A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future


Book Description

Michael J. Fox abandoned high school to pursue an acting career, but went on to receive honorary degrees from several universities and garner the highest accolades for his acting, as well as for his writing. In his new book, he inspires and motivates graduates to recognize opportunities, maximize their abilities, and roll with the punches--all with his trademark optimism, warmth, and humor. In A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future, Michael draws on his own life experiences to make a case that real learning happens when "life goes skidding sideways." He writes of coming to Los Angeles from Canada at age eighteen and attempting to make his way as an actor. Fox offers up a comically skewed take on how, in his own way, he fulfilled the requirements of a college syllabus. He learned Economics as a starving artist; an unexpected turn as a neophyte activist schooled him in Political Science; and his approach to Comparative Literature involved stacking books up against their movie versions. Replete with personal stories and hilarious anecdotes, Michael J. Fox's new book is the perfect gift for graduates.




Which Way to the Future?


Book Description

"It's easy to imagine ways the future can be ugly and depressing. It's harder, but more worthwhile, to imagine plausible ways we can make it better," says Stanley Schmidt, and he should know. As the editor of Analog (and a science-fiction writer himself), he's thought about the future more than most. Since the golden age of John W. Campbell (editor from 1938-72), Analog magazine has been renowned for editorials that provoke, prod, inspire, anger, and ignite the magazine's readers into thinking, questioning their own assumptions, and looking at the world with fresh insights. From 1978 to the present, the man challenged to light a fire under the readers month after month has been editor Stanley Schmidt. He has succeeded in exemplary fashion, which helps to explain why he's a twenty-two-time nominee for the best editor Hugo Award. Now, for the first time, thirty-five of his stimulating essays have been gathered in book form. In "King of the Hill (No Matter What)" he considers the questions of animal and machine intelligence. "The Fermi Plague" offers a frightening answer to Enrico Fermi's famous paradox about the apparent absence of alien civilizations. "Invisible Enemies, Intelligent Choices" examines the proper role of science in public policy. Running the gamut from how to challenge scientific orthodoxy to the flaws of our educational system, from the serious value of humor to the difficult choices between jobs and conservation, all the pieces are, in different ways, answers to the question asked by the title: Which way to the future? Schmidt's answers will engage anyone with an eye on tomorrow.




Underground. The Way to the Future


Book Description

Underground the way to the future was the motto of the World Tunnel Congress 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland. The use of underground space has gained importance during the last years due to the tremendous global urbanization, the high demand on transportation capacities and energy production. All this result in a wider range of use of underground spa




Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way: Developing and Applying a Forward-Focused Mindset


Book Description

YOUR FUTURE BEGINS TODAY You can dream it. You can plan it. You can try to make it happen. But you can never really prepare for the future unless you have a future-focused mindset. That is the underlying message behind the inspiring words and wisdom of Peter Drucker, the legendary "father of modern management." Drucker believed that the future must be created--day by day, person by person--rather than be left to chance or fate. This powerful book by Drucker scholar and author Bruce Rosenstein incorporates the master's time-tested principles into a step-by-step daily plan that will change your life forever. Starting right now, you can: Create a future-focused mindset. Learn how to build a better tomorrow by taking steps today. Determine the future by what has already happened. Look for clues in the past to forecast the future. Become your own successor. Keep yourself in demand and in control of your destiny. Shape the future of your organization. Go beyond the planning stage and create real change. Build your future beyond your current workplace. Identify challenges and opportunities in all aspects of your life. Whether you're a recent college graduate faced with a difficult job market, an ambitious entrepreneur trying to anticipate the Next Big Thing, or a struggling executive weathering a storm of constant global change, Drucker's surprisingly timely approach to the future will guide you through anything the world throws at you. You'll discover creative techniques for rolling with the punches and landing on your feet, open-minded strategies for turning your ideas into action, and the latest tools for adapting to new technologies like social media and Internet marketing. You'll find inspiring advice and insights drawn from personal interviews with Drucker himself and some of the greatest business leaders of our time. Most importantly, you'll develop your own exciting, forwardthinking approach to the future that will dramatically alter your life, inside and outside the office. This is how you take charge of your destiny. This is how you make your dreams come true. This is how to Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way. PRAISE FOR CREATE YOUR FUTURE THE PETER DRUCKER WAY: "Rosenstein skillfully draws on both his own wisdom and that of his mentor to deliver a plan for individuals and businesses in creating a future rich in personal and professional success. Leave your compass at home; all you need is Rosenstein's new book!" -- MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, million-selling author of the New York Times bestsellers, MOJO and What Got You Here Won't Get You There "Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way presents Peter Drucker as a role model for designing and living your own future, beginning in the here and now. The book has expanded my understanding of Drucker's work and I'm confident it will do the same for you." -- CHIP CONLEY, founder and former CEO of Joie de Vivre Hospitality; author of New York Times bestseller Emotional Equations "Rosenstein has opened the door to an important and often misunderstood area of Drucker's work--why an understanding of the future is so critical for our development as leaders. It confirms my belief of a bright future ahead." -- FRANCES HESSELBEIN, President and CEO, The Frances Hesselbein Leadership Institute "In this concise and compelling book, Rosenstein provides a unique contribution: mining the nuggets of Peter Drucker's most important work about the future and presenting them in a brief, accessible format. Bruce is the ideal person to make Peter's work useful and valuable in this way." -- BOB BUFORD, Chairman Emeritus, Board of Advisors of The Drucker Institute; author of Halftime




WTF?: What's the Future of Business?


Book Description

"In today’s rapidly changing digital environment, Darwinism is alive and well. What’s the Future of Business doesn't just explore trends and theories; it introduces a dynamic, actionable path to transformation." —Evan Greene, CMO, The Recording Academy, Producers of the GRAMMY Awards Rethink your business model to incorporate the power of "user" experiences What’s the Future of Business? will galvanize a new movement that aligns the tenets of user experience with the vision of innovative leadership to improve business performance, engagement, and relationships for a new generation of consumerism. It provides an overview of real-world experiences versus "user" experiences in relation to products, services, mobile, social media, and commerce, among others. This book explains why experience is everything and how the future of business will come down to shared experiences. Aligns the tenets of user experience with the concepts of innovative leadership to improve business performance and engagement and to motivate readers to rethink business models and customer and employee relationships Motivates readers to rethink business models, products and services, marketing, and customer and employee relationships with desired experiences in mind Brian Solis is globally recognized as one of the most prominent thought leaders and published authors in new media, and is the author of Engage! and The End of Business as Usual! Discover how user experience design affects your business, and how you can harness its power for meaningful revenue growth




The Great Work


Book Description

Thomas Berry is one of the most eminent cultural historians of our time. Here he presents the culmination of his ideas and urges us to move from being a disrupting force on the Earth to a benign presence. This transition is the Great Work -- the most necessary and most ennobling work we will ever undertake. Berry's message is not one of doom but of hope. He reminds society of its function, particularly the universities and other educational institutions whose role is to guide students into an appreciation rather than an exploitation of the world around them. Berry is the leading spokesperson for the Earth, and his profound ecological insight illuminates the path we need to take in the realms of ethics, politics, economics, and education if both we and the planet are to survive.




You're on Your Way to an Amazing Future


Book Description

The future is yours for the taking. You can be anything or do anything you set your mind to. What are you waiting for? It�s time to make your wildest dreams come true. Heather Stillufsen�s empowering words and modish illustrations will remind you that every day is another opportunity to challenge yourself, push past your comfort zone, and leave a lasting mark on the world. You�ll be inspired to follow your passions and never, ever look back� because you are on your way to an amazing future.




Future Shock


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The classic work that predicted the anxieties of a world upended by rapidly emerging technologies—and now provides a road map to solving many of our most pressing crises. “Explosive . . . brilliantly formulated.” —The Wall Street Journal Future Shock is the classic that changed our view of tomorrow. Its startling insights into accelerating change led a president to ask his advisers for a special report, inspired composers to write symphonies and rock music, gave a powerful new concept to social science, and added a phrase to our language. Published in over fifty countries, Future Shock is the most important study of change and adaptation in our time. In many ways, Future Shock is about the present. It is about what is happening today to people and groups who are overwhelmed by change. Change affects our products, communities, organizations—even our patterns of friendship and love. But Future Shock also illuminates the world of tomorrow by exploding countless clichés about today. It vividly describes the emerging global civilization: the rise of new businesses, subcultures, lifestyles, and human relationships—all of them temporary. Future Shock will intrigue, provoke, frighten, encourage, and, above all, change everyone who reads it.




Change the Way You Think


Book Description

Ray Wei is a former Special Forces instructor and Fortune 500 companies facilitator in Taiwan. In 2014, he left his family, home and career behind and started a new life with his wife in Australia. Follow Ray through his story as he starts his journey and overcomes the barriers and challenges thrown at him.A true story that will change the way you think.




The Art of Gathering


Book Description

"Hosts of all kinds, this is a must-read!" --Chris Anderson, owner and curator of TED From the host of the New York Times podcast Together Apart, an exciting new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend our time together—at home, at work, in our communities, and beyond. In The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker argues that the gatherings in our lives are lackluster and unproductive--which they don't have to be. We rely too much on routine and the conventions of gatherings when we should focus on distinctiveness and the people involved. At a time when coming together is more important than ever, Parker sets forth a human-centered approach to gathering that will help everyone create meaningful, memorable experiences, large and small, for work and for play. Drawing on her expertise as a facilitator of high-powered gatherings around the world, Parker takes us inside events of all kinds to show what works, what doesn't, and why. She investigates a wide array of gatherings--conferences, meetings, a courtroom, a flash-mob party, an Arab-Israeli summer camp--and explains how simple, specific changes can invigorate any group experience. The result is a book that's both journey and guide, full of exciting ideas with real-world applications. The Art of Gathering will forever alter the way you look at your next meeting, industry conference, dinner party, and backyard barbecue--and how you host and attend them.