The collective wisdom of The American Management Association-right at your fingertips.

The collective wisdom of The American Management Association-right at your fingertips.

In today’s constantly changing business environment, the question is not if any unexpected obstacles will try to derail your promising company, but when will they rear their ugly heads. Your biggest investor bails on you, having been lured away to the next new sure thing instead. A similar product is unveiled by a more established company. A key employee jumps ship to work for a competitor. When these obstacles--yes, plural!--arrive, will you be able to shift strategies, products, and services on a time, if necessary? Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs lock themselves into one strategy, one product, one distribution method, and one way of thinking about their business. In doing so, they limit their potential and lower their chances of capitalizing on economic, industry, or market changes. Think Agile wants to help the entrepreneur both assess their level of flexibility and learn to be open-minded and option-oriented in key areas such as:• Funding sources• Launch timetables• Planning• Repurposing everything from products to people to names• And much moreFeaturing real-life case studies and invaluable tools, Think Agile is the indispensable guide every entrepreneur must have in order to self-evaluate and develop the undeniably essential skill of agility--the secret to surviving whatever tomorrow brings!

This guide to rewriting the rules of management is perfect for millennials looking to achieve career and professional success. Millennials have begun moving into management positions everywhere and are shaking up the workplace as they go. The generation that was raised in an age of instant communication, and questioning authority has begun tearing down the corporate ladder, communicating on the fly, and bringing play to work. Even with all the exciting potential that lies ahead for these creative, bold thinkers, it will be pointless if they cannot effectively bridge the gap between the hierarchical management style of senior executives and the casual, collaborative approach of their peers. Manager 3.0 is the first management guide written exclusively for the Millennial generation, where you will learn how to master crucial skills such as: dealing with difficult people, delivering constructive feedback, and making tough decisions You will also gain insight into the four generations currently in the workplace and how they can successfully bring out the best in each. Packed with company interviews and corporate examples, Manager 3.0 will help these promising new managers connect with and encourage the unique talents of the generations around them, while also developing an effective leadership style of their own.

This insightful and helpful resource gives you the tools, tips, and techniques you need to succeed--no matter what comes your way. Not everyone has the means and resources to become a successful entrepreneur. So does that mean everyone else must hinge their success on the hopes that they survive the next set of layoffs and that their chosen field doesn’t become the next dying industry? Not at all! The successful methods that the leading entrepreneurs used to find their niche in today’s marketplace can be applied by all in their pursuit of a long-lasting, rewarding career. Own Your Future shows you how to take the same small steps forward they use to reinvent the way you maneuver in an unpredictable job market. You will discover how to: Act--Thinking alone will never change your life; you must take that first step. Learn--What lessons did you learn from that first step? Build--Take what you learned and apply it to improve upon that first step. Repeat--Continue this process until you have achieved your goal! Too often, people picture their perfect career and then think through all the steps backward to plan out their path to career success. There is very little assurance that your chosen job--perhaps even the industry itself--will even be there by the time you maneuver through the long path of continuing education and promotions. Don’t rest your success on the mercy of an ever-changing marketplace. Filled with stories of professionals of all kinds who have profited from this proactive approach, Own Your Future will teach you how to take control.

The microbusiness is huge! That’s not just a play on words but an indisputable fact that millions of budding entrepreneurs have already figured out. On top of adding to their income and creating safety nets in case the ax falls at work, they have been able to unlock their creativity and find a sense of fulfillment they never dreamed possible--or rather day-dreamed possible from their uninspiring cubicle.In The Economy of You, author and microbusiness owner herself Kimberly Palmer illuminates the everyday faces behind this growing movement, starting with her own journey. Readers will meet a deli employee who makes custom cakes at night, an instrument repairman who sells voice-overs on his website, a videographer who started a profitable publishing house on the side, and many other inspirational examples of those who have discovered how to turn their joys and hobbies into a profitable microbusiness. Interwoven in the profiles are concrete guidelines for readers looking to launch rewarding businesses of their own, including: • Tips for figuring out the ideal side gig • Ideas for keeping start-up costs low • Advice on juggling a fledgling enterprise and a full-time job • Branding and marketing basics that bring results • When and what to offer for free • And much moreYour employer can guarantee nothing but today’s wages. It’s up to YOU to build real financial stability. It’s empowering, gratifying, and now easy to do with The Economy of You.

There is no shortage of books and successful businesspeople who have emphasized concepts such as decentralization, outsourcing, the rise of the knowledge worker, the role of employees as assets, and a focus on the customer. But it was Peter Drucker who years, sometimes decades, first blew the whistle on these indisputably important keys to success. And still today, Drucker is recognized as the inventor of modern management, and continues to influence leaders around the globe. And now readers can benefit from this collection of applicable concepts taken from Drucker’s myriad books.Within the invaluable pages of Practical Drucker, readers will find surprising insights and clear guidance on how to: • Engage employees and achieve outstanding performance • Remedy destructive office politics • Handle a crisis • Become better decision makers by questioning assumptions • Determine which leadership style to use in which situation • Do more with less • Steer clear of the biggest traps that leaders fall into • Avoid the five deadly marketing sins • And much moreIn efficient, knowledge-filled chapters, this all-in-one resource has taken the practical wisdom from Drucker’s large body of work--including his books, essays, articles, as well as his decades of teaching and consulting--and shaped it together into a set of fresh, vital lessons that will resonate today and for years to come.

Offering real-world insight and explanations, this book provides a roadmap for organizations looking to develop a profitable big data strategy and reveals why it's not something they can leave to the I.T. department. Big data--the enormous amount of data that is created as virtually every movement, transaction, and choice we make becomes digitized--is revolutionizing business. Sharing best practices from companies that have implemented a big data strategy including Walmart, InterContinental Hotel Group, Walt Disney, and Shell, this helpful resource covers the most important big data trends affecting organizations, as well as key technologies like Hadoop and MapReduce, and several crucial types of analyses. In Think Bigger, you will find guidance on topics such as: how to ensure security, respecting the privacy rights of consumers, and how big data is impacting specific industries--and where opportunities can be found. Big data is changing the way businesses--and even governments--are operated and managed. Think Bigger is an essential resource for anyone who wants to ensure that their company isn't left in the dust.

“A new book by an army intelligence interrogator could help you get the answers to your most pressing questions.” —Time The secret to finding out anything you want to know is amazingly simple: Ask good questions. Most people trip through life asking bad questions—of teachers, friends, coworkers, clients, prospects, experts, and suspects. Even people trained in questioning, such as journalists and lawyers, commonly ask questions that get partial or misleading answers. People in any profession will immediately benefit by developing the skill and art of good questioning. Find Out Anything From Anyone, Anytime will give you the power to: Identify and practice good questioning techniques Recognize types of questions to avoid Know the questions required when hearing unconfirmed reports or gossip Practice good listening techniques and exploit all leads Determine when and how to control the conversation Gain real expertise fast Within professional interrogation circles, author James Pyle is known as a strategic debriefer—meaning there is no one around him more skilled at asking questions and getting answers. He has been training other interrogators in questioning techniques since 1989. “With his style of questioning alone, Jim Pyle can get more information than most other interrogators using multiple techniques.” —Gregory Hartley, co-author of How to Spot a Liar