The Music Instinct. How Music Works and Why We Can't Do Without It

Take a glimpse into the mind of the modern consumer A decade of swift and stunning change has profoundly affected the psychology of how, when, and why we shop and buy. In Decoding the New Consumer Mind, award-winning consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow shares surprising insights about the new motivations and behaviors of shoppers, taking marketers where they need to be today: into the deeply psychological and often unconscious relationships that people have with products, retailers, marketing communications, and brands. Drawing on hundreds of consumer interviews and shop-alongs, Yarrow reveals the trends that define our transformed behavior. For example, when we shop we show greater emotionality, hunting for more intense experiences and seeking relief and distraction online. A profound sense of isolation and individualism shapes the way we express ourselves and connect with brands and retailers. Neurological research even suggests that our brains are rewired, altering what we crave, how we think, and where our attention goes. Decoding the New Consumer Mind provides marketers with practical ways to tap into this new consumer psychology, and Yarrow shows how to combine technology and innovation to enhance brand image; win love and loyalty through authenticity and integrity; put the consumer’s needs and preferences front and center; and deliver the most emotionally intense, yet uncomplicated, experience possible. Armed with Yarrow’s strategies, marketers will be able to connect more effectively with consumers—driving profit and success across the organization.

The essential guide to building a culture of creativity and innovation throughout an organization Your help is needed to crack an unsolved crime: creative thinking is critical for future fulfillment and survival, and yet it is now declining at an alarming rate. In this original mystery-style approach, you will have the opportunity to match your knowledge against that of the latest brain researchers, psychologists, and sociologists as you are taken on a humorous and often startling journey to discover why creativity is dying an untimely death. The '7 Rescue Strategies' then provide proven innovation solutions, from personal issues through to organizational imperatives. Authors Andrew and Gaia Grant have travelled the world for more than 25 years working with more than 20,000 international keynote and workshop participants in more than 30 countries at all levels. With a fascinating forensic approach, revealing carefully researched facts and anecdotal insights, this is a compelling modern tale. And there is a final twist that will leave you wondering.... Can we really live happily ever after?

Leadership the Hard Way presents a method of living and working that can truly facilitate the learning of leadership. Their method shows how to go against the current, fight conventional wisdom, and embrace the unexpected. It is about trusting oneself and valuing intuition, principles, and imagination as much as hard skills and analysis. Frohman combines his counterintuitive ideas with experiences from his own background?from escaping the Nazis as a child to becoming a leading innovator in the semiconductor industry?to show how readers can build their own leadership abilities. A leader?s values and personality, he ultimately reveals, are the only sure source of stability in a world of continuous change.

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.

A dramatic look at fraud's role in our financial markets-and how you can protect yourself Fraud In the Markets reveals the critical role fraud played in the global financial crisis-even as many of the perpetrators continue to go unpunished. Shedding light on the reckless conduct of the former senior executives at major Wall Street firms such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and others just before their collapse, this timely book shows how the culture of «anything goes» on Wall Street fueled the innovation of exotic but deadly asset-backed securities. A frank insider look at the most dramatic economic and business headlines in recent memory, you will find revealing discussion of The egregiously fraudulent lending practices that engulfed the entire US mortgage industry The brazenly deceptive marketing of asset-backed securities A road map to prevent similar disasters from recurring Fraud in the Markets offers forward-looking advice, with practical guidelines for protecting yourself and your company from various forms of fraud that were found to have played a role in the current economic and financial crisis.

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.

Who do we love? Who loves us? And why? Is love really a mystery, or can neuroscience offer some answers to these age-old questions? In her third enthralling book about the brain, Judith Horstman takes us on a lively tour of our most important sex and love organ and the whole smorgasbord of our many kinds of love-from the bonding of parent and child to the passion of erotic love, the affectionate love of companionship, the role of animals in our lives, and the love of God. Drawing on the latest neuroscience, she explores why and how we are born to love-how we're hardwired to crave the companionship of others, and how very badly things can go without love. Among the findings: parental love makes our brain bigger, sex and orgasm make it healthier, social isolation makes it miserable-and although the craving for romantic love can be described as an addiction, friendship may actually be the most important loving relationship of your life. Based on recent studies and articles culled from the prestigious Scientific American and Scientific American Mind magazines, The Scientific American Book of Love, Sex, and the Brain offers a fascinating look at how the brain controls our loving relationships, most intimate moments, and our deep and basic need for connection.

Since the first edition was published in 2009, Patrik Wikstr?m's The Music Industry has become a go-to text for students and scholars. This thoroughly updated third edition provides an international overview of the music industry and its future prospects in the world of global entertainment.

The music industry has experienced two turbulent decades of immense change brought about in part by the digital revolution. How has the industry been transformed by these economic and technological upheavals, and how is it likely to change in the future? What is the role of music in this digital age? Wikstr?m illuminates the workings of the industry, deftly capturing the dynamics at work in the production of musical culture between the transnational media conglomerates, the independent music companies and the public. New to this third edition are expanded sections on the changing structure of the music industry, the impact of digitization on music listening practices, and the evolution of music streaming platforms.

Engaging and comprehensive, The Music Industry is a must-read for students and scholars of media and communication studies, cultural studies, popular music, sociology and economics.

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.

This volume of essays demonstrates and comments on philosophical methods in educational research. Offers a clear picture of what philosophers do when they study education Brings together a series of essays from an international cast of contributors from Canada, UK, Finland, and Cyprus Examines a range of new and established philosophical methods which can be used in educational research Demonstrates how philosophy of education can be understood methodologically Draws from both Continental and Analytical traditions Fills a gap in the research methods literature in education and the social sciences