In "Simple Solutions: How "Enterprise Project Management"Supported Harvard Pilgrim Health Care's Journey from Near Collapse to #1," author Lisa DiTullio, renowned speaker and successful business leader, shares project management practices which supported the Boston-based health insurance company on its path from crisis in 1999 to national acclaim today.

In a straightforward style, Lisa shows you how you can successfully introduce project management in any organization. Learn how to "fight for the CAUSE," using five simple strategies: Communicate, Advocate, Understand, Systemize, and Effect. Lisa highlights easy ways to implement each strategy. She also presents simple practices and shares real-life perspectives from key business stakeholders within Harvard Pilgrim Health Care-all of whom have participated in the company's amazing success.

Lisa's personal approach to project management is simple yet vital to business success: Serve vanilla. In spite of all the flavors offered, it is still the most popular. Project management does not need to be complex or complicated to support an organization's business needs. Keeping it simple actually allows companies to develop project management competency that becomes part of the organizational culture over time. Lisa believes project management tools should support project delivery processes in their simplest form and should be enhanced only when needed. Because team dynamics are a key influence on project success, finding a way to better manage group challenges from a management and communications perspective improves the team's internal dynamics as well as group performance. Simple Solutions is a must for anyone who strives to transform their organization for success.

Economic and business growth is driven by the continuous re-evaluation and optimization of current policies and practices. By implementing more effective procedures, businesses can increase their levels of competitiveness. Factors Affecting Firm Competitiveness and Performance in the Modern Business World is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on the most appropriate measures and initiatives for firms to become more competitive within various sectors. Incorporating interdisciplinary perspectives through theoretical foundations and real-world case studies, this book is ideally designed for professionals, practitioners, upper-level students, policy makers, and managers interested in the optimization of business performance.

Successful audio-visual presentations are the result of careful management by--as well as creative collaboration between--the client and the professional communications firm. Because of their high visibility within the corporation, presentations risk falling prey to script by committee unless there is a clear plan at hand for managing the project. Executives who find themselves responsible for a presentation need to be fully aware of what audio-visual can and cannot do--and how to go about getting it done right. In this how-to guide for corporate executives, author Richard Worth covers every step of the process in sequence, from determining objectives to preparing for production and post-production. While the emphasis is on working with an audio-visual professional, Worth also includes do-it-yourself tips for readers who want to keep the project in-house.

Selecting slides, video, film or multimedia is one of the first choices to make. This decision, like others that follow, should be based on a determination of purpose, audience and message. Worth provides easy-to-follow worksheets to help get the planning process going. Readers looking for budget guidelines will learn how much money they will need to invest to get the presentations they want. And, to help readers select the communications professional they will be working with, Worth offers down-to-earth advice based on his years of practical experience. In non-technical language, he critiques and analyzes samples of script proposals and treatments, providing valuable insight into the creative process. Any executive or manager responsible for sales, training, public relations, fund-raising, employee relations, or recruitment will find this a valuable resource for planning and implementing effective presentations.

Higgins makes clear that corporate strategy, regardless of how elegantly conceived, how comprehensive its scope or how forward-looking its thrust, does not provide competitive advantage until it is communicated, understood, valued, and acted upon by a variety of key corporate stakeholders. His book is thus developed to advance the theory and practice of corporate strategy communications. With two chapters devoted to conceptual foundations and empirical research, plus five new case studies illustrating his points, Higgins's book not only builds on existing research in strategic planning and management and reputation management, but offers new research findings as well. Interdisciplinary, integrative, and international in scope, the book will be of special interest to corporate management, strategic planners, corporate communications and investor relations executives, and other professionals in the investment community, and to academics with similar research and teaching interests.

Higgins argues that companies that communicate effectively to key constituencies risk less by making their strategies known than by hiding them. Among the important payoffs Higgins identifies are an improved climate within the investment community; better relationships with suppliers, customers, and strategic partners; improved employee morale and motivation; and, in some cases, a boost to share price and the enhancement of shareholder value. He begins with an overall strategic framework, illustrating how effective corporate strategy communications can improve a firM's strategic credibility, then follows with case studies--unavailable until now--each written specifically for this book, and covering such situations as a merger, a failed takeover attempt, and a management campaign to elevate share price and shareholder value at a major chemical company. He ends with an examination of the international challenges and opportunities involved in cross-cultural strategy communications. The book also presents for the first time, the results of a major international study of corporate strategy communications. Included in this study were 1800 executives and analysts from the U.S., Europe, and Japan. The job of strategy communications is never done, concludes Higgins. Communications during bad times, as well as good, are critically important.

How often do you revisit your investments? What drives your investment decisions? Are you guilty of 'rearview mirror" investing? What's the best stock to buy now? Don't Invest and Forget takes a step back from the often confusing world of investing. Managing money is a full time job and requires the time, energy, and know how of a professional. As the maddening rollercoaster of the market rises and falls regularly, adjustments may need to be made. Having a comprehensive investment plan can prove to be an important step to a healthy financial life. Investing, and then forgetting about it may be the largest mistake on the road to meeting your goals. Chart a course to financial comfort with Pat Vitucci's candid view of the investment world and holistic approach to investment planning. Pat Vitucci has over 30 years of experience in the financial services business, including serving as President of a subsidiary of a major financial institution. He has been working with clients to help plan their investments for many years, serving them as a family financial counselor, and forging a strong, trusting, relationship. His weekly one hour radio show, Your Financial Life, can be heard every Sunday on several radio stations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Power and influence are key processes in organizations, and anyone wanting to learn how to lead or manage organizations effectively must first understand the dynamics associated with such processes. One interesting but not surprising fact about knowledge in this area is that scientific theory and empirical research are not new, having first appeared about 50 years ago. However, the rate of knowledge advancement in this domain has not been rapid, and there is still much to learn about organizational power and influence processes. Thus, this fifth volume in Research in Management is devoted to highlighting new theoretical and empirical perspectives that advance the frontiers of knowledge about power and influence in organizations.The chapters of this volume are all related to power and influence, albeit conceptualized somewhat differently and dealing with different substantive domains. However, that these chapters represent interesting and important contributions to knowledge concerning power and influence in organizations, and that each should spark future research that will further enhance the field.

Better communication skills will have a direct impact on your career development. Improve Your Communication Skills is your practical guide to effective communication in business. This fully updated 6th edition now features a handy self-assessment tool to help you profile your own preferred communication style, even more practical exercises, useful checklists and top tips, as well as content on influencing others and managing difficult conversations. This book provides vital guidance on improving your conversations, building rapport, giving effective presentations, writing excellent reports and networking successfully. With the help of Improve Your Communication Skills, you will be able to get your message across - every time. The Creating Success series of books... Unlock vital skills, power up your performance and get ahead with the bestselling Creating Success series. Written by experts for new and aspiring managers and leaders, this million-selling collection of accessible and empowering guides will get you up to speed in no time. Packed with clever thinking, smart advice and the kind of winning techniques that really get results, you'll make fast progress, quickly reach your goals and create lasting success in your career.

The essential guide for when (and how best) to use virtual communication tools, from video to instant messaging and everything in between.

Andrew Brodsky is here to explain that, yes, that meeting could have been an email. And that email? Maybe it should have been a voice memo. Your camera? It’s okay to turn it off, sometimes even better.

Many of us give far too little thought to our virtual communication, and end up feeling isolated, overlooked and burnt out. Ping distils Brodsky’s cutting-edge social science research on remote communication tools. He helps us understand:

• How we can interact most productively and authentically
• How we can build relationships at a distance
• The rules for making an impact online
• How we can increase inclusion and reduce conflict

The primary objective of this handbook is to create a comprehensive knowledge base on the broad and sometimes misunderstood topic of investor relations, the center of most corporate communications programs. The approach taken was to first develop a thorough understanding of Wall Street itself. Having been a Fortune 25 Investor Relations Director as well as a Sr. Equity Analyst and Equity Research Director, the perception of what is needed by the financial community is quite different than what many investor relations officers believe. Driving a "hyperactive" Investor Relations program is the ultimate aim of this text. The author believes that the insight provided herein will enable new IROs to best understand their new profession and enable existing practitioners to add additional elements to their marketing programs that will enhance shareholder understanding and value. The author's website can be viewed at www.tomlauria.com.

This accessible, highly interactive book presents a transformative approach to communication in leadership to meet workplace challenges at both local and global levels. Informed by neuroscience, psychology, as well as leadership science, it explains how integrating and properly balancing two key focal points of management-the tasks at hand and the concerns of others and self-can facilitate decision-making, partnering with diverse colleagues, and handling of crises and conflicts. Case examples, a self-test, friendly calls for reflection, and practical exercises provide readers with varied opportunities to assess, support, and evoke their readiness to apply these real-world concepts to their own style and preferences. Together, these chapters demonstrate the best outcomes of collaborative communication: greater effectiveness, deeper empathy with improved emotional fulfillment, and lasting positive change. Included in the coverage: * As a manager, can I be human? Using the two-agenda approach for more effective-and humane-management. * Being and becoming a person-centered leader and manager in a crisis environment. * Methods for transforming communication: dialogue. * Open Case: A new setting for problem-solving in teams. * Integrating the two agendas in agile management. * Tasks and people: what neuroscience reveals about managing both more effectively. * Transforming communication in multicultural contexts for better understanding across cultures. As a skill-building resource, Transforming Communication in Leadership and Teamwork offers particular value: * to diverse business professionals, including managers, leaders, and team members seeking to become more effective * business consultants and coaches working with people in executive positions and/or teams * leaders and members of multi-national teams * executives, decision makers and organizational developers * instructors and students of courses on effective communication, social and professional skills, human resources, communication and digital media, leadership, teamwork, and related subjects.

An essential tool for dispute resolution professionals as well as for anyone considering using dispute resolution in their lives and work, Online Dispute Resolution explains the many diverse and unique applications of doing conflict resolution online. The expert authors examine the tremendous growth of online dispute resolution-including its use by eBay and other e-commerce companies-and reveal the enormous possibilities to come, along with the many employment opportunities for practitioners in the field. They show how the online environment will affect the role of those who are concerned with dispute resolution just as it has brought changes to those who practice law, sell stocks, or run for office. For those who see the value of technology as a critical building block in the future of dispute resolution, Online Dispute Resolution will be an indispensable resource.

Step-by-step guide to creating compelling, memorable presentations

A chart that once took ten hours to prepare can now be produced by anyone with ten minutes and a computer keyboard. What hasnt changed, however, are the basics behind creating a powerful visual - what to say, why to say it, and how to say it for the most impact. In Say It With Charts, Fourth Edition --the latest, cutting-edge edition of his best-selling presentation guide -- Gene Zelazny reveals time-tested tips for preparing effective presentations. Then, this presentation guru shows you how to combine those tips with todays hottest technologies for sharper, stronger visuals. Look to this comprehensive presentation encyclopedia for information on:

* How to prepare different types of charts -- pie, bar, column, line, or dot -- and when to use each

* Lettering size, color choice, appropriate chart types, and more

* Techniques for producing dramatic eVisuals using animation, scanned images, sound, video, and links to pertinent websites