Big Bet Leadership


Book Description

The Executive Playbook to Lead Business Growth, Innovation and Transformation. The first leadership book for the age of artificial intelligence, equipping leaders with principles and tactics to achieve audacious outcomes and solve complex problems, while smartly managing the inherent risks of bold moves. Applying this playbook will impact your business and, just as critically, propel and protect your career as a bold transformational executive. Co-authored by John Rossman, author of The Amazon Way and Think Like Amazon, and Kevin McCaffrey, seasoned executives from Amazon, Google, and T-Mobile. This fast-moving book melds their direct leadership experiences with comprehensive research and authentic stories. Actionable insights include: Pinpointing Growth Opportunities: Identify your customer's primary frustrations and unmet needs with standout features, forming the foundation for sustainable business growth. Mastering Strategic Communication: Develop skills to ensure alignment, clarity, and vital stakeholder involvement through effective strategic communication. Prioritizing through High-Impact Experimentation: Implement cost-effective, swift, and impactful experimentation methods, utilizing memos and debates for maximum effect. Redefining Cost Models for Winning Business Models: Learn to innovate cost structures alongside improving customer experiences for a transformative impact on your business. Overcoming Inertia and Analysis Paralysis: Discover tactics to break free from conventional pace and decision-making traps by creating focused teams and unique operational environments. Maximizing Return on Effort: Craft a governance approach that provides high quality, timely signals for your strategic endeavors without the usual bureaucratic overhead. With your book purchase you also get a trove of resources including practical frameworks, real-world examples, a Big Bet journal, generative AI prompts , and a Big Bet GPT. These tools are designed to drive active integration of the principles of Big Bet Leadership in your business.




The Amazon Way


Book Description

In just twenty years, Amazon.com has gone from a start-up internet bookseller to a global company revolutionizing and disrupting multiple industries, including retail, publishing, logistics, devices, apparel, and cloud computing.But what is at the heart of Amazon's rise to success? Is it the tens of millions of items in stock, the company's technological prowess, or the many customer service innovations like "one-click"?As a leader at Amazon who had a front-row seat during its formative years, John Rossman understands the iconic company better than most. From the launch of Amazon's third-party seller program to their foray into enterprise services, he witnessed it all-the amazing successes, the little-known failures, and the experiments whose outcomes are still in doubt.In The Amazon Way, Rossman introduces readers to the unique corporate culture of the world's largest Internet retailer, with a focus on the fourteen leadership principles that have guided and shaped its decisions and its distinctive leadership culture.Peppered with humorous and enlightening firsthand anecdotes from the author's career at Amazon, this revealing business guide is also filled with the valuable lessons that have served Jeff Bezos's "everything store" so well-providing expert advice for aspiring entrepreneurs, CEOs, and investors alike.




Presidential Leadership and the Creation of the American Era


Book Description

How presidents forged the American century This book examines the foreign policy decisions of the presidents who presided over the most critical phases of America's rise to world primacy in the twentieth century, and assesses the effectiveness and ethics of their choices. Joseph Nye, who was ranked as one of Foreign Policy magazine’s 100 Top Global Thinkers, reveals how some presidents tried with varying success to forge a new international order while others sought to manage America’s existing position. The book shows how transformational presidents like Wilson and Reagan changed how America sees the world, but argues that transactional presidents like Eisenhower and the elder Bush were sometimes more effective and ethical. It also draws important lessons for today’s uncertain world, in which presidential decision making is more critical than ever.




17 Big Bets for a Better World


Book Description

The adoption of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals was a landmark for the global community and our global sustainability. Now, one year after the initiation of the goals’, it is time to really start thinking about implementing and realizing the new global agenda. And it already obvious that traditional thinking will not suffice. To reach the new global goals by 2030, there is a pressing need to think creatively and innovatively. The annual investment gap amounts to US $2.5 trillion and the shortcoming of sufficient funding requires smart solutions, leverage of private sector capital and inclusion of civil society in new ways. The idea behind this book is to allow some of the world’s most renowned thought-leaders to provide their perspectives on how we collectively reach the global goals. From an artist and a Michelin-chef to a bank president and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, this book presents innovative, bold, and credible solutions to the challenges we face as humanity. Contributors include: Julia Gillard: Australia’s 27th Prime Minister between 2010 and 2013 Nandan Nilekani & Varad Pande: Nandan Nilekani is Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India. Varad Pande is Partner and Co-Lead of Financial Inclusion at Dalberg. Dan Barber: Chef of Blue Hill, a restaurant in Manhattan’s West Village. Ashish J. Thakkar & James I. Mwangi: Ashish J. Thakkar founded his first business in 1996 at the age of 15. James I. Mwangi is Executive Director of the Dalberg Group. Angel Gurría: Secretary-General of the OECD since June 2006. Fabiola Gianotti: The first female Director-General of CERN. Mogens Lykketoft: President of the UN General Assembly’s 70th session, running from September 2015 to September 2016 Jamie Drummond: Co-founder of ONE, a global pressure group which fights against the injustice of extreme poverty. Jacqueline Novogratz: Founded and directed the Philanthropy Workshop and the Next Generation Leadership programs at the Rockefeller Foundation. Kailash Satyarthi: Nobel Peace Laureate and founder of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation Luis Alberto Moreno: President of Inter-American Development Bank and served as Colombia’s Ambassador to the United States for seven years. Annie Leonard & Daniel Mittler: Annie Leonard is the Executive Director of Greenpeace USA. Daniel Mittler is the Political Director of Greenpeace International. James Mwangi: World-renowned for his contribution to financial inclusion in his role as the Group Managing Director and CEO of Equity Bank. Craig Silverstein & Mary Obelnicki: Founders of Echidna Giving, which works to get more girls into better schools. Danielle Nierenberg: President of Food Tank and an expert on sustainable agriculture and food issues. Amina J. Mohammed:A central player in the Sustainable Development Goals process, serving as the Special Adviser to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Olafur Eliasson: Icelandic artist working with a wide range of media, including installation, painting, sculpture, photography, and film. Henrik Skovby: Founder and executive chairman of Dalberg Group. Stig Tackmann: Head of Dalberg’s Big Bet Initiative and is leading a number of media initiatives focusing on international affairs and global development.




Big Bets


Book Description

“Encouraging…Uplifting...Meeting apparently insurmountable goals requires thinking big…this will inspire.” —Publishers Weekly “Raj Shah has written a practical guide to making the world a better place. He knows what he’s talking about, because he’s done it himself. Anyone who wants to make a change in the world, or their own lives, will benefit from this book.” —Bill Gates, Cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Rajiv J. Shah, president of the Rockefeller Foundation and former administrator of President Barack Obama’s United States Agency for International Development, shares a dynamic new model for creating large scale change, inspired by his own involvements with some of the largest humanitarian projects of our time. Rajiv J. Shah is no stranger to pulling off the impossible, from helping vaccinate 900 million children at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to a high-pressure race against the clock to stop the spread of Ebola. His secret? A big bets philosophy—the idea that seeking to solve problems rather than make incremental improvements can attract the unlikely partners with the power and know-how to achieve transformational change. Part career sweeping memoir, part inspirational playbook, Big Bets offers a master class in decision-making, leadership, and changing the world one bet at a time. Shah animates his strategic insights with vivid behind-the-scenes stories, memorable conversations with household names that helped shape his approach to creating change, and his own personal growth as an Indian-American from an immigrant family looking for a way to belong. He distills his battle-tested strategies for creating change, arguing that big bets have a surprising advantage over cautious ones: a bold vision can attract support, collaborations, and fresh ideas from key players who might otherwise be resistant. Throughout the book, Shah traces his unlikely path to the Rockefeller Foundation across a changing world and through some of the most ambitious, dramatic global efforts to create a better world.




Bet the Farm


Book Description

"Eloquent and detailed...It's hard to have hope, but the organized observations and plans of Hoffman and people like her give me some. Read her book -- and listen." -- Jane Smiley, The Washington Post In her late 40s, Beth Hoffman decided to upend her comfortable life as a professor and journalist to move to her husband's family ranch in Iowa--all for the dream of becoming a farmer. There was just one problem: money. Half of America's two million farms made less than $300 in 2019, and many struggle just to stay afloat. Bet the Farm chronicles this struggle through Beth's eyes. She must contend with her father-in-law, who is reluctant to hand over control of the land. Growing oats is good for the environment but ends up being very bad for the wallet. And finding somewhere, in the midst of COVID-19, to slaughter grass finished beef is a nightmare. If Beth can't make it, how can farmers who confront racism, lack access to land, or don't have other jobs to fall back on hack it? Bet the Farm is a first-hand account of the perils of farming today and a personal exploration of more just and sustainable ways of producing food.




Leadership Blind Spots and What To Do About Them


Book Description

Knowledge is built from personal experience and coloured by our needs and values. It follows that all knowledge is personal and incomplete. We all suffer from ‘blind spots’. But when leaders have them, it matters. To guide people on a journey of continuous learning, understanding and adapting to events as they occur, leaders must overcome their own blind spots and those of their organization. Any leader who implements the practices outlined in this book will immediately improve their ability to perform in today’s competitive global environment. Karen Blakeley provides in-depth analysis of how leaders learn on the job - and what gets in the way. Most importantly she offers a systematic approach for accelerating leaders’ learning capacity - and maximising their performance potential.




People Follow You


Book Description

Discover the secrets to influencing the performance of the people you lead Managers don't get paid for what they do but rather for the performance of their people; therefore, a manager's most important job is coaching behaviors in order to improve performance. In People Follow You managers will learn five easily understood and implemented levers critical to influencing the performance of the people they lead. Ultimately, people follow people that they like, trust, and believe in. Understand how to build stronger relationships with direct and indirect reports that lead to loyalty, higher productivity, and long-term development. Relevant to middle and high level managers, People Follow You provides a foundation for managing people. Practical lessons help managers employ winning interpersonal skills to move others to take action. Learn how to leverage the basics of interpersonal relationships to inspire others to take action Get a simple and actionable formula for connecting with employees and indirect reports and gaining their buy-in through the use of personal power vs. the power of authority Discover the fundamental on-the-job coaching skills that deliver instant performance improvement Author Jeb Blount is the most downloaded sales expert in iTunes history; his Sales Gravy and Sales Guy audio programs have been downloaded more than 3 million times When all else is stripped away, people don't work for companies, paychecks, perks, or slogans, people work for you. Become a manager people will follow, and lead your team to greater achievements and measurable gains.




The Book of Leadership


Book Description

'Full of seriously good leadership wisdom - a must read for those who aspire to greatness' Richard Koch, bestselling author of The 80/20 Principle 'One of the most stimulating books to read on leadership' Philip Kotler, Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management 'Loaded with practical, thought-provoking ideas on leadership that can profoundly affect your life' Brian Tracy, bestselling author of How the Best Leaders Lead and Eat That Frog! Have you ever wondered what characteristics are shared by successful business leaders? Have you ever asked yourself what it is that they do differently which makes them and their organisations stand out from the crowd? And what can you learn from them to ensure your own success? If so, The Book of Leadership is for you. Anthony Gell has conducted interviews with some of the most successful CEOs, entrepreneurs and business thinkers in the world, including Sir Terry Leahy, former CEO of Tesco, Richard Reed, founder of innocent drinks, Olaf Swantee, CEO of EE and Daniel Goleman, author of the bestselling Emotional Intelligence. Now for the first time, he is bringing together hours of exclusive interview footage into a single resource for anybody looking to improve their leadership skills. In The Book of Leadership he combines his own experiences as a CEO with those of the leaders he has interviewed to provide insights and advice in three core areas: * Part 1 looks at leaders as individuals and reveals the personal habits and attributes that have laid the foundations for their success. * Part 2 focuses on what it takes to build and motivate a world class team * Part 3 goes beyond team leadership to identify how the habits of effective leadership are carried through on a larger scale in organisations.




Leadership in the Creative Industries


Book Description

A groundbreaking book that explores the theory and practice of leading in the creative workplace Leadership in the Creative Industries is a much-needed guide to the theory and practice of the creative leadership skills that are essential to lead effectively in creative fields. As the growth of creative industries continues to surge and “noncreative” businesses put increasing emphasis on creativity and innovation, this book offers a practical resource that explores how to confidently lead a workforce, creatively. In order to lead creative people it is essential to understand the creative process, creativity, and the range of variables that affect it. This book fills a gap in the literature by exploring the creative leadership practices that are solidly grounded in evidenced-based research. The author includes suggestions for overcoming the challenges associated with leading creative people, and puts to rest many of the current industry misconceptions about leading creatively. This vital resource: Is the first book that highlights the theory and practice of creative leadership skills in the creative industries Includes best practices of leading for creativity, and reveals what encourages creativity and what suppresses it Debunks commonly held myths about leading a creative workforce with evidence-based guidance Contains a wealth of helpful tips, visualizations, callouts from primary research, and anecdotes from recognized thought leaders, to highlight and underscore important principles. Written for academics and students of leadership, those working or aspiring to work in the creative industries, Leadership in the Creative Industries puts the focuses directly on theory and practice of creative leadership in creative fields.