Business Strategy

This Third Edition to Peter Block′s Flawless Consulting addresses business changes and new challenges since the second edition was written ten years ago. It tackles the challenges next–generation consultants face, including more guidance on how to ask better questions, dealing with difficult clients, working in an increasingly virtual world, how to cope with complexities in international consulting, case studies, and guidelines on implementation. Also included are illustrative examples and exercises to help you cement the guides offered.

Today′s financial and economic tribulations were a long time in the making. Many people ask, "Why didn′t someone see it coming?" A New York Times bestselling book did see it coming. Over 100,000 people read it in time to protect their wealth. The book foresaw and explained the collapse in home prices, plunge in stocks, subprime debacle, liquidity crisis, the demise of Fannie and Freddie, the Federal Reserve′s failure to turn the trend, and lots more. The book was Robert Prechter’s Conquer the Crash , published in early 2002, when the Dow was above 10,000 and the financial world was partying around–the–clock. Fast forward to today: the average U.S. homeowner has suffered a decline of 30% to 40% in property value. Stocks and commodities had their biggest fall since 1929–1932. Fannie Mae is a zombie corporation under the government’s protection. The Fed has pushed every button at its disposal (and then some), to no avail. If Prechter thought a whole new book would help, he′d have written one. But Conquer the Crash is a book–length forecast that′s still coming true –– only some of the future has caught up with the specific predictions he published back then. There is much more to come. That means more danger, but also great opportunity. Conquer the Crash, 2nd edition offers you 188 new pages of vital information (480 pages total) plus all the original forecasts and recommendations that make the book more compelling and relevant than the day it published. In every disaster, only a very few people prepare themselves beforehand. Think about investor enthusiasm in 2005–2008, and you′ll realize it′s true. Even fewer people will be ready for the soon–approaching, next leg down of the unfolding depression. In this 2nd edition, Prechter gives a warning he′s never had to include in 30 years of publishing –– namely, that the doors to financial safety are closing all over the world. In other words, prudent people need to act while they can. Conquer the Crash, 2nd Edition readers will receive exclusive online access to the Conquer the Crash Readers Page, where Prechter continually updates the book′s recommended services and institutions

Flying in the face of current thinking, this book suggests that we do not need to think outside the box in our quest for creativity, rather we should rethink the way we look inside the box . This idea will resonate only too well with those who have endeavoured to be creative by thinking outside that box, only to have their attempts scuppered by the constraints of bureaucracy and organizational politics. Instead of fighting a losing battle, the author suggests that creativity should be worked at within the constraints of the organizational box, but that space needs to be grown and allowed to be shaken up. Only by experimenting, mutating and finding new directions can you uncover business paths that lead to success. The reader is encouraged not to free themselves from all their knowledge and experiences (the thinking outside the box method) but to use their knowledge and experience in new ways. The book is structured around three key steps: Expanding the box : so that the pieces of the puzzle in it can move around more freely Filling the box : with even more knowledge, and how to get these new pieces of the puzzle to connect with the existing ones Shaking the box : so that the pieces fall into new places and form new patterns. The book shows that anybody can be creative. The creative methods suggested in the book will be linked to real business examples from which techniques have been developed to help their implementation. Numerous exercises and eye–openers form part of the practical implementation of Micael Dahlén s ideas. The book is framed by models and concepts of how creativity works (the creative process, the creative person and the creative result) and what its effects are.

Professionals today, whether they are new or seasoned, need a solid foundation of essential skills in order to keep pace with the speed of change. The American Management Association, the preeminent provider of business education worldwide, trains the majority of the Fortune 500 companies in competitive business skills. Now, for the first time, AMA has assembled the most critical, “must-have” skills for managers and leaders in one handy volume. AMA Business Boot Camp paves the way for readers to: • Motivate, increase morale, and enhance productivity • Manage organizational change • Improve their ability to communicate and influence others • Screen, evaluate, and select corporate strategies • Conduct effective performance reviews • Protect themselves against the pitfalls of intra-organizational politics • And much more Covering everything from management and leadership to project management and strategy, this one-of-kind reference serves as a crash course in the fundamentals required for lasting success.

Over the years, world-renowned marketing guru Philip Kotler has been asked thousands of questions by clients, students, business audiences, and journalists. Now in one quick reference, Kotler provides answers to some of the toughest ones, revealing his philosophies on marketing topics including strategy, product, price, place, promotion, marketing research and planning, direct marketing, small business marketing, and more. According to Kotler offers his insightful, thought-provoking answers to questions such as: - What effects are dynamics like globalization, hyper competition, and the Internet having on marketing? - What skills do marketing managers need to be successful? - What marketing strategies make sense during a recession? - What are holistic marketing and reverse marketing? - How can a local brand be turned into a global brand? - What signs might indicate a need for a change in strategy? - What does the marketing department of the future look like? Kotler expounds on these and many other questions in this fascinating, landmark book no marketing professional should be without. Philip Kotler is one of the world’s foremost experts on the strategic practice of marketing, voted the first Leader in Marketing Thought by the American Marketing Association. The S.C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University, he is the author of many influential books, including Marketing Management and Kotler on Marketing. He lives in Evanston, Illinois.

When it comes to negotiation, there is an ugly double standard. As women, if we make concessions to further a deal, we’re viewed as weak. But if we play hard-ball, we can be seen as overly aggressive - and the strategy backfires. No wonder most women hate negotiating. In  Your Own Terms , negotiation expert Yasmin Davidds helps women strike a balance, merging our natural strengths (collaboration, relationship building, listening) with a firm grasp of established tactics. Guidelines, stories, and exercises illuminate the psychology of negotiation and reveal how women can: Control how they are perceived Eliminate self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors Discover their personal negotiation style Envision the ideal outcome and map backwards Build leverage Understand an opponent’s approach and adjust theirs in response Deploy persuasion and redirection tactics Set the bar high and negotiate to get there. With this empowering book, women learn the skills to win on their own terms - and open doors they never knew were shut.

The Internet used to be a tool for telling your customers about your business. Now its real value lies in what it tells you about them. Every move your customers make online can be tracked, catalogued, and analyzed to better understand their preferences and predict their future behavior. And with mobile technology like smartphones, customers are online almost every second of every day. The companies that succeed going forward will be those that learn to leverage this torrent of information without being drowned by it. Balancing examples from giants like Amazon, Home Depot, and Ford with newer players like Rovio, Groupon, and scores of niche-market winners,  Data Crush examines the forces behind the explosive growth in data and reveals how the most innovative companies are responding to this challenge. The book clarifies the key drivers: the proliferation of “big data” generated by a never-ending range of online activities (and the mobility that enables much of it); the seemingly infinite array of digital commerce and entertainment pathways; and the rising growth of Cloud computing. These and other factors combine to create an overwhelming universe of valuable information—all constantly updated in real time with billions of mouse clicks each day. It’s daunting, but with this onslaught of information comes tremendous opportunity—and Data Crush will help you make sense of it all Data Crush lets you seize the opportunities in this onslaught of information. It helps you fully grasp the interconnected forces driving data growth, and the profound impact of information-sprawl on businesses. And it guides you in the essential task of collecting, analyzing, and acting upon massive amounts of data to keep your organization relevant and prosperous. You’ll read about: • The ascendance of smartphones and tablets (with wearable devices now entering the scene), social media, cloud computing, and other data-expanding trends • New developments in contextification, or predicting a customer’s future needs • Challenges stemming from the market of one, microeconomies, the intimacy imperative, instant customer gratification, and more • Big Data statistical analysis, and how to mine it for rich insights into customers and business • Why the same old business strategies won’t deliver results in today’s information economy • How to extend data metrics into nontraditional channels, such as email, internal social media, collaboration platforms, and customer communication channels • Five scenarios of what life might look like in 2020 • And much more