Professional Career Development

Arthur M. Blank believes that for good companies, purpose and profit can - and should - go hand in hand. And he should know. Together with cofounder Bernie Marcus, Blank built The Home Depot from an idea and a dream to a $50 billion-dollar company, the leading home improvement retailer in the world. And even while opening a new store every 42 hours, they never lost sight of their commitment to care for their people and communities.

This anthology of interdisciplinary writings looks at the integration of mind, body, and spirit as it plays out in the workplace—whether in birth coaching, teaching parents, assisting the terminally ill, or working in the military, the classroom, or the corporation. These essays reveal what gets in the way of our humanity in the work world and how to rediscover that humanity.

Many people know the benefit of finding a sponsor - someone who goes beyond traditional mentorship to partner with a junior-level employee to help build their skills, advocate for them when opportunities arise, and open doors. But few realize that being a sponsor is just as important to career growth as finding one. Combining powerful new data and rich examples drawn from in-depth interviews with leaders from companies such as Unilever, Aetna, Blizzard Entertainment, and EY, The Sponsor Effect provides a seven-step playbook for how you can become a successful sponsor.

Do you want to transition smoothly from an individual contributor to a respected leader? Feeling overwhelmed by new responsibilities or self-doubt? You're not alone. Many aspiring leaders face these challenges, but with the right strategies, you can gain confidence, lead effectively, and inspire your team—no matter the industry.

Designing Success offers a fresh perspective on achieving true fulfillment and balance in a world where burnout has become the norm. This book is your blueprint for creating an environment that fosters growth and empowers you to succeed on your terms. Catherine’s journey began at fifteen when she cofounded an early social network, which evolved into a thriving portfolio of dating apps serving millions. Despite fierce competition and rapid technological shifts, her team’s intentional approach to growth and strategy led to two sales: $100 million in 2011 and $500 million in 2020.

Paul Falcone, author of 101 Difficult Conversations to Have with Employees and renowned HR and leadership expert, gives you powerful scripts and templates you can apply immediately to your employee reviews and development conversations. This handy quick-guide turns a task many managers dread—giving performance reviews—into a positive opportunity to hone your leadership skills and guide your employees to the path for success.

Never Say Sell explains how to scale individual engagements into long-term business relationships. Cowritten by Tom McMakin, the coauthor of How Clients Buy and expert in account development, and colleague Jacob Parks, this book provides insights into how key rainmakers at firms like Accenture and IBM drive growth from existing relationships. Never Say Sell is a business development guide for professional service providers like consultants, accountants, and lawyers, whether they are sole proprietors or members of account teams tasked with expanding key accounts.

For over 15 years, consultants, both internal and external, have relied on Peter Block's landmark best seller, Flawless Consulting, to learn how to deal effectively with clients, peers, and others. Using illustrative examples, case studies, and exercises, the author, one of the most important and well known in his field, offers his legendary warmth and insight throughout this much-awaited second edition.

Why this book? Why now? Being a teacher is more demanding than ever. Up to 50 percent of new teachers leave the field within five years, and many veteran teachers are pondering second careers. With the guidance and proper support offered in this book, teachers can find joy and success in education and make a difference in the lives of our youth.

Silicon Valley visionary John Chambers shares the lessons that transformed a dyslexic kid from West Virginia into one of the world's best business leaders and turned a simple router company into a global tech titan.

Organizational psychologist and executive coach Rebecca Newton has found that even her most successful clients still want more of one quality: gravitas. They want their words to carry weight, to have a positive, lasting impact on those around them. Gravitas can seem like an elusive, intangible quality, but it isn't about adopting the style of another or being someone you're not. Newton draws on extensive research and experience coaching business leaders to show what underpins authentic gravitas and how anyone can develop it.

Every iconic tech company was once a startup. And while these companies like to paint an origin story full of surefooted confidence, the truth is usually something different: the early life of most startups is pure chaos. This chaos comes from the vastly different motivations and incentives between those with the vision and those with the money. From fundraising paranoia to boardroom coups, Zalman and Neumann train their inimitable voices on the gulf between what founders and investors promise to do and what they end up actually doing.

In Career Confidence, recruitment, hiring, and job search industry veteran Robynn Storey delivers a detailed roadmap you can use to navigate the increasingly complicated and fast-moving world of work. You'll learn how to find a job that fulfills and sustains you while also helping you flourish in your chosen career path. Through relatable client stories, the author burns down commonly held hiring myths and explains how to define and demonstrate your value to employers, showing them what you're really worth.

Ever feel like you're holding yourself back? Like you're capable of so much more but something's stopping you from reaching your full potential? It's frustrating, right? You know you have goals, dreams that are calling your name, but a nagging voice in your head whispers, 'You can't do it. It's time to silence that voice and unlock the power within you. Imagine a world where your mind is your greatest ally, not your biggest enemy.

You're a Christian woman, and you want to succeed in your professional life. But you're not sure how to do that without compromising your faith. It can feel like there's a lot of pressure to choose between success and faith.

The youngest of her parents’ combined 21 children, Sarah Frey grew up on a struggling farm in southern Illinois, often having to grow, catch, or hunt her own dinner alongside her brothers. She spent much of her early childhood dreaming of running away to the big city - or really anywhere with central heating. At 15, she moved out of her family home and started her own fresh produce delivery business with nothing more than an old pickup truck. Two years later, when the family farm faced inevitable foreclosure, Frey gave up on her dreams of escape and took over the farm.

The workplace is going through a large-scale transition with digitization, automation, and acceleration. Critical skills and expertise are imperative for companies and their employees to succeed in the future, and the most forward-thinking companies are being proactive in adapting to the shift in the workforce. Kelly Palmer, Silicon Valley thought leader from LinkedIn, Degreed, and Yahoo, and David Blake, cofounder of ed-tech pioneer Degreed, share their experiences and describe how some of the smartest companies in the world are making learning and expertise a major competitive advantage.

If you are a successful, career-driven professional, it’s likely that along with the sense of pride that comes with your unparalleled impact in your industry, you’ve also experienced stress, burnout, exhaustion. Pressure Makes Diamonds: Simple Habits for Busy Professionals to Break the Burnout Cycle is your quick, comprehensive guide to reshaping your perspective, becoming focused on how you want to move forward, and using the obstacles that have cut you down in the past to lift you up, so you can shine as the talented, multifaceted person you are purposed to be.

Longtime Dollar General CEO Cal Turner, Jr. shares his extraordinary life as heir to the company founded by his father Cal Turner, Sr. and his grandfather, a dirt farmer turned Depression-era entrepreneur. Cal's narrative is at its heart a father-son story, from his childhood in Scottsville, Kentucky, where business and family were one, to the triumph of reaching the Fortune 300 - at the cost of risking that very father/son relationship. Cal shares how the small-town values with which he was raised helped him guide Dollar General from family enterprise to national powerhouse.

Modern life demands a more complex way of thinking and being. Developmental Coaching is a transformative program designed to enable true shifts in consciousness in executives, professionals, and coaches. It has already been delivered to hundreds of people across the globe with stunning effects. It really works to meet the demands of modern life.