Big Potential


Book Description

“With cutting-edge research, penetrating insights, and practical examples, Shawn Achor describes a new conception of ‘success,’ and in doing so, reveals exciting new strategies we can use to meet our highest potential.”—Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project “A vibrant book on how to bring out the best in others—and how they can bring out the best in us.”—Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and host of the podcast WorkLife In a world that thrives on competition and individual achievement, we’re measuring and pursuing potential incorrectly. Pursuing success in isolation—pushing others away as we push ourselves too hard—not only limits our potential but makes us more stressed and disconnected than ever. Harvard-trained researcher Shawn Achor reveals a better approach. With exciting new research combining neuroscience and psychology with Big Data, Achor shows that our potential is not limited by what we alone can achieve. Instead, it is determined by how we complement, contribute to, and benefit from the abilities and achievements of people around us. When we—as individuals, leaders, and parents—chase only individual achievement, we leave vast sources of potential untapped. But once we put “others” back into the equation, and work to make others better, we ignite a Virtuous Cycle of cascading successes that amplify our own. The dramatic shifts in how we approach work today demand an equally dramatic shift in our approach to success. In Big Potential, Achor draws on cutting-edge original research as well as his work with nearly half of the Fortune 100 and with places like NASA, the NFL and the NBA, and offers a new path to thriving in the modern world.




Great Potential


Book Description

Many Americans are wondering (and maybe worrying) about the impact of the growing Latino population. Thats not surprising: in 1970 there were only 9 million Latinos (4.5% of the nations population) but today theyre fifty million strongand by 2050, that number is projected to grow to ninety-five million. So maybe its time to reflect on this important trend, not by isolating Latinos but by considering their role within the larger national context. Much of the nations attention has centered on immigration or more specifically, illegal immigration. Thats unfortunate because there is a much greater story here. The more interesting issues are who is going to pay for Medicare, Social Security and other costs of an aging society, and how as a nation do we continually replenish the workforce with people who have the necessary skills to compete in an increasingly competitive world. For the United States, part of the answer is its Latino population, the nations youngest and fastest-growing minority, which has shown a strong work ethic and the desire to move up the socioeconomic ladder like previous populations. For Latinos, the challenge is this: how to enhance their education levels and skills in order to be relevant in the information economy and meet the needs of the modern workplace at a time when federal, state, and local budgets are strained, if not declining. This book explains why an aging America needs Latinos. While it looks in-depth at the economic forces were facing, it focuses on strategies Latino families and communities throughout the nation can adopt to build a better future for themselves and the nation.




Great Potential, Many Pitfalls


Book Description

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China’s globe-girdling infrastructure and trade corridor project, is a rare watershed in international affairs. It affects, whether directly or indirectly, nearly the entire world, directly involving more than 60 countries, nearly 4.5 billion people (about two-thirds of the world’s population), up to $8 trillion, and around 40 per cent of the global economy. BRI also entails a rising power—perhaps the next superpower—endeavouring to build one of the biggest and most expensive super-projects the world has ever seen. If it achieves its potential, BRI could even pose a threat to the Bretton Woods global economic model that has prevailed since the end of World War II. BRI has the potential to change the world in a big way. And yet, the project also confronts security and financial challenges that are as serious as its potential is soaring. In this way, BRI is a topic that needs serious examination. This book features chapters on BRI prepared by top international scholars who have been tracking the project closely. The chapters assess the project’s impact across Asia, highlight its opportunities and challenges, and consider what might be in store in the future. The chapters in this book were first published as a special issue of the Asian Affairs.




The Happiness Advantage


Book Description

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • An engaging, deeply researched guide to flourishing in a world of increasing stress and negativity—the inspiration for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time “Powerful [and] charming . . . A book for just about anyone . . . The philosophies in this book are easily the best wire frames to build a happy and successful life.”—Medium Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can. Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that once we succeed, we’ll be happy; that once we get that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But the science reveals this formula to be backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. Research shows that happy employees are more productive, more creative, and better problem solvers than their unhappy peers. And positive people are significantly healthier and less stressed and enjoy deeper social interaction than the less positive people around them. Drawing on original research—including one of the largest studies of happiness ever conducted—and work in boardrooms and classrooms across forty-two countries, Shawn Achor shows us how to rewire our brains for positivity and optimism to reap the happiness advantage in our lives, our careers, and even our health. His strategies include: • The Tetris Effect: how to retrain our brains to spot patterns of possibility so we can see and seize opportunities all around us • Social Investment: how to earn the dividends of a strong social support network • The Ripple Effect: how to spread positive change within our teams, companies, and families By turns fascinating, hopeful, and timely, The Happiness Advantage reveals how small shifts in our mind-set and habits can produce big gains at work, at home, and elsewhere.




You Already Know How to Be Great


Book Description

A bold new approach to performance by one of the top coaches in the country. In trying to improve-on the playing field, in the office, or even at home-most people seek out new information to get to the next level. They read a book, attend a class, or hire an expert to give them an edge. But Alan Fine, an accomplished tennis, golf, and executive coach and a renowned authority on peak performance, believes that this "outside-in" method is precisely what's holding you back from doing your best work. He's found the biggest obstacle to improved performance isn't not knowing what to do; it's not doing what you already know. Ironically, the quest for information and instructions designed to help you get ahead can often interfere with your ability to focus on doing something. Fine reveals his simple and proven approach to achieving breakthrough performance. It starts with reducing the interference that blocks your potential through an amazing process called G.R.O.W. (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward). No matter who you are or what you do, You Already Know How to Be Great will help you eliminate what is standing in the way of your goals.




The High-Potential Leader


Book Description

Set your sights on High-Potential leadership and help your organization thrive In today’s tumultuous and rapidly evolving business environment, High-Potential leaders are in high demand. Do you possess the relationship skills, strategic vision, innovation, and determination needed to thrive as a high-potential leader in your organization? New York Times bestselling author Ram Charan answers that question and helps you hop on the fast-track to leadership success in this insightful guide. Traditionally, leaders have risen up through the ranks based on their cognitive abilities, analytical skills, thoroughness, and even perfectionist tendencies, but as modern businesses have moved to a more digitally-driven model, the criteria for leaders has markedly changed. The High-Potential Leader explains the modern business climate while highlighting the critical role relationship building, communication style, engagement, and ability to motivate and bring out the best performance in others play in becoming an impactful leader. Whether you’re just embarking on your leadership journey or are ready to make the leap to the next leadership level, Charan’s real-world lessons and practical advice will help you discover who you are as a leader, chart your path, accelerate your growth, and ultimately, become the high-potential leader your organization needs to succeed.




High Potential


Book Description

In today's competitive job market, can employers afford to spend large sums on recruitment, and then simply let talented people go? High Potential provides a practical framework for managers to create a strong, strategic vision for a high-performing, high-potential workforce. Updated to reflect more recent research in the area, the book presents an accessible guide to clearly understanding and defining potential, and how to manage high-potential employees and develop their career. New case studies show how businesses have used the concepts outlined in the book to nurture future talent in the workplace and gain a real competitive business advantage.




Their Highest Potential


Book Description

African American schools in the segregated South faced enormous obstacles in educating their students. But some of these schools succeeded in providing nurturing educational environments in spite of the injustices of segregation. Vanessa Siddle Walker tells the story of one such school in rural North Carolina, the Caswell County Training School, which operated from 1934 to 1969. She focuses especially on the importance of dedicated teachers and the principal, who believed their jobs extended well beyond the classroom, and on the community's parents, who worked hard to support the school. According to Walker, the relationship between school and community was mutually dependent. Parents sacrificed financially to meet the school's needs, and teachers and administrators put in extra time for professional development, specialized student assistance, and home visits. The result was a school that placed the needs of African American students at the center of its mission, which was in turn shared by the community. Walker concludes that the experience of CCTS captures a segment of the history of African Americans in segregated schools that has been overlooked and that provides important context for the ongoing debate about how best to educate African American children. African American History/Education/North Carolina




The Precipice


Book Description

This urgent and eye-opening book makes the case that protecting humanity's future is the central challenge of our time. If all goes well, human history is just beginning. Our species could survive for billions of years - enough time to end disease, poverty, and injustice, and to flourish in ways unimaginable today. But this vast future is at risk. With the advent of nuclear weapons, humanity entered a new age, where we face existential catastrophes - those from which we could never come back. Since then, these dangers have only multiplied, from climate change to engineered pathogens and artificial intelligence. If we do not act fast to reach a place of safety, it will soon be too late. Drawing on over a decade of research, The Precipice explores the cutting-edge science behind the risks we face. It puts them in the context of the greater story of humanity: showing how ending these risks is among the most pressing moral issues of our time. And it points the way forward, to the actions and strategies that can safeguard humanity. An Oxford philosopher committed to putting ideas into action, Toby Ord has advised the US National Intelligence Council, the UK Prime Minister's Office, and the World Bank on the biggest questions facing humanity. In The Precipice, he offers a startling reassessment of human history, the future we are failing to protect, and the steps we must take to ensure that our generation is not the last. "A book that seems made for the present moment." —New Yorker




The High Potential's Advantage


Book Description

Do You Know What It Takes to Be a High Potential in Your Organization? Being seen as a high-potential leader is essential to getting promoted and reaching your organization's upper echelons, but most companies keep their top-talent list a closely guarded secret. And the assessment process they use to decide who is and isn't a future leader is an even greater mystery. The High Potential's Advantage takes you behind the scenes and shows how you can get on, and stay on, your company's fast track. Leadership development experts Jay Conger and Allan Church draw upon decades of research and experience--designing high-potential programs for hundreds of large well-known global organizations and assessing and coaching thousands of talented leaders--to answer the critical questions asked by ambitious individuals like you: What will it take for me to advance in this organization? What does my boss look for when deciding whether I’m a high potential? Once I'm on the list, then what? Can I fall off it and, if so, what do I do? Revealing the key differentiators--five critical "X factors"--that set people apart across companies of all types, Conger and Church show what you need to do to achieve and maintain top-talent status. You’ll find detailed advice for cultivating and practicing each X factor, with numerous and rich examples from those on the verge of their first promotion to those only a step away from the C-suite. The High Potential's Advantage also shows you how to gain insight into and excel at the specific process your company uses to identify and develop high potentials--and how to determine which unique capabilities your company values the most. The High Potential's Advantage is the essential guide to becoming a leader in your organization.