The Last Word on Power: Re-Invention for Leaders and Anyone Who Must Make the Impossible Happen by Tracy Goss and Betty Sue Flowers (Editor)

Today's leaders are reinventing everything but themselves, and this is why so many attempts to revolutionize business fail. The last word on power is the key method in reinventing executives so they can take on "a mission impossible" based on a course designed and run exclusively for the past fifteen years by Tracy Goss. Do you want to do work that is worthy of your time and talent? Do you want to make your mark on your company, industry, community? Are you dissatisfied with the fact that reengineering, quality improvements, and other changes never make a lasting impact? Then you need to go beyond the techniques of improvement and learn the skills of being extraordinary.

The power to be extraordinary is not one we are born with. It's not the power to fix what's wrong or improve what's right. It is a power one learns in a course that for the past fifteen years has been designed and run exclusively for top executives by consultant Tracy Goss. For the first time, Goss makes her coursework available to the general reader in The Last Word On Power. Goss's unique methodology shows how "you can put at risk the success you have achieved for the 'possibility' you can be." She positions executives to take on the future they dream about. She teaches how to behave differently so you can be free of constraints from the past. She shows how you can be at home in an environment in which you are constantly surrounded by threats, and how to transcend the ordinary so that you can make the impossible happen. Her work has resulted in important life changes and organizational reinventions throughout the world. Details

Don’t consider yourself deviant? Well, that just may be a career breaker. Odds are the idea or product that will transform your business or industry tomorrow is out there right now, hiding in the shadows of the Fringe, raw, messy, untamed, and just waiting to be exploited. Trapping, taming, and marketing it is the key to burying your competition and staying ahead of your market.

Deviance is nothing more than a marked separation from the norm and is the source of innovation, the kind of breakthrough thinking that creates new markets and tumbles traditional ones. Positive deviation is an inexhaustible font of new ideas, products, and services. It’s the source of all creative thinking and dynamic new market development and ultimately the basis of all incremental profit.

The Deviant’s Advantage describes how deviance proceeds along a traceable trajectory from the Fringe, where it originates but has zero commercial potential; to the Edge, where word of mouth creates a limited audience; to the Realm of the Cool, where the buzz and market momentum really start to build; to the Next Big Thing, where demand is honed and intensifies; finally landing at Social Convention, the heart of the mass market. Details

Accountability shows how to get people in organizations to be more personally accountable for high performance in their work and for the success of the organization – without resorting to the traditional management systems that rely on control and manipulation. Contrasted with three other commonly used, accountability models, the authors recommend Personal Accountability over all others. The author show, that by gaining a higher sense of self-worth and autonomy, the quality of employee decision-making skills is greatly improved. They then outline the seven steps needed to attain Personal Accountability, including: surroundings, seeds of change, and style of leadership.

Lebow and Spitzer offer a new contribution to the area of organizational development, social psychology and the topic called “Accountability.” The authors bring a new emphasis, new approach and a new philosophy to "accountability": how to give it to others and how to keep it going indefinitely. Existing books touch on portions of the Quadrant Four philosophy. Yet, none tell us “how” to do it. Accountability tells the reader what and how. Regarding each element or key to the wisdom behind Accountability, these authors help us sort out a piece to the puzzle. Details

The one-time owner of Kirkus Reviews, James B. Kobak, imparts magazine-industry wisdom in How to Start a Magazine. Moving from the conceptual to the practical, Kobak approaches his lesson in five parts: trends and statistics about the business; steps in starting a new magazine (mission statements, business plans, pilot issues, testing through single-copy sales, etc.); the major operations involved in publishing a magazine (i.e., editorial, production, marketing, circulation); magazine as brand ("It earns the loyalty, friendship and confidence of its readers as it speaks to them one-on-one about a subject they are very interested in"; "It establishes a market-place between its readers and advertisers"; etc.); and industry facts and information sources. Discussing case studies and stats of publilcations from Martha Stewart Living to the Harvard Business Review in a friendly, down-to-earth style, Kobak renders the jargon, concepts and numbers accessible. Details

Everyone who works in the wonderful world of not-for-profits realizes that the dreaded day will come when they have to make an ask for money. This terrific book not only outlines the how-to of making such an ask, but also teaches the board member that this is their board participation responsibility. The book takes you step by step through the process teaching you that the best way to avoid the fear of the situation is to be well prepared.

However, I think one of the most important aspects of this book is that it convinces board members that theirs is a noble cause and that asking for money should bring a sense of pride, not shame. That may be a hard sell, but I think Lansdowne succeeds.

Lansdowne offers a well organized book that anticipates the pitfall of fund raising, while providing a well mapped procedure to follow. Details

Through hard work and determination, Barnett Helzberg built his small family-owned business–Helzberg Diamonds–into a successful company that caught the attention of Warren Buffett. Buffett was so impressed with the business that in 1995 he decided to purchase Helzberg Diamonds through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway–an act that any business owner would consider the ultimate compliment.

Although the chances of receiving a phone call from Warren Buffett are small, the chances of developing a highly successful company are better than you may think. All you need to succeed is a burning desire and the right set of entrepreneurial skills. In What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett, Barnett Helzberg shares his thirty years of experience in running a successful business and outlines the steps needed to prosper within a challenging business environment.

Divided into six information-packed sections–Managing, Decision Making, Hiring, Inspiring, Communicating, and Focusing–What I Learned Before I Sold to Warren Buffett provides a step-by-step approach for developing your own entrepreneurial business sense. Filled with over seventy-five gems of entrepreneurial wisdom, each contained in short, readable chapters, this comprehensive guide offers a proven road map for entrepreneurs and business owners looking to build a solid company that will stand the test of time. Through real-life experiences gleaned by Helzberg on his journey as well as honest insights of other seasoned entrepreneurs, you will receive an unparalleled education on what it takes to get on the right entrepreneurial track and stay there. Details

Using exercises, surveys, and corporate stories, Straight Talk describes each style in action and offers techniques for developing a repertoire of styles for different situations. Readers learn to identify their own communication style and that of others, and how to modify their style for strategic results. They learn new methods for decoding conversations as well as new skills for improving time management, problem solving, decision making, project management, conflict resolution, meeting efficiency, and organizational culture through competent communication. Details

In an age where even the best products are quickly imitated, businesses must constantly find new ways to outpace competitors. Successful companies differentiate themselves not just with superior products, but also by how they behave toward their customers at every touchpoint: service, product development, marketing, branding, bids and proposals, presentations, negotiations, and more.

Behavioral Differentiation is emerging as the "final frontier" in competitive strategy, and Winning Behavior shows how leading companies use it to exceed expectations and outperform competitors. This eye-opening book offers case histories and examples from companies like GE, Volvo, EMC, Ritz-Carlton, Wal-Mart, and Harley-Davidson, plus interviews with executives like George Zimmer (Men's Wearhouse), Colleen Barrett (Southwest Airlines), and Gerry Roche (Heidrick & Struggles).

In today's ultracompetitive business landscape, product quality and competitive pricing are prerequisites for staying afloat. Winning Behavior reveals the secrets the best companies use -- and any business can use -- to stay at the pinnacle of success in their industry. Details

In Straight Talk, Douglas provides these tools and the direction needed for effective use of each. It all begins with communication styles, says Douglas, who identifies and profiles the four different types--Director, Expresser, Thinker, and Harmonizer. The secret to identifying other people's styles is to ask questions, observe reactions, and listen actively, he says. "Watch how people interact with you. Do they engage in small talk? Do they cut to the bottom line? Do they tell stories? Each of these is a tradmark of a particular style."

Using exercises, surveys, and corporate stories, Straight Talk describes each style in action and offers techniques for developing a repertoire of styles for different situations. Readers learn to identify their own communication style and that of others, and how to modify their style for strategic results. They learn new methods for decoding conversations as well as new skills for improving time management, problem solving, decision making, project management, conflict resolution, meeting efficiency, and organizational culture through competent communication. Details

As the tides of all the trendy business initiatives from the last twenty years have all disappeared, one concept has remained in their wake and continues to thrive today: team strategies. When implemented correctly, the results are impressive. Organizations—whether they are corporations or ministries—have successfully developed team strategies and are now experiencing significant increases in productivity and services.

Team resource expert Pat MacMillan discusses the characteristics of a high performance team and how to implement a new paradigm of leadership to bring any organization to greater efficiency. Details

It's a job-search jungle out there, but when used wisely, Executive Recruiters (headhunters) can carve an amazing, lucrative path for rising professionals. This book is your machete and friendly guide. Written by an industry native, this light, witty trail map deftly steers you through the underbrush with insider tips to help bag the best booster for your career. Cutting away myths and misconceptions of the recruiting world, it reveals everything about the mind and mechanics of search professionals—things they do and don't want you to know! Whether in transition for a better position or simply interested in getting top-value return from your life's work, this book is for you.  Details

Cancelled flights, damaged goods, botched bills, locked-up software--these are the service screw-ups that leave customers angry, disgusted...and determined to never buy from you again!  But these mad-as-hell customers can be wooed back through skillful, planned "service recovery." And, surprisingly, customers who experience world-class Knock Your Socks Off service recovery become your most loyal customers--and are a source of continuing business for years to come. Building on the popular, breezy approach of the Knock Your Socks Off Service series, the authors provide managers with an upbeat primer on creating a first-class recovery system. Enlivened by John Bush's witty illustrations, the book explains: * The economics of recovery--what it costs when you lose customers, and how little it can cost to win them back * The processes, policies, and technology a company must have to ensure an effective, real-time recovery system * The manager's role in sustaining an outstanding recovery system--through training, coaching, empowering, supporting, inspiring, and rewarding great service providers.  Details

There's really nothing mysterious about getting people to change their minds. No special, inborn gifts. No subliminal tricks. Instead, the best persuaders--advertisers, salespeople, politicians, spin doctors--depend on the fact that everyone responds to messages in just two ways: thoughtfully or mindlessly. And they know how to manipulate these two persuasion routes to make even the most doubtful say "yes." Jam-packed with fascinating case studies and surprising examples, this comprehensive, entertaining how-to guide puts the powerful tool of persuasion at anyone's disposal. It explains: * How the master persuaders--the Churchills, Lincolns, and Roosevelts--create powerful, memorable messages that convince people of their arguments' logic and rightness * How successful persuaders exploit the psychological triggers that cause people to subconsciously move from "no" to "yes."  Details

When Margaret J. Wheatley's Leadership and the New Science was initially published in 1992, it outlined an unquestionably unique but extremely challenging view of change, leadership, and the structure of groups. Many readers immediately embraced its cutting-edge perspective, but others just could not understand how the complicated scientific tenets it described could be used to reshape institutions. Now Wheatley, an organizational specialist who has since coauthored A Simpler Way, updates the original by including additional material (such as an epilogue addressing her personal experiences during the past decade) and reconstructing some of her more challenging concepts. The result is a much clearer work that first explores the implications of quantum physics on organizational practice, then investigates ways that biology and chemistry affect living systems, and finally focuses on chaos theory, the creation of a new order, and the manner that scientific principles affect leadership. "Our old ways of relating to each other don't support us any longer," she writes. "It is up to us to journey forth in search of new practices and new ideas that will enable us to create lives and organizations worthy of human habitation." --Howard Rothman Details

In an era of accelerating change, the people, organizations, and national economies most likely to succeed are those with the ability to adjust and adapt. The coauthor of In Search of Excellence offers clear instructions on how to make adhocracy work. An essential handbook for managers at all levels. Details
 
 

Aimed at independent businesses and high-growth corporate divisions alike, WARP-SPEED GROWTH shows how to focus on the resources that make or break fast growth--time, people, and money. It explains how managers can invest these limited resources in targeted ways to build new markets and exploit new technologies.  Rich in ready-to-use tools and reference charts, the book pays special attention to the urgent issue of finding and retaining good employees in a tight labor market. A unique index of challenges allows readers to search for solutions according to the range of real-life problems faced by fast-growth companies.  Details

The Value-Creating Consultant is a 'must read' for all serious students of management consulting. Whereas most of the weighty tomes on consulting dwell on the technical and analytical skills that consultants need, authors Carucci and Tetenbaum ably describe the skills that make for truly effective consulting. At a time when consultants are coming under attack from all corners, they would do well to heed the many savvy prescriptions for healthy client-consultant relationships that are set forth in this well-written volume.  Come to think of it, the book should be required reading, not just for students, but for all practicing consultants. - Professor Charles Fombrun, Director of  the Graduate Program of Management Consulting, Stern School of Business, New York University. Details

Are you a "homepreneur"? Do you run a small business out of your own home... or are you thinking about starting one? Either way, you face tough questions every day: Should I expand? What computer will serve my needs? Do I have the right permits? Is this what I really want to do? How do I get more funding? This book is your expert business partner.  It simplifies your business life (and your home life) by providing you with in-depth advice on every aspect of running a business.  Robert Spiegel, an experienced entrepreneur, leads you through every stage of business from initial idea to growth to selling the business.  Details
 

Finally, managers are catching on to something employees already know: What really motivates a person to perform are those thoughtful, unexpected gestures that signify real appreciation. This chock-full guide to rewards of every conceivable type for every conceivable situation, written by management specialist Bob Nelson, offers over a thousand innovative ideas beyond the expected raise and/or promotion. Illustrations throughout. -Amazon Book Description. Details

Motivate employees, boost sales, and provide the best customer service--with advice from a popular speaker and consultant. This uplifting book offers 399 easy-to-implement ideas covering all the bases of business communication, including ways to show everyday appreciation to clients and staff; tips for developing newsletters and brochures; using e-mail, voice mail, and faxes to send positive messages; and more. - Amazon book synopsis. Details

By the year 2000, fifty percent of all businesses will be owned by women. This practical and inspiring guide, designed for any woman who has ever dreamed of owning her own business, is no mere nuts-and-bolts business book. Instead, Maddox offers a tool for jump-starting the reader into creating the business--and the life--she wants.  - Amazon Book Review. Details

This book offers valuable advice on building teams for high performance results. The authors provide advice and ideas on balancing work responsibilities, personalities, communications, and skills.  Through its stories and lessons, this work captures the power and vision of what great business teams can accomplish. Details

Today's leaders are reinventing everything but themselves, and this is why so many attempts to revolutionize business fail. The Last Word on Power is the key method to reinventing executives so they can take on "a mission impossible"--based on a course designed and run exclusively for the past 15 years by Goss. Details
 

Thorough, concise, and exceptionally easy to read, Start Up is indispensable whether you're about to embark on a new venture, have started a new business in the past few years, or are a seasoned pro.  It addresses key problems that are crucial to the success of any new business. Details

Business and Investment Editor's Recommended Book 
Female-owned companies are one of today's fastest-growing corporate categories, particularly in the rapidly expanding small-business sector.Nonetheless, women remain largely excluded from the traditional financing loop. In Business Capital for Women, Emily Card and Adam Miller explain how women can crack the boy's funding club and access the fiscal resources necessary to start and grow their own businesses. Offering clearly written and practical information on how to successfully play the game, the book's content ranges from the fundamentals needed by beginners trying to break in, to a complete guide to available resources. Details

To Lead Is To Serve is every volunteer coordinator and program director's bible. This slender paperback is packed with leadership ideas, tips, and techniques, things to consider and things to watch out for. It covers a whole gamut of good advice and practical ideas, emphasizing the leadership elements of listening, appreciation, sacrifice, the need for inspiring and informative meetings, the role of fun, creativity, team development, the necessity of "letting go", the role of expert advice, and the unique problems inherent in reaching goals. Details