Necessary Endings

Henry Cloud Harper Collins

“If you’re hesitant to pull the trigger when things obviously aren't working out, Henry Cloud’s Necessary Endings may be the most important book you read all year.” —Dave Ramsey, New York Times bestselling author of The Total Money Makeover “Cloud is a wise, experienced, and compassionate guide through [life’s] turbulent passages.” —Bob Buford, bestelling author of Halftime and Finishing Well; founder of the Leadership Network Henry Cloud, the bestselling author of Integrity and The One-Life Solution, offers this mindset-altering method for proactively correcting the bad and the broken in our businesses and our lives. Cloud challenges readers to achieve the personal and professional growth they both desire and deserve—and gives crucial insight on how to make those tough decisions that are standing in the way of a more successful business and, ultimately, a better life.

ISBN10 : 9780062024985 , ISBN13 : 0062024981

Page Number : 256

The One Life Solution

Henry Cloud Harper Collins

Do you feel that if you could get rid of some of the chaos in your work life you could take your performance to a greater level? Do you stay late at the office many nights, trying to empty an inbox that never seems to diminish? Do you have difficulty dealing with cantankerous bosses or passive-aggressive coworkers? Do you find yourself checking your BlackBerry—almost against your will—during dates, family dinners, or your children's soccer games? Do you feel fragmented, frustrated, or pulled in too many directions at once? If you've answered yes to any of the above, chances are that your work life has taken over your personal life. In The One-Life Solution, clinical psychologist and bestselling author Dr. Henry Cloud provides invaluable strategies for moving toward a more unified, coherent sense of self and a life that fully encompasses work, family, and spirituality. Dr. Cloud can help you: contain self-destructive behavior define yourself and know who you are set limits when needed communicate effectively improve your performance at the office and outside it

ISBN10 : 9780061466434 , ISBN13 : 0061466433

Page Number : 258

A New Brand World

Scott Bedbury Penguin

What does it really take to succeed in business today? In A New Brand World, Scott Bedbury, who helped make Nike and Starbucks two of the most successful brands of recent years, explains this often mysterious process by setting out the principles that helped these companies become leaders in their respective industries. With illuminating anecdotes from his own in-the-trenches experiences and dozens of case studies of other winning—and failed—branding efforts (including Harley-Davidson, Guinness, The Gap, and Disney), Bedbury offers practical, battle-tested advice for keeping any business at the top of its game.

ISBN10 : 0142001902 , ISBN13 : 9780142001905

Page Number : 244

Practice What You Preach

David H. Maister Simon and Schuster

In today's highly competitive realm of professional service firms, the quest for individual stardom is at an all-time high. The temptation to rack up the most billable hours and out-perform one's fellow advisers is often irresistible. But it is also shortsighted and terribly counterproductive, according to world-renowned authority and acclaimed author David Maister. In this groundbreaking book, Maister issues a much-needed wake-up call to today's professional service firms. Arguing that a far greater contribution to a firm's success can come from those who find fulfilment in seeing other's succeed rather than those who assume the role of "most valuable player". The author outlines and discusses in detail the nine key "people" issues upon which successfully managed and profitable organisations rely. Supporting his findings with a range of compelling data, Maister demonstrates how and why firms that emphasise the highest standards of employee professionalism are invariably more financially successful than those that don't.

ISBN10 : 9781471105685 , ISBN13 : 1471105687

Page Number : 269

The Myth Of Excellence

Fred Crawford Crown Currency

The Undiscovered Consumer . . .and the Mistake of Universal Excellence What do customers really want? And how can companies best serve them? Fred Crawford and Ryan Mathews set off on what they describe as an "expedition into the commercial wilderness" to find the answers. What they discovered was a new consumer -- one whom very few companies understand, much less manufacture products for or sell products or services to. These consumers are desperately searching for values, a scarce resource in our rapidly changing and challenging world. And increasingly they are turning to business to reaffirm these values. As one consumer put it: "I can find value everywhere but can't find values anywhere." Crawford and Mathews's initial inquiries eventually grew into a major research study involving more than 10,000 consumers, interviews with executives from scores of leading companies around the world, and dozens of international client engagements. Their conclusion: Most companies priding themselves on how well they "know" their customers aren't really listening to them at all. Consumers are fed up with all the fuss about "world-class performance" and "excellence." What they are aggressively demanding is recognition, respect, trust, fairness, and honesty. Believing that they are still in a position to dictate the terms of commercial engagement, businesses have bought into the myth of excellence -- the clearly false and destructive theory that a company ought to be great at everything it does, that is, all the components of every commercial transaction: price, product, access, experience, and service. This is always a mistake because "the predictable outcome [is] that the company ends up world-class at nothing; not well-differentiated and therefore not thought of by consumers at the moment of need." Instead, Crawford and Mathews suggest that companies engage in Consumer Relevancy, a strategy of dominating in one element of a transaction, differentiating on a second, and being at industry par (i.e., average) on the remaining three. It's not necessary for businesses to equally invest time and money on all five attributes, and their customers don't want them to. Imagine the confusion if Tiffany & Co. started offering deep discounts on diamonds and McDonald's began selling free-range chicken and tofu. The Myth of Excellence provides a blueprint for companies seeking to offer values-based products and services and shows how to realize the commercial opportunities that exist just beyond their current grasp -- opportunities to reduce operating costs, boost bottom-line profitability, and, most important, begin to engage in a meaningful dialogue with customers.

ISBN10 : 9780307422194 , ISBN13 : 0307422194

Page Number : 274

Get Better Or Get Beaten

Robert Slater McGraw-Hill Companies

Learn how to think; talk and lead like GE's legendary Jack Welch. --

ISBN10 : 0071373462 , ISBN13 : 9780071373463

Page Number : 0

Go Givers Sell More

Bob Burg Penguin UK

The sequel to the international bestseller The Go-Giver, applying its inspirational approach to real-world challenges. The Go-Giver took the business world by storm with its message that giving is the simplest, most fulfilling, and most effective path to success. It has inspired hundreds of thousands of readers; but some have wondered how the story's lessons stand up to the tough challenges of everyday, real-world business. Bob Burg and John David Mann answer that question in Go-Givers Sell More, a practical guide that turns giving into the cornerstone of a powerful and effective approach to selling. Most of us think of sales as a struggle to make people do something they don't really want to do. But that cut-throat mentality makes the process much harder than it has to be - especially in an economic downturn when customers are more suspicious and defensive than ever. It's far more effective (and satisfying) when salespeople think like Go-Givers and focus on creating value for the customer. Cultivate a trusting relationship and provide outstanding service, and great results will follow automatically. Illustrating their points with a wide range of real-life examples, Burg and Mann offer tips and strategies that anyone in sales can start applying right away.

ISBN10 : 9780141962337 , ISBN13 : 014196233X

Page Number : 174