From Problems to Profits


Book Description




From Problems to Profits


Book Description




Profit First


Book Description

Author of cult classics The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur offers a simple, counterintuitive cash management solution that will help small businesses break out of the doom spiral and achieve instant profitability. Conventional accounting uses the logical (albeit, flawed) formula: Sales - Expenses = Profit. The problem is, businesses are run by humans, and humans aren't always logical. Serial entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz has developed a behavioral approach to accounting to flip the formula: Sales - Profit = Expenses. Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by taking profit first and apportioning only what remains for expenses, entrepreneurs will transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to profitable cash cows. Using Michalowicz's Profit First system, readers will learn that: · Following 4 simple principles can simplify accounting and make it easier to manage a profitable business by looking at bank account balances. · A small, profitable business can be worth much more than a large business surviving on its top line. · Businesses that attain early and sustained profitability have a better shot at achieving long-term growth. With dozens of case studies, practical, step-by-step advice, and his signature sense of humor, Michalowicz has the game-changing roadmap for any entrepreneur to make money they always dreamed of.




Orienteering Problems


Book Description

This tutorial introduces readers to several variants of routing problems with profits. In these routing problems each node has a certain profit, and not all nodes need to be visited. Since the orienteering problem (OP) is by far the most frequently studied problem in this category of routing problems, the book mainly focuses on the OP. In turn, other problems are presented as variants of the OP, focusing on the similarities and differences. The goal of the OP is to determine a subset of nodes to visit and in which order, so that the total collected profit is maximized and a given time budget is not exceeded.The book provides a comprehensive review of variants of the OP, such as the team OP, the team OP with time windows, the profitable tour problem, and the prize-collecting travelling salesperson problem. In addition, it presents mathematical models and techniques for solving these OP variants and discusses their complexity. Several simple examples and benchmark instances, together with their best-known results, are also included. Finally, the book reviews the latest applications of these problems in the fields of logistics, tourism and others.




Race for Profit


Book Description

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST, 2020 PULITZER PRIZE IN HISTORY By the late 1960s and early 1970s, reeling from a wave of urban uprisings, politicians finally worked to end the practice of redlining. Reasoning that the turbulence could be calmed by turning Black city-dwellers into homeowners, they passed the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, and set about establishing policies to induce mortgage lenders and the real estate industry to treat Black homebuyers equally. The disaster that ensued revealed that racist exclusion had not been eradicated, but rather transmuted into a new phenomenon of predatory inclusion. Race for Profit uncovers how exploitative real estate practices continued well after housing discrimination was banned. The same racist structures and individuals remained intact after redlining's end, and close relationships between regulators and the industry created incentives to ignore improprieties. Meanwhile, new policies meant to encourage low-income homeownership created new methods to exploit Black homeowners. The federal government guaranteed urban mortgages in an attempt to overcome resistance to lending to Black buyers – as if unprofitability, rather than racism, was the cause of housing segregation. Bankers, investors, and real estate agents took advantage of the perverse incentives, targeting the Black women most likely to fail to keep up their home payments and slip into foreclosure, multiplying their profits. As a result, by the end of the 1970s, the nation's first programs to encourage Black homeownership ended with tens of thousands of foreclosures in Black communities across the country. The push to uplift Black homeownership had descended into a goldmine for realtors and mortgage lenders, and a ready-made cudgel for the champions of deregulation to wield against government intervention of any kind. Narrating the story of a sea-change in housing policy and its dire impact on African Americans, Race for Profit reveals how the urban core was transformed into a new frontier of cynical extraction.




Megacommunities: How Leaders of Government, Business and Non-Profits Can Tackle Today's Global Challenges Together


Book Description

A hurricane strikes a city; terrorists attack a nation; global warming threatens the environment--such problems are too large for any one authority to solve alone. Our increasingly globalized and interconnected world calls for a new type of tri-sector leadership in which business, government and nonprofits work together in a state of permanent negotiation. To be effective, tomorrow's leaders will need to reach across national and sector divisions to form a collaborative "megacommunity." Based on interviews with over 100 leaders from around the world including Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger, Kenneth Chenault and Richard Parsons, MEGACOMMUNITIES: How Leaders of Government, Business and Non-Profits Can Tackle Today's Global Challenges Together introduces a radically new framework for reaching solutions to today's thorniest problems. Written by four senior consultants from global consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton, and with a Foreword by Walter Isaacson, this important book explains how a megacommunity approach is: COUNTERING AIDS, ALZHEIMER'S AND GLOBAL PANDEMICS In India, a megacommunity battles HIV/AIDS by bringing together both public, private, and civil-sector organizations, including PepsiCo, the Gates Foundation, U.S. healthcare experts, UN development programs, and local NGOs. CONSERVING THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY In saving the world's rainforests, providers, distributors, sellers, and consumers of lumber team up with local communities, the World Wildlife Fund, and Goldman Sachs. HELPING COMMUNITIES GROW In changing neighborhoods like Harlem, the megacommunity includes local small businesses, community groups, global companies, and foundations like Bill Clinton's. "What is required are leaders who know how to identify the vital interests they share with others, who are prepared to seek the benefits from which all can gain," write the authors.




Purpose and Profit


Book Description

Are purpose and profit in conflict, or can both be achieved simultaneously with the right mindset and tools? What are the forces that are reshaping the relationship between the two? What can we all do to strengthen the relationship between purpose and profit as entrepreneurs, managers, employees, consumers, and investors? Backed by cutting-edge research, Purpose and Profit provides answers to these fundamental questions that are increasingly defining the business landscape all around the world. Distinguished Harvard Business School Professor George Serafeim takes readers on a research-driven journey to understand: How and why environmental and social issues are becoming increasingly relevant for organizations worldwide; The ways that companies can design and implement strategies that generate greater impact; The six archetypes of value creation enabled by these new trends; The role of investors in driving greater recognition of ESG issues; and How we can all look at the choices we make and careers we pursue in a way that maximizes purpose and profit in our own lives.




Honesty Sells


Book Description

Looking for an edge in today's tough selling market? Honesty Sells challenges you to abandon clichéd sales techniques that rely on manipulation and deceit. Instead, by being honest and open with clients, you will be rewarded with long-term, profitable relationships—at the expense of no one but your competition... PRAISE FOR HONESTY SELLS "I've been in the field of sales leadership for twenty-four years with a major organization. I've recruited, trained, and developed thousands of salespeople over those years. Where has this book been? It should be a must-read for every new salesperson. This is a simple topic that isn't easy to execute day to day. Honesty Sells helps you change your mental map about how to approach business and relationships. Do the right thing....always!" —Scott DiGiammarino, Group Vice President, Ameriprise Financial "Honesty Sells has already made a huge impact in my business and it's a keeper. I recommend it for any business CEO trying to maximize and keep their profits." —Richard Strauss, President, Strauss Radio Strategies, Inc. "Honesty Sells is not just a book for salespeople. As a public relations professional, Gaffney and Francis's solid principles and coaching have helped me to develop and maintain relationships that are key to the success of my business." —Avery Mann, Director of Media & Public Relations, FOX TV's America's Most Wanted "Literally thirty minutes after absorbing their sales advice, I was on the phone applying concepts and strategies that enabled me to effectively move forward a deal accounting for 57 percent of my quota for the entire sales quarter. Here's the best part: this was during my first month on the job." —Raj Shahani, Yahoo! "Thank you so much for the inspiration. Your selling techniques were just the shot in the arm that this old veteran really needed. I have four new clients in just a week's time! Hip hip hooray!!" —Nancy Daniels, Regional Director, HelmsBriscoe "A top-notch sales pro who knows how to make progress in a difficult market. Bad economy. Government sales. Makes no difference—the job gets done." —Paul Lemberg, Lemberg and Associates "In addition to the practical and proven tips and techniques, this advice is based on extensive sales research and investigation with respect to what produces results. All the 'out of the box' suggestions are attention-getting but also get results!" —Janet Armstrong, Director, Management Consulting, Ajilon Consulting




Start Something That Matters


Book Description

The incredible story of the man behind TOMS Shoes and One for One, the revolutionary business model that marries fun, profit, and social good. “A creative and open-hearted business model for our times.”—The Wall Street Journal Why this book is for you: • You’re ready to make a difference in the world—through your own start-up business, a nonprofit organization, or a new project that you create within your current job. • You want to love your work, work for what you love, and have a positive impact on the world—all at the same time. • You’re inspired by charity: water, method, and FEED Projects and want to learn how these organizations got their start. • You’re curious about how someone who never made a pair of shoes, attended fashion school, or worked in retail created one of the fastest-growing footwear companies in the world by giving shoes away. • You’re looking for a new model of success to share with your children, students, co-workers, and members of your community. You’re ready to start something that matters.




The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous & Broke


Book Description

From one of the worlds most trusted experts on personal finance comes a "route planner," identifying easy moves to get young people on the road to financial recovery and within reach of their dreams.