If you've ever thought, "There must be more to life than this," The Art of Non-Conformity is for you. Based on Chris Guillebeau's popular online manifesto "A Brief Guide to World Domination," The Art of Non-Conformity defies common assumptions about life and work while arming you with the tools to live differently. You'll discover how to live on your own terms by exploring creative self-employment, radical goal-setting, contrarian travel, and embracing life as a constant adventure. Inspired and guided by Chris's own story and those of others who have pursued unconventional lives, you can devise your own plan for world domination-and make the world a better place at the same time.

The guide to shortening your execution cycle down from one year to twelve weeks Most organizations and individuals work in the context of annual goals and plans; a twelve-month execution cycle. Instead, The 12 Week Year avoids the pitfalls and low productivity of annualized thinking. This book redefines your "year" to be 12 weeks long. In 12 weeks, there just isn't enough time to get complacent, and urgency increases and intensifies. The 12 Week Year creates focus and clarity on what matters most and a sense of urgency to do it now. In the end more of the important stuff gets done and the impact on results is profound. Explains how to leverage the power of a 12 week year to drive improved results in any area of your life Offers a how-to book for both individuals and organizations seeking to improve their execution effectiveness Authors are leading experts on execution and implementation Turn your organization's idea of a year on its head, and speed your journey to success.

Bridge the achievement gap with proven strategies for student success Breakthrough Principals debunks the myth of the 'superhero' principal by detailing the common actions and practices of leaders at our nation's fastest-gaining public schools. Based on the authors' Transformational Leadership Framework, which they developed through in-depth study of more than 100 high-gaining, high-poverty schools, the book distills findings into a practical, action-focused plan for diagnosing school needs and implementing structures, systems and practices that accelerate student achievement. Brought to life by case studies of principals who have led dramatic gains in student achievement, the book is a how-to guide for increasing the quality of teaching and learning; improving school culture; attracting and supporting high-performing teachers; and involving parents and community to help students achieve. You'll learn how breakthrough principals make the school's mission a real part of both strategy and practice, and set up sustainable systems that support consistent, ongoing improvement. High-impact practices are organized into five broad categories: learning and teaching, school-wide culture, aligned staff, operations and systems, and personal leadership. The primary job of school leadership is to help students succeed. It begins with first recognizing and prioritizing areas of need, then finding and implementing the most effective solutions. Whether you work in a turn around environment, or want to make a good school better, this book will give you a set of concrete practices—illustrated through examples of real principals in real schools—that have been proven to work. Discover the primary drivers of student achievement Work toward the school's vision in staffing, operations, and systems Set the tone for all relationships and practices with good leadership Closing the achievement gap is a major goal of educational leadership, and principals are forever searching for viable methods that help them better serve their students. Breakthrough Principals unveils the details behind the success stories from across the nation to provide a roadmap to transformative gains.

Managing employees' performance is central to the role of every manager. Yet few organisations or managers are satisfied with their performance management systems - and few employees look forward to their performance reviews. This discontent has two main causes: first, employees' performance is often managed in isolation from the plans and targets of the work group or business unit; and second, the organisation is using inappropriate systems and methods of performance management. Performance Planning and Review describes how systematic performance management - planning, monitoring, reviewing, rewarding and developing what individual employees and work teams do - is the key to organisational success in today's complex and competitive world. Using practical examples, the author outlines the options available to organisations and managers, and discusses how to work out what is best for your organisation. Performance Planning and Review has been popular with managers, human resources specialists, students and others since its original publication. This new edition has been substantially revised to capture the latest research and good practice. It includes extensive coverage of new techniques like 360-degree feedback, and to open up new areas such as performance planning and review for teams.

Lean Production for Competitive Advantage: A Comprehensive Guide to Lean Methodologies and Management Practices, Second Edition introduces Lean philosophy and illustrates the effective application of Lean tools with real-world case studies. From fundamental concepts to integrated planning and control in pull production and the supply chain, the text provides a complete introduction to Lean production. Coverage includes small batch production, setup reduction, pull production, preventive maintenance, standard work, as well as synchronizing and scheduling Lean operations. Detailing the key principles and practices of Lean production, the text also: Illustrates effective implementation techniques with case studies from a range of industries. Includes questions and completed problems in each chapter. Explains how to effectively partner with suppliers and employees to achieve productivity goals Designed for students who have a basic foundation in production and operations management, the text provides a thorough understanding of the principles of Lean. It also offers practical know-how for implementing a culture of continuous improvement on the shop floor and in the office, creating a heightened sense of responsibility in all stakeholders, and enhancing productivity and efficiency to improve the bottom line. In this second edition, the author addresses management’s role in Lean production. Early observers of Japanese methods focused on the shop floor to see amazing things unlike anything practiced elsewhere. And the thinking was, if the "methods" could be adopted by companies elsewhere, those companies would experience the success of the Japanese. What the early observers hadn’t considered were dramatic differences in the way those companies were managed, both daily and strategically. The "management side" of Lean production is addressed in two new chapters, one devoted to daily management, the other to strategy deployment. Additionally, there is a new chapter that addresses breakthrough improvement and an approach to achieving it called Production Preparation Process. Every chapter has been revised and expanded to better tell the story of Lean production—its history, applications, practices, and methods.

Organizations can and must be viewed as systems. This may be the only means of achieving or exceeding the crucial ISO9000 standard of performance. Stankard's research proves that there are ways to design management actions that will enable organizations to facilitate goal-oriented performance.^L While evidence suggests that world-class firms continuously improve their products and processes, their techniques vary. This book gives you a framework for understanding how all of the new management techniques (even the fads) fit—or usually do not fit—your own business, and offers insight into avoiding potential business disasters. Identifying an organizational revolution built on cycles of planning, action, learning, and on a humanized scientific method, Stankard shows how firms that have won the Baldrige Award for performance excellence do, in fact, excel in the marketplace and on Wall Street. This is a unique book for middle to upper management, especially in the operations, information systems, human resource, quality assurance, and strategic planning functions, but also for those involved in state quality award programs nationwide. For general managers of small- to medium-size firms or profit centers, Stankard's work will be an especially useful guide to gaining a competitive edge out of ISO9000.