The Art of Quantum Planning


Book Description

Stale ideas, conformity, and lack of imagination stymie strategic planning. Here, Gerald Harris uses seven concepts from quantum physics to pry open minds, eradicate unhealthy groupthink, spur creativity, and revitalize strategic planning. Explaining quantum concepts in plain language and using real-world examples, Harris inspires innovation while providing practical guidance for applying these ideas in actual planning situations. Just as light has a dual nature—it can be a wave and a particle—so the needs and wants of a customer can be both discrete and continuous, or the market focus of an organization can be both targeted and many faceted. Likewise, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle—that we cannot know both the position and the speed of an electron—reminds us that it is impossible to be aware of every single relevant fact before we make a decision. Planning, he shows, must be a learning-forward process that continually adjusts to new information. Harris's lessons act as triggers for inquiry, giving you an opportunity to discover more innovative and successful strategies.




The Art of Quantum Planning


Book Description

Planning today is plagued by a lack of imagination. It’s often difficult, when working with a business, organization, or any group of people, to upend traditional thinking and unlock new ideas and new possibilities. If you are a strategic planner, or anyone charged with managing growth or facilitating change, it is important to add to your arsenal tools that will allow you to break unhealthy groupthink, avoid old patterns, and escape narrow safe zones. In The Art of Quantum Planning Gerald Harris takes seven concepts from the scientific study of tiny particles and applies them in the larger world, showing how they can pry open minds, spur creativity, and make the planning process far more innovative and effective. The dual nature of light—it can be both a wave and a particle—serves as a jumping-off point for a discussion of how either-or thinking can limit our sense of what options are open to us. Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, which says we cannot know both the position and the speed of an electron, reminds us that it is impossible to be aware of every variable, and so planning must be a learning process that continually incorporates new information and makes adjustments. Harris explains quantum concepts in layman’s language and, using real-world examples, gives practical advice on applying the ideas in actual planning situations—including improving techniques for scenario analyses that help managers function in an uncertain business environment. This approach demands an open mind and a willingness to venture into unexplored territory—also keys for effective leadership. Using the lessons provided as triggers for thinking The Art of Quantum Planning will help readers to a more profound understanding of how to create successful strategies.




Quantum Technologies and Military Strategy


Book Description

This book is about the strategic relevance of quantum technologies. It debates the military-specific aspects of this technology. Various chapters of this book cohere around two specific themes. The first theme discusses the global pattern of ongoing civilian and military research on quantum computers, quantum cryptography, quantum communications and quantum internet. The second theme explicitly identifies the relevance of these technologies in the military domain and the possible nature of quantum technology-based weapons. This thread further debates on quantum (arms) race at a global level in general, and in the context of the USA and China, in particular. The book argues that the defence utility of these technologies is increasingly becoming obvious and is likely to change the nature of warfare in the future.




Strategic Leadership and Strategic Management


Book Description

Leaders and managers face tremendous pressure to keep their organizations moving forward successfully. It can seem like an impossible task amid economic uncertainty and hyper-competition. The roles of leader and manager tug us in opposite directions: managers seek stability and predictability, and leaders usually opt for turbulence and change. With so many companies asking their best employees to be both leaders and managers, it's no wonder that so much of the business world is dysfunctional. This guidebook explains how leader-managers work-and how to succeed in both roles. You can learn how to - leverage competing requirements for leading and managing change; - formulate effective operational and developmental strategies; - make decisions that address complex challenges and opportunities; and - help people through the anxiety and trauma of change. Whether you are a student seeking to understand the workplace, an employee rising up the ranks or an active leader or manager, Strategic Leadership and Strategic Management provides you with tools and knowledge to help your organization succeed.




Emergence


Book Description

In his bestselling book Emergence, Derek Rydall helps you throw aside the self-help books and recognize one simple, radical truth: the answer is already in you. The harder we try to change, the deeper in the hole we get. We find a new partner but have the same old fights. We strive for an ever-bigger paycheck but end up broke at a higher income bracket. This is what happens when the basic principle of life—the Law of Emergence—is disrupted, stopping you from knowing that you are the perfect you. Like an acorn is a perfect acorn that becomes a perfect oak tree, there is not a part of you from beginning to end that isn't exactly what you should be. The Law of Emergence provides the foundation to re-engage with this ancient principle. In this seven-stage framework, spiritual life coach Derek Rydall shows that we aren’t lacking anything; everything we need to fulfill our full potential is already inside us. Backed by an ancient truth that has largely been lost, Rydall changes the conversation around how to achieve your potential by showing you how to activate the genius already in you and empower your purpose in life. If you are struggling to improve something about yourself—your health, your mindset, your relationships, then Emergence is the book and Derek is the teacher you have been waiting for.




ECAI 2020


Book Description

This book presents the proceedings of the 24th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence (ECAI 2020), held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, from 29 August to 8 September 2020. The conference was postponed from June, and much of it conducted online due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The conference is one of the principal occasions for researchers and practitioners of AI to meet and discuss the latest trends and challenges in all fields of AI and to demonstrate innovative applications and uses of advanced AI technology. The book also includes the proceedings of the 10th Conference on Prestigious Applications of Artificial Intelligence (PAIS 2020) held at the same time. A record number of more than 1,700 submissions was received for ECAI 2020, of which 1,443 were reviewed. Of these, 361 full-papers and 36 highlight papers were accepted (an acceptance rate of 25% for full-papers and 45% for highlight papers). The book is divided into three sections: ECAI full papers; ECAI highlight papers; and PAIS papers. The topics of these papers cover all aspects of AI, including Agent-based and Multi-agent Systems; Computational Intelligence; Constraints and Satisfiability; Games and Virtual Environments; Heuristic Search; Human Aspects in AI; Information Retrieval and Filtering; Knowledge Representation and Reasoning; Machine Learning; Multidisciplinary Topics and Applications; Natural Language Processing; Planning and Scheduling; Robotics; Safe, Explainable, and Trustworthy AI; Semantic Technologies; Uncertainty in AI; and Vision. The book will be of interest to all those whose work involves the use of AI technology.




Quantum Steampunk


Book Description

The Industrial Revolution meets the quantum-technology revolution! A steampunk adventure guide to how mind-blowing quantum physics is transforming our understanding of information and energy. Victorian era steam engines and particle physics may seem worlds (as well as centuries) apart, yet a new branch of science, quantum thermodynamics, reenvisions the scientific underpinnings of the Industrial Revolution through the lens of today's roaring quantum information revolution. Classical thermodynamics, understood as the study of engines, energy, and efficiency, needs reimagining to take advantage of quantum mechanics, the basic framework that explores the nature of reality by peering at minute matters, down to the momentum of a single particle. In her exciting new book, intrepid Harvard-trained physicist Dr. Nicole Yunger Halpern introduces these concepts to the uninitiated with what she calls "quantum steampunk," after the fantastical genre that pairs futuristic technologies with Victorian sensibilities. While readers follow the adventures of a rag-tag steampunk crew on trains, dirigibles, and automobiles, they explore questions such as, "Can quantum physics revolutionize engines?" and "What deeper secrets can quantum information reveal about the trajectory of time?" Yunger Halpern also describes her own adventures in the quantum universe and provides an insider's look at the work of the scientists obsessed with its technological promise. Moving from fundamental physics to cutting-edge experimental applications, Quantum Steampunk explores the field's aesthetic, shares its whimsy, and gazes into the potential of a quantum future. The result is a blast for fans of science, science fiction, and fantasy.




New Perspectives for Leadership after the COVID-19 Pandemic


Book Description

The COVID-19 pandemic caused countries to experience new and unexpected conditions that severely affected the daily lives of people around the world. Concepts such as uncertainty, change, transformation, and chaos have gained new definitions, and the importance of leadership under these changing circumstances cannot be underestimated. This book takes an in-depth look at the crucial role of leadership post-COVID-19. The book offers refreshing interdisciplinary perspectives of leadership in different fields and different countries. The authors observe the differences in leadership styles before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the changed perception of leadership in the new normal. New Perspectives for Leadership after the COVID-19 Pandemic offers an enlightening study of leadership in multiple disciplines, including business, politics, academics and teaching, oil and gas industry, and more. It includes case studies from these different sectors to define the discussed concepts in new scenarios. The chapters discuss how leaders deal with VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) outcomes, the impact of digital technology on the role of leadership, moral and emotional leadership, evaluation of clinical leadership competency levels in nursing, and more. This volume will be of interest to those in leadership positions as well as those who study leadership and management in times of crises.







Quantum Negotiation


Book Description

Master the art of getting what you need with a more collaborative approach to negotiation Quantum Negotiation is a handbook for getting what you need using a mindset and behaviors based on a refreshingly expansive perspective on negotiation. Rather that viewing every negotiation as an antagonistic and combative relationship, this book shows you how to move beyond the traditional pseudo win-win to construct a deal in which all parties get what they need. By exploring who we are as negotiators in the context of social conditioning, this model examines the cognitive, psychological, social, physical, and spiritual aspects of negotiation to help you produce more sustainable, prosperous, and satisfying agreements. We often think of negotiation as taking place in a boardroom, a car dealership, or any other contract-centered situation; in reality, we are negotiating every time we ask for something we need or want. Building more robust negotiation behaviors that resonate beyond the boardroom requires a deep engagement with others and a clear mindset of interdependence. This book helps you shift your perspective and build these important skills through a journey of discovery, reflection, and action. Rethink your assumptions about negotiations, your self-perception, your counterpart, and the overall relationship Adopt new tools that clarify what you want, why you need it, and how your counterpart can also get what they want and need Challenge fundamental world views related to negotiation, and shift from adversarial to engaging and satisfying Understand the unseen forces at work in any negotiation, and prevent them from derailing your success In the interest of creating an environment that elevates everyone’s participation and assists them in reaching their full potential, Quantum Negotiation addresses the reality of hardball and coercion with a focus on engaging the human spirit to create new opportunities and resources.