Project teams are the rule, rather than the exception, in today's organizations. But, thanks to the pressure of performance goals, conflicting agendas, and political jockeying, few teams make consistently superior decisions. In "Moving Out of the Box: Tools for Team Decision Making" author Jana M. Kemp, an authority on team decision making, saves the day by offering tested methods and tools that teams and leaders can use to ratchet up their performance level.
The book argues that making good decisions involves expansive group conversation that leads to sound conclusions and swift execution. This sounds simple, but in many organizations, making a decision and seeing it through can become an exercise in frustration for managers and employees alike. At one end of the spectrum are "command-and-control" decisions, proclaimed from on-high and implemented through the ranks without input or buy-in from those affected by the decision. This approach can lead to resentment and backlash. At the other end are purely collaborative, consensus-driven decisions that often lead to inoffensive, weak choices and sub-par results.
"Moving Out of the Box" shows that there is a time for consensus, a time for command-and-control, and a time to integrate both approaches. Providing examples of successes and failures, the text identifies five decision-making profiles--antisurvival, boxed-in, neutral, engaged enthusiasm, extreme excitement--to help you position yourself in relation to your teammates, facilitate discussion, and steer your group toward the most effective end point. The text includes scenarios, exercises, quizzes, sample questions, and other conversation starters. And, the book ends with a blueprint for putting decisions into action.

The list of challenges facing society is endless. Numerous financial and social problems affect the world and individual countries. And they also affect states, counties, cities, and even school districts and neighborhood policy councils. It's time for fresh thinking and new ideas in the public arena; it's time for more civic-minded people to get involved by running for--and winning--elected office. Run for Elected Office--and Win shows you how. It is designed to help readers make a positive impact on the world and in the communities in which they live. It starts with how to make a decision to run for a particular office and ends with how to proceed with a successful political career--and it covers everything else in between. This book helps readers: * Learn the ins and outs of winning an election--from an author who's done it * Understand how to plan and schedule a political campaign * Employ the power of social media in gaining name recognition * Learn how much money it takes to run a campaign and what it really takes to win What you'll learn * Which office best suits your talents and interests * Where and how to file * How to plan and run your campaign, and how to raise money * How to market yourself through traditional and Web-based social media * How to build a staff and recruit a team of volunteers * How to hone your message and manage the issues * What to do when you win * How to recover and forge ahead if you lose Who this book is for The book is a must-read for anyone serious about running for office. In any given election, there are 60,000 to 90,000 positions open in the United States. The number may be even higher if one accounts for school board elections, special political districts and boards, etc. This book is also for anyone angry about the current state of the political landscape and looking for ways to take charge.Table of Contents * Run for It: Why the Future Depends on You * Pinpoint Your Passion * Pick the Position * Decide to Party or Be Non-Partisan * File to Run * Run: Draw Up Campaign Plans * Run: Hone Your Message * Run: Raise Money * Run: Create Campaign Literature * Run: Employ Traditional Campaign Media * Run: Employ Social Media * Run: Work Face to Face * Win * Lose * To Run Again--or Not

In the wake of 9/11, many Americans feel their individual safety is threatened by forces they cannot control. Some take drastic measures and move from metropolitan areas thought to be targets, while most stay put and try to find ways to protect themselves in their homes, their workplaces, and their communities. Still, a sense of vulnerability or uncertainty can undermine feelings of safety and security. Today's dangerous world calls for daily personal power that overcomes paranoia and puts people back in control of their lives and their sense of safety. Drawing on 34 years of law enforcement work and training, co-authors Doug Graves and Jana Kemp present useful information and practical guidelines for keeping yourself, family members, and co-workers as safe as possible every day. Prepared-Not Paranoid presents methods for recognizing challenges or threats, innovative ways of thinking about safety, checklists with actions to take in various settings, and items to have handy when traveling to the local convenience store or around the world. This book serves as a guide for safe daily living, not as a self-defense manual. The authors raise awareness and offer important information so people feel more confident moving through daily life as safely as possible.

Project teams are the rule rather than the exception in today's organizations. But thanks to the pressure of performance goals, conflicting agendas, and political jockeying, few teams make superior decisions consistently. Instead, team members communicate poorly or not at all, avoid provocative discussion, occasionally stab each other in the back, or in many other ways forget that their job is to make decisions that lead the company forward. Jana Kemp, an authority on team decision making, saves the day by offering tested methods and tools team members and their leaders can use to ratchet up the performance level. That not only makes team projects more successful--it makes work fun. Kemp argues that the way to make good decisions is to have an expansive group conversation that leads to sound decisions and swift execution. Sounds simple, but in most organizations, making a decision and seeing it through can become an exercise in frustration for managers and employees alike. At one end of the spectrum are "command-and-control" decisions, proclaimed from on-high and implemented through the ranks. Without input or buy-in from those affected by the decision, this approach can lead to resentment and backlash. At the other end are purely collaborative, consensus decisions that often lead to inoffensive, weak choices and sub-par results. As Jana Kemp shows in Moving Out of the Box, there's a time for consensus, and a time for command and control--and a time to integrate both approaches. Her practical tools, honed through application in groups of all types and sizes, ensure that team members have the know-how to make effective decisions that have an impact on an organization's results. Providingexamples of successes and failures, as well as interactive and diagnostic exercises, she identifies five decision-making profiles, and shows how to steer your group into the most effective one. The five profiles: *Anti-survival. The naysayers have control. Surprisingly, sometimes they should be listened to. *Boxed-in. When no one can come up with fresh ideas, it's time to think out of the box. *Neutral. Nobody terribly excited or negative? Don't worry, sometimes this isn't a bad place to be to make a good decision. *Engaged enthusiasm. If you can get the team into this attitude, chances are that a good decision will result and follow-through will occur. *Extreme excitement. Most teams leaders think this is where the team needs to be to make a good decision. It's nice, but not required. Each profile or group dynamic is well defined and includes scenarios, exercises, quizzes, sample questions, and other conversation starters. The book ends with a blueprint for putting decisions into action. All in all, this handbook will help improve group and individual communication, problem solving, decision making, and execution, regardless of the task at hand.