The phrase communities of practice is relatively new; the concept and its utility is not. Simply put, a community of practice is a learning community. When people realize that they can benefit from sharing their knowledge, experience and insights with like-minded and similarly-motivated people, the seed for a community of practice gets planted. E-learning communities, continuing education groups, cooperative education groups and apprenticeship programs are all, in some form or fashion, communities of practice.

In a few rare instances, a community of practice will build and nurture itself, with little apparent or active management. Much more common is the case whereby a community of practice needs conscious and thoughtful input to be conceived, nurtured and brought to flourish. When a community of practice is implemented correctly, it becomes a powerful and enabling tool for improving productivity, encouraging professional development and creating a culture of continuous learning in an organization.

Expert knowledge disseminators and learning facilitators, two communities experts--Mike Hower and Michael Prevou--work with corporate learning expert Mitchell Levy to show you, in their very actionable new book, how to get a community of practice initiative off the ground and drive adoption in your organization. In their last several years of work in this pathbreaking area, both authors have repeatedly been asked how to get a community defined, how to measure its value and how to keep a valuable community successful. Their book is a direct result of such questioning; indeed the authors demonstrate how communities of practice are the killer app of knowledge management. This is a practical and implementable volume that provides vital tips for knowledge leaders, managers and facilitators who support these communities in such a way that they make a positive contribution to creating and sharing organizational knowledge--a contribution that engages people and leads to a competitive advantage in today's business environment.

#SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE LEARNING tweet Book07 is part of the THiNKaha series whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out quotes (tweets/ahas).

The authors take traditional instructional design (ID) to its logical pinnacle with their meticulously conceived Brilliance Learning System, predicated on putting the learner first.

The speed of data collection, an increase in the volume and complexity of data, the pressure to be innovative and adaptable, and the need to learn and share across geographic and corporate boundaries are just a few of the factors that make managing knowledge central to any organization's success today. Knowledge creates the capacity for effective action, and making that knowledge flow in a way that supports organizational learning is a key component, perhaps the most vital asset, for a learning organization. Knowledge management (KM) as a discipline is often misunderstood. To help illuminate this field, KM expert, "Michael Prevou," and corporate veteran, "Mitchell Levy," condense input from top KM practitioners to provide the best practice advice that will help today's corporate leader understand KM in a clear, structured, and relevant manner. Cutting straight through the confusion, this hard-hitting book provides just what you need to know to understand what KM is and is not, why it is important, how to design your KM strategy, and get started with your organization's KM program. Michael is one of the most innovative and experienced knowledge management practitioners in the country. In "#SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE LEARNING tweet Book05: Everything You Need to Know about Knowledge Management in Practice in 140 Characters or Less," he draws on that unique experience to bring you the most relevant and cutting-edge developments in the field. While working with the U.S. Army, he co-founded the Army's lead agency on knowledge management and established and grew a nested network of over 60 communities. These communities have grown to over 250,000 active members and have saved the military time, money, and lives. His unique experiences implementing real KM in action along with his background in educational psychology partner for a powerful combination of expertise that can help any company implement a successful KM program targeted to their specific needs. In this book, he teams up with Mitchell to show that KM should be a deliberate and continuous strategy to get the right knowledge to the right people at the right time, helping people share and put knowledge into action in ways that visibly improve individual and organizational performance. "#SUCCESSFUL CORPORATE LEARNING tweet Book05: Everything You Need to Know about Knowledge Management in Practice in 140 Characters or Less" is part of the THiNKaha series whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out quotes (tweets/ahas).

Success in high school does not necessarily translate into success at college. Entering college marks the transition to adulthood, which is why decisions made during the freshman year at college tend to impact the rest of a student's college experience-and the rest of life. So how do students ensure that they survive and thrive in college? The bite-sized, common-sense, direct-to-action ideas in "#STUDENT SUCCESS tweet" will set entering freshman-and all college students-on the path to college success. This unique book will help students develop the tools, skills, and habits that are the prerequisites for success in college and in future careers. Authors "Marie B. Highby" and "Julia C. Schmitt" are ideally situated to share wisdom and ideas on the college experience. Marie, leadership coach and college instructor, brings to the book her first-hand experience working with students at San Jose State University. Julia, a recent Stanford grad as well as an environmental consultant and entrepreneur, brings the perspective of her own college experience along with the insights she's developed in her networking with current college students as well as other recent alums. Among many other things, readers of "#STUDENT SUCCESS tweet" will learn to plan their college careers proactively, establish healthy social networks, find the balance between life, class, and work, handle universal issues like emotional stress and homesickness, and navigate the way to be successful college graduates, learning lessons for life. "#STUDENT SUCCESS tweet" walks new college students through the big-picture life issues as well as the mundane yet unavoidable details associated with university life, all in a format that fits busy student schedules. Each tweet can be read in an instant-between classes, during a study break-and over time forms an "aha" moment to reflect upon and put into practice. This is the perfect quick guide to college for a time-crunched freshman, as well as a book containing sound advice for any young person. "#STUDENT SUCCESS tweet"is part of the THiNKaha series whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out quotations (tweets/ahas).

Discover the secret to being a great boss with #GREAT BOSSES tweet: 140 Bite-Sized Proven Ideas for Being Each Employee’s Great Boss. Written by S. Chris Edmonds, CEO and founder of The Purposeful Culture Group, #GREAT BOSSES tweet provides readers with the insight they need to build effective professional relationships with employees and inspire a productive and creative work environment. Being an effective boss is more than just meeting deadlines and raising profits. A great boss entails building strong relationships with employees and laying the groundwork for a professional environment that inspires growth and creativity. Whether it’s through setting clear goals or through establishing well-defined citizenship standards, #GREAT BOSSES tweet aims to share Edmonds’ insights on the qualities of good professional leadership and proper employee engagement. After years of professional experience as a leadership expert, S. Chris Edmonds has built a tried and tested managerial philosophy around valuing people as much as profits and shareholder return. The result is more lucrative long term results in work productivity and overall job satisfaction. At a time when employees are only as good as the bosses that lead them, #GREAT BOSSES tweet aspires to raise the bar in the way bosses deal with the teams they lead. This book shares the necessary tools you need to improve relationships with team members, inspire professional growth and attract and retain new talent. Readers will be able to relate to #GREAT BOSSES tweet by reflecting on their own great bosses. By harnessing personal experiences alongside Edmonds key insights, readers will be able to better understand the practices of a great boss, particularly in the areas of growth, relationships, excellence, accountability, and teamwork. #GREAT BOSSES tweet outlines the mindset necessary to become an effective manager, an inspiring leader, and a great boss. #GREAT BOSSES tweet is part of the THiNKaha series whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out quotes (tweets/ahas).

Raising a child is a tough job. While there are no immediate qualifications to being a good parent, parenthood is one of the most difficult jobs anyone can take. Despite a growing number of parenting manuals and child psychology books, proper parenting techniques are as fast-changing as the times we live in.

#POWER KIDS tweet Book01: Raising Independent, Conscientious, Well-Adjusted, Responsible Young Adults aims to teach parents how to turn their kids into Power Kids – successful young adults who are motivated, self-confident, and independent. It combines practical parenting practices with groundbreaking child behavior insights.

#POWER KIDS tweet recognizes that successful young adults are defined during their formative years, using a mix of “tough love” and measured, yet thoughtful, compassion.

The book aims to teach parents how to enable their children. It outlines various ideas on how children can learn the value of money, make independent decisions, and face seemingly insurmountable adversity on their own. More importantly, the book does this in a way that is practical and convenient for real-world parents.

#POWER KIDS tweet provides 140 bite-sized nuggets of wisdom written specifically for on-the-go parents. It is a handy collection of tips designed to inspire and motivate parents to raise their child in an environment of positivity and empowerment, while giving parents the opportunity to think of ahas of their own. #POWER KIDS tweet was written to be concise, efficient, yet still incredibly effective. It provides the richness of a full-fledged parenting book without the long hours of reading.

Written by power couple Rudy Mui and Shirley Woo, #POWER KIDS tweet combines their collective experience as parents, entrepreneurs, and educators in one easy-to-read yet highly insightful package.

While the book was written for parents of any age, #POWER KIDS tweet is a perfect learning companion for legal guardians, educators, guidance counselors, and child psychologists looking for better ways to arm their children or students with the proper skills to face our increasingly competitive world.

#POWER KIDS tweet provides readers the tools they need to give children power - the power to define their own fate, discover their own person, and seek success born out of their own decisions.

#POWER KIDS tweet is part of the THiNKaha series whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out quotations (ahas).

Moving to college can be exciting, yet daunting. High school seniors leaving their childhood homes and heading to college receive lots of advice--from parents, siblings, counselors, and, of course, online. Even so, the guidance they will find in "'#MOVING OUT tweet'" presents unique value. That's because this new book represents the collective firsthand experience of four college students with rich and diverse experiences and with genuine intent to help out young people taking their first steps away from home. The authors--Santa Clara University students Gabrielle Jasinski, Eliza Lamson, Elizabeth Wassmann, and Hannah Miller--understand and respect the all-too-common dilemmas of college freshmen. How do I cook? "What" do I cook? Who will do my laundry? Where do I go when I just need a hug? Addressing these basics first, the authors then move on to provide guidance that goes beyond the essentials and actually focus on enriching and adding breadth to the college experience. Young college students themselves, the authors know that the unknown can be frightening. No matter how excited students might be to move to college, it is totally understandable to feel a tinge of nerves. And students are not the only ones feeling nervous; parents feel anxiety, too. It is clear that the authors understand this, because they address parental concerns with skill and empathy. "'#MOVING OUT tweet'" follows a six-step progression, starting with the pre-move period (typically the senior year of high school) to the long-term--the four years of college and beyond. Written in the easy-to-absorb tweet format, the book will help students to familiarize themselves with many aspects of this new world away from home. Parents too will find immediate value in this book, as it helps their children make a smoother, easier transition to college life. Ultimately, this book will work as a support system for students during and after the big move and will provide answers to the questions that come up during this time of intense change and excitement. "'#MOVING OUT tweet'" is part of the THiNKaha series whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out quotes (tweets/ahas).

CPA Brad Beckstead knows how difficult it can be for small public companies, or newly-public entities, to remain in constant compliance of federal regulation. In his new book, #CORPORATE GOVERNANCE tweet, Brad condenses all his professional experience and expertise into wisdom that a brand new public entity can deploy today. In simple language that even a layman can absorb and appreciate, and using the quick-to-action tweet format, Brad explains what corporate governance means and how it should be effectively implemented for the benefit of the public organization. The reader comes away with a lucid understanding of how corporate governance and effective systems of internal controls should be deployed in order to protect the interests in all parties involved in a public company.

It takes time and effort to cultivate any high quality relationship, and the relationship with your boss is no exception. What is unique about the boss-employee relationship is that it can be a beacon for productivity, job satisfaction, and exceeding business objectives, or it can be a burden, which leads to stress, a drop in morale, and a loss of engagement and progress in one's career. Successful companies are built on effective relationships both up and down the reporting chain. Conversely, businesses with the greatest chances for success have sometimes faltered simply because they failed to recognize the need to "manage up" the hierarchy. "#MANAGING UP tweet," by organizational experts Tony Deblauwe and Patrick Reilly, is a concise and easy guidebook that helps you successfully navigate the right way to manage your boss to the mutual benefit of both parties and the organization. Each section provides thought provoking and actionable statements that will help you learn how to effectively collaborate with your manager and drive a better connection that positively impacts how each party views job roles, expectations, priorities, and performance. Their concise, direct-to-action tips give you: An overview of the boss-employee relationship How to enter into productive collaboration and negotiation Ways to balance skillful interaction with on-time deliverables Innovative ideas for improving your job satisfaction Even if you and your boss currently have a great relationship, this book shows you how to increase the level of support, success, and satisfaction you receive in your daily work-life. #MANAGING UP tweet cuts to the chase with bite-sized "bytes" of wisdom that reveal how you can build effective communication and rapport upwards that will reverberate throughout your team. Tony Deblauwe, founder of HR4Change, and Patrick Reilly, president of Resources in Action, Inc., have extensive experience working with corporations large and small to coach leaders and employees alike how to manage and optimize human relationships in the workplace. Their quick and valuable read will supercharge your productivity, career, and job satisfaction so that you achieve optimum alignment with your boss and the organization. "#MANAGING UP tweet" is part of the THiNKaha series whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out quotes (tweets/ahas).

The road to success in a legal career is filled with litigating cases, negotiating deals, achieving recognition, and obtaining status symbols along the way. It's also a road paved with long hours, high stress, constant conflict, and at times, addiction and depression.

In Successful (Happy) Lawyering, authors Lee K. Broekman and Judith Gordon invite practicing and aspiring attorneys to take a close look at their definitions of success. How do we achieve success and balance in both our professional and personal lives? How do we reap the rewards of a successful law practice without developing unhealthy habits and hurting personal relationships along the way? To have it all—a profitable career and a great life—we need practices that support both.

This book is filled with irresistible information, the latest brain science, and "how-to" steps for achieving joy and satisfaction in law and life, all in a bite-sized, bottom-lined format that is easy for the busy attorney to immediately put to good use.

Successful (Happy) Lawyering is easy to read and easy to apply to your own work and life.

Successful (Happy) Lawyering is part of the THiNKaha series, whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out AhaMessages™.