Solving the Benefits Puzzle


Book Description

For years organisations have struggled to effectively track and measure the benefits expected from their projects. Management is frustrated at the continuing lack of benefits measurement.But the situation is worse than just poor measurement. Most projects actually leave many of their potential benefits 'on the table' unidentified. They then, inadvertently, lose, destroy or miss many other benefits. Our research has shown that most projects deliver less than half of their potential value. This loss represents billions of dollars a year in lost or missed benefits! Most of this loss goes unmeasured. Traditional approaches to benefits management just haven't worked. They seem workable on paper but, when put to the test, do not effectively identify, quantify, track and measure benefits both during and after the project.The reasons why benefits management has remained a 'lost cause' for so long are numerous, including lack of attention, desires to avoid accountability, confusion, sloppy language and the bad results of previous half-baked attempts.Solving the Benefits Puzzle spells out the problems and the solution. A solution that has already been adopted in numerous organisations with astounding success. The solution is based on the deceptively simple Benefits EquationTM that focuses attention on the five key elements of benefits management and allows all of them to be tracked and measured.




The Puzzler


Book Description

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world. “Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better Than Before Look for the author’s new podcast, The Puzzler, based on this book! What makes puzzles—jigsaws, mazes, riddles, sudokus—so satisfying? Be it the formation of new cerebral pathways, their close link to insight and humor, or their community-building properties, they’re among the fundamental elements that make us human. Convinced that puzzles have made him a better person, A.J. Jacobs—four-time New York Times bestselling author, master of immersion journalism, and nightly crossworder—set out to determine their myriad benefits. And maybe, in the process, solve the puzzle of our very existence. Well, almost. In The Puzzler, Jacobs meets the most zealous devotees, enters (sometimes with his family in tow) any puzzle competition that will have him, unpacks the history of the most popular puzzles, and aims to solve the most impossible head-scratchers, from a mutant Rubik’s Cube, to the hardest corn maze in America, to the most sadistic jigsaw. Chock-full of unforgettable adventures and original examples from around the world—including new work by Greg Pliska, one of America’s top puzzle-makers, and a hidden, super-challenging but solvable puzzle—The Puzzler will open readers’ eyes to the power of flexible thinking and concentration. Whether you’re puzzle obsessed or puzzle hesitant, you’ll walk away with real problem-solving strategies and pathways toward becoming a better thinker and decision maker—for these are certainly puzzling times.




The Moscow Puzzles


Book Description

A collection of math and logic puzzles features number games, magic squares, tricks, problems with dominoes and dice, and cross sums, in addition to other intellectual teasers.







Solving the Procrastination Puzzle


Book Description

"Previously published as The Procrastinator's Digest in Canada by Howling Pines Publishers in 2010."




Algorithmic Puzzles


Book Description

Algorithmic puzzles are puzzles involving well-defined procedures for solving problems. This book will provide an enjoyable and accessible introduction to algorithmic puzzles that will develop the reader's algorithmic thinking. The first part of this book is a tutorial on algorithm design strategies and analysis techniques. Algorithm design strategies — exhaustive search, backtracking, divide-and-conquer and a few others — are general approaches to designing step-by-step instructions for solving problems. Analysis techniques are methods for investigating such procedures to answer questions about the ultimate result of the procedure or how many steps are executed before the procedure stops. The discussion is an elementary level, with puzzle examples, and requires neither programming nor mathematics beyond a secondary school level. Thus, the tutorial provides a gentle and entertaining introduction to main ideas in high-level algorithmic problem solving. The second and main part of the book contains 150 puzzles, from centuries-old classics to newcomers often asked during job interviews at computing, engineering, and financial companies. The puzzles are divided into three groups by their difficulty levels. The first fifty puzzles in the Easier Puzzles section require only middle school mathematics. The sixty puzzle of average difficulty and forty harder puzzles require just high school mathematics plus a few topics such as binary numbers and simple recurrences, which are reviewed in the tutorial. All the puzzles are provided with hints, detailed solutions, and brief comments. The comments deal with the puzzle origins and design or analysis techniques used in the solution. The book should be of interest to puzzle lovers, students and teachers of algorithm courses, and persons expecting to be given puzzles during job interviews.




Political Science as Puzzle Solving


Book Description

Demonstrates that the combination of contextual knowledge and theoretical models improves our understanding of politics




The Lady Or the Tiger?


Book Description

"Another scintillating collection of brilliant problems and paradoxes by the most entertaining logician and set theorist who ever lived." — Martin Gardner. Inspired by the classic tale of a prisoner's dilemma, these whimsically themed challenges involve paradoxes about probability, time, and change; metapuzzles; and self-referentiality. Nineteen chapters advance in difficulty from relatively simple to highly complex.




How to Reassess Your Chess


Book Description

How to Reassess Your Chess has long been considered a modern classic. This 4th edition takes Silman's groundbreaking concept of imbalances to a whole new level. Designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 rating range and for teachers looking for a ready-made chess curriculum, the author shares a mind-expanding journey that takes the reader through imbalance-basics, ensures that every detail of all the imbalances are mastered, and leaves the player/lover of chess with something he always wanted but never believed he could achieve: a master-level positional foundation. Hundreds of games brought to life by instruction-rich prose, and stories that offer humor while highlighting various lessons, vividly illustrate all the book's topics in a manner that's both personal and fun. Jeremy Silman is an International Master and a world-class teacher, writer, and player who has won the American Open, the National Open, and the U.S. Open.




The Ultimate Puzzle Book for Kids


Book Description

More than 150 perplexing puzzles for kids 9 to 12 to build problem-solving skills―and boost brain power! Do you love puzzles? Welcome to The Ultimate Puzzle Book for Kids―the most comprehensive puzzle book for kids ages 9-12, featuring tons of fun and challenging activities. This awesome assortment of brain-stretching games is perfect for friends and families on long car trips, summer vacation, and even just after-school downtime. From complex crosswords to crazy mazes, this complete puzzle book for kids ages 9-12 delivers hours of mind-bending entertainment for budding brainiacs. You can play alone or play with a friend in the games-for-two section. There’s even an answer key in the back of the book if you get stuck! This outstanding puzzle book for kids ages 9-12 includes: 150+ Tricky puzzles―Discover hours of fun with this massive puzzle book for kids ages 9-12. Vexing variety―From easy to hard, these puzzles get tougher as you go, and include math and logic games, crosswords, mazes, picture puzzles, and more. Great value―Get clear instructions and a high-quality layout featuring colorful images. Tackle an exciting new challenge―dive inside this extraordinary puzzle book for kids ages 9-12!