Authors: Steven Spear.
Hardcover, 432 pages
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Publication Date: 2008-09-29
Edition: 1

Reviews :

    .

How can companies perform so well that their industry counterparts are competitors in name only? Although they operate in the same industry, serve the same market, and even use the same suppliers, these �rabbits� lead the race and, more importantly, continually widen their lead. In Chasing the Rabbit, Steven J. Spear describes what sets high-velocity, market-leading organizations apart and explains how you can lead the pack in your industry.

. .

Spear examines the internal operations of dominant organizations, including Toyota, Alcoa, Pratt And Whitney, the US Navy's Nuclear Power Program, and top-tier teaching hospitals--organizations operating in vastly differing industries, but which share one thing in common: the skillful management of complex internal systems that generates constant, almost automatic self-improvement at rates faster, durations longer, and breadths wider than anyone else musters. As a result, each enjoys a level of profitability, quality, efficiency, reliability, and agility unmatched by rivals. Chasing the Rabbit shows how to:

. .
• Build a system of �dynamic discovery� designed to reveal operational problems and weaknesses.
• Attack and solve problems at the time and in the place where they occur, converting weaknesses into strengths .
• Disseminate knowledge gained from solving local problems throughout the company as a whole .
• Create managers invested in the process of continual innovation

. .

Whatever kind of company you operate--from technology to finance to healthcare--mastery of these four key capabilities will put you on the fast track to operational excellence, where you will generate faster, better results using less capital and fewer resources. Apply the lessons of Steven J. Spear's and leave the competition in the dust.

....

Authors: Richard Luecke.
Paperback, 138 pages
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Publication Date: 2003-01-02
Edition: 1

Reviews :

    Managing through change and crisis is difficult in any business environment, let alone one as turbulent as managers face today. This timely guide offers authoritative advice on how to recognize the need for organizational change, communicate the vision, prepare for structural change such as M&A, and address emotional responses to downsizing. With tools for managing stress levels and advice on gathering and sharing information during transition, this book is an indispensable guide for managers at any level of the organization....

Authors: Hildy Richelson. Stan Richelson.
Hardcover, 352 pages
Publisher: Bloomberg Press
Publication Date: 2007-08-15


Reviews :

    In "Bonds: The Unbeaten Path to Secure Investment Growth", two veteran investors expose the myth of stocks' superior investment returns and propose an all-bond portfolio as a sure-footed strategy that can ensure results. The book, an expanded and updated version of "The Money-Making Guide to Bonds", is designed to educate novice and sophisticated investors alike and serve as a tool for financial advisers as well. It explains why bonds can be the right choice and how to use them to achieve financial goals. It presents a broad spectrum of bond-investment options, describes how to purchase bonds at the best price, and, most important, shows how to make money with bonds.

The wealthiest investors and financial advisers use the bond strategies outlined in this book to maximize the the return on their portfolios while providing security of principal. The strategies can help you determine how to use bonds in your portfolio and take control of your financial destiny. You'll be playing it smart while playing it safe.

Earn 15 hours of credit toward your CFP Board requirement....

Authors: Andrew J. Sherman. Milledge A. Hart.
Hardcover, 288 pages
Publisher: AMACOM
Publication Date: 2006-01-03
Edition: 2nd

Reviews :

    Completely updated for today's market, the classic guide to mergers and acquisitions, "Mergers and Acquisitions from A to Z", demystifies the entire process. The book provides extensive information on the entire transaction, and covers the latest trends and best practices. For those already involved in M&A deals or simply considering a move in that direction, this book is a must-have resource....

Authors: Jody Hoffer Gittell.
Paperback, 320 pages
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Publication Date: 2005-04-14
Edition: 1

Reviews :

   

"If you look at Southwest Airlines, and I admire what they do, they've been the most successful airline in the industry."

--Gerard Arpey, CEO, American Airlines

"Through extensive research Jody Hoffer Gittell gets to the bottom of what has sustained Southwest Airlines' positive employee relations and high performance through good and bad times."

--Thomas A. Kochan, professor, MIT Sloan School of Management, MIT Global Airline Industry Program

In an industry with losses in the billions, Southwest Airlines has an unbroken string of 31 consecutive years of profitability. The Southwest Airlines Way examines how the company uses high-performance relationships to create enormous competitive advantage in motivation, teamwork, and coordination among employees. It then goes further to show how any company can foster these powerful cooperative relationships and explains how to:

• Lead with credibility and caring
• Invest in frontline leaders
• Hire and train for relational competence
• Use conflicts to build relationships
• Make unions its partners, not its adversaries
• Build relationships with its suppliers

...

Authors: B. H. Liddell Hart.
Paperback, 448 pages
Publisher: Plume
Publication Date: 1991-03-30
Edition: 2 Revised

Reviews :

    This is the classic book on war as we know it. During his long life, Basil H. Liddell Hart was considered one of the world's foremost military thinkers--a man generally regarded as the "Clausewitz of the 20th century."

Liddell Hart stressed movement, flexibilty, surprise. He saw that in most military campaigns dislocation of the enemy's psychological and physical balance is prelude to victory. This dislocation results from a strategic indirect approach. Reflect for a moment on the results of direct confrontation (trench war in WW I) versus indirect dislocation (Blitzkreig in WW II). Liddell Hart is also tonic for business and political planning: just change the vocabulary and his concepts fit.

"The most important book by one of the outstanding military authorities of our time." (Library Journal)...

Authors: Gary Hamel. C. K. Prahalad.
Paperback, 357 pages
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Publication Date: 1996-04


Reviews :

    New competitive realities have ruptured industry boundaries, overthrown much of standard management practice, and rendered conventional models of strategy and growth obsolete. In their stead have come the powerful ideas and methodologies of Gary Hamel and C. K. Prahalad, whose much-revered thinking has already engendered a new language of strategy. In this book, they develop a coherent model for how today's executives can identify and accomplish no less than heroic goals in tomorrow's marketplace. Their masterful blueprint addresses how executives can ease the tension between competing today and clearing a path toward leadership in the future. The paperback edition features a new preface by the authors....

    Winning in business today is not about being number one--it's about who "gets to the future first," write management consultants Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad. In Competing for the Future, they urge companies to create their own futures, envision new markets, and reinvent themselves.

Hamel and Prahalad caution that complacent managers who get too comfortable in doing things the way they've always done will see their companies fall behind. For instance, the authors consider the battle between IBM and Apple in the 1970s. Entrenched as the leading mainframe-computer maker, IBM failed to see the potential market for personal computers. That left the door wide open for Apple, which envisioned a computer for every man, woman, and child. The authors write, "At worst, laggards follow the path of greatest familiarity. Challengers, on the other hand, follow the path of greatest opportunity, wherever it leads." They argue that business leaders need to be more than "maintenance engineers," worrying only about budget cutting, streamlining, re-engineering, and other old tactics. Definitely not for dilettantes, Competing for the Future is for managers who are serious getting their companies in front. -- Dan Ring ...

Authors: Margaret Mark. Carol S. Pearson.
Hardcover, 400 pages
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Publication Date: 2001-01-16
Edition: 1st

Reviews :

    A brand’s meaning—how it resonates in the public heart and mind—is a company’s most valuable competitive advantage. Yet, few companies really know how brand meaning works, how to manage it, and how to use brand meaning strategically. Written by best-selling author Carol S. Pearson (The Hero Within) and branding guru Margaret Mark, this groundbreaking book provides the illusive and compelling answer. Using studies drawn from the experiences of Nike, Marlboro, Ivory and other powerhouse brands, the authors show that the most successful brands are those that most effectively correspond to fundamental patterns in the unconscious mind known as archetypes. The book provides tools and strategies to:
• Implement a proven system for identifying the most appropriate and leverageable archetypes for any company and/or brand
• Harness the power of the archetype to align corporate strategy to sustain competitive advantage...

Authors: William G. Zikmund.
Hardcover, 768 pages
Publisher: South-Western College Pub
Publication Date: 2002-04-23
Edition: 7

Reviews :

    This best-selling text continues in its seventh edition to provide the most current and comprehensive coverage of business research. Its student-friendly design contains numerous examples illustrating real-world research in management, marketing, finance, accounting, and other business areas. Business Research Methods, 7e, is the ideal text for undergraduate and first year MBA courses in marketing, management, or quantitative studies....

Authors: The Group of 33.
Hardcover, 208 pages
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover
Publication Date: 2005-10-20


Reviews :

    33 of the world's best business minds tackle one urgent question: What does it really take to make your organization remarkable?

Most organizations are stuck in a rut. On one hand, they understand all the good things that will come with growth. On the other, they’re petrified that growth means change, and change means risk, and risk means death. Nobody wants to screw up and ruin a good thing, so most companies (and individuals) just keep trying to be perfect at the things they’ve always done.

In 2003, Seth Godin’s Purple Cow challenged organizations to become remarkable—to drive growth by standing out in a world full of brown cows. It struck a huge chord and stayed on the Business-Week bestseller list for nearly two years. You can hear countless brainstorming meetings where people refer to purple cows and say things like, “That’s not good enough. We need to create a big moo!”

But how do you create a big moo—an insight so astounding that people can’t help but remark on it, like digital TV recording (TiVo) or overnight shipping (FedEx), or the world’s best vacuum cleaner (Dyson)? Godin worked with thirty-two of the world’s smartest thinkers to answer this critical question. And the team—with the likes of Tom Peters, Malcolm Gladwell, Guy Kawasaki, Mark Cuban, Robyn Waters, Dave Balter, Red Maxwell, and Randall Rothenberg on board— created an incredibly useful book that’s fun to read and perfect for groups to share, discuss, and apply.

The Big Moo is a simple book in the tradition of Fish and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Instead of lecturing you, it tells stories that stick to your ribs and light your fire. It will help you to create a culture that consistently delivers remarkable innovations....