Fundamental principles for how Girl Scouts USA is run and why it's so successful Millions of American businesswomen, thought leaders, and politicians received their first lessons in salesmanship, money management, marketing, teamwork, and fulfillment in the Girl Scouts. The Girls Scouts has shaped the lives of more than 50 million alumnae alive today. Eighty percent of American female senior business executives and business owners are former Girl Scouts. In March 2012, the Girl Scouts will celebrate their 100th anniversary. Tough Cookies captures the essence of this iconic organization and the principles that have allowed them to build and sustain a 100-year-old organization. Under current CEO Kathy Cloninger's leadership, the Girl Scouts has transformed and enhanced its ability to develop leadership in young women. Tough Cookies outlines the rise of the Girl Scouts, this recent and dramatically successful shift, and lessons that are applicable to make any business or organization a success. An inspiring story of the Girl Scouts founding, along with leadership and business lessons that can be applied to organizations of any size No other organization compares to Girl Scouts in size, experience, and resources devoted to developing leadership skills Publication coincides with the 100-year anniversary of GSUSA What can your business learn from the Girl Scouts?

When a cookie discovers he does NOT taste delicious, he has to find a new identity in this clever picture book twist on a holiday classic. Once upon a time, while Fox was visiting the land of Holiday Treats, a little cookie—still warm from the bakery oven—burst out the front door looking sweet and ready to be devoured. But, as it turns out, Cookie is not as fast as he thinks and when Fox finally catches him, they’re both in for a big surprise: Sugar Cookie does not taste delicious—and he’s certainly not fit to be eaten. What’s an unsavory cookie to do? Is there another option for this not-so-sweet treat? This inventive story celebrates the joy of being accepted for who we are. Includes recipes and instructions to cook up your own Tough Cookies! Christy Ottaviano Books

When his friend Chips is snatched and chewed, Tough Cookie sets out to stop Fingers.

Michael J. Coles, the cofounder of the Great American Cookie Company and the former CEO of Caribou Coffee, did not follow a conventional path into business. He does not have an Ivy League pedigree or an MBA from a top-ten business school. He grew up poor, starting work at the age of thirteen. He had many false starts and painful defeats, but Coles has a habit of defying expectations. His life and career have been about turning obstacles into opportunities, tragedies into triumphs, and poverty into philanthropy. In Time to Get Tough, Coles explains how he started a $100-million company with only $8,000, overcame a near-fatal motorcycle accident, ran for the U.S. Congress, and set three transcontinental cycling world records. His story also offers a firsthand perspective on the business, political, and philanthropic climate in the last quarter of the twentieth century and serves as an important case study for anyone interested in overcoming a seemingly insurmountable challenge. Readers will also discover practical leadership lessons and unconventional ways of approaching business.

Set in the formerly oil-rich desert Southwest, this play explores the lives of two generations of women living under one roof. The story centers on Jo who, after her father dies, takes in her feisty mother. The dialogue between them and with a long-time neighbor is, at once, outrageously funny and heart-breakingly tragic. These women tear and rip into each other¿s psyche with reckless abandon and something barely resembling love. The cookies in question may or may not be poisoned, but just beneath the surface these women hide a more potent poison¿the deadly venom accumulated over years of unfulfilled dreams mixed with the sudden and bitter acceptance of a life unrealized. If you like your tragedies hysterically funny then take a bite of this.

A heartwarming memoir of a family that refused to give up When twenty-two-year-old Susan Stachler was diagnosed with cancer, her mother, Laura, was struck by déjà vu: the same illness that took her sister's life was threatening to take her daughter's too. Heartbroken but steadfast, Laura pledged to help Susan through the worst of her treatments. When they discovered that Laura's homemade ginger cookies soothed the side effects of Susan's chemo, the mother-daughter duo soon found themselves opening Susansnaps and sharing their gourmet gingersnaps with the world. Told with admirable grace and infinite hope, The Cookie Cure is about more than baked goods and cancer—it's about fighting for your life and for your dreams.

Unlike his brothers and sisters, Chip— the youngest and only chocolate chip cookie in his family— doesn’t have any fun or special job like they do. Without a career to enjoy, Chip finds it hard not to be upset when each of his siblings has something that makes them special and happy. Chip grows tired of being teased by his brothers and sisters for not having a fun job, so he decides to find a job that he isn’t just good at but better at than his siblings! Unfortunately, by focusing on what he thinks he should be based on his siblings’ careers, Chip struggles to belong in any job that he tries. With the support of his mother, Éclair, Chip makes the decision to focus on himself and his dream in order to transform into what he always imagined he could be, and to show his siblings what one lone chocolate chip can do. By choosing his own path and staying more dedicated to his dream than any sibling in his family, Chip is truly able to become One Tough Cookie!

Have you ever worked with a manager who is difficult to get along with? Do you ask yourself, “How in the world do I work with this type of person?” Are you a difficult manager? Have you been told your communication style is too extreme and affects your ability to lead others? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, this book is for you! Tough Cookies are people with excellent technical skills, but weak interpersonal skills. They can be challenging to work with unless others understand them and know how to communicate with them. For both Tough Cookie managers and for people who work with them, Soft Skills for Tough Cookies provides ways to improve communication by adjusting behaviors, not personalities. Soft Skills for Tough Cookies describes different communication styles based on twelve cookie types. Perhaps you can imagine how a Ginger Snap, snaps? The author provides specific ways to improve interpersonal skills for managers while giving staff members ways to interact with them more effectively. As a Sugar Cookie who lives with an Oatmeal Raisin, trust me, it’s important!

My book begins with my early years growing up, describing a childhood filled with memories of excitement, happiness, warmth, and security. It continues with experiences of growing up with relatives, friends, and neighbors, and how this period of my life molded me into a person with standards, values, and work ethics. I move forward explaining how life is not always fair; bad things happen to good people. My story comes to life as I travel through time, sharing the good and bad relationships along the way, dealing with the consequences of my actions. My ride on this roller coaster explains all the emotions I feel as I leave one phase of life and enter into another. I explain how I dealt with my emotions on puppy love, true love, and the greatest of all: unconditional love. Decisions are made, new paths chosen. I experience marriage, childbirth, rearing children, divorce, and loneliness. My book ends summing up everything that I wish to accomplish, which would be to inspire my readers to take a journey into their own mind, compare their own life, and realize that tough times never last, but Tough Cookies do.