Make Space. How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration

Comprehensive coverage of what it takes to be a responsible member of an investment committee In a clear, organized, and easy-to-understand manner, this handbook explains the responsibilities and expectations of investment committee fiduciaries for pension funds, endowment funds, and foundations. Emphasizing all the do's and don'ts to follow for prudent investment management, this invaluable resource covers topics ranging from investment policy, asset allocation, and risk assessment to understanding information presented at committee meetings, asking meaningful and productive questions, and voting on recommendations knowledgeably. This book will empower readers with all the knowledge they need to feel confident in the investment decisions they make for their organizations

Tear down the obstacles to creative innovation in your organization Unlocking Creativity is an exploration of the creative process and how organizations can clear the way for innovation. In many organizations, creative individuals face stubborn resistance to new ideas. Managers and executives oftentimes reject innovation and unconventional approaches due to misplaced allegiance to the status quo. Questioning established practices or challenging prevailing sentiments is frequently met with stiff resistance. In this climate of stifled creativity and inflexible adherence to conventional wisdom, potentially game-changing ideas are dismissed outright. Senior leaders claim to value creativity, yet often lack the knowledge to provide a creative framework. Unlocking Creativity offers effective methods and real-world examples of how the most successful organizations create cultures of innovation and experimentation. Best-selling author and scholar Michael Roberto presents a thorough investigation of organizational obstacles to creative thought. Highly relevant to the growth crises many enterprises face in today’s economic landscape, this book examines how to break barriers to spark creativity and foster new ideas. This insightful and informative work allows business executives, senior managers, and organization leaders to: Recognize the six organizational mindsets that impede creativity and innovation Learn how to tear down the barriers that obstruct the creative process Create an environment that allows talented people to thrive Encourage creative collaboration in teams throughout an organization Leaders do not have to conceive innovative ideas, but rather open the path for curious and creative employees within their organization. Unlocking Creativity: How to Solve Any Problem and Make the Best Decisions aids organizations in removing obstacles to the creative process and helps to form an atmosphere of imagination and innovation.

A new system of people practices that produce extraordinary business results Hiring and retaining great people is the key to profitable growth, but it is the number one issue keeping leaders and managers awake at night. Winning the War for Talent addresses this issue with an unconventional ‘how to’ guide of innovative techniques to source and retain skilled staff. This book shows you how to do away with old-fashioned, destructive and subjective practices that have spread like a pandemic through the HR industry. It also outlines why effective sourcing of talent is now vital to business success. You will be shown proven, scientific solutions that are rarely used and never mentioned in existing business books and seminars and much, much more. Includes a complete step-by-step system with checklists, KPIs and templates that organisations of any size or type, can easily follow and implement Features proven strategies and secret weapons that won't cost you a cent, highlighted in case studies from a diverse range of businesses Written by bestselling author Mandy Johnson, the youngest ever director of Flight Centre, Australia’s leading travel agent For business owners and organisational leaders Winning the War for Talent is your must-have companion to effective recruitment, staff retention and increasing business success.

A practical guide to understanding economic forecasts In Inside the Crystal Ball: How to Make and Use Forecasts, UBS Chief U.S. Economist Maury Harris helps readers improve their own forecasting abilities by examining the elements and processes that characterize successful and failed forecasts. The book: Provides insights from Maury Harris, named among Bloomberg's 50 Most Influential People in Global Finance. Demonstrates «best practices» in the assembly and evaluation of forecasts. Harris walks readers through the real-life steps he and other successful forecasters take in preparing their projections. These valuable procedures can help forecast users evaluate forecasts and forecasters as inputs for making their own specific business and investment decisions. Emphasizes the critical role of judgment in improving projections derived from purely statistical methodologies. Harris explores the prerequisites for sound forecasting judgment—a good sense of history and an understanding of contemporary theoretical frameworks—in readable and illuminating detail. Addresses everyday forecasting issues, including the credibility of government statistics and analyses, fickle consumers, and volatile business spirits. Harris also offers procedural guidelines for special circumstances, such as natural disasters, terrorist threats, gyrating oil and stock prices, and international economic crises. Evaluates major contemporary forecasting issues—including the now commonplace hypothesis of sustained economic sluggishness, possible inflation outcomes in an environment of falling unemployment, and projecting interest rates when central banks implement unprecedented low interest rate and quantitative easing (QE) policies. Brings to life Harris's own experiences and those of other leading economists in his almost four-decade career as a professional economist and forecaster. Dr. Harris presents his personal recipes for long-term credibility and commercial success to anyone offering advice about the future.

Solid Forex strategies for capturing profits in today's volatile markets How to Make a Living Trading Foreign Exchange puts the world of Forex at your fingertips. Author Courtney Smith begins with an introduction to the Forex market-what it is and how it works. He then delves into six moneymaking techniques for trading Forex, including his unique Rejection Rule that doubles the profit of basic channel breakout systems. In addition to two specific methods for exiting positions at critical levels, Smith also discusses powerful risk management techniques and successful trading psychology strategies that will keep you one step ahead of the game. Reveals the secrets of the Forex market and how to create a lifetime of income trading it Offers advice on maximizing profits during the volatile swings that have increasingly become the norm Other titles by Smith: Option Strategies, Third Edition, Seasonal Charts For Futures Traders, Commodity Spreads, and Profits Through Seasonal Trading Make more from today's Forex market with How to Make a Living Trading Foreign Exchange.

A different way of discovering and developing the best business ideas Jack Welch once said, «Someone, somewhere has a better idea.» In this myth-busting book, the authors reveal that great business ideas do not spring from innate creativity, or necessarily from the brilliant minds of people. Rather, great ideas come to those who are in the habit of looking for great ideas all around them, all the time. Too often, people fall into the trap of thinking that the only worthwhile idea is a thoroughly original one. Idea Hunters know better. They understand that valuable ideas are already out there, waiting to be found – and not just in the usual places. Shows how to expand your capacity to find and develop winning business ideas Explains why ideas are a critical asset for every manager and professional, not just for those who do «creative» Reveals how to seek out and select the ideas that best serve your purposes and goals and define who you are, as a professional Offers practical tips on how to master the everyday habits of an Idea Hunter, which include cultivating great conversations The book is filled with illustrative accounts of successful Idea Hunters and stories from thriving «idea» companies. Warren Buffet, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Mary Kay Ash, Twitter, and Pixar Animation Studios are among the many profiled.

A practical, real-world training manual for mid-level management Managing to Make a Difference presents a leadership guide for those in the middle. The C-suite has a wealth of resources for leadership guidance, but middle managers face a quandary: often given little guidance on how to excel, they are also under enormous pressure to do a variety of things other than «lead.» This book provides much-needed tools and techniques for building a high-performing team—without letting your other duties suffer. Organized around a coherent philosophy and based on solid research, the discussion offers a roadmap to engagement, talent development, and excellence in management. From difficult situations and organizational challenges to everyday motivation and inspiration, these techniques help middle managers achieve the goals of their organization while empowering their workers to achieve their own. Talent development is probably not your full-time job—yet it drives the engagement that results in high performance. This book shows you how to hit the «sweet spot» of middle management, with a host of tools and strategies to help you help your team shine. Motivate, inspire, and lead your team with confidence Manage through challenges and overcome obstacles Develop key talent and maintain high engagement Adopt practical management tools based on substantiated research Most organizations direct the majority of their development resources to the C-suite, but still expect their mid-level managers to attract, engage, retain, and develop talent; but successfully juggling everyday duties while maintaining team performance and leading around roadblocks leaves little room for management planning. Managing to Make a Difference offers the solution in the form of tools, techniques, and practical strategy for a high performing team.

The Ask is a complete resource for teaching anyone—experienced in fundraising or not—how to ask individuals, in person, for a contribution to for a local nonprofit or a special event or community project, an enhanced annual gift, a major or planned gift, or a challenging capital campaign gift. Written by fundraising expert Laura Fredricks, The Ask shows what it takes to prepare yourself and others to make an effective ask and includes over one hundred sample dialogues you can use and adapt. Step by step, the book reveals how to listen, what to say, and how to follow up on each and every ask until you receive a solid and definitive answer. In addition, The Ask covers such topics as how to Examine your views on money before making an ask Learn the ins and outs of asking for money Work with others to make an ask Determine if you should or should not ask a friend, colleague, or peer for money Figure out how many asks you can do given your time constraints Deal effectively with all the responses you will get to an ask

You can still find plenty of good deals in a failing real estate market by applying the advice in The Peebles Path to Real Estate Wealth: How to Make Money in Any Market. Multimillionaire teal estate mogul R. Donahue Peebles makes it possible for you to always win in real estate, provided you have the right knowledge and exercise good judgment in the deals you make. Start with small investments and work up to bigger, more profitable properties; before you know it, you’ll be a smart investor earning large profits!

Bestselling trading author Guy Cohen introduces the OVI indicator to stock trading More fortunes are made from trading stocks than any other financial instrument, and these windfalls are available to anyone who has access to the right information. Presenting the methods used by the best traders in the market, The Insider Edge: How to Follow the Insiders for Windfall Profits uses options transaction data to reveal what «informed traders» are doing, and how anyone can take advantage of these techniques. Whether the markets are choppy or trending, it always pays to wait for a clear opportunity. Any good trader knows that they need an Edge to excel, and this book demonstrates how the combination of specific chart patterns, author Guy Cohen's proprietary OVI indicator, and a robust trading plan, when combined, will deliver success. In The Insider Edge, Guy Cohen reveals: How you can profit from options without having to trade or even understand them! Why the smart money often gravitates to the options markets. How options transactions can often reveal the direction of the stock price. How you can trade using information typically reserved for the pros. A trading plan the delivers maximum safety and windfall profits. How to use his proprietary OVI indicator online for free, so you can start to follow the insiders. The author emphasises that The Insider Edge is for anyone who wants to trade stocks. No options knowledge is required to benefit from this book. His method involves observing what the smart options traders are doing, and then following them. This is what gives you The Insider Edge.