Generate Better, Faster Results-- Using Less Capital and Fewer Resources

" "The High-Velocity Edge"] contains ideas that form the basis for structured continuous learning and improvement in every aspect of our lives. While this book is tailored to business leaders, it should be read by high school seniors, college students, and those already in the workforce. With the broad societal application of these ideas, we can achieve levels of accomplishment not even imagined by most people."
The Honorable Paul H. O'Neill, former CEO and Chairman, Alcoa, and Former Secretary of the Treasury

"Some firms outperform competitors in many ways at once--cost, speed, innovation, service. How? Steve Spear opened my eyes to the secret of systemizing innovation: taking it from the occasional, unpredictable 'stroke of genius' to something you and your people do month-in, month-out to outdistance rivals."
Scott D. Cook, founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit, Inc.

"Steven Spear connects a deep study of systems with practical management insights and does it better than any organizational scholar I know. This] is a profoundly important book that will challenge and inspire executives in all industries to think more clearly about the technical and social foundations of organizational excellence."
Donald M. Berwick, M.D., M.P.P., President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

About the Book

How can some companies perform so well that their industry counterparts are competitors in name only? Although they operate in the same industry, serve the same market, and even use the same suppliers, these extraordinary, high-velocity organizations consistently outperform all the competition--and, more importantly, continually widen their leads.

In "The High-Velocity Edge," the reissued edition of five-time Shingo Prize winner Steven J. Spear's critically acclaimed book "Chasing the Rabbit," Spear describes what sets market-dominating companies apart and provides a detailed framework you can leverage to surge to the lead in your own industry. Spear examines the internal operations of dominant organizations across a wide spectrum of industries, from technology to design and from manufacturing to health care.

While he investigates several great operational triumphs, like top-tier teaching hospitals' fantastic improvements in quality of care, Pratt & Whitney's competitive gains in jet engine design, and the U.S. Navy's breakthroughs in inventing and applying nuclear propulsion, "The High-Velocity Edge" is not just about the adoration of success. It also takes a critical look at some of the operational missteps that have humbled even the most reputable and respected of companies and organizations. The decades-long prominence of Toyota, for example, is contrasted with the many factors leading to the automaker's sweeping 2010 product recalls. Taken together, these multiple perspectives and in-depth case studies show how to: Build a system of "dynamic discovery" designed to reveal operational problems and weaknesses as they arise Attack and solve problems when and where they occur, converting weaknesses into strengths Disseminate knowledge gained from solving local problems throughout the company as a whole Create managers invested in developing everyone's capacity to continually innovate and improve

Whatever kind of company you operate-- from technology to fi nance to healthcare-- mastery of these four key capabilities will put you on the fast track to operational excellence, where you will generate faster, better results--using less capital and fewer resources.

Apply the lessons of Steven J. Spear and gain a high-velocity edge over every competitor in your industry.

Fashion writing now enjoys its highest-ever profile as the digital world has multiplied the number of platforms on which it is available. No longer confined to restrictive print schedules or occasional broadcast slots, fashion is now an ever-present content driver. With retailers, brands and designers all in on the act, plus the emergence of citizen fashion coverage from the social media community, the volume of fashion journalism has risen beyond any predictions. While bloggers monetise their musings - indeed, create successful and influential fashion media and fashion product businesses - traditional magazines and newspapers have expanded their multi-channel fashion content in order to secure more touch points with consumers and drive revenue from fashion advertising. Aimed at students on specialist fashion journalism courses or general/lifestyle journalism degrees, this guide will also appeal to untrained writers, including content creators, who want to add a professional approach to their fashion writing.

In this series of deft and beautifully written essays, conservationist Stephen Spear and journalist Janice Riley chronicle a year of cultivating blueberries on Cape Cod's Hokum Rock Farm. Spear's family has owned the farm since 1973 and began cultivating blueberries exclusively in 1986, selling thousands of pints each season. The photographs and stories, a blend of nature writing, personal reflection, and practical knowledge, inspire thoughts on the reasons farming is important and the ways we find meaning in the natural world. Learn about the history of blueberry cultivation, the biodiverse flora and fauna on the farm, and facts about blueberries. Also try out the mouth-watering recipes such as lemon pound Bundt cake with blueberries, easy graham crust blueberry pie, and blueberry-cranberry cobbler. Fans of stories about the natural world, farming, or simply Cape Cod, will appreciate this celebration of blueberries and a life lived close to the earth.

The three volumes of the "The Collected Scientific Works of David Cass" are ordered chronologically, which happens to coincide with the development of the three major advances in Cass' research agenda, the development of the neoclassical growth model, the discovery of sunspot equilibria, and the analysis of models of market incompleteness. This volume consists of the work Cass completed after leaving Carnegie Mellon for the University of Pennsylvania's Economics Department (where he remained for the rest of his career). The work during this period encompasses his well-known collaboration with Karl Shell and Yves Balasko on overlapping generations models, and his development with Karl of the notion of 'sunspot equilibria' - rational expectations equilibria which are essentially self-fulfilling prophecies. This period also saw the beginnings of Cass' pioneering research into the theory of incomplete markets, which grew naturally form his early interest in models of asset pricing, and includes the paper which developed what is now known as the Cass trick for analyzing incomplete markets models.

The three volumes of the "Collected Scientific Works of David Cass" are ordered chronologically, which happens to coincide with the development of the three major advances in Cass' research agenda, the development of the neoclassical growth model, the discovery of sunspot equilibria, and the analysis of models of market incompleteness. This volume covers the period from the middle 1980's through the end of Cass' life in 2008. Cass' research during this period included definitive papers showing that competitive equilibrium is generically indeterminate when markets are incomplete, and on the relationship between market incompleteness and the existence of sunspot equilibrium. This period also saw the follow-on papers addressing the issue of how financial innovation affects economic welfare, showing in particular that innovation can lead to welfare losses as well as gains, depending on the nature of the innovation.

The three volumes of the "Collected Scientific Works of David Cass" are ordered chronologically, which happens to coincide with the development of the three major advances in Cass' research agenda, the development of the neoclassical growth model, the discovery of sunspot equilibria, and the analysis of models of market incompleteness. This volume consists of Cass' early work from his time in graduate school at Stanford University, studying under Hirofumi Uzawa, and as an assistant professor at Yale's Cowles Commission, and his tenure at Carnegie Mellon University's Graduate School of Industrial Administration. The work in this volume focuses primarily on Cass' contributions to what is now known as the Ramsey-Cass-Kooopmans neoclassical growth model, and the development of what is now known as the Cass criterion for determining whether intertemporal allocations are efficient. This period also includes Cass' early work on overlapping generation's models, asset pricing models, and methodological contributions in dynamic systems applications in economics.

In the area of dynamic economics, David Cass's work has spawned a number of important lines of research, including the study of dynamic general equilibrium theory, the concept of sunspot equilibria, and general equilibrium theory when markets are incomplete. Based on these contributions, this volume contains new developments in the field, written by Cass's students and co-authors.

In the area of dynamic economics, David Cass 's work has spawned a number of important lines of research, including the study of dynamic general equilibrium theory, the concept of sunspot equilibria, and general equilibrium theory when markets are incomplete. Based on these contributions, this volume contains new developments in the field, written by Cass's students and co-authors.

The 800 pound gorilla in the room of macroeconomics is the question of why the overlapping generations model didn’t become the central workhorse model for macroeconomics. Introduced in 1958 by Paul Samuelson, the model postulates an infinite number of finite-lived families. This is in stark contrast to the more dominant neoclassical growth model, which is based on the assumption that real economies are populated by a finite number of dynastic families. Despite the greater realism of the former model and the inherent implausibility of the assumptions underlying the growth model, the growth model has become dominant. The authors here explore the co-evolution of the two models to shed light on why this happened, spanning the entire post-WWII era.

As four runaways on the cusp of adulthood bristle at their homeland's restrictions, they are pursued by agents both otherworldly and all too human. Along the way, as portents spell the return of ancient magics and forgotten monstrosities, they find themselves thrust into the chaos of prophecy, schisms, and war. In this debut to The Godhead Wars series, Stephen Spears presents a fast-paced fantasy epic that bridges a world's past and present, brings its people's hopes and fears to life, and pits good against evil in a rich new universe.