Written by two highly successful business coaches and management consultants, this book explains how to improve profitability by focusing on turning a business's already satisfied customers into highly satisfied customers by removing their sense of risk. The authors also provide a fail-safe method for identifying the risks inherent in your business. Every business owner or manager knows that creating satisfied customers is key to establishing customer loyalty and building a business. But many are applying the wrong strategy in trying to achieve customer loyalty: instead of focusing on consistent execution of the company's value proposition on a day-to-day basis, they waste their efforts constantly chasing after new customers or trying to address every complaint. Using research to demonstrate how striving to turn merely satisfied customers into highly satisfied customers significantly affects loyalty behaviors and in turn boosts profits, Capturing Loyalty lays out a new approach to a very old problem. Additionally, it presents a blueprint for identifying the perceived risks to consumers inherent in your business—many of which are not readily apparent to the casual or even invested observer—and explains how to minimize those risks. Authors Larson and McClellan explain why trying to ensure 100% customer satisfaction is not the path to achieving customer loyalty, and that the reality is that customer dissatisfaction is rarely the result of an error a business has made—two concepts that many initially find counterintuitive. You'll learn how to offer your company's products and services in a manner that creates highly satisfied customers, understand the true value and vast economic benefits of having highly satisfied customers, and see why highly satisfied customers are actually cheaper to serve than others. The book presents a clear and comprehensive plan for creating a loyalty initiative suitable to your business and cascading it through your entire organization, from the C-suite to the line employees.

"Schooling Your Boss to not Suck" takes a fun and sarcastic journey into tales of horrible bosses. There are countless books on improving the workplace, but nothing like this. Is your boss a supervillain? Need a superhero to straighten him out? Instead of being written by another stuffy "expert", author Eric Muss-Barnes (who barely squeaked out of high school, let alone finished college), offers a lighthearted slant on leadership from the viewpoint of the common worker. True stories. Real experiences. No "puppydogs and rainbows" like other motivational books. Just genuine events of piss and vinegar from the American middleclass workplace. Eric is just an Average Joe, like yourself, telling it like it is. If your boss sincerely wants to learn how to motivate and inspire the people, it's time the boss stopped listening to other leaders and started listening to what regular people like you have to say. It's time someone whipped off those mild-mannered glasses, and schooled your boss on how to not suck!

Workers everywhere feel the tug-of-war between work and home: Do they go to a child's game or stay late to finish up a spreadsheet? How should they respond when a boss wants to talk about a new project just as they're leaving home to attend a religious service? How do they justify an unexpected, weeklong business trip to a spouse? Managers struggle as well. How much "on time" should they expect from their employees? How can they allocate work properly when many employees serve as irreplaceable caregivers to children and elderly parents? Should organizational needs prevail over family come crunch time? Welcome to the world of work in the twenty-first century, where 24/7 work obligations and always-on electronic tools ensure that work and family conflict on a daily basis. Michele Paludi and Presha Neidermeyer offer solutions by bringing together leading thinkers on the problem of balancing home and family life. Going far beyond commonplace prescriptions, their new approaches and insights for both individuals and organizations offer hope to those caught in the vise of conflicting expectations. Work, Life, and Family Imbalance showcases the most current and innovative practices in solving the work-life crisis. These practices will shed new light on the issues and help individuals find a sane, yet productive, approach to balancing work and life. And they will help organizations promote family-friendly policies that benefit both individuals and the organization. Applying insights from the fields of management, ethics, sociology, and law, the authors go beyond traditional approaches to offer fresh thinking and methods for individuals and organizations, as well as groups with special needs: nontraditional families, academic families, and those with care-giving responsibilities. Along the way, Paludi and Neidermeyer dispel common myths and misconceptions regarding work/life balance, and they offer practical strategies for achieving balance from both the individual's and organization's point of view. Most important, the book concludes with a series of templates for developing workplace policies and training programs that promote employee well being and corporate profitability. In addition, the book covers: *International perspectives on balancing work and family life. *Insightful methods to manage a challenge that is increasing in scope as society ages: elder care. *Innovative practices that link family-friendly policies with both family health and organizational productivity. *How workers can move from juggling work and life to integrating work and life. *What's in it for employers that can help employees integrate home and work life gracefully. Managers and business leaders of all stripes will find Work, Life, and Family Imbalance an invaluable aid in creating policies that keep employees and their families happy while not just maintaining but boosting the bottom line. What's more, they'll learn a few things about maintaining a productive balance in their own lives.

Fixing Everything provides citizens with a blueprint to retake control of the federal government and reassert American leadership in a world gone astray. This integrated solution will limit government spending to a reasonable percentage of GDP; close agencies responsible for 60% of government spending; dramatically simplify taxes; reduce, quantify, and manage entitlement commitments; present a new form of free market healthcare organization; confront pension liabilities; encourage legal immigration, while discouraging illegal immigration; contain legal awards and costs, while encouraging early settlement; reduce crime; and put an end to the "nanny" state. Citizens will assume personal and financial responsibility for their actions and well-being. A new form of safety-net will avoid mal-incentives, while encouraging effort and initiative.

In a previous book, John Merrill and Ralph Lowenstein were the first journalism academics in America to predict, correctly, that newspapers and magazines as we know them would soon disappear, to be replaced by digitized products. Drawing on their long experience in journalism and journalism education, they lay out in this book their observations, suggestions and predictions - not only for the American media, but for the education of future journalists. They believe many media moguls have abused their fiduciary responsibility to maintain the financial strength and credibility of the press. They believe few university presidents understand the important relationship between journalism education and political democracy. They describe the chain of neglect that has led to press insolvency, staff unemployment and J-school misdirection. They believe print journalism will be the strongest form of journalism well into the future - although the "print" will not be on paper. It will be on what the authors call an "s-slate," silicon slate, and they believe that every individual from kindergartner to senior citizen will a personal s-slate in the future to retrieve and read books, magazines and newspapers. Merrill and Lowenstein assert that readers of the s-slate will pay for everything they read. The co-authors observe that journalism education's ties to professional journalism are more problematic than at any time in their mutual history, and that there is an unfortunate lack of self-examination about this tragic disconnect in both academe and the mass media. One remedy they suggest is the addition of a half-year to the undergraduate curriculum in which students immerse themselves in an intensive practicum involving print, radio and television. The reward at the end will be a meaningful "certification," in addition to their bachelor's degree. The co-authors also suggest that faculty should serve the media better and teach university administrators better about the true worth of journalism education to the political system.

I, Spiros, G. Raftis, at age 26, started a manufacturing business because I was fired. I had no business plan, no real product, and more importantly, very little money -I was devastated. I had devoted maximum effort, abilities, and long hours as a salesman for the owners of the company; in fact, I bought shares. I was an owner and was fired. My decision to start my own business was to: PREVENT GETTING RIPPED OFF AGAIN. I was convinced I could do it. OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS AFFORDS THE ONLY OPPORTUNITY OF BEING DIRECTLY REWARDED - THE MAXIMUM RETURN OF ONE'S ABILTIY. I wrote this book to share practical advice with anyone starting a business. This is a no-nonsense book with non-MA-theories. More practical advise than theory. Most of the messages, lessons, and Chapters within are my experiences. I did not anticipate most of these events. I know now going into business one will have to face most of what is written in these pages. For example, I thought after one year in business, getting a loan from a bank would be easy. Instead, I got a lesson from my banker. I still remember his words: "Spiros, if something happens to you, how does the bank get back the money it loaned you for your valve business? The bank does not want to run a valve company." The pages repeat ideas that have been proven to be valuable for anyone seeking success in starting a business. It is a must-read, must-buy book.

Brian Strachan shares powerful lessons learned in over forty years in business. Everyone engaged in business will benefit from the lessons he learned. The recent graduate will learn about the potholes along his career path and painlessly avoid them. The middle manager will learn how to fine-tune her skills to get better results. The seasoned executive will benefit by focusing on cultures required to optimize the business. Learn why it ain't okay to fail and how to avoid failure. Learn how your strengths can hurt you. Learn why every decision you make is correct. Learn how to lead instead of manage. Learn about "Immediate-improvement." Learn about "secret" visions. Learn all of this and much, much more in this "must read" book.

This is a completely revised and up-dated new edition of a best-selling book that really helps people to start, and succeed at, a new business. "Running Your Own Business" begins with a simple checklist to see whether you really should proceed with your business. As many businesses are doomed from the beginning, you may save much money and heartache just by reading the first chapter. The remaining chapters deal with the financial, legal, tax, commercial, practical and human skills you will need to know. It explains why you must register, the legal forms to use, how to fund the business, how to save tax, what skills you need to develop personally, what to do if things go well, or badly, and much else.

We all possess a natural and authentic power that we can access at will once we know how. Activate Your Power is a personal leadership guide to achieving a more fulfilling life through effective decision-making and the power of intention. Building on his many years of experience with the corporate world and his wide exposure to human behaviour, Eitan Sharir has developed a set of innovative tools and techniques for unlocking your full potential and directing your own success. Activate your Power provides real-life examples and simple, practical exercises and tools, to help you refocus your attention, change your perspective and improve your life Readers say: "Whether you read this book in your corporate persona, striving to be both successful and ethical, or whether you read it as an individual, I sincerely believe that Activate Your Power will be a valuable positive catalyst in your life." "I have had the good fortune to have worked with Eitan Sharir and have seen the positive effects of his approach to coaching and leadership. Activate Your Power is an inspiring book that offers practical strategies that enable the reader to re-awaken the power and potential that resides within... a book that will genuinely change your approach to life and business -- for the better." "This book is about helping us understand that each of us has the power to achieve success regardless of our environment... It's about holding ourselves accountable for our own lives, and not blaming someone, or something else for the struggles or failures we experience. Reading this book will help you learn how to improve your life, professionally and personally... The concepts that Eitan talks about have made a major contribution to the mindset of all of our employees and have helped our organization achieve wonderful results. "

This book presents a collection of works written by military researchers on the human performance research being carried out in the military. Human Performance Enhancement in High-Risk Environments: Insights, Developments, and Future Directions from Military Research takes the breakthrough work being done by the military on human performance issues and presents it in a way that is applicable to a wider audience of high-risk professions and industries, including police forces, fire fighters, the security industry, military contracting, and more. Human Performance Enhancement in High-Risk Environments focuses on selection, training, safety, and interface design—essential steps in the process of putting the right people in the right positions with the right equipment to handle dangerous work. The book's 16 chapters are each written by military experts, emphasizing lessons learned from their own experiences and research, while highlighting the relevance of their findings to other domains in which highly trained personnel operate complex machinery with high consequences of error.

The genesis of the sub prime fiasco that resulted in this catastrophic financial melt down began with flawed credit reports. These were the bed rock upon which this house of cards was constructed. But the big question is how could these villains have escaped censure during the media blitz of the past year that blamed anyone remotely responsible? This gold standard of the FICO scores fails even base metal quality. How can these most malignant contributors be over looked and forgotten? Just how have they seemingly totally escaped criticism? Proof of inflation FICO scores is the elephant outside that is evidenced by the millions and millions of existing bad loans complete with documentation. Proof of misdeeds are legend. No conversation will be sufficient to offset these lies accepted as gospel. FICO is a four letter word explains it all.

Conrad's new book, "Beyond Real Estate Licensing: Case Study Analysis of Behavioral Assessment Relationship Applied to Human Performance" is an outgrowth of his doctoral studies. The specific problem this research addresses pertains to whether behavioral readiness has an impact upon real estate brokerage sales performance. Although real estate students may score high on the real estate licensing examinations, it may not prove the student's ability to perform in a real estate brokerage performance sales environment. The most important performance criteria in real estate sales could be conceived as a developed personality capacity and alignment of motivational values. It is also noted that learning sales facilitators can not guarantee the knowledge transfer to performance unless, behavioral readiness is presented. Therefore behavioral assessment analysis can be considered as an integral aide to performance improvement. The purpose of this study was to establish the organizational responsibility towards behavioral assessment analysis during the pre-employment phase. The results of this study indicate that behavioral assessments may improve the overall recruitment and selection capability and to identify the necessary behavioral readiness that is necessary for knowledge transfer into sales performance.

In theory, managers serve as guides, directors, decision makers, and energizers for their employees. Unfortunately, few managers have, themselves, been trained in the skills and techniques to get the best results from their employees, and managerial styles can run the gamut from permissive-but-ineffectual to aloof to autocratic. In The Manager as Coach, the authors focus on the key purposes of coaching—improving individual performance, solving problems, and securing results—in order to address the challenges of effective management head-on. Dispelling popular myths and misconceptions about coaching as a passing fad or a collection of superficial motivation techniques, they offer practical tools for mastering the skills of effective coaching to the benefit of employees and the organization, identifying four primary roles that managers—as coaches—play on a regular basis: trainer, career advisor, strategist, and performance appraiser. Featuring diagnostic exercises, worksheets, and a listing of resources, The Manager as Coach will help readers develop the qualities and skills to align individual and organizational goals and forge dynamic, productive relationships. Whether large or small, manufacturing or service, every organization selects managers and assigns them the task of securing results through people. In theory, managers serve as guides, directors, decision makers, and energizers for their employees. Unfortunately, few managers have, themselves, been trained in the skills and techniques to get the best results from their employees, and managerial styles can run the gamut from permissive-but-ineffectual to aloof to autocratic. This volume in The Manager as… series addresses the challenges of effective management head-on by exploring the role of manager as coach. Focusing on the key purposes of coaching—improving individual performance, solving problems, and securing results—the authors dispel popular myths and misconceptions of management coaching as a passing fad, a process of endless tutoring, or superficial motivation techniques, and offer practical tools for mastering the skills of effective coaching to the benefit of both employees and the organization. They identify four primary roles managers—as coaches—play on a regular basis: trainer, career advisor, strategist, and performance appraiser. Featuring diagnostic exercises, worksheets, and a listing of resources, The Manager as Coach will help readers develop the qualities and skills to align individual and organizational goals and forge dynamic, productive relationships.

Offices are not our natural habitat. Leadership is easier when we understand the nine instincts that still drive human behaviour. With the Industrial Revolution only 250 years ago, we left our hunting, gathering and village societies to work in offices and factories. The behaviour that ensured our ancestors' survival on the savannah plains of Africa over the millennia is alive and well in today's workplaces. The nine instincts explain the reasons, and the solutions, to the challenges that leaders commonly face. Based on the author's wide experience in large organisations combined with witty true stories of chimps from Gombe, Tanzania and Taronga Zoo, Sydney, Hardwired Humans explains the psychology behind the human instincts of social behaviour. As you read this entertaining book, you will learn how the instincts of clan connections, hierarchy, gossip, politics, snap judgments, status displays and sexual competition continue to drive modern office interactions just as they have driven human interaction for millennia. The book shares a practical framework that helps makes sense of human behaviour and allows leaders to manage more effectively. In a note introducing the book, Dr Jane Goodall calls it a 'compelling book'. The Australian Financial Review Boss magazine highly recommends the book as one 'that will captivate anyone who finds the "people stuff" confounding.'

"Getting To Closing" will give you the insider information you need to understand and navigate the residential real estate loan process. This book explains the details of the mortgage process, the loan application and disclosures, and even tells you how to save thousands of dollars on your mortgage once you have it. Cheryl Peck spent ten years as a Mortgage Broker, closing thousands of loans. This book gives you the insider view of how the process works, how the underwriter views your file, and other things you need to know to help you get the best possible real estate mortgage loan. Whether you are a first time home buyer, or have closed several real estate loans, this book will give you valuable information that will help you get your residential real estate loan closed with a minimum of stress. Property types and uses, along with their effects on the loan, are discussed. The book also discusses the sales contract, appraisal, home owners insurance, title work, and what to expect at closing. You will learn the secrets of quoting and locking an interest rate. "Getting To Closing" will give you tips to streamline the process, reduce costs, be better prepared, and get your loan approved and closed. In today's tighter credit markets you need all the information you can get to make the best deal possible on your home or investment property loan. This book gives you that information, which you may not get from your loan officer, so you will never be surprised at closing

Leadership Strategy and Tactics is the essential and practical guide to leadership and how to excel at it from Jocko Willink, the co-author of the number one New York Times bestseller Extreme Ownership.

Leadership is the most challenging of human endeavours. It is often misunderstood. It can bewilder, mystify and frustrate even the most dedicated practitioners. Leaders at all levels are often forced to use theoretical guesswork to make decisions and lead their troops.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

There are principles that can be applied and tenets that can be followed. There are skills that can be learned and manoeuvres that can be practised and executed. There are leadership strategies and tactics that have been tested and proven on the battlefield, in business and in life.

Retired Navy SEAL Officer Jocko Willink delivers his powerful and pragmatic leadership methodology that teaches how to lead any team in any situation to victory. Here, you will learn how to:

• Deal with egos and the problems they cause
• Earn and build trust with both your subordinates and superiors
• Instil pride in your team, without creating arrogance
• Overcome challenges presented by a micromanaging, indecisive or weak boss
• Create a disciplined team that regulates itself
• Use leadership as a tool to teach, mentor, train and correct behaviour of team members
• Operate at a maximum level of efficiency – and reap the rewards

This book is step one towards becoming the commander of your own life. The rest is up to you.

Quality should be treated as a culture of success in the market. Enterprises focused on quality will survive in the long term in this new environment because quality is what may create a real and robust link between a company and its clients, and these clients should always be considered the heart of any business; without them, there is neither option nor sense to continue any activity in a company. The Handbook of Research on Quality Management for Competitive Advantage in Global Markets is an essential reference source that discusses the importance of quality practices and global market practices. With research that allows practitioners to improve their understanding of the strategic role of quality in the information and knowledge society, it focuses on describing a global economy formed by networks, organizations, teams, workgroups, information systems, and finally, actors in networked environments. Featuring research on topics such as consumer satisfaction, human capital, and quality management, the target audience of this book is composed of professionals and researchers working in the field of information and knowledge management in various disciplines including library, information and communication sciences, administrative sciences and management, education, adult education, sociology, computer science, and information technology. Moreover, the book provides insights and supports executives concerned with the management of expertise, knowledge, information, and organizational development in different types of work communities and environments.

This book highlights the planning and design process involved with building a new school foodservice facility. The intended target audience is architects, business managers, kitchen consultants, school foodservice directors, superintendents, school board members, kitchen managers, and interested community stakeholders. As part of the initial planning process, discussion must focus on future direction of the school foodservice program with consideration for factors that influence the design including the intended menu, foodservice production and delivery system, food safety and security, availability of labor, purchasing decisions and information about the customers and potential customers. Design intent and planning the school foodservice facility is discussed in great detail with depiction of nearly fifty actual photographs of receiving areas, kitchens, storage rooms, dining rooms, dishrooms, and serving areas. A chapter is dedicated to decisions regarding equipment purchase and installation, types of bids, and considerations for how to award a bid for foodservice equipment as part of a building project. Ergonomics, engineering, and equipment are discussed in great detail as considerations for designing for employee comfort, labor productivity, and reduction of on-the-job injuries. Foodservice facilities that are designed correctly keep employees and customers safe, and reduce incidence of workers compensation claims. Sustainability and the "green movement" is included in one chapter as a means of considering social responsibility for reducing, reusing, and recycling to reduce carbon footprint. Ideas for sustainability efforts are provided that may entitle the school district to be awarded LEED or Green Seal certifications. A final chapter is devoted to reviewing the project with architects, engineers, contractors, school administrative and foodservice personnel, and community members. A successful and well-operating foodservice facility is best achieved when many come together and agree on a design that works well for everyone in the community.

This is the first book on branding published in East Africa by an East African and takes a wide view of both the local and global brandscape. Through the collection of selected articles, the book which makes for an easy read, also tackles the future of brands and branding.

Intended primarily for undergraduate courses in small business management or entrepreneurship, this text also provides practical content to anyone interested in starting their own business.With a practical, hands on approach to entrepreneurship, this text aims to provide readers with the knowledge and tools they need to launch a business so that it has the greatest chance for success.

This book is about what I call "Fix it or lose it Management." I wrote it to help you do your own turnaround inside your organization, before someone else does it for you - or your organization goes under completely. This book is a compendium of carefully selected good ideas from good books, plus my own experience in nearly 20 years as a management consultant and the 27 years of Military service that preceded it. Like my last book, I wrote it so that you could have straightforward, no-nonsense material, ready to implement. CEOs and other responsible people in leadership positions don't always have time to do their own research. Instead, they throw themselves on the mercy of contractors, who think in terms of yearly contracts. You can do the job better.