Zennovation


Book Description

Combining the principles of Eastern and Western business practices for powerful success As an entrepreneur, manager, and problem-solver, Tomio Taki has shared advice with businesspeople ranging from managers of mom-and-pops to high-powered executives from across the globe. The Innovation Instinct showcases the author's breadth of life experience and illustrates how the principles of Eastern and Western business practices can be meshed together as a powerful source for success. Lessons range from the benefits of asking the simple questions to the importance of establishing oneself and knowing when to go against the grain. Tomio Taki has consulted for, financed, or directly managed both private and public companies on nearly every continent. He has been involved in ventures ranging from being the man behind Donna Karen New York to owning and operating private golf clubs around the world. In short, Taki's business and related successes are striking, having helped companies rise from the ashes of potential bankruptcy to streamlining and growing corporate giants. The wisdom he shares in The Innovation Instinct includes: Language is less of an obstacle across borders; instead, cultural differences are what propel and vitiate communication among businesspersons Certain fundamental aspects of business and life cross latitudinal and longitudinal lines When businesspeople seek to understand the cultures of their counterparts, they will discover lasting success with their global business relationships.




A More Beautiful Question


Book Description

To get the best answer-in business, in life-you have to ask the best possible question. Innovation expert Warren Berger shows that ability is both an art and a science. It may be the most underappreciated tool at our disposal, one we learn to use well in infancy-and then abandon as we grow older. Critical to learning, innovation, success, even to happiness-yet often discouraged in our schools and workplaces-it can unlock new business opportunities and reinvent industries, spark creative insights at many levels, and provide a transformative new outlook on life. It is the ability to question-and to do so deeply, imaginatively, and “beautifully.” In this fascinating exploration of the surprising power of questioning, innovation expert Warren Berger reveals that powerhouse businesses like Google, Nike, and Netflix, as well as hot Silicon Valley startups like Pandora and Airbnb, are fueled by the ability to ask fundamental, game-changing questions. But Berger also shares human stories of people using questioning to solve everyday problems-from “How can I adapt my career in a time of constant change?” to “How can I step back from the daily rush and figure out what really makes me happy?” By showing how to approach questioning with an open, curious mind and a willingness to work through a series of “Why,” “What if,” and “How” queries, Berger offers an inspiring framework of how we can all arrive at better solutions, fresh possibilities, and greater success in business and life.







Gorham Silver


Book Description

A survey of America's preeminent maker of fine silver and its legacy of exceptional design and innovation in the decorative arts. Established in 1831, the Gorham Manufacturing Company adeptly coupled art and industry, rising to become an industry leader of stylistic and technological achievement in America and around the world. It produced public presentation pieces and one-of-a-kind showstoppers for important occasions, as well as tableware for everyday use. Its works trace a narrative arc not only of great design but also of American ambitions. In this volume, insightful essays are accompanied by gorgeous new photography of splendid silver pieces along with a wealth of archival images, design drawings, casting patterns, and company records that reveal a rich heritage of a giant in decorative arts and silver manufacturing. Produced in collaboration with the RISD Museum, which has the world's most significant collection of Gorham silver, this major new book casts new light on more than 120 years of grand aesthetic styles in silver, innovative industrial practices, and American social and cultural norms.




Growth IQ


Book Description

Tiffani Bova, the Growth and Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce, draws on her expertise as a consultant and practitioner to devise a new framework for business leaders looking to pursue growth. We're witnessing an age of endless customization, and growth strategy is no exception. There's no one size fits all strategy; a winning strategy for one business may spell doom for another.In Growth IQ, Bova determines that there are ten simple - but easily misunderstood - growth paths, and explains how companies can get a handle on their particular business context, and use it to determine the right combination and sequence of growth paths to take them into the future. Bova breaks down the strategies deployed by a wide range of companies to show you how:* GE and John Deere have lasted over a century and continue to thrive by combining their strategy of innovative product development with a renewed focus on R&D and customer experience.* Marvel transformed from a struggling comic book publisher to a global entertainment behemoth by realigning their market penetration strategy to focus on comic book characters, instead of just comic books.* Gateway's attempt at market expansion into brick-and-mortar retail led to its failure, while the same move by Apple has accelerated its growth.Whether your company is on a growth spurt, in a worrying stall, or showing signs of decline, Growth IQ is your map to charting the course of your company's future.




Book of Lists


Book Description




Why Smart People Do Dumb Things


Book Description

Culled from business headlines and corporate files, Why Smart People Do Dumb Things is an in-depth examination of the ultimate in boardroom breakdown--a postmortem of the mega-mistakes made by highly regarded leaders in business and public life. From the "New Coke" debacle to the poor subscription showing of the Olympic Triplecast to the swirling controversy of Whitewater, Feinberg describes how strong minds can misuse their power, and why bright people often seize upon--and advocate brilliantly--ideas that others recognize as ridiculous.




Thick Face, Black Heart


Book Description

This guide fuses the wisdom of the East and West, and explores how ancient Asian battle strategies and cultural mindsets can be applied today to achieve mental toughness and winning business techniques.




Leadership and the One Minute Manager


Book Description

Teaches the reader how to become a flexible and successful leader, fitting one's style to the needs of the individual and to the situation at hand, and using the "one-minute" techniques to enhance the management and motivation of others




Integrity is All You've Got


Book Description

An advertising hall-of-famer and business legend reveals the secrets of his success Best known for conceiving the idea of outdoor advertising, Karl Eller embodies the spirit of American entrepreneurship at its finest. Integrity Is All You've Got is the chronicle of a singular life in business and all its "chills, thrills, deals, risks, gambles, crash landings, and miraculous recoveries." Readers get: A first behind-the-scenes look at the life of a business legend Powerful lessons that managers and entrepreneurs can apply Eller's guiding principles for racking up successes and recovering from "crash landings" that center on the critical importance of integrity