The Six Secrets of Change. What the Best Leaders Do to Help Their Organizations Survive and Thrive

An illustrated business fable that gives you the faith, courage and confidence to win in today's tough economic climate Fear and uncertainty are staples of daily life in today's struggling economy. As bad as things can be, economic downturns also lead to new opportunities. It's easy to worry, give up and let fear paralyze you. However, you have more control than you think you do and how you handle adversity is your choice-and the only choice that matters. In fact, study history and you'll find that a lot of people and organizations made a name for themselves and grew their businesses during recessions and downturns. These successful people and organizations all shared similar characteristics and took similar actions to thrive while others merely tried to survive. You can do the same. In The Shark and the Goldfish, Jon Gordon shares an inspiring fable about Gordy, a pampered goldfish who gets swept out to sea. Desperate for food, Gordy meets a kind shark who teaches him the ultimate lesson-Goldfish wait to be fed. Sharks go find food. Gordy also learns that the difference between a full and empty stomach is our faith, beliefs and actions. In the face of adversity and lean times, this is a business fable that reinforces a proven truth: You can't control the events in your life. But you can control how you respond and in turn this determines the outcome. A business fable that teaches valuable lessons on the importance of working hard, maintaining a locus of control and focusing on positive choices instead of negative voices, Written by Jon Gordon, bestselling author of The Energy Bus and The No Complaining Rule Reveals how change is inevitable-but that you can make it your friend or foe. Provides an action plan filled with tips and strategies to thrive during change and adversity If you're facing tough economic times, The Shark and the Goldfish will motivate you, inspire you, and give you the confidence you need to thrive during changing times.

DISCOVER THE PROVEN PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES THAT MAKE GREAT LEADERS GREAT When some people hear the words «positive leadership» they roll their eyes because they think we're talking about Pollyanna positive, where life is full of unicorns and rainbows. But the truth is that we are not positive because life is easy. We are positive because life can be hard. As a leader, you will face numerous obstacles, negativity, and tests. There will be times when it seems as if everything in the world is conspiring against you and your vision seems more like a fantasy than a reality. That's why positive leadership is essential! Positive leadership is not about fake positivity. It is the real stuff that makes great leaders great. The research is clear. Being a positive leader is not just a nice way to lead. It's the way to lead if you want to build a great culture, unite your organization in the face of adversity, develop a connected and committed team and achieve excellence and superior results. There is a power associated with positive leadership and you can utilize the framework, stories, and practices in this book to start benefiting yourself and your team with it today!

Develop the qualities of strategic leadership and become an active contributor to the short- and long-term success of your organization Today's organizations face two daunting challenges: 1. How to create new sources of competitive advantage to sustain long-term growth, and 2. How to engage leaders at every level of the organization so that they are more proactive and forward-looking in their area of responsibility. The Art of Strategic Leadership uses a unique approach to examine what it means to be a strategic leader. Instead of focusing on the skills, behaviors, and tools found in typical books on strategic leadership, the authors shed light on the attributes and qualities necessary to lead strategic change and help transform a business. Strategic leadership is what modern leadership is all about. Organizations expect leaders to anticipate and be proactive more than ever before. In this book, the authors draw on their vast experience working directly with leaders at all levels and use an intriguing narrative to explain this inside-out approach to understanding strategic leadership. The narrative follows the journey of how one manager discovered these critically important qualities. You will experience first-hand how these values and attributes manifest in the lives of realistic leaders; how they orchestrate long-term strategic change needed for the organization to compete and survive and actively shape the future while delivering short-term results. The Art of Strategic Leadership provides the content that will help you informally assess and reflect on your own strategic leadership qualities—those that are strengths and those that indicate areas you need to develop. It will guide you as you incorporate these values and qualities into your own leadership style and become a more effective catalyst for change. This book will help you in the following ways: Develop a more proactive, forward-thinking approach to leadership Approach strategy from both short- and long-term perspectives Adopt the core values and principles of a strategic leader Model the qualities exhibited by powerful leaders Strategic leaders serve as powerful examples to others in the organization. Their qualities and traits spread rapidly to those around them, empowering people at every level to take a more active role in meeting the demands of the future. The Art of Strategic Leadership will help you deepen and broaden your understanding of the core qualities of strategic leadership, leaving you better equipped to lead yourself and your team to a better place and create greater value for customers, owners, and employees.

How donors change the world through the six catalytic practices of high-impact philanthropy Do More Than Give provides a blueprint for individuals, philanthropists, and foundation leaders to increase their impact. Based on Forces for Good, this groundbreaking book demonstrates how the six practices of high-impact nonprofits apply to donors aiming to advance social causes. Rather than focus on the mechanics of effective grantmaking, reporting, or evaluation, this book instead proposes that donors can become proactive catalysts for change by rising to meet the challenges of our increasingly interdependent world. Key principles include: going beyond check writing/traditional volunteering; advocating for change; leveraging business; forging peer networks; empowering individuals; leading adaptively; and developing learning organizations. Contains robust case studies depicting every type of philanthropy (corporate, community, operating, specialized, and large private and family foundations) Includes easy to use «Key Takeaways» tailored for donors at the «beginner» and «experienced» levels of catalytic philanthropy Authors are internationally-acclaimed philanthropic, nonprofit, and corporate social responsibility strategy experts who frequently speak and train on high-impact philanthropy In good economic times or bad, this book provides guidance for givers to increase the impact of their charitable resources and go beyond check-writing to help solve problems and change the world.

Where do you fall on your organization's performance spectrum? Unstoppable is performance-enhancing manual for those who are ready to change the world. Regardless of talent or skill set, there are four types of people in every organization: Undertakers, Caretakers, Play Makers, and Game Changers—but value is definitely not equal across the board. Game changers move things forward with relentless energy, effort, attitude, and excellence. They elevate those around them, inspire exceptional performance, and drive their organization to the top. This book is designed to help you rise to the challenge and become the Game Changer your organization needs. Candid insights from dozens of coaches, managers, CEOs, journalists, entrepreneurs, and other elite performers reveal the qualities that make some people stand out, and the underlying theme is mindset. While talent is a great head start, it is merely potential. Undeveloped and erratically-wielded talent holds little value for an organization. The key to high performance is an intentionally cultivated mindset of success, backed by the bold action it takes to make things happen every day. This book delves deep into the elite performance paradigm to help you work at the highest levels. Learn what separates the playmakers from the game changers Step up your performance with a simple five-step process Transform your thinking and develop an unstoppable toughness Be the best at what you do, and elevate your entire organization The performance spectrum is not about classifying your coworkers; it's about self-assessment, self-reflection, and self-improvement. Everyone has star quality, even if it is buried deep inside. Unstoppable helps you uncover your potential, and upgrade your performance to become the best.

Reveals the powerful and undermining effects of stress on good decision making-and what leaders can do about it The ability to make sound and timely decisions is the mark of a good leader. But when leaders with otherwise strong track records suddenly begin making poor decisions-as seen in the recent corporate scandals that rocked the business world-the impact can be widespread. In The Stress Effect, leadership expert Henry L. Thompson argues that stress is often the real culprit behind this leadership failure: when leaders' stress levels become sufficiently elevated-whether in the boardroom or on the front line of a manufacturing process-their ability to effectively use their emotional intelligence and cognitive ability in tandem to make wise decisions is significantly impaired. Until now, experts have argued that increasing your emotional intelligence will help you cope with and manage stress. This book suggests that stress actually blocks access to your emotional intelligence as well as your cognitive ability, two critical components in the decision-making process. This book Shows how stress adversely affects the performance of even the most savvy leaders Reveals the truth about one of the prime factors behind the current failure of leadership Offers a solid prescription for building a «stress resilient system» and arms leaders with best practices for managing specific stressors that take the biggest toll on decision making Is written by an award-winning organizational psychologist and leadership consultant whose clients include a roster of Fortune 500 companies A groundbreaking and insightful resource for leaders, The Stress Effect reopens the dialogue on stress, its effect on decision making, and what to do about it.

An innovative communication method for making change happen in any organization Getting Change Right presents a new view of leadership communication that says change doesn't flow top-down, bottom-up, or sideways, but inside-out. This is how change spreads through a complex system successfully-the other options are force or failure. Based on years of experience with organizations around the world, change expert Kahan presents a new model of communication, one that moves from a transactional view of information exchange to a collaborative construction of shared understanding. When the right people are having the right conversations and interactions, then they act in concert even though the situations they confront independently are impossible to predict or coordinate. This dynamic practitioner's guide to implementing change Presents the innovative co-creation communication model for creating change Reveals how communicating with a company's most valuable players is at the heart of organizational change Draws on the author's wealth of experience with Fortune 100 companies, leading government agencies, and associations Getting Change Right offers business insights and field-tested, practical techniques that can be put to work immediately.

Today's workforce is experiencing job burnout in epidemic proportions. Workers at all levels, both white- and blue-collar, feel stressed out, insecure, misunderstood, undervalued, and alienated at their workplace. This original and important book debunks the common myth that when workers suffer job burnout they are solely responsible for their fatigue, anger, and don't give a damn attitude. The book clearly shows where the accountability often belongs. . . .squarely on the shoulders of the organization.

A proven model to create high-performing, high-trust organizations Globally, there has been a decline in trust over the past few decades, and only a third of Americans believe they can trust the government, big business, and large institutions. In The Decision to Trust, Robert Hurley explains how this new culture of cynicism and distrust creates many problems, and why it is almost impossible to manage an organization well if its people do not trust one another. High-performing, world-class companies are almost always high-trust environments. Without this elusive, important ingredient, companies cannot attract or retain top talent. In this book, Hurley reveals a new model to measure and repair trust with colleagues managers and employees. Outlines a proven Decision to Trust Model (DTM) of ten factors that establish whether or not one party will trust the other Filled with original examples from Daimler, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, QuikTrip, General Electric, Procter and Gamble, AzKoNobel, Johnson and Johnson, Whole Foods, and Zappos Reveals how leaders in Asia, Europe, and North America have used the DTM to build high-trust organizations Covering trust building in teams, across functions, within organizations and across national cultures, The Decision to Trust shows how any organization can improve trust and the bottom line.

We live in a challenging, complex, inter-connected and unpredictable world beset by a range of seemingly insoluble problems. But, says Michael Fullan—an internationally acclaimed authority on organizational change—we have an increasing understanding of how to tackle complex change. This involves developing a new kind of leader: one who recognizes what is needed to bring about deep and lasting changes in living systems at all levels. These leaders need a deep understanding of what motivates us as human beings and how we tap into and influence other people's self-motivation. In his previous best-selling books The Six Secrets of Change, Leading in a Culture of Change, and Turnaround Leadership, Michael Fullan examined the concepts and processes of change. In Change Leader he turns his focus to the core practices of leadership that are so vital for leading in today's complex world. He reveals seven core practices for today's leaders, all of which appear to be deceptively simple but actually get to the essence of what differentiates a powerful leader from one who is merely competent: Practice Drives Theory Be Resolute Motivate the Masses Collaborate to Compete Learn Confidently Know Your Impact Sustain Simplexity Throughout the book Fullan argues that powerful leaders have built bedrocks of credibility, have learned how to identify the few things that matter most, and know how to leverage their skills in ways that benefit their entire organization. The author shows leaders how to avoid policies and strategies that focus on shallow and short-term goals and develop leadership skills for long-term success. With a wealth of illustrative examples from business, education, nonprofit, and government sectors Change Leader provides a much-needed leadership guide for today's turbulent climate.