Studies the steps taken by a group of professionals from the Boomer generation as they move from a linear career path into an uncharted stage somewhere between middle age and old age, a continued professional life and traditional retirement. What is next for those professionals who do not want to take a back seat at retirment age?
Millions of employees parked in cubicles dream about starting their own businesses. And in today’s economy, countless unemployed professionals are becoming entrepreneurs out of necessity. They may have good skills and ideas, but do they really understand what it takes to build a profitable venture?
As owner and co-founder of the award-winning It’sYourBiz.com (formerly SBTV.com, or Small Business Television), Susan Solovic has years of experience in the small business trenches. In It’s Your Biz she shows prospective entrepreneurs how to sidestep the pitfalls that doom more than half of all new businesses while dramatically improving their odds of success.
The book strips away the usual dreamy calls to “pursue your passion,” supplying the kind of candid, real-world advice readers truly need.
Build your mental "muscles" to achieve any business goal
People with inborn talent may be good at what they do--but only the mentally tough reach the highest plateaus in their field. And here's the best news of all: mental toughness is something anyone can learn. Director of mental training for the St. Louis Cardinals and a top-tier executive coach, Jason Selk knows everything there is to know about developing the mental toughness required for achieving any goal in you set for yourself. In fact, the techniques he outlines in this book are the same ones he used to help the Cardinals defeat the heavily favored Detroit Tigers in the 2006 World Series. Based on the vision of legendary basketball coach John Wooden, Selk's program is a simple as it is effective. But that doesn't mean it's easy. You have to put effort into your drive to success; it's the only way to build up your mental "muscles." So Selk provides hands-on daily exercises for breaking old, self-defeating patterns of behavior and replacing them with the kind can-do attitude and positive behavior that would make Coach Wooden proud. Executive Toughness outlines the three fundamentals for achieving any goal: ACCOUNTABILITY--admit to mistakes, correct them, and, most importantly, learn from them FOCUS--on your strengths, on winning, on reaching your goal ...for only 100 seconds per day OPTIMISM--don't just believe you can succeed, know you can succeed Executive Toughness takes you through the steps of making these critical behaviors part of your everyday routine. Practice your accountability, focus, and optimism, and you'll be on the path to attaining your goals; make them part of your mental "DNA," and there will be no turning back--ever. A complete regimen from a leading expert on developing the mindset for attaining goals, Executive Toughness is your workout for ultimate success in your career and in your life. Jason Selkthe author of 10-Minute Toughness, Director of Mental Training for the St. Louis Cardinals, and an executive coach.
Everyone recognizes leaders with “presence.” They stand out for their seemingly innate ability to command attention and inspire commitment. But what is this secret quality they exude, exactly?
Executive and CEO coach Kristi Hedges demystifies this elusive trait, revealing that presence is the intersection of outward influencing skills and internal mental conditioning. Using her I-Presence model, the author shows how anyone—regardless of position or personality—can strengthen their impact. Readers will learn how to build trust as the foundation for leadership, eschew perfectionism for authenticity, banish limiting thoughts and behaviors, and galvanize their team through visionary, inspiring communications.
Stellar technical knowledge, a strong work ethic, excellent presentation skills—none of these tangible traits puts people on the career fast track as readily as a compelling presence. Filled with profiles of leaders with powerful presence and the latest neuroleadership research translated into actionable habits, this authoritative guide puts a little-understood, but potentially game-changing, tool within everyone’s reach.
Leadership doesn’t have to be a top-down proposition. In fact, the best leaders influence those who are below and above them, as well as people external to the organization, such as customers and partners. This 360 degrees of influence is what separates the good leader from the great leader.
Founder of the global executive coaching firm GuruMaker, Harrison Monarth makes a living helping top figures in business and politics hone their influencing, communication, persuasion, impression management, and media skills. He teaches leaders how to operate without relying on spin or manipulation.
Now, in 360 Degrees of Influence, Monarth provides everything you need to gain the trust and respect of those around you—no matter where they’re positioned in the organizational hierarchy—and expand your influence well beyond your immediate environment. Providing valuable insight into human emotion and behavior, Monarth reveals the secrets to becoming the most psychologically astute person in the room—so you can be the most influential leader in the room. Learn how to:
Assess your current influencing power
Overcome resistance to your ideas and proposals
Know what people are thinking and feeling—even better than they do
Avoid the most common decision-making pitfalls
Create an influence strategy tailored to your organization’s hierarchy
In addition to sharing insight he has gleaned during years of coaching leading executives, Monarth includes practice exercises, checklists, self-evaluations, and worksheets to help you tackle the challenge of influence and leadership head on.
Right now, one of your own counterparts might be exerting influence over you and your boss. You can do the same thing. Apply the lessons of 360 Degrees of Influence to place yourself in the best possible position to lead the leaders.
GREATNESS is a motivational book whose target audience is found in business and self-help. It is a life book, aimed at inspiring others to achieve their personal and professional best. Opening with an in-depth discussion of the nature of Greatness-what it is, what it is not, and why it is worth pursing-each subsequent chapter of the book consists of a detailed story illustrating one aspect of Greatness with examples from the sports greats that Don has interviewed over the years. This will be followed by a discussion and other related examples. There are also practical tips and plans for assisting the reader in implementing new habits, routines, practices, and philosophies of Greatness into his or her daily life. As each characteristic is outlined, the reader is challenged to look for areas in his or her professional and personal lives that can be improved by embracing these lessons.
As Don often says during his speeches, "Though these characteristics are culled from some of the greatest winners in sports, not a single one requires you to be able to touch your toes! These iconic figures in sports have provided a classroom for us to learn about their pursuit of Greatness. You don't have to be good at sports - heck, you don't even have to like sports - to benefit from their lessons."
It is the strong belief of those who Don has talked to over the years that greatness is available to all of us. Not in the same way or on the same field, mind you. But we all have the capacity to achieve greatness if we'll give the same dedication to these characteristics as do the winners presented and interviewed in GREATNESS.
Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.
At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.
Although Jobs cooperated with this book, he asked for no control over what was written nor even the right to read it before it was published. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.
Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.
