Grit, Guts and Gumption


Book Description

This is the story of the carefully planned resurgence of the State Bank of India (SBI) from a laid-back incumbent under threat from private players to a customer-oriented competitive organization that has outperformed rivals despite several constraints. The leadership at SBI succeeded in reshaping perspectives and profitability at the bank, which employs a staggering 200,000 people, not withstanding salary restrictions and regulatory bottlenecks. While the primary thrust was on changing employee attitude towards their own organization and, of course, its customers, the transformation exercise was broad-based encompassing fundamental changes in technology, processes and business-mix alike. In about three years beginning 2006, SBI not only defended its own lair against the siege of younger, leaner, meaner rivals but actually took the battle to the attacker’ domains. SBI’s size and setting make the story an inspiring example to other organizations, particularly in the public sector. Written in a fluid and engaging style, and backed by facts, figures, analysis and anecdotes, the book challenges several stereotypes and dogmas common in today’s management circles.




Gumption & Grit


Book Description

The first book in a new series that showcases the lives, successes, and history of the women of British Columbia, "Gumption & Grit" gathers 35 tales of hardship, faith, adversity, endurance, and accomplishment.




Wild Women of Maryland: Grit & Gumption in the Free State


Book Description

The daring women of Maryland made their mark on history as spies, would-be queens and fiery suffragettes. Sarah Wilson escaped indentured servitude in Frederick by impersonating the queen's sister. In Cumberland, Sallie Pollock smuggled letters for top Confederate officials. Baltimore journalist Marguerite Harrison snuck into Russia to report conditions there after World War I. From famous figures like Harriet Tubman to unsung heroines like "Lady Law" Violet Hill Whyte, author Lauren R. Silberman introduces Maryland's most tenacious and adventurous women.




Hometown Texas


Book Description

Brown and Holley are interested in place and what makes people who they are. With particular interest in how people take the hand they’ve been dealt—fate, family, circumstance, luck—and craft a life for themselves, the authors celebrate the grit and gumption of these Texas originals. Introducing quirky characters and tenacious spirits, Holley’s stories seek out the personality of the small town while Brown’s photographs capture the essence of a changing landscape. Hometown Texas aims not to be nostalgic or sentimental but rather to show readers an unknown Texas—one that, while not vanishing, is certainly on the wane. Organized into five topographical, geographic, and cultural sections—East, West, North, South, and Central—three dozen stories and more than eighty complementary images work to create a parallel narrative to reveal what Brown has described as the “collective, various, remarkably complex soul that makes Texas unique.” Hometown Texas is an exploration across miles and cultures, of well-traveled roads and forgotten byways, deep into the heart of Texas.




Parenting with Gumption and Grit


Book Description

No one wants to fall out of relationship with their kids. It’s easier when they are little to stay engaged with them because they require so much physical presence. On the other hand as they get older and become more self-sufficient, being in relationship with our children can be a slippery slope. IF we haven't been laying the groundwork and investing in our littles in the years prior, we will pay the price when they become “big.” This book teaches us lovingly and gently how to invest in our kids at every stage of their life from 0 to young adult. But not only that, when you read tips like "Do the Next Right Thing," we are reminded that it is never too late. There are all kinds of voices around us and inside of us quick to feed us lies about what is possible and what is not when it comes to growing or reconciling relationships. This book is practical, truthful, and hopeful.




Rise of the Truth Teller


Book Description

We are experts at hiding from each other. We withhold the truth, pretend we're okay, and perform at great personal cost. In fact, many of us are so good at lying to others about how we're "just fine, thank you" that we don't even realize anymore that we're lying to ourselves. We're missing the opportunity to offer our true selves to the world around us, to say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done, and to live with grace and gumption. If you're tired of smiling on the outside while you are broken and battered on the inside, Ashley Abercrombie has a message for you--it's okay to tell the truth about yourself and what you've been through. In being brutally honest about her own struggle to overcome addiction, rape, abortion, perfectionism, and dysfunctional relationships, she helps you break the silence on your own pain and shame in order to find healing, encouragement, and ultimately acceptance. You'll learn to listen to your gut, courageously own your story (no matter how messy), and release those around you to do the same.




Elbow Grease


Book Description

THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! From superstar entertainer John Cena comes a new picture-book series all about perseverance and believing in yourself, featuring a little monster truck named Elbow Grease! Meet Elbow Grease, a little monster truck with a big problem! He's smaller than his four brothers, but wants to prove that he has the guts and the grit to do big things. He decides that entering the Demolition Derby is the perfect way to show everyone that what he lacks in horsepower he makes up for in gumption. From multi-talented mega celebrity John Cena comes this exciting story about the importance of believing in yourself and never giving up. Full of high-octane illustrations and a new character kids will cheer for, this fun and fast-paced book proves that a little Elbow Grease . . . can go a long way!! As Featured On: The Today Show Entertainment Tonight The Daily Show with Trevor Noah The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon




Mapping the Moral Geographies of Education


Book Description

This book explores the growth of ‘character education’ in schools and youth organisations over the last decade. It delves into historical and contemporary debates through a geopolitical lens. With a renewed focus on values and virtues such as grit, gumption, perseverance, resilience, generosity, and neighbourliness, this book charts the re-imagining and re-fashioning of a ‘character agenda’ in England and examines its multiscalar geographies. It explores how these moral geographies of education for children and young people have developed over time. Drawing on original research and examples from schools, military and uniformed youth organisations, and the state-led National Citizen Service, the book critically examines the wider implications of the ‘character agenda’ across the UK and beyond. It does so by raising a series of questions about the interconnections between character, citizenship, and values and highlighting how these moral geographies reach far beyond the classroom or campsite. Offering critical insights on the roles of character, citizenship and values in modern education, this book will be of immense value to educationists, teachers and policymakers. It will appeal students and scholars of human geography, sociology, education studies, cultural studies and history.




Grit, Grace, and Gumption


Book Description

John Pugh, railway worker, Seth Joshua, donkey driver, fighter and Frank Joshua, teacher were all converted in the Welsh valleys. Pugh became a dedicated pastor who planted and grew several large churches before becoming involved in the 'Forward Movement'. The Joshua brothers had independently, and with no training, started a venture of their own which saw great growth amongst the English language dominated industrial areas. It became the sort of pilot scheme that Pugh was looking for and they joined forces. The title of the book is taken from Pugh's plan to reach the unchurched industrial wasteland of Splott, next to Cardiff. He advertised the fact that he wanted 'To secure men of GRACE, GRIT AND GUMPTION' for the work.




Double Bind: Women on Ambition


Book Description

“Bold, absorbing, insightful, and wise. . . . Read it: the truth is inside.”— Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild and Tiny Beautiful Things “A work of courage and ferocious honesty” (Diana Abu-Jaber), Double Bind could not come at a more urgent time. Even as major figures from Gloria Steinem to Beyoncé embrace the word “feminism,” the word “ambition” remains loaded with ambivalence. Many women see it as synonymous with strident or aggressive, yet most feel compelled to strive and achieve—the seeming contradiction leaving them in a perpetual double bind. Ayana Mathis, Molly Ringwald, Roxane Gay, and a constellation of “nimble thinkers . . . dismantle this maddening paradox” (O, The Oprah Magazine) with candor, wit, and rage. Women who have made landmark achievements in fields as diverse as law, dog sledding, and butchery weigh in, breaking the last feminist taboo once and for all. “Both intimate and scalable” (Atlantic.com), Double Bind finally seizes “ambition” from the roster of dirty words.