Leadership Memoir

Conventional wisdom says most startups need to be in Silicon Valley, started by young engineers around a sexy new idea and backed by VC funding. But as Mikkel Svane reveals in Startupland, the story of founding Zendesk was anything but conventional. Founded in a Copenhagen loft by three 30-something friends looking to break free from corporate doldrums, Zendesk Inc. became one of the hottest enterprise software companies, rapidly growing with customers in 150 countries. But its success was anything but predestined.

Attention: When life feels dark and overwhelming, a glimmer of hope can light the way to healing and renewal. Interest: Join a seasoned mindset coach as she shares her personal journey in Embracing Life After Death. Having faced deep loss after losing both parents, her story offers strength and inspiration for anyone going through tough times.

How the world's most powerful media mogul really thinks! Rupert Murdoch, the controversial chairman and CEO of News Corp., is the subject of endless gossip, speculation, and criticism. But what really drives his bold (and usually successful) gambles? Based on comments from News Corp. executives and competitors and interviews with Wall Street analysts, investors, and other media experts, this audio book explores some of the most fascinating questions about Murdoch.

Persuasiveness. Influence. A certain something that makes it impossible for people to say no. Call it what you will, some people have it. DJ Sbu certainly does. It’s the quality that has helped him evolve from an ambitious boy growing up on Tembisa's rough streets to a DJ, an entrepreneur, an author, a philanthropist, and a speaker who graces stages around the world. In The Art of Hustling, Sbu shares the secrets to cultivating this irresistible quality.

Noncommissioned officers stand as the backbone of the United States Marine Corps. The Corps is among the most lasting institutions in America, though few understand what makes it so strong and how that understanding can be applied effectively in today's world. In this insightful and thoroughly researched audiobook, Julia Dye explores the cadre of noncommissioned officers that make up the Marine Corps' system of small-unit leadership.

The philosophy found in this work is the product of a childhood on a tobacco and cattle farm in central Kentucky, education at various schools, and a three-decade career in the US Navy while simultaneously contributing as a husband, father, and grandfather. The remainder of this book will be separated into phases reflective of the major changes in my life: the farm, schooling, and a navy career continuum from junior officer through flag officer. The lessons learned in earlier phases were often exported and applied later.

Today's heads of big companies are as recognizable to us as the most popular entertainers or sports stars, but the heart and soul of every organization are those leaders below the CEO. Today's celebrity CEO has become either a figurehead or an egomaniac, and often too public a personality to get the real work done. That work is done instead by teams of leaders - exceptional deputies who forge great partnerships to maximize both organizational and personal success.

A Higher Standard takes a candid look at the exciting military career of US Army General Ann Dunwoody, who received her fourth star - a rank never before reached by a woman - in her fourth decade of service. From her first command leading 200 soldiers to her final one leading 69,000, Dunwoody reveals the challenges she faced and the changes she initiated by sharing both the smallest moments and the most pivotal events in her career.

Turning Chaos into Gold is a groundbreaking guide that redefines what it means to lead as a woman in today’s fast-paced world. Blending practical strategies with inspirational insights, this book equips women with the tools they need to turn challenges into opportunities and lead with confidence, resilience, and purpose.

Delane Parnell is not your typical tech entrepreneur. He was raised in a gang-riddled neighborhood on Detroit’s west side, bouncing between homes as his mother tried to make ends meet. Many of his closest friends and family members ended up in jail or dead. This makes it even more incredible that Delane became the 25-year-old founder and CEO of PlayVS, a Los Angeles company that is forever changing the gaming landscape in America.

Lord knows, Rev Al has had his personal and very public ups and downs - but he's come out bigger and better than ever. Though the host of MSNBC's PoliticsNation is as fiery and outspoken as ever about the events and issues that matter most, he's learned that the only way we can get right as a nation is by getting right from within. In this, his first book in over a decade, Rev Al will take you behind the scenes of some unexpected places - from officiating Michael Jackson's funeral, hanging out with Jay-Z and President Barack Obama at the White House, to taking charge of the Trayvon Martin case.

The 25th Secretary of Defense takes listeners behind the scenes to reveal the inner workings of the Pentagon, its vital mission, and what it takes to lead it. The Pentagon is the headquarters of the single largest institution in America: the Department of Defense. The DOD employs millions of Americans. It owns and operates more real estate and spends more money than any other entity. It manages the world’s largest and most complex information network and performs more R&D than Apple, Google, and Microsoft combined.

It’s the business of saving lives. Miracle Medicines goes behind the scenes of the pharmaceutical industry and into the high-security laboratories to tell the stories of the men and women - chemists, physiologists, medical and clinical researchers, engineers - who have chosen to toil for years in the lab in order to transform scientific theories into new lifesaving medicines. You’ll witness the day-to-day labors, victories and defeats of the dedicated professionals who are waging a war against the diseases that still plague mankind.

From Major General Jeffrey Schloesser - former commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division and Regional Command-East - comes a revealing memoir of leadership in the chaos and fog of the Afghanistan War.

His name is carved in granite, his likeness cast in bronze, his legend as large as the role he played as America's first president. But before he was a commander-in-chief, George Washington was a general in a revolution that would decide the future of the people and land he called his own. Author Paul Vickery tracks the unlikely rise of Washington, a man whose stature in command of a young army became prelude to a presidency. As Vickery writes, "He learned to become the father of our country by first being the father of our military."

In 1998, the thought of launching a startup in San Antonio was ludicrous. Just over two decades later, the scrappy little underdog that no one believed in is a billion-dollar business with more than 6,000 employees worldwide. The rocket-ship growth was exhilarating, but exposed Rackspace’s early flaws. The Rack We Built is Lorenzo’s recollections from those days, told only as he can tell it. With the principles in the book, you can create the type of culture that makes people want to volunteer their best.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is one of today's most recognized public figures, but few people are aware of the astonishing range of his leadership successes over the past four decades. Whether directing battles in the mountains of Afghanistan or guiding multibillion-dollar corporations through troubled waters, Rumsfeld has carved out a position among the most remarkable leaders of our time.

Cheekys' founder Jessi Roberts reveals how she grew one small store hurdle-by-hurdle into a national clothing and accessories brand with a one-and-a-half-million-strong community. Best of all, she did it by standing tall for her values: Always be kind, lift up the next gal, and treat employees and customers like family. More than a business book, Backroads Boss Lady is about embracing your passion even when others don't see value in it - or you - and about putting food on the table and believing in yourself.

Renowned as a diversity and inclusion strategist, Michelle Gadsden-Williams held C-Suite positions at major organizations for many years and then took the off-ramp to probe a different career path, launching Ceiling Breakers LLC, with the primary goal to help women and professionals of color reach their full potential. As a woman of color and corporate executive who has worked and traveled the world for several Fortune 500 companies - all while managing a chronic illness - she provides insight into overcoming the barriers facing professionals in today's workplace.

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics is filled with personal stories that bring to life heroic figures we all know and introduce listeners to some of those who’ve worked behind the scenes but are still hidden. Whatever their perch, the Colored Girls, which is what Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry, and Minyon Moore call themselves - are always focused on the larger goal of “hurrying history” so that every American - regardless of race, gender or religious background - can have a seat at the table. This audiobook tells their story.