelling to explain complex topics of economic growth and monetary systems. In it, economic expert and bestselling author of Crash Proof, Peter Schiff teams up with his brother Andrew to apply their signature «take no prisoners» logic to expose the glaring fallacies that have become so ingrained in our country?s economic conversation. Inspired by How an Economy Grows and Why It Doesn?t?a previously published book by the Schiffs? father Irwin, a widely published economist and activist?How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes incorporates the spirit of the original while tackling the latest economic issues.With wit and humor, the Schiffs explain the roots of economic growth, the uses of capital, the destructive nature of consumer credit, the source of inflation, the importance of trade, savings, and risk, and many other topical principles of economics. The tales told here may appear simple of the surface, but they will leave you with a powerful understanding of How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes.

”I’m going to show you how to hustle like I do, using your head and heart. All it takes is three steps…”YOUR BRAND: how you can use who you are to smash it onlineYOUR BUSINESS: how to run your side hustle like a total bossYOUR BELIEFS: ditch the thinking that’s holding you backFrom the early lessons she learned growing up in South London, to the moment she gave up the 9 to 5 to do what she loved, Patricia Bright’s story will revolutionise how you think about work, life, and what it means to succeed.Packed with her trademark attitude, style and sense of fun, Heart & Hustle is an inspirational guide to taking control of your own future.

What is the role of fate in our lives?Why should we avoid repeating patterns?And how can we identify our purpose?In What It Means To Be Human, former Oxford don Robert Rowland Smith draws on his personal experience to answer some of life’s most fundamental questions. Robert’s story involves a love triangle, office politics, police raids and a near-death experience. We see him confronting his demons, but also looking out for angels.As we are led into Robert’s private world– exploring themes like love, death, work and creativity – we gain an understanding of what it means to be human that is relevant to all.Previously published as AutoBioPhilosophy.

NATO, the most successful alliance in history, is beset by unresolved tensions and divergent interests that are undermining its cohesion, credibility and capability. In this new book, Mark Webber, James Sperling and Martin Smith explore four key post-Cold War developments that threaten NATO's survival: an overextended geostrategic reach and an unwieldly security policy portfolio; a failure to address capability short-falls and meet defence spending benchmarks; US weariness and European wariness that call NATO into question; and intra-alliance discord over Russia’s place in the European security order and how to deal with Moscow’s destabilization of Georgia and Ukraine. The authors propose in response a range of policy options that could reinvigorate NATO, but conclude with a note of caution. Alliances come and go and most are cast into the dustbin of history. If NATO is to avoid this fate, it must not only address the major problems that trouble it, but also get to grips with future challenges to alliance cohesion and credibility, from Brexit to the emerging contest with China.

Chinese Consumers are Changing The World – Understand Them and Sell To Them China has transformed itself from a feudal economy in the 19th century, to Mao and Communism in the 20th century, to the largest consumer market in the world by the early 21st century. China's Super Consumers explores the extraordinary birth of consumerism in China and explains who these super consumers are. China's Super Consumers offers an in-depth explanation of what's inside the minds of Chinese consumers and explores what they buy, where they buy, how they buy, and most importantly why they buy. The book is filled with real-world stories of the foreign and domestic companies, leading brands, and top executives who have succeeded in selling to this burgeoning marketplace. This remarkable book also takes you inside the boardrooms of the people who understand Chinese consumers and have had success in the Chinese market. A hands-on resource for succeeding in the Chinese marketplace Filled with real-world stories of companies who have made an impact in China Discover what the Chinese consumer wants and how to deliver the goods Written by Savio Chan and Michael Zakkour, two leading experts on the Chinese market This book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants a clear understanding of how China's Super Consumers are changing the world and how to sell to them.

Retirement planning isn't something that happens at a specific point in time or at a specific age – we are all affecting our retirement plans every day with every decision we do or don't make. Canadians are living longer, and the average retiree in the future may have as much as 30 years of retirement to plan for, and there are many simple things that will impact our eventual retirement life. 52 Ways to Wreck Your Retirement identifies 52 things we do that could wreck our retirement, explains why it puts your retirement at risk, and provides the strategy to correct the mistake, or better still, avoid it entirely. The book is organized under several key areas of the planning process, including: Starting to Plan for Retirement Mistakes around Investing Mistakes around Debt Saving for Retirement Pensions Living in Retirement Spending in Retirement New Realities about Retirement 52 Ways to Wreck Your Retirement is not a feel-good book about how wonderful retirement will be or an alarming fear-mongering book about dying broke, nor is it a get-rich-late-retirement solution. Quite simply, it is an easily-accessible and practical guide written for Canadians of all ages that gives you the tools you need to better manage the financial and personal aspects of your retirement.