Authors: Jeffrey Pfeffer.
Paperback, 391 pages
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Publication Date: 1994-02
Edition: 1st

Reviews :

    Although much as been written about how to make better decisions, a decision by itself changes nothing. The big problem facing managers and their organizations today is one of implementation - how to get things done in a timely and effective way. Problems of implementation are really issues of how to influence behavior, change the course of events, overcome resistance, and get people to do things they would not otherwise do. In a word, power. "Managing with Power" provides an in-depth look at the role of power and influence in organizations. Pfeffer shows convincingly that its effective use is an essential component of strong leadership. With vivid examples, he makes a compelling case for the necessity of power in mobilizing the political support and resources to get things done in any organization. He provides an intriguing look at the personal attributes - such as flexibility, stamina, and a high tolerance for conflict - and the structural factors - such as control of resources, access to information, and formal authority - that can help managers advance organizational goals and achieve individual success....

Authors: Randy Komisar.
Paperback, 208 pages
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Publication Date: 2001-07


Reviews :

    What would you be willing to do for the rest of your life...? It's a question most of us consider only hypothetically-opting instead to "do what we have to do" to earn a living. But in the critically acclaimed bestseller "The Monk and the Riddle", entrepreneurial sage Randy Komisar asks us to answer it for real. The book's timeless advice - to make work pay not just in cash, but in experience, satisfaction, and joy - will be embraced by anyone who wants success to come not just from what they do, but from who they are.At once a fictional tale of Komisar's encounters with a would-be entrepreneur and a personal account of how Komisar found meaning not in work's rewards but in work itself, the book illustrates what's wrong with the mainstream thinking that we should sacrifice our lives to make a living. Described by Fortune.com as "part personal essay, part fictional narrative and part meditation on the nature of work and life," "The Monk and the Riddle" is essential reading on the art of creating a life while making a living. 'Belongs in a category by itself...The best thing I've read all year' - "San Francisco Examiner". 'A timely book' - "USA Today". 'A self-help manual and business fable rolled into one' - "The Times, London"....

    Prospective entrepreneurs may think they know everything there is to know about starting a business in Silicon Valley. They can draw up business plans, have meetings with venture capitalists, maybe even get funded and actually launch a start-up. However, in The Monk and the Riddle, Silicon Valley sage Randy Komisar reasons that's only half the equation for success. And it may not be the important half. Komisar has worked with a number of companies--Apple, LucasArts Entertainment (the gaming division of George Lucas's empire), and WebTV among them--and has come to a rather startling conclusion: if you can't see yourself doing this business for the rest of your life, don't start it. In other words, he wants to see passion and purpose in business, not just spreadsheets and a by-the-numbers business model.

To illustrate, Komisar takes the reader through a hypothetical Silicon Valley start-up, with an eager entrepreneur named Lenny trying to get funding for an online casket-selling business. As Komisar helps Lenny find the real purpose of the business, the passion behind the revenue projections, he reflects back on his life as an entrepreneur. Komisar emerges as a master storyteller, the kind of guy you'd feel honored to share a bottle of wine with. And you believe his conclusion: "When all is said and done, the journey is the reward." It's great if you've made billions on the journey, but the important thing is that you do something you can truly throw yourself into. --Lou Schuler...

Authors: Tzu Sun. Ralph D Sawyer. Translated By *.
Paperback, 375 pages
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication Date: 1994-02-10


Reviews :

    ...

Authors: Robert Damelio.
Paperback, 80 pages
Publisher: Productivity Press
Publication Date: 1996-07-23
Edition: 1

Reviews :

    Practical and easy to read, this book contains a case study of both levels of process mapping and guidelines for when to use each type. It details the importance of process mapping in examining a work flow and customer-supplier relationships as the foundation for appropriate improvements. The author provides step-by-step instructions for creating and interpreting a relationship process map and a cross-functional process map, and reviews the commonly used flowchart. Highlighting the relationship of process mapping to flowcharting, he delineates the differences between a cross-functional process map, a relationship map, and a flowchart, providing detailed examples of why and how each is used in specific situations....

Authors: Etienne Wenger. Richard McDermott. William M. Snyder.
Hardcover, 352 pages
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Publication Date: 2002-03-15
Edition: 1

Reviews :

    Today's marketplace is fueled by knowledge. Yet organizing systematically to leverage knowledge remains a challenge. Leading companies have discovered that technology is not enough, and that cultivating communities of practice is the keystone of an effective knowledge strategy. Communities of practice come together around common interests and expertise - whether they consist of first-line managers or customer service representatives, neurosurgeons or software programmers, city managers or home-improvement amateurs. They create, share, and apply knowledge within and across the boundaries of teams, business units, and even entire companies - providing a concrete path toward creating a true knowledge organization.In "Cultivating Communities of Practice", Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder argue that while communities form naturally, organizations need to become more proactive and systematic about developing and integrating them into their strategy. This book provides practical models and methods for stewarding these communities to reach their full potential - without squelching the inner drive that makes them so valuable. Through in-depth cases from firms such as DaimlerChrysler, McKinsey & Company, Shell, and the World Bank, the authors demonstrate how communities of practice can be leveraged to drive overall company strategy, generate new business opportunities, tie personal development to corporate goals, transfer best practices, and recruit and retain top talent. They define the unique features of these communities and outline principles for nurturing their essential elements.They provide guidelines to support communities of practice through their major stages of development, address the potential downsides of communities, and discuss the specific challenges of distributed communities. And they show how to recognize the value created by communities of practice and how to build a corporate knowledge strategy around them. Essential reading for any leader in today's knowledge economy, this is the definitive guide to developing communities of practice for the benefit-and long-term success-of organizations and the individuals who work in them. Etienne Wenger is a renowned expert and consultant on knowledge management and communities of practice in San Juan, California. Richard McDermott is a leading expert of organization and community development in Boulder, Colorado. William M. Snyder is a founding partner of Social Capital Group, in Cambridge, Massachusetts....

    From the time our ancestors lived in caves to that day in the late '80s when Chrysler sanctioned unofficial "tech clubs" to promote the flow of information between teams working on different vehicle platforms, bands of like-minded individuals had been gathering in a wide variety of settings to recount their experiences and share their expertise. Few paid much attention until a number of possible benefits to business were identified, but many are watching more closely now that definitive links have been established. In Cultivating Communities of Practice, consultants Etienne C. Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William Snyder take the concept to another level by describing how these groups might be purposely developed as a key driver of organizational performance in the knowledge age. Building on a 1998 book by Wenger that framed the theory for an academic audience, Cultivating Communities of Practice targets practitioners with pragmatic advice based on the accumulating track records of firms such as the World Bank, Shell Oil, and McKinsey & Company. Starting with a detailed explanation of what these groups really are and why they can prove so useful in managing knowledge within an organization, the authors discuss development from initial design through subsequent evolution. They also address the potential "dark side"--arrogance, cliquishness, rigidity, and fragmentation among participants, for example--as well as measurement issues and the challenges inherent in initiating these groups company-wide. --Howard Rothman ...

Authors: Ricardo Semler.
Paperback, 352 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: 1995-04-01


Reviews :

    A Brazilian executive's success story describes how he turned around an aging, stagnant company that defied recession, strikes, and inflation by eliminating nine layers of management and instilling democratic practices. Reprint....

Authors: Martin Lindstrom.
Hardcover, 256 pages
Publisher: Free Press
Publication Date: 2005-02-01
Edition: illustrated edition

Reviews :

    In perhaps the most creative and authoritative book on sensory branding ever written, international business legend Martin Lindstrom reveals what the world's most successful branding companies do differently -- integrating touch, taste, smell, sight, and sound -- with startling and measurable results.

Based on the largest study ever conducted on how our five senses affect the creation of brands, BRAND sense explains Martin Lindstrom's innovative six-step program for bringing brand building into the twenty-first century. The study, covering over a dozen countries worldwide, was conducted exclusively for this book by Millward Brown, one of the largest business research institutions in the world. Drawing on countless examples of both product creation and retail experience, Lindstrom shows how to establish a marketing approach that appeals to all the senses, not simply the conventional reliance on sight and sound. Research shows that a full 75 percent of our emotions are in fact generated by what we smell, and the author explains how to capitalize on that insight. Included are innovative tools for evaluating a brand's place on the sensory scale, analyzing its future sensory potential, and enhancing its appeal to reach the broadest base of consumers. Lindstrom lists the top twenty brands for the future based on their sensory awareness. (The top three? Singapore Airlines, Apple, and Disney.)

Among the book's many fascinating factual highlights are the following:

• That gratifying new-car smell that accompanies the purchase of a new car is actually a factory-installed aerosol can containing "new-car" aroma.

• Kellogg's trademarked crunchy sound and feel of eating cornflakes was created in sound labs and patented in the same way that the company owns its recipe and logo.

• Singapore Airlines has patented a scent that is part of every female flight attendant's perfume, as well as blended into the hot towels served before takeoff, and which generally permeates their entire fleet of airplanes.

• Starbucks' sensory uniqueness is far less strongly associated with the smell and taste of coffee than with the interior design of its cafés and its green and white logo.

Hailed as the "World's Brand Futurist" by the BBC, Martin Lindstrom is one of the world's top entrepreneurial visionaries, who has changed the face of global marketing with twenty years of hands-on experience as an advertising CEO and adviser to Fortune 500 companies. Firmly steeped in scientific evidence and featuring sensory secrets of the most successful brand names, BRAND sense reveals how to transform marketing strategies into positive business results that no brand builder can afford to ignore.

...

Authors: Steve Hindy. Tom Potter.
Paperback, 304 pages
Publisher: Wiley
Publication Date: 2007-02-09


Reviews :

    What do you get when you cross a journalist and a banker? A brewery, of course.

"A great city should have great beer. New York finally has, thanks to Brooklyn. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter provided it. Beer School explains how they did it: their mistakes as well as their triumphs. Steve writes with a journalist's skepticism-as though he has forgotten that he is reporting on himself. Tom is even less forgiving-he's a banker, after all. The inside story reads at times like a cautionary tale, but it is an account of a great and welcome achievement."
—Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter(r)

"An accessible and insightful case study with terrific insight for aspiring entrepreneurs. And if that's not enough, it is all about beer!"
—Professor Murray Low, Executive Director, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School

"Great lessons on what every first-time entrepreneur will experience. Being down the block from the Brooklyn Brewery, I had firsthand witness to their positive impact on our community. I give Steve and Tom's book an A !"
—Norm Brodsky, Senior Contributing Editor, Inc. magazine

"Beer School is a useful and entertaining book. In essence, this is the story of starting a beer business from scratch in New York City. The product is one readers can relate to, and the market is as tough as they get. What a fun challenge! The book can help not only those entrepreneurs who are starting a business but also those trying to grow one once it is established. Steve and Tom write with enthusiasm and insight about building their business. It is clear that they learned a lot along the way. Readers can learn from these lessons too."
—Michael Preston, Adjunct Professor, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School, and coauthor, The Road to Success: How to Manage Growth

"Although we (thankfully!) never had to deal with the Mob, being held up at gunpoint, or having our beer and equipment ripped off, we definitely identified with the challenges faced in those early days of cobbling a brewery together. The revealing story Steve and Tom tell about two partners entering a business out of passion, in an industry they knew little about, being seriously undercapitalized, with an overly naive business plan, and their ultimate success, is an inspiring tale."
—Ken Grossman, founder, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co....

Authors: Rick Pitino.
Paperback, 288 pages
Publisher: Broadway
Publication Date: 1998-03-02


Reviews :

    MAKE RICK PITINO YOUR PERSONAL COACH AND ACHIEVE MORE THAN YOU EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE.


For Rick Pitino, the first coach to bring teams from three different schools to the Final Four, success isn’t about shortcuts.  Pitino’s secret–and the reason he has become both a great coach and one of the most sought-after motivational speakers in the nation–is his strategy of overachievement.  Now, in Success Is a Choice, he takes the same proven methods that have earned him and his teams legendary status and gives you a ten-step plan of attack that will help you become a winner at anything you set your mind to:

·Build your self-esteem
·Set demanding goals
·Always be positive
·Establish good habits
·Master the art of communication
·Learn from good role models
·Thrive on pressure
·Be ferociously persistent
·Learn from adversity
·Survive your own success

An inspiring program that is as fun to read as it is practical, Success Is a Choice can make the difference between achievement and failure in your own life.

“So much more than another Armani suit, Pitino has done a job of psychology and salesmanship that should serve as a how-to manual for his profession.” –Chicago Sun-Times

“Pitino’s track record is extraordinary . . . his personal style is also winning.” –Time...

    Wildly successful hoops coach Rick Pitino takes a time-out from the rigors of the NBA to outline his approach and techniques for motivating individuals. The paperback edition contains an all-new foreword written since Pitino's departure from the Kentucky Wildcats and the 1997 national championship season. His plan for excellence in all aspects of life, including sports and business, is more than goal achievement; this is the guidebook for goal overachievement! Pitino presents 10 crucial steps for success, drawing examples from his 20-plus years in the basketball trenches to inspire readers....

Authors: Carl Shapiro. Hal R. Varian.
Hardcover, 352 pages
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Publication Date: 1998-11
Edition: 1st

Reviews :

    In a marketplace that depends so thoroughly on cutting-edge information technology, can classic economic principles still offer any real strategic value? Yes! say Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian. In "Information Rules", they reveal that many long-standing economic concepts can provide the insight and understanding necessary to succeed in the information age. Shapiro and Varian argue that if managers seriously want to develop effective strategies for competing in the new economy, they must understand the fundamental economics of information technology. Whether information takes the form of software code or recorded music, is published in a book or magazine, or even posted on a web site, managers must know how to evaluate the consequences of pricing, protecting, and planning new versions of their information products, services, and systems. The first book to distill the economics of information and networks into practical business strategies, "Information Rules" is a guide to the winning moves that can help business leaders-from writers, lawyers, and finance professionals to executives in the entertainment, publishing, and hardware and software industries navigate successfully through the information economy....

    Chapter 1 of Information Rules begins with a description of the change brought on by technology at the close of the century--but the century described is not this one, it's the late 1800s. One hundred years ago, it was an emerging telephone and electrical network that was transforming business. Today it's the Internet. The point? While the circumstances of a particular era may be unique, the underlying principles that describe the exchange of goods in a free-market economy are the same. And the authors, Carl Shapiro and Hal Varian, should know. Shapiro is Professor of Business Strategy at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley and has also served as chief economist at the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department. Varian is the Dean of the School of Information Management and Systems at UC Berkeley. Together they offer a deep knowledge of how economic systems work coupled with first-hand experience of today's network economy. They write:

Sure, today's business world is different in a myriad of ways from that of a century ago. But many of today's managers are so focused on the trees of technological change that they fail to see the forest: the underlying economic forces that determine success and failure.

Shapiro and Varian go to great lengths to purge this book of the technobabble and forecasting of an electronic woo-woo land that's typical in books of this genre. Instead, with their feet on the ground, they consider how to market and distribute goods in the network economy, citing examples from industries as diverse as airlines, software, entertainment, and communications. The authors cover issues such as pricing, intellectual property, versioning, lock-in, compatibility, and standards. Clearly written and presented, Information Rules belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who has an interest in today's network economy--entrepreneurs, managers, investors, students. If there was ever a textbook written on how to do business in the information age, this book is it. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards ...