ExpressExec is a unique business resource of one hundred books. These books present the best current thinking and span the entire range of contemporary business practice. Each book gives you the key concepts behind the subject and the techniques to implement the ideas effectively, together with lessons from benchmark companies and ideas from the world's smartest thinkers.

ExpressExec is organised into ten core subject areas making it easy to find the information you need:

01 Innovation
02 Enterprise
03 Strategy
04 Marketing
05 Finance
06 Operations and Technology
07 Organizations
08 Leading
09 People
10 Life and Work

ExpressExec is a perfect learning solution for people who need to master the latest business thinking and practice quickly.

This book enhances the reader's understanding of the nature and presence of risk by raising the organisation's awareness of the risks it faces, and formalising the systems needed to deal with and learn from those risks.While based on the experience of the construction industry, the book also acts as a broader project management text, meeting the needs of project managers and students in many disciplines and professions from architecture and construction through engineering and commerce to IT, finance and banking. Essential for anyone studying or involved in organisational decision-making for projects, this book will help readers to develop confidence in dealing with risk in a systmatic manner.

Why are there so many gaps between what firms know they should do and what they actually do? Why do so many companies fail to implement the experience and insight they've worked so hard to acquire? The Knowing-Doing Gap is the first book to confront the challenge of turning knowledge about how to improve performance into actions that produce measurable results. Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton, well-known authors and teachers, identify the causes of the knowing-doing gap and explain how to close it. The message is clear--firms that turn knowledge into action avoid the "smart talk trap." Executives must use plans, analysis, meetings, and presentations to inspire deeds, not as substitutes for action. Companies that act on their knowledge also eliminate fear, abolish destructive internal competition, measure what matters, and promote leaders who understand the work people do in their firms. The authors use examples from dozens of firms that show how some overcome the knowing-doing gap, why others try but fail, and how still others avoid the gap in the first place. The Knowing-Doing Gap is sure to resonate with executives everywhere who struggle daily to make their firms both know and do what they know. It is a refreshingly candid, useful, and realistic guide for improving performance in today's business.

Organizations turn to multistakeholder partnerships (MSPs) to meet challenges that they cannot handle alone. By tapping the resources of diverse stakeholders, MSPs develop the capability to address complex issues and problems, such as health care delivery, poverty, human rights, watershed management, education, sustainability, and innovation. This book provides a comprehensive understanding of MSPs, why they are needed, the challenges partners face in working together and how to design them effectively. Through the process of collaboration partners combine their differing strengths, vantage points and expertise to craft innovative responses to pressing societal concerns. The book offers valuable advice for leaders about how to design and scale up effective partnerships and how to address potential obstacles that partners may face. Drawing on three comprehensive cases and countless shorter examples from around the world, the book offers both practical advice for organization embarking on an MSP as well as a theoretical understanding of how partnerships function. Using an institutional theory lens, it explains how partnerships can effect change in institutional fields by reducing turbulence and negotiating a common set of norms and routines to govern partners' future interactions within the field of concern.

Rooted in the study of chaos and complexity, Adaptive Action introduces a simple, common sense process that will guide you and your organization into reflective action. This elegant method prompts readers to engage with three deceptively simple questions: What? So what? Now what? The first leads to careful observation. The second invites you to thoughtfully consider options and implications. The third ignites effective action. Together, these questions and the tools that support them produce a dynamic and creative dance with uncertainty. The road-tested steps of adaptive action can be used to devise solutions and improve performance across multiple challenges, and they have proven to be scalable from individuals to work groups, from organizations to communities. In addition to laying out the adaptive action framework and clear protocols to support it, Glenda H. Eoyang and Royce J. Holladay introduce best practices from exemplary professionals who have used adaptive action to meet personal, professional, and political challenges in leadership, consulting, Alzheimer's treatment, evaluation, education reform, political advocacy, and cultural engagement-readying readers to employ this new toolkit to meet their own goals with a sense of ingenuity and flexibility.

You're intelligent, right? So you've already figured out that Business Intelligence can be pretty valuable in making the right decisions about your business. But you've heard at least a dozen definitions of what it is, and heard of at least that many BI tools. Where do you start?

"Business Intelligence For Dummies" makes BI understandable It takes you step by step through the technologies and the alphabet soup, so you can choose the right technology and implement a successful BI environment. You'll see how the applications and technologies work together to access, analyze, and present data that you can use to make better decisions about your products, customers, competitors, and more.

You'll find out how to: Understand the principles and practical elements of BIDetermine what your business needsCompare different approaches to BIBuild a solid BI architecture and roadmapDesign, develop, and deploy your BI planRelate BI to data warehousing, ERP, CRM, and e-commerceAnalyze emerging trends and developing BI tools to see what else may be useful

Whether you're the business owner or the person charged with developing and implementing a BI strategy, checking out "Business Intelligence For Dummies" is a good business decision.

A strong business model is the bedrock to business success. But all too often we fail to adapt, clinging to outdated business models that are no longer promising the results we need. This new edition builds on the well-known methodology of the first edition to allow you to innovate, test and implement new business models within your industry. Discover the idea of business model innovation, from structuring the process of innovation of a company's business model to encouraging outside-the-box thinking. With expert authors, The Business Model Navigator combines learning research with evidence of high practical impact, allowing you to master the transformation journey and lead your business to success.

'Knowledge Management Foundations' is just what it claims, the first attempt to provide a secure intellectual footing for the myriad of practices called "knowledge management." A breath of fresh air from the usual KM gurus, Fuller openly admits that the advent of KM is a mixed blessing that often amounts to the conduct of traditional management by subtler means. However, Fuller's deep understanding of both the history of management theory and knowledge production more generally enables him to separate the wheat from the chaff of the KM literature.
This ground-breaking book will prove of interest to both academics and practitioners of knowledge management. It highlights the ways in which KM has challenged the values associated with knowledge that academics have taken for granted for centuries. At the same time, Fuller resists the conclusion of many KM gurus, that the value of knowledge lies in whatever the market will bear in the short term. He pays special attention to how information technology has not only facilitated knowledge work but also has radically altered its nature. There are chapters devoted to the revolution in intellectual property and an evaluation of peer review as a quality control mechanism. The book culminates in a positive re-evaluation of universities as knowledge producing institutions from which the corporate sector still has much to learn.
A KMCI Press book - a definitive title from the leading, standard-setting KM organizationOnly book to describe fundamental KM concepts and theoriesApproach roots theory in current state of the procession/discipline

Why are group decisions so hard? Since the beginning of human history, people have made decisions in groups--first in families and villages, and now as part of companies, governments, school boards, religious organizations, or any one of countless other groups. And having more than one person to help decide is good because the group benefits from the collective knowledge of all of its members, and this results in better decisions. Right? Back to reality. We've all been involved in group decisions--and they're hard. And they often turn out badly. Why? Many blame bad decisions on "groupthink" without a clear idea of what that term really means. Now, Nudge coauthor Cass Sunstein and leading decision-making scholar Reid Hastie shed light on the specifics of why and how group decisions go wrong--and offer tactics and lessons to help leaders avoid the pitfalls and reach better outcomes. In the first part of the book, they explain in clear and fascinating detail the distinct problems groups run into: * They often amplify, rather than correct, individual errors in judgment * They fall victim to cascade effects, as members follow what others say or do * They become polarized, adopting more extreme positions than the ones they began with * They emphasize what everybody knows instead of focusing on critical information that only a few people know In the second part of the book, the authors turn to straightforward methods and advice for making groups smarter. These approaches include silencing the leader so that the views of other group members can surface, rethinking rewards and incentives to encourage people to reveal their own knowledge, thoughtfully assigning roles that are aligned with people's unique strengths, and more. With examples from a broad range of organizations--from Google to the CIA--and written in an engaging and witty style, Wiser will not only enlighten you; it will help your team and your organization make better decisions--decisions that lead to greater success.

Creativity, the generation of novel and useful ideas, and innovation, the transformation of these ideas into new products, processes, and services, are both critical for the long-term viability, profitability, and growth of organizations. Moreover, the complex, risky, and uncertain nature of innovative efforts demonstrates the importance of organizational leaders to effectively manage the innovative process. In this element, we discuss the role of leaders in effectively facilitating the creative problem-solving process that gives rise to innovative products, processes, and services. More specifically, we highlight the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to effectively lead across three integrated facets of this process-leading the people, leading the work, and leading the firm. This discussion promotes an understanding of how leaders manage those asked to engage in innovative efforts and, moreover, how leaders systematically integrate creative ideas within the organization to ensure the development and success of innovative products, processes, or services.

Handling a crisis and knowing how to manage the potential reputational damage that can occur has become a top priority for all businesses. Learn from international brands like Nestle, Unilever, McDonalds, Cadbury, RBS and more, to discover the value of reputation management and how to effectively and proactively approach the Corporate Social Responsibility of your business. Whether it is an internal or external crisis, now more than ever brands and organizations are having to understand and respond rapidly to shifting public values, rising expectations, demands for public consultation and increasingly intrusive news media. Crisis, Issues and Reputation Management defines and explores the value of reputation, providing practical guidelines for effective reputation management that will resolve issues with minimum damage and disruption to the business. Showcasing a variety of crises through a range of case studies from international brands including Nestle, Unilever, General Electric, McDonald's, Coca-cola, Cadbury, Tesco, Pan Am, RBS and more, this definitive handbook provides a new and broader perspective on the topic for new and seasoned practitioners alike. Practical and accessible, it outlines a comprehensive approach to managing situations that may turn into crises - and handling crises once they occur.

This book brings together research in humanitarian operations, behavioral operations and dynamic simulation. Part I outlines the main characteristics and strategic challenges of humanitarian organizations in preparedness, knowledge management, climate change and issues related to refugees and social inclusion. Part II gives an introduction to behavioral operations and experiments in single- and multi-agent settings, followed by discussions on quantal theory, framing effect and possible applications in the humanitarian sector. Part III introduces system dynamics and agent-based modeling and discusses how these techniques can be used to study dynamics and decision-making in humanitarian operations. This book is unique in providing a holistic view of the decision-making process and challenges in the humanitarian sector.

"Artful scenario spinning is a form of convergent thinking about divergent futures. It ensures that you are not always right about the future but--better--that you are almost never wrong about the future. The technology is powerful, simple, and enjoyable, and so is Schwartza s book." --Stewart Brand What increasingly affects all of us, whether professional planners or individuals preparing for a better future, is not the tangibles of life--bottom--line numbers, for instance--but the intangibles: our hopes and fears, our beliefs and dreams. Only stories--scenarios--and our ability to visualize different kinds of futures adequately capture these intangibles. In The Art of the Long View, now for the first time in paperback and with the addition of an all--new Usera s Guide, Peter Schwartz outlines the "scenaric" approach, giving you the tools for developing a strategic vision within your business. Schwartz describes the new techniques, originally developed within Royal/Dutch Shell, based on many of his firsthand scenario exercises with the worlda s leading institutions and companies, including the White House, EPA, BellSouth, PG&E, and the International Stock Exchange.

From three partners at Google Ventures, a unique five-day process for solving tough problems, proven at more than a hundred companies.

Entrepreneurs and leaders face big questions every day: What’s the most important place to focus your effort, and how do you start? What will your idea look like in real life? How many meetings and discussions does it take before you can be sure you have the right solution?

Now there’s a surefire way to answer these important questions: the sprint. Designer Jake Knapp created the five-day process at Google, where sprints were used on everything from Google Search to Google X. He joined Braden Kowitz and John Zeratsky at Google Ventures, and together they have completed more than a hundred sprints with companies in mobile, e-commerce, healthcare, finance, and more.

A practical guide to answering critical business questions, Sprint is a book for teams of any size, from small startups to Fortune 100s, from teachers to nonprofits. It’s for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea who needs to get answers today.

Add value with every decision using a simple yet powerful framework Few things are as valuable in business, and in life, as the ability to make good decisions. Can you imagine how much more rewarding your life and your business would be if every decision you made were the best it could be? Decision Quality empowers you to make the best possible choice and get more of what you truly want from every decision. Dr. Carl Spetzler is a leader in the field of decision science and has worked with organizations across industries to improve their decision-making capabilities. He and his co-authors, all experienced consultants and educators in this field, show you how to frame a problem or opportunity, create a set of attractive alternatives, identify relevant uncertain information, clarify the values that are important in the decision, apply tools of analysis, and develop buy-in among stakeholders. Their straightforward approach is elegantly simple, yet practical and powerful. It can be applied to all types of decisions. Our business and our personal lives are marked by a stream of decisions. Some are small. Some are large. Some are life-altering or strategic. How well we make those decisions truly matters. This book gives you a framework and thinking tools that will help you to improve the odds of getting more of what you value from every choice. You will learn: * The six requirements for decision quality, and how to apply them * The difference between a good decision and a good outcome * Why a decision can only be as good as the best of the available alternatives * Methods for making both "significant" and strategic decisions * The mental traps that undermine decision quality and how to avoid them * How to deal with uncertainty a factor in every important choice * How to judge the quality of a decision at the time you're making it * How organizations have benefited from building quality into their decisions. Many people are satisfied with 'good enough' when making important decisions. This book provides a method that will take you and your co-workers beyond 'good enough' to true Decision Quality.

We say that someone has charisma when they can attract, inspire and influence people through their personal qualities. We think that this is a special power some fortunate individuals have that makes them able to affect and influence others at a deep emotional level, to communicate effectively with them and make interpersonal connections. But very few of us really understand what charisma really is. It is not widely-applauded magnetism or shallow charm. Rather it's the deep-rooted powerful charisma that helps people deliver incredible results. This charisma is a learnable skill. It's the result of developing specific behaviours, which are proven to improve not only not only how people feel about you, but which will help others change their own behaviours and achieve success.

The Charismatic Leader will show you how to be a powerful influencer with your peers, your colleagues and your customers. You'll learn why charisma is a vital asset in any organization, understand its essential components, find out how to grow your charismatic presence and discover why you need the companion skills of coaching, problem-solving and empathy. Using charisma effectively helps everyone perform at a high level. This book will show you how.

One thing in life is certain: change is constant. Thanks to the rapid pace of technological innovation in the digital age-and further accelerated by the global COVID-19 pandemic-massive structural change is happening more frequently and on a greater scale than ever before. Faced with unprecedented complexity and uncertainty, most business leaders struggle to see the way forward. Yet company organization, systems, and management are still largely based on what was most effective in the Industrial Age. Disruption Proof offers a new approach that addresses our current needs. Through powerful case studies of Moves the Needle's notable corporate clients like Intuit, General Mills, Proctor & Gamble, and more, Cooper demonstrates how, with the right tools, anyone can weather turmoil and protect future profits. Disruption Proof provides readers with detailed instructions on for progressing through four stages of implementation in order to embrace a new way of working company-wide, including how to: * develop an understanding of customers and colleagues that lead to insights (empathy) * run tests to challenge assumptions (exploration) * leverage data and insights to breakthrough biases (evidence) * balance operational execution with learning (equilibrium) * manage behavior to match corporate values (ethics) By adopting these "5E"s, all employees can ensure their company's ability to navigate moments of crisis and find transformative opportunities. Cooper explains how innovation at every level is the key to organic and sustainable growth, and guides leaders to create lasting value in the world. With Cooper's action-oriented advice and tools, anyone can help steer their company toward durable success.

Passion Purpose Profit helps leaders follow their calling without missing their child's soccer games. Leaders can see the knowledge, curiosity, and imagination that goes into successfully coaching executives. They can navigate the executive boardroom and coach with confidence. But how does a leader inspire joy while also being fully present in their children's lives? How does a leader-and a mom-build confidence in her clients and family? In Passion Purpose Profit, Donna Karaba gives leaders the keys to transforming lives and helping others fulfill their potential by modeling an integrated life. She uses her time-tested business blueprint, The Authentic Leadership Business Model (TM), to teach the principles that allow leaders to grow relationships in the workplace and in the home. Leaders discover how to coach executives to self-actualization, manage client relationships, and create real value, among other things. Passion Purpose Profit is the roadmap for anyone who wants to bring in a high net income without sacrificing their family.

How do managers and leaders know what to do when they are caught off guard or taken by surprise? How do they create when they do not know what to do next? These are challenges of an organizational world of existential uncertainty; one where the future does not conform to but challenges our expectations and assumptions. Steven Segal demonstrates that creating in a world of existential uncertainty requires a new understanding of the relationship between management inquiry and the lived experience of organizing. Using existential philosophy he demonstrates how moods of concern serve as a framework to integrate management theory and practice, thereby providing a framework for managers, management educators, and consultants to share a common framework. In a globalized free market characterized by unexpected disruptions management inquiry is not a science conducted from an objective distance. The book advocates an existentially reflexive and participant observer perspective to management inquiry. By participating in managing, a felt sense of being a manager develops. Through existential observation new ways of organizing are made possible. It is inquiry from within rather than from an objective distance. Such inquiry opens new doors and opportunities. Existential hermeneutic phenomenology and the free market phenomenon of creative destruction are linked to each other. The former provides a framework to work through the breakdown in conventions of organizing that occur in creative destruction.

Building on lecture notes from his acclaimed course at Stanford University, James March provides a brilliant introduction to decision making, a central human activity fundamental to individual, group, organizational, and societal life. March draws on research from all the disciplines of social and behavioral science to show decision making in its broadest context. By emphasizing how decisions are actually made -- as opposed to how they should be made -- he enables those involved in the process to understand it both as observers and as participants. March sheds new light on the decision-making process by delineating four deep issues that persistently divide students of decision making: Are decisions based on rational choices involving preferences and expected consequences, or on rules that are appropriate to the identity of the decision maker and the situation? Is decision making a consistent, clear process or one characterized by ambiguity and inconsistency? Is decision making significant primarily for its outcomes, or for the individual and social meanings it creates and sustains? And finally, are the outcomes of decision processes attributable solely to the actions of individuals, or to the combined influence of interacting individuals, organizations, and societies? March's observations on how intelligence is -- or is not -- achieved through decision making, and possibilities for enhancing decision intelligence, are also provided. March explains key concepts of vital importance to students of decision making and decision makers, such as limited rationality, history-dependent rules, and ambiguity, and weaves these ideas into a full depiction of decision making. He includes a discussion of the modern aspects of several classic issues underlying these concepts, such as the relation between reason and ignorance, intentionality and fate, and meaning and interpretation. This valuable textbook by one of the seminal figures in the history of organizational decision making will be required reading for a new generation of scholars, managers, and other decision makers.

It is widely accepted that a large proportion of acquisition strategies fail to deliver the expected value. Globalizing markets characterized by growing uncertainty, together with the advent of new competitors, are further complicating the task of valuing acquisitions. Too often, managers rely on flawed valuation models or their intuition and experience when making risky investment decisions, exposing their companies to potentially costly pitfalls. "Playing at Acquisitions" provides managers with a powerful methodology for designing and executing successful acquisition strategies. The book tackles the myriad executive biases that infect decision making at every stage of the acquisition process, and the inadequacy of current valuation approaches to help mitigate these biases and more realistically represent value in uncertain environments.

Bringing together the latest advances in behavioral finance, real option valuation, and game theory, this unique playbook explains how to express acquisition strategies as sets of real options, explicitly introducing uncertainty and future optionality into acquisition strategy design. It shows how to incorporate the competitive dynamics that exist in different acquisition contexts; acknowledge and even embrace uncertainty; identify the value of the real options embedded in targets; and more.

Rooted in economic theory and featuring numerous real-world case studies, "Playing at Acquisitions" will enhance the ability of CEOs and their teams to derive value from their acquisition strategies, and is also an ideal resource for researchers and MBAs.