If you're a general manager or CFO, do you feel you're spending too much on IT or wishing you could get better returns from your IT investments? If so, it's time to examine what's behind this IT-as-cost mind-set. In The Real Business of IT, Richard Hunter and George Westerman reveal that the cost mind-set stems from IT leaders' inability to communicate about the business value they create-so CIOs get stuck discussing budgets rather than their contributions to the organization. The authors explain how IT leaders can combat this mind-set by first using information technology to generate three forms of value important to leaders throughout the organization: -Value for money when your IT department operates efficiently and effectively -An investment in business performance evidenced when IT helps divisions, units, and departments boost profitability -Personal value of CIOs as leaders whose contributions to their enterprise go well beyond their area of specialization The authors show how to communicate about these forms of value with non-IT leaders-so they understand how your firm is benefiting and see IT as the strategic powerhouse it truly is.

While a number of books on the market deal with software requirements, this is the first resource to offer you a methodology for discovering and testing the real business requirements that software products must meet in order to provide value. The book provides you with practical techniques that help prevent the main causes of requirements creep, which in turn enhances software development success and satisfaction among the organizations that apply these approaches. Complementing discovery methods, you also learn more than 21 ways to test business requirements from the perspectives of assessing suitability of form, identifying overlooked requirements, and evaluating substance and content. The powerful techniques and methods presented are applied to a real business case from a company recognized for world-class excellence. You are introduced to the innovative Problem Pyramidtm technique which helps you more reliably identify the real problem and requirements content. From an examination of key methods for gathering and understanding information about requirements, to seven guidelines for documenting and communicating requirements, while avoiding analysis paralysis, this book is a comprehensive, single source for uncovering the real business requirements for your software development projects.

Blockchain is transforming business. What's your strategy? Leaders of forward-thinking organizations are exploring how blockchain can transform the way they create and seek value. Whether it's used to streamline multiparty processes, create and trade new assets, or leverage artificial intelligence and the internet of things, blockchain enables entirely new business opportunities. This is just the start. As blockchain becomes more widely adopted, it has the potential to radically change the way companies and societies operate, as transformative a paradigm shift as the launch of the internet. The Real Business of Blockchain is one of the first books on this transformative technology written for business leaders. Authors David Furlonger and Christophe Uzureau--both of Gartner, the world-renowned research and advisory company--will help you: Assess how blockchain will impact your business Explore the value proposition that blockchain offers Make smart near- and midterm investments Position your organization in a new competitive landscape Timely, visionary, and accessible, The Real Business of Blockchain cuts through the hype and helps you unlock the vast capabilities of this powerful and potentially world-changing technology.

The rules of business are changing dramatically. The Aspen Institute's Judy Samuelson describes the profound shifts in attitudes and mindsets that are redefining our notions of what constitutes business success. Dynamic forces are conspiring to clarify the new rules of real value creation—and to put the old rules to rest. Internet-powered transparency, more powerful worker voice, the decline in importance of capital, and the complexity of global supply chains in the face of planetary limits all define the new landscape. As executive director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, Judy Samuelson has a unique vantage point from which to engage business decision makers and identify the forces that are moving the needle in both boardrooms and business classrooms. Samuelson lays out how hard-to-measure intangibles like reputation, trust, and loyalty are imposing new ways to assess risk and opportunity in investment and asset management. She argues that “maximizing shareholder value” has never been the sole objective of effective businesses while observing that shareholder theory and the practices that keep it in place continue to lose power in both business and the public square. In our globalized era, she demonstrates how expectations of corporations are set far beyond the company gates—and why employees are both the best allies of the business and the new accountability mechanism, more so than consumers or investors. Samuelson's new rules offer a powerful guide to how businesses are changing today—and what is needed to succeed in tomorrow's economic and social landscape.

The first title in PREP's new Business Success Series is designed to help individuals who want to prepare paperwork related to starting, growing, selling, or marketing a business. The book contains real business plans for those contemplating entrepreneurship as well as for those who have an ongoing business which they are interested in selling. Readers will see samples of real business plans used by real organizations to sell a business to public companies. Readers will also see samples of documents, paperwork, and financial statements used by real companies to obtain equity financing and bank loans. A valuable section of the book is the section which shows marketing tools and "business resumes" used to attract new customers and increase profitability. (The author holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School.)

If you're a general manager or CFO, do you feel you're spending too much on IT or wishing you could get better returns from your IT investments? If so, it's time to examine what's behind this IT-as-cost mind-set. In The Real Business of IT, Richard Hunter and George Westerman reveal that the cost mind-set stems from IT leaders' inability to communicate about the business value they create-so CIOs get stuck discussing budgets rather than their contributions to the organization. The authors explain how IT leaders can combat this mind-set by first using information technology to generate three forms of value important to leaders throughout the organization: -Value for money when your IT department operates efficiently and effectively -An investment in business performance evidenced when IT helps divisions, units, and departments boost profitability -Personal value of CIOs as leaders whose contributions to their enterprise go well beyond their area of specialization The authors show how to communicate about these forms of value with non-IT leaders-so they understand how your firm is benefiting and see IT as the strategic powerhouse it truly is.

Real Business Cycle theory combines the remains of monetarism with the new classical macroeconomics, and has become one of the dominant approaches within contemporary macroeconomics today. This volume presents: * the authoritative anthology in RBC. The work contains the major articles introducing and extending the theory as well as critical literature * an extensive introduction which contains an expository summary and critical evaluation of RBC theory * comprehensive coverage and balance between seminal papers and extensions; proponents and critics; and theory and empirics. Macroeconomics is a compulsory element in most economics courses, and this book will be an essential guide to one of its major theories.

The ultimate guide to relationships, influence and persuasion in 21st century business. What is most important to your success as a sales or business professional? Is it education, experience, product knowledge, job title, territory, or business dress? Is it your company's reputation, product, price, marketing collateral, delivery lead times, in stock ratios, service guarantees, management strength, or warehouse location? Is it testimonials, the latest Forbes write up, or brand awareness? Is it the investment in the latest CRM software, business 2.0 tools, or social media strategy? You could hire a fancy consulting firm, make the list longer, add some bullet points, put it into a PowerPoint presentation, and go through the whole dog and pony show. But at the end of the day there will be only one conclusion… None of the above! You see, the most important competitive edge for today's business professionals cannot be found on this list, your resume, or in any of your company's marketing brochures. If you want to know the real secret to what matters most in business, just look in the mirror. That's right, it's YOU. Do these other things matter? Of course they do, but when all things are equal (and in the competitive world we live in today, things almost always are) People Buy You. Your ability to build lasting business relationships that allow you to close more deals, retain clients, increase your income, and advance your career to rise the top of your company or industry, depends on your skills for getting other people to like you, trust you, and BUY YOU. This break-through book pushes past the typical focus on mechanics and stale processes found in so many of today's sales and business books, and goes right to the heart of what matters most in 21st century business. Offering a straight forward, actionable formula for creating instant connections with prospects and customers, People Buy You will enable you to achieve a whole new level of success in your sales and business career. You'll discover: Three relationship myths that are holding you back Five levers that open the door to stronger relationships that quickly increase sales, improve retention, increase profits and advance your career The real secret to making instant emotional connections that eliminate objections and move buyers to reveal their real problems and needs How to anchor your business relationships and create loyal customers who will never leave you for a competitor How to build your personal brand to improve your professional presence and stand-out in the market place People Buy You is the new standard in the art of influence and persuasion. Few books have tackled the subject of interpersonal relationships in the business world in such a practical and down-to-earth manner, breaking what many perceive as a complex and frustrating process into easy, actionable steps that anyone can follow.

Young serial entrepreneur Scott Gerber is not the product of a wealthy family or storied entrepreneurial heritage. Nor is he the outcome of a traditional business school education or a corporate executive turned entrepreneur. Rather, he is a hard-working, self-taught 26-year-old hustler, rainmaker, and bootstrapper who has survived and thrived despite never having held the proverbial "real” job. In Never Get a "Real" Job: How to Dump Your Boss, Build a Business, and Not Go Broke, Gerber challenges the social conventions behind the "real" job and empowers young people to take control of their lives and dump their nine-to-fives—or their quest to attain them. Drawing upon case studies, experiences, and observations, Scott dissects failures, shares hard-learned lessons, and presents practical, affordable, and systematic action steps to building, managing, and marketing a successful business on a shoestring budget. The proven, no-b.s. methodology presented in Never Get a "Real" Job teaches unemployed and underemployed Gen-Yers, aspiring small business owners, students, and recent college graduates how to quit 9-to-5s, become their own bosses, and achieve financial independence.

After years as a consultant to some of the world's biggest brands and having owned ten companies himself, Troy Hazard has learned crucial lessons on predicting potential business issues before you experience them. Now Troy offers you the skills to prepare your business for a better future. Along with his stories of what works, he also shares his experiences of what doesn't work. With a mix of entertaining real life extracts, client case studies, and personal experiences, Future Proofing Your Business offers potent and refined tools that have been road tested in real-world situations and aren't taught in business school. Learn how to turn obstacles into opportunities Break down business barriers created by bad belief systems Develop powerful leadership skills through stronger personal awareness Know if you're driving your business into the future or into the ground Discover how to make change a consciousness not just an action. Understand your future through a greater understanding of yourself All through the author's extensive experience in his own companies and as a consultant for major world brands Troy’s philosophy on how to future-proof your business is anchored in one core belief: "Business happens in cycles. Your ability to manage these cycles successfully lies in how you interpret information from the past and deal with it in the present, to be more resilient through cycles of the future." Troy Hazard (San Diego CA.; www.troyhazard.com) has founded and nurtured ten businesses over two decades, turned around businesses that were experiencing enormous losses, and consulted to countless successful companies around the world. These business talents earned him international respect, so much so that he was elected by the world's foremost business leaders for the role of Global President of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. For over a decade Troy has been a host and regular guest on many national television and radio shows as a business commentator and a feature writer for magazines. More recently he has become a regular voice of authority on The Biz Television Network, the CBS Talk Radio Network, and the Business Talk Radio Network, and is a regular writer in publications across the country.