Business Change

Continuing his groundbreaking analysis of economic structures, Douglass North develops an analytical framework for explaining the ways in which institutions and institutional change affect the performance of economies. Institutions exist due to the uncertainties involved in human interaction; they are the constraints devised to structure that interaction. Yet, institutions vary widely in their consequences for economic performance; some economies develop institutions that produce growth and development, while others develop institutions that produce stagnation.

From the first tickle of curiosity to an unexpected shift in how we perceive the world, there isn’t a person who hasn’t experienced wonder, and yet the why and how of this profoundly beneficial emotion is only just beginning to be scientifically examined. This inspiring book from thought leader Monica Parker explores the power of wonder to transform the way we learn, develop new ideas, drive social change, and ultimately become better humans.

All too often, the challenges we face seem overwhelming. Where do we start? What if we fail? But best-selling author John Izzo argues that almost every problem, from personal difficulties and business challenges to social issues, can be solved if all of us look to ourselves to create change rather than looking to others. And with the research to prove it, Izzo shows that by seeing ourselves as the locus of control rather than the victims of change, we are happier, less stressed, and more powerful.

Start at the End offers a new framework for design, grounded in behavioral science. Technology executive and behavioral scientist Matt Wallaert argues that the purpose of everything is behavior change. By starting with outcomes instead of processes, the most effective companies understand what people want to do and why they aren't already doing it, then build products and services to bridge the gap. Wallaert underscores with clarity and humor how this approach can improve the way we work and live.

In The Genius Habit, performance strategist Laura Garnett shows you how the path to finding long-lasting professional happiness starts with building the habit that makes extraordinary accomplishment all but guaranteed.

From disengaged employees to underserved customers, business failures invariably stem from a culture problem. In The Insider’s Guide to Culture Change, acclaimed culture transformation expert and global executive Siobhan McHale shares her proven four-step process to demystifying culture transformation and starting down the path to positive change.

The Coffee Bean is an inspiring tale that follows Abe, a young man filled with stress and fear as he faces challenges and pressure at school and home. One day after class, his teacher shares with him the life-changing lesson of the coffee bean, and this powerful message changes the way he thinks, acts, and sees the world. Abe discovers that instead of letting his environment change him for the worse, he can transform any environment he is in for the better.

Why does your weather app say “there’s a 10 percent chance of rain” instead of “it will be sunny”? In large part, this is due to the insight of award-winning physicist Tim Palmer, who pioneered the introduction of uncertainty into weather and climate prediction. Now, he wants to apply it to how we study everything else.

In How to be a Coffee Bean, bestselling coauthors of The Coffee Bean Jon Gordon and Damon West present 111 simple and effective strategies to help you lead a coffee bean lifestyle—one full of healthy habits, encouragement, and genuine happiness. From athletes to students and executives, countless individuals have been inspired by The Coffee Bean message. Now, How to be a Coffee Bean teaches you how to put The Coffee Bean philosophy into action to help you create real and lasting change in your life.

In Repeatability, Chris Zook and James Allen - leaders of Bain & Company’s influential Strategy practice - warn that complexity is a silent killer of profitable growth. Successful companies endure by maintaining simplicity at their core. They don’t stray from, or regularly discard, their business model in pursuit of radical renovation. Instead, they build a “repeatable business model” that produces continuous improvement and allows them to rapidly adapt to change without succumbing to complexity.

Imagine being able to finally find your passion and have complete clarity about what you were meant to do. There is a short-cut to finding your passion and that is asking the right questions. Einstein once said, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask; for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes."

A sweeping leadership framework to institute clear and intentional actions throughout your organization so that people of all racial backgrounds are empowered to lead, collaborate, and excel at work.

Are you stuck in a rut, unable to create meaningful change in your life or organization? The Art of Change is the solution you've been searching for. Written by Jeff and Staney DeGraff, founders of the consulting firm Innovatrium, this book provides a masterclass in sustainable transformation.

The different ways that social change happens, from unleashing to nudging to social cascades. How does social change happen? When do social movements take off? Sexual harassment was once something that women had to endure; now a movement has risen up against it. White nationalist sentiments, on the other hand, were largely kept out of mainstream discourse; now there is no shortage of media outlets for them. In this book, with the help of behavioral economics, psychology and other fields, Cass Sunstein casts a bright new light on how change happens.

Do you feel trapped in a career or life that makes you miserable? Are things not turning out quite as you always dreamed they would? Do you dread Monday morning and long for Friday night? If so, this book can help tear down the walls of the imaginary prison you have built around yourself, escape the fear holding you back and show you how to charge head first into an exhilarating and fulfilling new career and life.

Published in more than two dozen countries, How to Change the World has become a bible for the field of social entrepreneurship. It tells the stories of people building innovative and pattern-changing solutions to social and economic problems.

Written by the originators and leaders of the Appreciative Inquiry (AI) movement itself, this short, practical audio guide offers an approach to organizational change based on the possibility of a more desirable future, experience with the whole system, and activities that signal "something different is happening this time." That difference systematically taps the potential of human beings to make themselves, their organizations, and their communities more adaptive and more effective.

Whether you’re on the front line or in the executive suite, you can build your “Change Intelligence®”—and create results that matter at all levels of the organization. In today’s business world, everyone knows that we all face constant change, whether it’s the implementation of a new IT system, a reorganization, or a full merger or acquisition. We also know that the ability to handle such change makes the difference between success and failure—and has a direct effect on the bottom line.

To embrace change effectively, and with minimal stress, Being Called to Change lays the groundwork for making lasting, massive changes that stick. Author Dale Halaway helps you understand how to relax more, calm down more, and let go of the idea that you need to be in control of everything going on in life.

Now, from the AGI-Goldratt Institute and Jeff Cox, the same creative writer who co-authored The Goal, comes Velocity the book that reveals how to achieve outstanding bottom-line results by integrating the world's three most powerful continuous improvement disciplines: Lean, Six Sigma, and Goldratt's Theory of Constraints.