The Fourth Dimension

The Next Level of Personal and Organizational Achievement

As the latest wave of corporate downsizing, streamlining, and reengineering initiatives continues to mount in intensity, the traditional employer-employee relationship is experiencing a massive shakeup, and a new work paradigm is struggling to be born. At the same time that employers are finding that they can no longer offer the traditional carrots of job security and lavish compensation packages, they are coming to recognize the need to forge closer partnerships with their employees—partnerships defined by shared risks, responsibilities, and rewards. But a paradigm shift of this magnitude cannot occur without considerable effort on the parts of both employers and employees. Such a successful fusion of personal and organizational visions requires a radical change in attitudes, expectations, and work patterns, and those who are quickest to make those changes are sure to be the big winners in the years ahead.

The Fourth Dimension provides a comprehensive program for managers challenged to do more with less and individuals seeking to improve the quality of their worklives. It offers proven techniques to help you excel in the three primary work dimensions outlined in the authors' acclaimed MetaWork System^TM:

• PowerWork^TM: efficiency, effectiveness, and the achievement of the right results
• NetWork^TM: sharing competence and knowledge with others and developing more dynamic working relationships
• ValueWork^TM: achieving more frequent breakthroughs in performance and value added based on individual and group ideas

You'll learn how to integrate these three primary dimensions into an incredibly potent Fourth Dimension, a newly defined workspace within which individuals, teams, and entire companies continually exceed their best hopes and expectations.

Throughout The Fourth Dimension, the authors provide vivid real-life illustrations of the astonishing results that have been achieved with the techniques they describe. Personal profiles of leaders such as Rebecca Matthias of Mothers Work and Steve Wiggins of Oxford Health Plans, as well as case studies of top companies, including Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, and Microsoft, lead you to a fuller understanding of the revolutionary changes now reshaping the work world and how many of today's business leaders have learned to use fourth dimensional thinking to gain the competitive edge.

Offering a complete program for achieving higher levels of performance by combining personal and organizational vision, The Fourth Dimension is must reading for executives, managers, team leaders, entrepreneurs, and virtually anyone interested in achieving a more fulfilling and meaningful destiny in the postindustrial work world.

Praise for an innovator’s tale

"An Innovator’s Tale weaves a suspenseful story while communicating the nine I’s of Innovation that all organizations need to achieve creative breakthroughs in today’s world. You won’t be able to put this down until you’ve finished it!" —Ken Blanchard, Coauthor of The One Minute Manager®

"What a great combination–– an absorbing and thoroughly entertaining story, combined with a thought-provoking approach to stimulate and drive innovation in an organization. I read it in one sitting, and began applying the innovative principles immediately within our company." —Mark Hoffman, President & CEO, North America, Corporate Express, A Buhrmann Company

"A fun and engaging way to explore concepts of strategy and innovation...an easy yet thorough summary of different approaches to breaking out of old patterns of thinking in organizations. Hickman has found a way to make these concepts easily accessible to a broad audience." —Paul McKinnon, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Dell Computer Corporation

"At last, a business book you can take to the beach...and a suspense thriller you can feel good about your employees reading at work. The leadership lessons on how to create a context for people to achieve accelerated solutions and extraordinary results are provocative and powerful." —Joseph A. Cannon, Chairman of the Board, Geneva Steel

"The perfect primer for your next strategy retreat or innovation forum...a great read!" —Fiona C. Laird, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Unilever Bestfoods North America

"The Strategy Game". It's the most fun-filled way imaginable to hone your skills as a business strategist and decision maker.

"The Strategy Game". It puts YOU at the helm of troubled MedTech, and challenges you, chapter by chapter, to hammer out tough choices that lead either to great success or abject failure.

"The Strategy Game". It provides consequences for every decision you make. And each consequence will necessitate further action and more difficult choices!

"The Strategy Game". A game you can play again and again to explore the outcome of different strategic choices. There's never been a business book quite like it!

New York Times bestselling author Craig Hickman continues the story that began in The Insiders, his 2009 heart-pounding thriller that kept over 100,000 readers on the edge of their seats. Concealed Measures, his latest book, picks up the story of Wilson and Emily Fielder and their deadly fight to destroy The Governors, a global shadow government of financial manipulators. An elaborate, inscrutable financial conspiracy has been perpetrated against an unsuspecting public around the world for over a century. Seven leaders, five men and two women who represent the world's wealthiest families, are the current financial puppet masters. They call themselves The Governors and they have one goal, and one goal only: Keep control of the world's financial institutions and protect the money interests of the super-rich. Their reach is unlimited. Their tactics: Manipulate global financial markets, gain power and influence wherever they can, put their army of followers in "sleeper cells," ready to be activated at a moment's notice, and destroy anyone who gets in their way. No one can stop them. Except Wilson Fielder, a wealthy man in his own right, and his brilliant wife, Emily. Willing to put their lives on the line, if necessary, Wilson and Emily see no other option except to take on The Governors personally and they vow to destroy the deadly cabal's stranglehold on the world's wealth. They devise an intricate plan to destroy The Governors that, if successful, will re-set the world's financial markets and open the gates to wealth creation for millions of people around the world. If they fail, their lives and the lives of everyone around them will be lost. A nail-biting conspiracy thriller that will leave readers on the edge of their seats as each side's plans begin to unfold and the twists and turns lead from one unexpected result to another. Just when you think you know how it will play out, another layer is unveiled which changes the dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, again and again. Wilson and Emily risk their lives to destroy the world's most menacing secret society ever revealed, but who will pay the real price if they fail? Sometimes, the truth can only be told through fiction...

Thrill, suspense, conspiracy, mystery, corporate corruption, and more clash in this new brand of thriller by New York Times bestselling author Craig Hickman. Untainted by political, journalistic, or legal manipulation and uncorrupted by fear or threat of retribution, The Insiders enthralls you with an alarming tale of how corrupt CEOs, secret societies, corporate deceit, domestic espionage, murder for hire, and cunning manipulation are destroying the American dream, influencing our daily lives, and reshaping global society. Wilson's father, Charles Fielder, one of the richest men in the world, has just murdered two women and tried to kill himself. Or did he? Lying in a coma, Charles cannot help his only son understand the mysteries of his life nor his role in founding an exclusive club of the world's most powerful CEOs--the ultimate insiders club with unparalleled perks. Wilson must face this cutthroat world of concealed machinations, corporate espionage, international finance, and economic conspiracy on his own--in order to uncover his father's real agenda, expose the secret society of insiders, and fight to change the face of capitalism. That is, if he can stay alive. Take a plunge into this dangerous and deceitful world of the rich, the famous, and the powerful. Witness the unholy alliances between business and government and the real forces behind our recent financial crisis. The Insiders is a heart-pounding tale full of twists and turns and eye-opening revelations that will make your adrenaline rush last until the very end. Sometimes, the truth can only be told through fiction...