Work Leadership

Transforming front-line operations in a retail chain the size of Starbucks is a story in itself. This book goes further, investigating how lean thinking addressed huge demand fluctuation in a retail environment across thousands of stores, and then how baristas and managers in Newtown, Connecticut, used that system to get them through the worst week imaginable. It is a deeply personal story with global relevance.

"Middle manager." The term evokes a bygone industrial era in which managers functioned like cogs in a vast machine and bureaucracy ruled. In recent decades, midlevel managers became a favorite target for the chopping block—underappreciated, often considered a superfluous layer of the organization. Not only does this outdated perspective need to change, the future demands it. In Power to the Middle, McKinsey thought leaders Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, and Emily Field call for a profound reimagining of what middle managers can and must be able to do.

Negotiation has always been at the heart of solving problems at work. Yet today, when people in organizations are asked to do more with less, be responsive 24/7, and manage in rapidly changing environments, negotiation is more essential than ever. What has been missed in much of the literature of the past 30 years is that negotiations in organizations always take place within a context - of organizational culture, of prior negotiations, of power relationships - that dictates which issues are negotiable and by whom.

Have you noticed that on some days, everything seems to go so smoothly? Those times when everybody shares the same deadline and all of a sudden everything gets done. What’s going on here? What’s different in these scenarios? At the core of each situation is a replicable occurrence, a behavior pattern, or a trend you can understand and utilize. In fact, with just a little bit of heightened awareness and increased focus on your situation, you can pinpoint these exact patterns and recreate them at will.

What is your one thing? The entrepreneur, thought leader, and best-selling author of Called to Create offers a refreshing invitation: stop trying to do it all so you can thrive in your unique, God-given work. In this thought-provoking audiobook, you’ll discover the exponential power of pursuing a singular craft. Through practical principles, Jordan Raynor provides straightforward steps for finding and thriving in your calling. He also highlights more than a dozen real-life examples of high-impact individuals who have chosen to focus on and excel in their unique gifting.

Part manifesto and part playbook, Wisdom @ Work ignites an urgent conversation about ageism in the workplace, calling on us to treat age as we would other type of diversity. In the process, Conley liberates the term elder from the stigma of elderly and inspires us to embrace wisdom as a path to growing whole, not old. Whether you've been forced to make a mid-career change, are choosing to work past retirement age, or are struggling to keep up with the millennials rising up the ranks, Wisdom @ Work will help you write your next chapter.

Shorter tells the story of entrepreneurs and leaders all over the world who have discovered how to shrink the workweek without cutting salaries or sacrificing productivity or revenues. They show that by reducing distractions, eliminating inefficiencies, and creating time for high-quality focus and collaboration, four-day workweeks can boost recruitment and retention, make leaders more thoughtful and companies more sustainable, and improve work-life balance.

What does it take to achieve your personal and professional goals? When is the right time to take calculated risks, and how do you prepare for the moment when opportunity presents itself? If anyone can show you how to do this, it’s Nicole Lynn. As the first Black female agent to represent a top-three NFL draft pick, Nicole worked her way from childhood poverty to become a Wall Street financial analyst, then attorney, and now top agent to elite athletes and entertainers.

The second edition of Selling with Noble Purpose draws from the latest data, case studies, and psychological research to prove that Selling with Noble Purpose drives companies' revenue and makes employees happier, and it also explores how the business imperative of "purpose" has changed and transformed companies over the past eight years.

Does the mere thought of speaking in front of an audience give you goosebumps, butterflies, and heart palpitations? If you want to overcome all of these, then you need this book in your life. For a lot of people, public speaking is a terrifying thing. Preparing to speak is the easy part. You either familiarize yourself with the topic, create cue cards to help you remember the things you need to talk about, or in some cases, memorize your speech. But when it's time to step up onto the stage and face the crowd, that's when the real challenge begins.

Do you want to be more productive and enjoy your work more fully? The Now Habit at Work, written by top performance expert Neil Fiore, reveals how true time management goes hand-in-hand with greater ease, well-being, and success in business and life. Whatever your occupation, Fiore’s proven tools will empower you to overcome procrastination and engage your full creative potential on the job.

We are living in an epidemic of disengagement and despair that calls us to action. Awakening Compassion at Work answers the call, showing us new ways to enliven the humanity of work and in so doing address the suffering of the world and create an innovative, optimistic, and engaged workforce.

Based on over 100 CEO interviews and a survey of nearly 14,000 employees, renowned leadership thought leader and futurist Jacob Morgan shares candid stories and original research that shows how leaders can tap into vulnerability to transform themselves, their teams, and their organizations. This book will show you why it's so crucial to lead with vulnerability and how to do it well.

As a woman in Silicon Valley who worked her way to the top of the corporate ladder—she's a former VP at Facebook and the current president and CEO of Ancestry—Deborah Liu knows firsthand the challenges and obstacles in the workplace that keep the deck stacked against women in the workplace...and the ways to overcome them. For every woman who grew up competing on the uneven playing field, who is told she is too aggressive, assertive, dramatic, or emotional, this book is the battle cry you need to learn to thrive within the system that exists today.

Shifting demographics combined with the digitalization of all aspects of life are transforming the nature of work. This is forcing companies to rethink how they design jobs and recruit, develop, and engage employees. In Talent Tectonics, Dr. Steven Hunt explains how technology is changing the purpose of work and why creating effective employee experiences is critical to building organizations that can thrive in a world of accelerating change and growing skill shortages. You'll find insights from a person who has worked with thousands of companies around the globe.

Imagine what you could do with the time you spend writing emails every day. Complexity is killing companies' ability to innovate and adapt, and simplicity is fast becoming the competitive advantage of our time. Why Simple Wins helps leaders and their teams move beyond the feelings of frustration and futility that come with so much unproductive work in today's corporate world to create a corporate culture where valuable, essential, meaningful work is the norm.

Stephen R. Covey spent his long and storied career inspiring millions of individuals to make their lives more effective, compassionate, and meaningful. Near the end of his life, Covey felt there was a final component to his work: How do you live your best life no matter your age? Live Life in Crescendo is Covey’s directive to live life in crescendo, meaning to continually grow in contribution, learning, and influence. In the same way that music builds on previous notes but leaves us anticipating the next note, a life builds on the past but unfolds in the future.

Business is about making money, but it's also about making decisions. There are relatively small decisions, like when to call a meeting or which emails to answer quickly. Then there are the big decisions that can make or break a business - which product to launch, whom to hire, how to spend. Hard work, analytics, past successes, intelligence, and a great business plan aren't enough anymore. Many of us are scrambling to discover the path to success but have found instead that we've lost our way.

A 'textbook with passion', Hardwiring Excellence offers a road map and practical how-to guide for creating and sustaining a culture of service and operational excellence. In this book, author Quint Studer, founder of Studer Group, draws on his personal experience as a former hospital executive who led two organizations to the top 1% in patient satisfaction and his experience coaching hundreds of healthcare organizations since.

You know you need to delegate some of your work so that you have time to focus on the things that require your expertise. But it's not easy to do.