Best Workplace Behavior

Most people are fearful of change, both personal and professional, because they don't have any control over how or when it happens to them. Since change happens either to the individual or by the individual, Dr. Spencer Johnson, the coauthor of the multimillion bestseller The One Minute Manager, uses a deceptively simple story to show that when it comes to living in a rapidly changing world, what matters most is your attitude. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. Dr. Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and many other books, presents this parable to business, church groups, schools, military organizations--anyplace where you find people who may fear or resist change. And although more analytical and skeptical readers may find the tale a little too simplistic, its beauty is that it sums up all natural history in just 94 pages: Things change. This is a brief tale of two mice and two humans who live in a maze and one day are faced with change: someone moves their cheese. Capably narrated by Tony Roberts, this audiotape is recommended for larger public library collections.AMark Guyer, Stark Cty.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Bought this as a graduation present for a new MBA maybe there are some gems of wisdom in there for him in his new career."
"Everyone should read this book, especially in today's world where most people are scared that the AIs will take over."
"A great read I've given this book to a few friends and to my two sons."
"Everyone involved in organisations should read."
"great book."
"All time quick read fav."
"Have found it to be good gift for friends going through changes in life."
"Great book."

TEACHING A LEVIATHAN TO IMPROVISE It’s no secret that in any field, small teams have many advantages—they can respond quickly, communicate freely, and make decisions without layers of bureaucracy. A NEW APPROACH FOR A NEW WORLD McChrystal and his colleagues discarded a century of conventional wisdom and remade the Task Force, in the midst of a grueling war, into something new: a network that combined extremely transparent communication with decentralized decision-making authority. Leaders looked at the best practices of the smallest units and found ways to extend them to thousands of people on three continents, using technology to establish a oneness that would have been impossible even a decade earlier. The world is changing faster than ever, and the smartest response for those in charge is to give small groups the freedom to experiment while driving everyone to share what they learn across the entire organization. “In addition to being a fascinating and colorful read, this book is an indispensable guide to organizational change.” –Walter Isaacson , from the foreword “This is a bold argument that leaders can help teams become greater than the sum of their parts.” —Charles Duhigg , author of The Power of Habit “ Team of Teams is erudite, elegant, and insightful. Team of Teams harnesses these new realities as assets, providing a leadership framework to produce the inclusiveness and adaptability of a fast-moving start-up, at the scale of any size organization.” —Brad Smith , president and CEO, Intuit “In Team of Teams, General Stanley McChrystal, who won some of our most striking victories in the great war between nations and terrorist networks, shares insights for all in this lucid, persuasive, and sometimes wrenching account of our troubled yet transformational times.” —John Arquilla , professor, Defense Analysis United States Naval Postgraduate School “In the fast-moving world of today and tomorrow, organizations that don’t adapt will simply fade.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The book is not a military history, but instead a concise and exceptionally “fun to read” collection of insightful ideas told through entertaining stories ranging from industry to hospital emergency rooms. I recommend it for leaders and associates from all types of organizations who need to break down the effects of siloed teams in which information flow and decision making is ineffective in today’s increasingly complex environment. The discussions in the book are grounded in organizational management theory and leadership methods, but along the way gives a once in a lifetime look at the inside of the most storied Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit in existence today. They include weather forecasting, basketball and soccer, engineering marvels, big data, airline customer service, aircraft crews, NASA, SEAL training, plastic surgeons at the Boston Marathon bombing, GM versus Ford, MIT studies, and the enduring effects of Ritz Carlton and Nordstrom. The following should be of interest to today’s leaders: the difference between complicated and complex environments; how having more information available does not improve prediction nor mean lead to smarter decisions at the top; Taylorisms and efficiency ideals may actually cost you more than they save; the ‘need to know’ fallacy; the value of using your best people as ‘liaison officers’ or ‘embeds’; how resilient people make organizations stronger because they can adapt to changing environments; learning from your adversary is time well spent--they might have a better organizational model not necessarily better people; how to delegate authority to take action until you are uncomfortable; how to build trust and a shared awareness of the big picture; ‘eyes on, hands off’ leadership; and the difference between creating Strategic Corporals and an organization full of Lord Horatio Nelsons. The book carries you forward in time to see how far the Task Force had come by changing their culture, structure, and habits to allow the larger corporate command to become as agile and capable as its commandos. This short example, that covers just 46 minutes of a follow-on-target operation, highlights sharply the outcome of The Task Force’s investment in transparency, trust building and empowered execution. Sir Lieutenant General Lamb, a close friend of Stan McChrystal, shared a paper with me once that he titled 'In Command and Out of Control' and it raises a lot of the same questions and concepts about how to lead in a complex and fast-paced world. The concept is literally about getting 'out of the control' business and realizing that in order for organizations to take advantage of fleeting opportunities teams must be empowered at the lowest levels to take action."
"This book should be read by leaders of organizations both large and small so they can get the most out of their workforce and thrive in today’s ever-changing business climate."
"General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army Retired, took command of the Joint Special Operations Task Force in the Middle East in 2003 and transformed it from a hierarchical organization built on efficiency and discipline to a fluid, information-rich, decentralized organization. As author Pat Lencioni (“Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars,” “Five Dysfunctions of a Team”) has pointed out, organizations seeking creativity, collaboration, agility and speed need to break down silos and work across groups. McChrystal in his “Team of Teams” shares insights and his personal evolution that led to the transformation of his Task Force from one that suffered frequent and disastrous set-backs to one that could match, and then beat back networked terrorist organizations which could strike rapidly, reconfigure in real time, and integrate its globally dispersed actions. “Team of Teams” is organized around five topics: The challenge of the new environment: Accelerating speed and interdependence in today’s world has created levels of complexity that confound even the most superbly efficient organizations. The myths and magic of teams: What is it that creates the trust and common purpose that bond great small teams and why do so many small teams and firms falter as they grow and scale. AHSC was ahead of its time with its team of teams (19 Divisions) organizational structure that proved collaborative, agile and fast…and an incubator for industry leaders."

Now with an expanded chapter and appendix on leading millennials, based on Simon Sinek's viral video "Millenials in the workplace" (150+ million views). In his work with organizations around the world, Simon Sinek noticed that some teams trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other. But the best ones foster trust and cooperation because their leaders build what Sinek calls a "Circle of Safety" that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside. As refreshingly simple and easy to follow as it is thought-provoking Management Today Simon Sinek, an unshakable optimist, is the author of the bestselling book Start with Why, which challenged traditional assumptions about how great leaders and great companies inspire people.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Sinek begins with biology and outlines the roles of chemicals - specifically Endorphins, Dopamine, Serotonin and Oxytocin - and how evolution has dictated why we generate them and how we respond to them. Dopamine leads to your `feeling good' upon accomplishing a goal whether that is bringing home dinner while evading sabre-toothed tigers or doing a bang-up job on a major presentation. And, sadly, even the `winners' in this environment are actually losers because of the personal price they pay in terms of insecurity and lack of meaningful relations, not to mention health side effects. What I found really useful in the book is the way in which Sinek takes concepts from fields such as psychology and shows how they are relevant to what we experience in the workplace. In the early sixties, shortly after the Adolf Eichmann capture, trial and execution, there was a lively debate on whether Nazi collaborators were simply `following orders' or had a sense of responsibility and ownership for what they did. Yale professor Stanley Milgram devised a series of experiments in which a volunteer was asked to deliver electric shocks to a subject each time he made an `error' in a lesson. Unbeknownst to the volunteer the subject was actually a confederate of the professor and an actor who affected great pain and suffering as the level of electric shocks increased. And he gives lots of examples such as the Barry Wehmiller companies where CEO Bob Chapman is dedicated to `building great people who do extraordinary things. In contrast Sinegal built a strong `circle of safety' for his people, paid wages which were nearly double those at Walmart and did many things to engender loyalty and trust. I hope you join the `Truly Human Leadership" bandwagon set rolling by Bob Chapman, CEO of the Barry Wehmiller companies."
"I enjoyed Simon's TED talk and spent time watching several of his speeches."
"I've learned more about my profession from this book than any other book I've read."
"If you've seen Simon Sinek's TED talk about leadership and the biochemistry of leadership, you have the general idea."
"I find that this Audio Book is very inspiring and up lifting."
"I hope to use some lessons to build a company of trust and foster a good climate that wants to see the success of my time."
"Absolutely amazing!"
"I gave this a five star rating because the lessons were engaging, timeless, clearly laid out, and not over romanticized. I appreciated the insight into how chemicals in our body react under given circumstances."
Best Bonds Investing

From the frat-boy camaraderie of the forty-first-floor trading room to the killer instinct that made ambitious young men gamble everything on a high-stakes game of bluffing and deception, here is Michael Lewis’s knowing and hilarious insider’s account of an unprecedented era of greed, gluttony, and outrageous fortune. With this as a metaphor, Lewis describes his four years with the Wall Street firm Salomon Brothers, from his bizarre hiring through the training program to his years as a successful bond trader.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Michael Lewis provides a well-written account of the tumult of the crash of 1987, prefaced by revealing how the successes leading up to the crash were manifest in the earnings & personalities of the participants."
"It's like the movie Wallstreet but for bond traders."
"One of the ways to make a great contribution to your investment firm is to "jam" a customer. Liar's Poker gives an impression of Wall Street as a place where lasting friendships are rarely formed. Lewis explained what went on behind the scenes to make certain bond markets (Treasuries) so incredibly liquid."
"I got it because of interest in the field and because I thought it would be similar to "Bringing Down the House" which was funny in parts and gave me an insight to the gambling world."
"Author is skilled in writing to the uninitiated like me."
"I liked Michael Lewis’ book “The Big Short”, so I decided to read his earlier book “Liars Poker”."
"Here are a few excerpts I found poignant (Any emphasis is mine): "The thrifts paid a fee to have their mortgages guaranteed. The shakier the loans, the larger the fee a thrift had to pay to get its mortgages stamped by one of the agencies. The principle underlying the programs was that these agencies could better assess and charge for credit quality than individual investors." You'll laugh, you'll cry - yet you cannot deny - Michael Lewis remains on of America's literary greats."
"But I thought Lewis skimped on the details of how this the MBS market functioned, why Salomon so dominated, and why other companies could not compete."
Best Office Management

More than 50 practical tips and case studies from readers (including families) who have doubled their income, overcome common sticking points, and reinvented themselves using the original book as a starting point. * Real-world templates you can copy for eliminating email, negotiating with bosses and clients, or getting a private chef for less than £5 a meal. * How lifestyle design principles can be suited to unpredictable economic times. * The latest tools and tricks, as well as high-tech shortcuts, for living like a diplomat or millionaire without being either. -- Dr. Stewart D. Friedman, Adviser to Jack Welch and Former Vice President Al Gore on Work/Family Issues, Director of the Work/Life Integration Project, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania "Stunning and amazing. -- Phil Town, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of "Rule #1 "The 4-Hour Workweek is a new way of solving a very old problem: just how can we work to live and prevent our lives from being all about work?
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Don't get me wrong, Ferriss makes some excellent points and he's got some really great tips and tricks in here, I'm just not sure how universal they really are. I thought he was just talking about ways to spend less time working, but that "The 4-Hour" just sounded good (since he now has a whole line of books with titles that start that way). I never did understand the point of retirement, so Ferriss's plan sounds much more appealing to me. Granted, that would make my job a whole lot more portable, but I could never get away with only working four hours per week (at least not until after I sell that bestselling novel, which is such a realistic plan!). I, too, thought I could get another job within a few months, but that did not turn out to be the case. So, if I go spend all my money on a mini-retirement now, and then come back only to find that I can't get a job for another year, I'll be screwed. I love them, but they have enough to deal with right now, and the last thing I want to do is burden the people around me because I decided to go globe-trotting for a few months."
"A term coined by Ferriss to describe this emerging subgroup of individuals who would rather create automated business models that would allow them to travel the world and seek adventure, while making a significant income, then sit in an office from 9-5."
"A great read."
"Seriously, he begins by admitting he first made his fortune selling (allegedly) nutritional supplements that cost almost nothing to make and weren't based on science, but were then hyped to the point the uninformed public was paying through the nose to get it. This gave him ideas on how to further hype his message to an even larger audience, without bothering to sell anything tangible. He then gives advice about "paraphrasing and combining points from several books," borrowing from the public domain, and/or compensating some other "expert." Apparently, not knowing a damn thing is a virtue he calls "Cultivating Selective Ignorance." If having an educated and well-informed populace is fundamental to having a flourishing democracy, this is how we'll end up with a plutocracy where the stupidest few prey on the desperate and stupid masses, while outsourcing all the jobs they might create. Outsource everything -- including your brain -- to a 3rd World Country: He hires virtual assistants in various 3rd World Countries, especially India, who are then given fabulous access to all of his personal information to the point they can pretend to be him and make all of his personal and business decisions. Hey, what could possibly go wrong by hiring complete strangers and giving them all information about you in order to think for you, do your work and run your errands? Just tell him you're too busy and further kill morale by then asking those other suckers - aka, co-workers - for a quick breakdown of what happened."
"Truly a waste of time and just another "fluff how to" book that really says nothing with substance."
Best Human Resources & Personnel Management

Most people are fearful of change, both personal and professional, because they don't have any control over how or when it happens to them. Since change happens either to the individual or by the individual, Dr. Spencer Johnson, the coauthor of the multimillion bestseller The One Minute Manager, uses a deceptively simple story to show that when it comes to living in a rapidly changing world, what matters most is your attitude. Most of us reading the story will see the cheese as something related to our livelihoods--our jobs, our career paths, the industries we work in--although it can stand for anything, from health to relationships. Dr. Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and many other books, presents this parable to business, church groups, schools, military organizations--anyplace where you find people who may fear or resist change. And although more analytical and skeptical readers may find the tale a little too simplistic, its beauty is that it sums up all natural history in just 94 pages: Things change. This is a brief tale of two mice and two humans who live in a maze and one day are faced with change: someone moves their cheese. Capably narrated by Tony Roberts, this audiotape is recommended for larger public library collections.AMark Guyer, Stark Cty.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Bought this as a graduation present for a new MBA maybe there are some gems of wisdom in there for him in his new career."
"Everyone should read this book, especially in today's world where most people are scared that the AIs will take over."
"A great read I've given this book to a few friends and to my two sons."
"Everyone involved in organisations should read."
"great book."
"All time quick read fav."
"Have found it to be good gift for friends going through changes in life."
"Great book."
Best Organizational Learning

The Everything Store is the book that the business world can't stop talking about, the revealing, definitive biography of the company that placed one of the first and largest bets on the Internet and forever changed the way we shop and read. Winner of the 2013 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award Chosen as aBest Book of 2013 by The Washington Post , Forbes , The New Republic , and Gizmodo , and as one of the Top 10 Investigative Journalism Books of 2013 by Nieman Reports. " The Everything Store is a revelatory read for everyone--those selling and those sold to--who wants to understand the dynamics of the new digital economy. If you've ever one-clicked a purchase, you must read this book." "A deeply reported and deftly written book.... Like Steven Levy's "In the Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives," and "Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry -- and Made Himself the Richest Man in America" by Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews, it is the definitive account of how a tech icon came to life."
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I wasn't really planning on reviewing this book, because I was mentioned in it several times and it didn't seem appropriate. But several other people who were also mentioned in the book have already posted reviews, and in fact, MacKenzie Bezos, in her well known 1-star review, suggested that other "characters" might "step out of books" and "speak for themselves". Since Mr. Stone did not have access to Jeff Bezos for this book, but had to rely on previous interviews and the accounts of others, it would be surprising if there weren't a few mistakes regarding his thought processes. As part of my agreement to be interviewed for this book, I was allowed to read a draft of the chapter which covered the time I was there, and I offered a number of corrections, some of which Mr. Stone was able to verify and incorporate. I have a pretty high degree of confidence that Mr. Stone made a significant effort, and did what was in his power, to make the book accurate. The irony is, of course, that by reviewing the book as MacKenzie Bezos did, she has brought an immense amount more attention to it -- there are dozens of articles referring to her review via Google News this morning -- and its sales rank has shot up considerably."
"Exciting story of one of the great companies and entrepreneurs Jeff Bezos."
"If you are one that enjoys business books and have used Amazon for any type or purchases then this book is for you."
"There is a lot to admire in successful companies, and Stone gives Amazon a lot of credit for being persistent, visionary, and relentless There is also plenty to fear -- and Stone does not shy away from pointing this out. He may have some of the details wrong, but I think that the picture he paints and the skill he shows in telling it make this a really compelling read."
"If you are looking merely for business case studies, this would not be the book for you; but if you find the anecdotal stories about the challenges and solutions the team used to build the business, I believe you will find this an outstanding read."
"Definitely worth a read, especially if you're addicted to this company like me."
"Bezos' story and personality is eerily similar to Jobs, and this book was as good if not better than that biography."
Best Organizational Change

TEACHING A LEVIATHAN TO IMPROVISE It’s no secret that in any field, small teams have many advantages—they can respond quickly, communicate freely, and make decisions without layers of bureaucracy. A NEW APPROACH FOR A NEW WORLD McChrystal and his colleagues discarded a century of conventional wisdom and remade the Task Force, in the midst of a grueling war, into something new: a network that combined extremely transparent communication with decentralized decision-making authority. Leaders looked at the best practices of the smallest units and found ways to extend them to thousands of people on three continents, using technology to establish a oneness that would have been impossible even a decade earlier. The world is changing faster than ever, and the smartest response for those in charge is to give small groups the freedom to experiment while driving everyone to share what they learn across the entire organization. “In addition to being a fascinating and colorful read, this book is an indispensable guide to organizational change.” –Walter Isaacson , from the foreword “This is a bold argument that leaders can help teams become greater than the sum of their parts.” —Charles Duhigg , author of The Power of Habit “ Team of Teams is erudite, elegant, and insightful. Team of Teams harnesses these new realities as assets, providing a leadership framework to produce the inclusiveness and adaptability of a fast-moving start-up, at the scale of any size organization.” —Brad Smith , president and CEO, Intuit “In Team of Teams, General Stanley McChrystal, who won some of our most striking victories in the great war between nations and terrorist networks, shares insights for all in this lucid, persuasive, and sometimes wrenching account of our troubled yet transformational times.” —John Arquilla , professor, Defense Analysis United States Naval Postgraduate School “In the fast-moving world of today and tomorrow, organizations that don’t adapt will simply fade.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The book is not a military history, but instead a concise and exceptionally “fun to read” collection of insightful ideas told through entertaining stories ranging from industry to hospital emergency rooms. I recommend it for leaders and associates from all types of organizations who need to break down the effects of siloed teams in which information flow and decision making is ineffective in today’s increasingly complex environment. The discussions in the book are grounded in organizational management theory and leadership methods, but along the way gives a once in a lifetime look at the inside of the most storied Special Operations Forces (SOF) unit in existence today. They include weather forecasting, basketball and soccer, engineering marvels, big data, airline customer service, aircraft crews, NASA, SEAL training, plastic surgeons at the Boston Marathon bombing, GM versus Ford, MIT studies, and the enduring effects of Ritz Carlton and Nordstrom. The following should be of interest to today’s leaders: the difference between complicated and complex environments; how having more information available does not improve prediction nor mean lead to smarter decisions at the top; Taylorisms and efficiency ideals may actually cost you more than they save; the ‘need to know’ fallacy; the value of using your best people as ‘liaison officers’ or ‘embeds’; how resilient people make organizations stronger because they can adapt to changing environments; learning from your adversary is time well spent--they might have a better organizational model not necessarily better people; how to delegate authority to take action until you are uncomfortable; how to build trust and a shared awareness of the big picture; ‘eyes on, hands off’ leadership; and the difference between creating Strategic Corporals and an organization full of Lord Horatio Nelsons. The book carries you forward in time to see how far the Task Force had come by changing their culture, structure, and habits to allow the larger corporate command to become as agile and capable as its commandos. This short example, that covers just 46 minutes of a follow-on-target operation, highlights sharply the outcome of The Task Force’s investment in transparency, trust building and empowered execution. Sir Lieutenant General Lamb, a close friend of Stan McChrystal, shared a paper with me once that he titled 'In Command and Out of Control' and it raises a lot of the same questions and concepts about how to lead in a complex and fast-paced world. The concept is literally about getting 'out of the control' business and realizing that in order for organizations to take advantage of fleeting opportunities teams must be empowered at the lowest levels to take action."
"This book should be read by leaders of organizations both large and small so they can get the most out of their workforce and thrive in today’s ever-changing business climate."
"General Stanley McChrystal, U.S. Army Retired, took command of the Joint Special Operations Task Force in the Middle East in 2003 and transformed it from a hierarchical organization built on efficiency and discipline to a fluid, information-rich, decentralized organization. As author Pat Lencioni (“Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars,” “Five Dysfunctions of a Team”) has pointed out, organizations seeking creativity, collaboration, agility and speed need to break down silos and work across groups. McChrystal in his “Team of Teams” shares insights and his personal evolution that led to the transformation of his Task Force from one that suffered frequent and disastrous set-backs to one that could match, and then beat back networked terrorist organizations which could strike rapidly, reconfigure in real time, and integrate its globally dispersed actions. “Team of Teams” is organized around five topics: The challenge of the new environment: Accelerating speed and interdependence in today’s world has created levels of complexity that confound even the most superbly efficient organizations. The myths and magic of teams: What is it that creates the trust and common purpose that bond great small teams and why do so many small teams and firms falter as they grow and scale. AHSC was ahead of its time with its team of teams (19 Divisions) organizational structure that proved collaborative, agile and fast…and an incubator for industry leaders."