One of the world's leading experts on power offers a penetrating look at the rise of private interests and how the struggle among competing capitalism is reordering the global economy.

Most people believe that large corporations wield enormous political power when they lobby for policies as a cohesive bloc. With this controversial book, Mark A. Smith sets conventional wisdom on its head. In a systematic analysis of postwar lawmaking, Smith reveals that business loses in legislative battles unless it has public backing. This surprising conclusion holds because the types of issues that lead businesses to band together—such as tax rates, air pollution, and product liability—also receive the most media attention. The ensuing debates give citizens the information they need to hold their representatives accountable and make elections a choice between contrasting policy programs. Rather than succumbing to corporate America, Smith argues, representatives paradoxically become more responsive to their constituents when facing a united corporate front. Corporations gain the most influence over legislation when they work with organizations such as think tanks to shape Americans' beliefs about what government should and should not do.

Kick Ass Your Way As the owner of one of the largest woman-owned advertising agencies in the U.S., Gay Gaddis knows a thing or two about empowerment. Gay's insights are rooted in the spirited strength of the real cowgirl heroines of the 1920s and '30s-gutsy risk -takers in everything they did. In Cowgirl Power, these cowgirls are celebrated as a metaphor for the power we all have to achieve far more than we think. Whether your goal is to start a family, own a business, advance your career, organize community outreach, or run for office, it all comes down to power: knowing how to develop it and not being afraid to take it when it comes your way. Gay's book and Cowgirl Power Toolkit will help you blaze a path to success, on your terms: Taking responsibility for yourself Building your own competence Finding your assertiveness Designing your own life Building a kick-ass culture Recognizing good ideas Becoming a fearless leader Cowgirl Power is not about changing you. You are just fine. It's about understanding your strengths, building on them, and unlocking your power to kick ass-your way.

Mintz and Schwartz offer a fascinating tour of the corporate world. Through an intensive study of interlocking corporate directorates, they show that for the first time in American history the loan making and stock purchasing and selling powers are concentrated in the same hands: the leadership of major financial firms. Their detailed descriptions of corporate case histories include the forced ouster of Howard Hughes from TWA in the late fifties as a result of lenders' pressure; the collapse of Chrysler in the late seventies owing to banks' refusal to provide further capital infusions; and the very different "rescues" of Pan American Airlines and Braniff Airlines by bank intervention in the seventies.

Includes: "Supreme Business Laws and Maxims that Win Wealth" and "759 Bedrock Principles Underlying Great Financial Success."

The idea that business is only about the money doesn’t hold true in the twenty-first century, when companies around the world are giving up traditional distinctions in order to succeed. Yet our expectations for businesses remain under the sway of an outdated worldview that emphasizes profits for shareholders above all else. The Power of And offers a new narrative about the nature of business, revealing the focus on responsibility and ethics that unites today’s most influential ideas and companies. R. Edward Freeman, Kirsten E. Martin, and Bidhan L. Parmar detail an emerging business model built on five key concepts: prioritizing purpose as well as profits; creating value for stakeholders as well as shareholders; seeing business as embedded in society as well as markets; recognizing people’s full humanity as well as their economic interests; and integrating business and ethics into a more holistic model. Drawing on examples across companies, industries, and countries, they show that these values support persevering in hard times and prospering over the long term. Real-world success stories disprove the conventional wisdom that there are unavoidable trade-offs between acting ethically and succeeding financially. The Power of And presents a conceptual revolution about what it means for business to be responsible, providing a new story for us to tell in order to help all kinds of companies thrive.

Start Marketing NOW on the World's Fastest-Growing Website! You thought Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter were big? Pinterest is outpacing them all. As a marketer, you can't afford to ignore this amazing new platform. Why should you start marketing right now on Pinterest? In a word: MORE. You'll drive more traffic, get more customers, and make more money than ever! Pinterest Power provides all the tools, tips, and strategies you need to get going--right now, the right way. "Pinterest has unimaginable potential as a marketing and customer relationship building tool. In this fantastic book Jason and Karen reveal their highly effective blueprint for using it the right way. This is the guide to Pinterest that I'm having my staff read." -- JIM COCKRUM, bestselling author of Free Marketing: 101 Low and No-Cost Ways to Grow Your Business "Pinterest is one of the hottest and fastest social tools on the Internet today. It's growing faster than Facebook did, and you don't want to be left behind. Jason Miles will show you step-by-step how he uses Pinterest to make money online." -- SKIP MCGRATH, author of Three Weeks to eBay Profits

Includes: "Power Qualities Essential to Men in Business for Themselves."

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has developed a powerful business community and a potent network of transnational organized groups. Russian Business Power explores the powerful impact these new actors are having on the evolution of the Russian state and its foreign behaviour. Unlike other books, which focus either on Russia's foreign and security policy, or on the evolution of Russian business, legal and illegal, within the context of Russia's domestic transition, this book considers how far Russia's foreign and security policy is shaped by business. It considers a wide range of issues, including energy, the arms trade, international drug flows, and human trafficking, and examines the impact of Russian business in Russia's dealings with Western and Eastern Europe, the Caspian, the Caucasus and the Far East.

Listening is harder than it looks- but it's the difference between business success and failure. Nothing causes bad decisions in organizations as often as poor listening. But Bernard Ferrari, adviser to some of the nation's most influential executives, believes that such missteps can be avoided and that the skills and habits of good listening can be developed and mastered. He offers a step-by-step process that will help readers become active listeners, able to shape and focus any conversation. Ferrari reveals how to turn a tin ear into a platinum ear. His practical insights include: Good listening is hard work, not a passive activity Good listening means asking questions, challenging all assumptions, and understanding the context of every interaction Good listening results in a new clarity of focus, greater efficiency, and an increased likelihood of making better decisions Good listening can be the difference between a long career and a short one