Why Plans Fail


Book Description

Business runs on decisions. Business relies on estimates, plans, and projections - and we all know how accurate they tend to be. Careers are made, careers are broken based on perceived accuracy in estimation and planning. But what if the successes and failures of these projects were not based on the prowess of those making the plans? What if successes and failures were instead the result of a more complex set of events? What if our own cognitive biases - our own brains - were creating our inaccuracies, our poor assumptions, and our unreasonable expectations? Why Plans Fail directly addresses our ability to plan, to forecast, and to make decisions. Written by Jim Benson, author of the Shingo Research Award-winning Personal Kanban, urban planner, software developer, and business owner who has planned and built everything from small software projects, to houses, to urban freeway systems, Why Plans Fail is told by someone with much skin in the estimation and planning game. This short work is the first in the Modus Cooperandi MemeMachine series - which looks specifically at underlying issues that directly impact the success of teams, companies, and individuals. The Mememachine series is meant to start conversations and advance discussion.




When All Plans Fail


Book Description

Natural disaster. Virulent disease. Terrorist attack. In almost an instant, the safe world you have known is turned upside down. Such catastrophic events are not restricted to the movies. They are becoming true-life headlines around the world.




Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail


Book Description

FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL is a book which guides Education Technology professionals through a detailed process, called MAPITTM, that illustrates five phases for developing your school's Ed Tech Strategic Plan: Needs Identification, Needs Analysis, Recommendations, Feasibility and Implementation.




Leading Change


Book Description

From the ill-fated dot-com bubble to unprecedented merger and acquisition activity to scandal, greed, and, ultimately, recession -- we've learned that widespread and difficult change is no longer the exception. By outlining the process organizations have used to achieve transformational goals and by identifying where and how even top performers derail during the change process, Kotter provides a practical resource for leaders and managers charged with making change initiatives work.




Think Success: Essays on Self-Help


Book Description

In 44 well written articles the author, a spiritual teacher, introduces you to a treasure trove of transformational wisdom for a life of abundance, peace and happiness. The book covers the following main topics. How you can benefit from self-help knowledge. Improving your listening skills. Cultivating reading skills for better comprehension and study. How to negotiate successfully in tough situations. How to take control of your life. How to understand and manage your fears. Lessons you can learn from successful people. How to strengthen your memory. Success principles that can transform your life. Practicing positive appreciation in all wakes of life. Long term strategies for relaxation. How to cultivate self-awareness to become a master of your own destiny. Understanding the factors that build your success. Strategies for long term Career planning. How to respond to failure and learn from it. Planning and prioritizing tasks in daily life. How to manage your emotions. Understanding and overcoming loneliness. Improving your health and physical fitness. How to use your thoughts to empower yourself. Creating your life with the power of attraction. Using the power of determination to achieve success. How to create and make affirmations work for you. 40 ways to remain positive in daily life. Choosing the priority areas of your life. Simple relaxation techniques for your eyes. 15 ways to deal with adversity. How to manage and counter your negative self-talk. How to think and act like an adult with maturity. How to invite peace into your life. Ancient morals and what you can learn from them. General problem solving techniques. What contributes to prosperity in life. How to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. How to avoid blaming others. What you can learn from successful people. How to establish long term goals and work for them. Dealing with the monotony of a routine life. How you can improve your self-esteem. And more.




Playing to Win


Book Description

Explains how companies must pinpoint business strategies to a few critically important choices, identifying common blunders while outlining simple exercises and questions that can guide day-to-day and long-term decisions.




The Professor Is In


Book Description

The definitive career guide for grad students, adjuncts, post-docs and anyone else eager to get tenure or turn their Ph.D. into their ideal job Each year tens of thousands of students will, after years of hard work and enormous amounts of money, earn their Ph.D. And each year only a small percentage of them will land a job that justifies and rewards their investment. For every comfortably tenured professor or well-paid former academic, there are countless underpaid and overworked adjuncts, and many more who simply give up in frustration. Those who do make it share an important asset that separates them from the pack: they have a plan. They understand exactly what they need to do to set themselves up for success. They know what really moves the needle in academic job searches, how to avoid the all-too-common mistakes that sink so many of their peers, and how to decide when to point their Ph.D. toward other, non-academic options. Karen Kelsky has made it her mission to help readers join the select few who get the most out of their Ph.D. As a former tenured professor and department head who oversaw numerous academic job searches, she knows from experience exactly what gets an academic applicant a job. And as the creator of the popular and widely respected advice site The Professor is In, she has helped countless Ph.D.’s turn themselves into stronger applicants and land their dream careers. Now, for the first time ever, Karen has poured all her best advice into a single handy guide that addresses the most important issues facing any Ph.D., including: -When, where, and what to publish -Writing a foolproof grant application -Cultivating references and crafting the perfect CV -Acing the job talk and campus interview -Avoiding the adjunct trap -Making the leap to nonacademic work, when the time is right The Professor Is In addresses all of these issues, and many more.




Passion and Poison


Book Description

In every age of mankind, females have been recognized and categorized as inferior to men. A highly intelligent woman such as Cree Dunford, a passionately sexual woman possessing an enviable intellect, is thwarted at every turn. Born just a generation too early to achieve her own ambitions, she longs for what every man believes to be his God-given right. Her story examines the frustration and fury of living a glamourous life she detests, knowing all the while she has the capability to achieve even more than her successful husband. What drives Cree, and how does her life end?




Fail Better


Book Description

If you’re aiming to innovate, failure along the way is a given. But can you fail better? Whether you’re rolling out a new product from a city-view office or rolling up your sleeves to deliver a social service in the field, learning why and how to embrace failure can help you do better, faster. Smart leaders, entrepreneurs, and change agents design their innovation projects with a key idea in mind: ensure that every failure is maximally useful. In Fail Better, Anjali Sastry and Kara Penn show how to create the conditions, culture, and habits to systematically, ruthlessly, and quickly figure out what works, in three steps: 1. Launch every innovation project with the right groundwork 2. Build and refine ideas and products through iterative action 3. Identify and embed the learning Fail Better teaches you how to design your efforts to test the boundaries of your thinking, explore crucial interdependencies, and find the factors that can shift results from just acceptable to groundbreaking—or even world-changing. Practical instructions intertwined with compelling real-world examples show you how to: • Make predictions and map system relationships ahead of time so you can better assess results • Establish how much failure you can afford • Prioritize project activities for disconfirmation and iteration • Learn from every action step by collecting and examining the right data • Support efficient, productive habits to link action and reflection • Distill, share, and embed the lessons from every success and failure You may be a Fortune 500 manager, scrappy start-up innovator, social impact visionary, or simply leading your own small project. If you aim to break through without breaking the bank—or ruining your reputation—this book is for you.




Human Resource Management at Work


Book Description

This new 3rd edition of the best-selling text People Management & Development: Human Resource Management at Work is the complete text for anyone studying Human Resource Management. Combining the latest academic research with practical approaches to managing HR in the workplace, the text is thoroughly revised with increased signposting to enhance accessibility, a revised structure designed to be more flexible for use on CIPD and non-CIPD courses, as well as the addition of more international cases. Ideal for students studying for the CIPD professional qualification as well as general human resource management modules at undergraduate and postgraduate level. A 'route map' at the front of the book will indicate how the text can be used on both CIPD and non-CIPD courses to assist lecture preparation. TARGETED AT - Students studying CIPD Professional Qualifications and undergraduate and post graduate students taking HRM modules on business and HRM courses