Connecting Values to Action


Book Description

Why do we make the decisions we do? And how can we understand what influences our decisions? Editor Christopher M. Hartt and contributors explore Non-Corporeal Actant Theory, which analyzes our decisions and outcomes through the perspective of values, beliefs, ideas, and concepts.




From Values to Action: The Four Principles of Values-Based Leadership


Book Description

Silver Medal Winner, Business and Leadership, 2012 Nautilus Book Awards Respected former CEO, professor, and speaker examines what it takes to become a values-based leader In this highly-anticipated book, Harry Kraemer argues that today's business environment demands values-based leaders who, in "doing the right thing," deliver outstanding and lasting results. The journey to becoming a values-based leader starts with self-reflection. He asks, "If you are not self-reflective, how can you know yourself? If you do not know yourself, how can you lead yourself? If you cannot lead yourself, how can you lead others?" Kraemer identifies self-reflection as the first of four principles that guide leaders to make choices that honor their values and candidly recounts how these principles helped him navigate some of the toughest challenges he faced in his career. Offers a framework for adopting the principles of values-based leadership—self-reflection, balance, true self-confidence, and genuine humility—to lead organizations effectively Based on Kraemer's popular Kellogg MBA course on values-based leadership A recognized expert in values-based leadership, Kraemer is a sought after speaker on the subject Lively and engaging, Kraemer's book comes at a critical time when true leadership in every facet of society is desperately needed. All of Harry’s proceeds from the book sales are donated to the One Acre Fund in Africa.




College Success


Book Description




Dare to Lead


Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead. Don’t miss the five-part HBO Max docuseries Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart! NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BLOOMBERG Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential. When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work. But daring leadership in a culture defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skill-building around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. The irony is that we’re choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the exact same time as we’re scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines and AI can’t do better and faster. What can we do better? Empathy, connection, and courage, to start. Four-time #1 New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown has spent the past two decades studying the emotions and experiences that give meaning to our lives, and the past seven years working with transformative leaders and teams spanning the globe. She found that leaders in organizations ranging from small entrepreneurial startups and family-owned businesses to nonprofits, civic organizations, and Fortune 50 companies all ask the same question: How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture? In this new book, Brown uses research, stories, and examples to answer these questions in the no-BS style that millions of readers have come to expect and love. Brown writes, “One of the most important findings of my career is that daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100 percent teachable, observable, and measurable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart. Easy? No. Because choosing courage over comfort is not always our default. Worth it? Always. We want to be brave with our lives and our work. It’s why we’re here.” Whether you’ve read Daring Greatly and Rising Strong or you’re new to Brené Brown’s work, this book is for anyone who wants to step up and into brave leadership.




Management 3.0


Book Description

Introduces a realistic approach to leading, managing, and growing your Agile team or organization. Written for current managers and developers moving into management, Appelo shares insights that are grounded in modern complex systems theory, reflecting the intense complexity of modern software development. Recognizes that today's organizations are living, networked systems; that you can't simply let them run themselves; and that management is primarily about people and relationships. Deepens your understanding of how organizations and Agile teams work, and gives you tools to solve your own problems. Identifies the most valuable elements of Agile management, and helps you improve each of them.




Giving Voice to Values


Book Description

How can you effectively stand up for your values when pressured by your boss, customers, or shareholders to do the opposite? Drawing on actual business experiences as well as on social science research, Babson College business educator and consultant Mary Gentile challenges the assumptions about business ethics at companies and business schools. She gives business leaders, managers, and students the tools not just to recognize what is right, but also to ensure that the right things happen. The book is inspired by a program Gentile launched at the Aspen Institute with Yale School of Management, and now housed at Babson College, with pilot programs in over one hundred schools and organizations, including INSEAD and MIT Sloan School of Management. She explains why past attempts at preparing business leaders to act ethically too often failed, arguing that the issue isn’t distinguishing what is right or wrong, but knowing how to act on your values despite opposing pressure. Through research-based advice, practical exercises, and scripts for handling a wide range of ethical dilemmas, Gentile empowers business leaders with the skills to voice and act on their values, and align their professional path with their principles. Giving Voice to Values is an engaging, innovative, and useful guide that is essential reading for anyone in business.




Understanding Values Work


Book Description

At the core of institutional theories, ‘values’ is a central term and figures in most definitions; however it remains understudied and under-explored. The editors of this open access book identify a resurgence of interest in the values-construct which underpins discussions of identity, ‘ethos’ and the purpose/nature of public and civic welfare provision. Considering the importance of values and values work to social, material and symbolic work in organizations, individual chapters explore values work as performed in organizations and by leaders. Focusing on practices of values work, the book applies and combines different theoretical lenses exemplified by the integration of institutional perspectives with micro-level perspectives and approaches.




The Art of Client Service


Book Description

A practical guide for providing exceptional client service Most advertising and marketing people would claim great client service is an elusive, ephemeral pursuit, not easily characterized by a precise skill set or inventory of responsibilities; this book and its author argue otherwise, claiming there are definable, actionable methods to the role, and provide guidance designed to achieve more effective work. Written by one of the industry's most knowledgeable client services executives, the book begins with a definition, then follows a path from an initial new business win to beginning, building, losing, then regaining trust with clients. It is a powerful source of counsel for those new to the business, for industry veterans who want to refresh or validate what they know, and for anyone in the middle of the journey to get better at what they do.




Customer Understanding


Book Description

Struggling to ensure that the customer is at the center of all your business does? This book is your guide to putting the "customer" in customer experience. Not sure what that means? Well, for starters, too many executives believe they are delighting their customers. Why wouldn't they think that?! When they focus on growth, those customer acquisition numbers are pretty sweet, but they don't tell the real story. Prioritizing customer retention is critical. But you can't just throw technology at it, give it some lip service, and call it a day. Retention is hard work! You've got to understand who your customers are and what problems they are trying to solve or what jobs they are trying to do. Then you've got to use that understanding to design an experience that helps customers achieve their goals. That's the key to putting the customer in customer experience! Ultimately, you need to bring the customer voice into all meetings, decisions, processes, and designs. The customer must be at the center of all you do. After all, it's all about the customer! In this book, I cover the three approaches to customer understanding: surveys and data, personas, and journey mapping. I could've written the whole book about journey mapping, but there's so much more to building a customer-centric business than journey mapping. The culture must first be deliberately designed to put the customer at the heart of the business. And all foundational elements of a CX transformation must be in place to make that happen. With that knowledge, read this book and: Learn about the three approaches you must use to understand your customers, why you must use them, and how they work together. Create an action plan to ensure insights gleaned from these three approaches are implemented in your organization. Develop and assign personas to your customers in order to better understand their needs, goals, problems to solve, and jobs to be done. Learn the difference between touchpoint maps and journey maps and how touchpoint maps can still be a valuable asset in your customer experience toolbox. Understand why journey mapping is called the backbone of customer experience management - and how to make it so in your organization. Set up and facilitate your own current-state and future-state journey mapping workshops with customers. Set up and facilitate service blueprint workshops with internal stakeholders. Find out how to put the customer at the heart of your business. And more!




Managing By Values


Book Description

The Fortune 500 list, defined by size and volume, is the current measure of success in the corporate world. This timely book suggests instead a "Fortunate 500" list, based on the quality of service available to customers and the quality of life accessible to employees.