Books published by Berrett-Koehler

A guide to the parallel revolutions in technology, organizations, and leadership This practical yet thought-provoking book presents a wealth of evidence to show that the two recurrent themes of democracy and enterprise are transforming our institutions. Organizations are becoming changing clusters of entrepreneurial units working together to form "internal markets," while this diversity is being integrated into a "corporate community" that unites the interests of investors, workers, clients, business partners, and the public. Even fierce competitors are cooperating. o "Serving enterprises" make customers working partners in the creation of value o "Knowledge entrepreneurs" form teams of self-managed internal enterprises o "Internal markets" and "Corporate community" harness external forces to drive continuous change o The power of "inner leadership" unites liberated workers, critical clients, and temporary business partners o "Intelligent growth" offers strategic advantage that is ecologically benign Illustrative examples, survey data, trends, anecdotes, and exercises offer original insights into the use of New Management principles. In addition, mini-case studies of MCI, Saturn, The Body Shop, Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, Southwest Airlines, Home Depot, IKEA, Wal-Mart and other great companies illustrate vividly how creative managers design and lead organizations in an era of global competition, constant change, and empowered people. The author also analyzes critical issues, such as the nagging old conflict between profit and society, to provide managers a comprehensive, stimulating guide to where their craft is heading. Halal argues that the transition to a New Management is almost inevitable because it is being driven not by altruism or even good leadership, but by the relentless advance of the Information Revolution. Only small entrepreneurial teams operating from the bottom-up can master today's exploding complexity, and gaining stakeholder support is now essential because a knowledge-based economy has made cooperation a competitive advantage. Rather than fussing over quick fixes, The New Management points the way toward more fundamental solutions to the massive changes that will confront all institutions as the transition to a knowledge society rolls on into the 21st century.

This business autobiography of a corporate executive relates the management and leadership lessons which Autry, a Fortune 500 executive, has learned on his way to the top. according to Autry, knowing what to do is only part of becoming a leader; the only part is knowing how to be

 Christine Pelosi presents leadership lessons from the campaign trail from a diverse array of over forty public figures, lending advice for anyone who wants to run for office, advocate for a cause, or win a public policy issue. This book draws from her leadership “boot camps” conducted in over thirty American states and in three foreign countries, working with thousands of volunteers and dozens of successful candidates for office from city council to US congress.   Campaign Boot Camp 2.0 is basic training for future leaders who hear a call to service—a voice of conscience that springs from their vision, ideas, and values—and want to translate that call into positive change. Pelosi outlines the seven essential steps to winning: identify your call to service, define your message, know your community, build your leadership teams, raise the money, connect with people, and mobilize to win. Each chapter concludes with a “Get Real” exercise so readers can personalize and integrate these ideas into individual efforts.   In this edition, Pelosi updates the book’s “Call to Service” profiles of political leaders and their calls to service; details the expanding role of social media, the Internet, and technology as message multipliers; explores challenges unique to women candidates; and expands on the power of volunteers.

Privatization has been on the right-wing agenda for years. Health care, schools, Social Security, public lands, the military, prisons—all are considered fair game. Through stories, analysis, impassioned argument—even song lyrics—Si Kahn and Elizabeth Minnich show that corporations are, by their very nature, unable to fulfill effectively what have traditionally been the responsibilities of government. They make a powerful case that the market is not the measure of all things, and that a vital public sector is an indispensable component of a healthy democracy.

Are meetings taking over your life? You’re not alone. Meet Iris, a sales director so overwhelmed by meetings that she feels like a hamster on a wheel—in fact, she’s turned into one. Just in time, she meets a coach—a leading meeting efficiency expert—with a simple system that helps her regain her sanity and humanity. The coach’s secret is a laser-like focus on the five biggest meeting pain points: 1. Meeting overload: Professionals waste twenty-four days a year in useless meetings. 2. Missing success ingredients: ninety percent of all professionals attend meetings that lack a clearly stated objective and agenda. 3. Virtual-meeting chaos: Disinterested participants + endless technical glitches huge amounts of wasted time. 4. Agenda adrift: Goals are missed when meetings veer off course. 5. Action distraction: Incomplete action items result in delayed projects and missed deadlines. The coach demonstrates that these five challenges are damaging Iris’s career and costing the world over a trillion dollars each year. He provides practical new solutions that rapidly transform Iris from victim to victor. These solutions are tailored to the technology-driven world in which Iris lives—she discovers how to use e-calendars, PDAs, and virtual meetings to make her life easier, not more complicated. She applies the solutions, gets immediate results, and reclaims her life. The Hamster Revolution for Meetings focuses on a small number of high-impact best practices that really work. Included is a landmark case study that shows how 3,000 Capital One associates reclaimed ten days per year while improving meeting effectiveness by over 35 percent.

Millions of working Americans talk, act, and vote as if their economic interests match those of the megawealthy, the multinational corporations, and the politicians who do their bidding. How did this happen? According to Air America radio host Thom Hartmann, the apologists of the Right have become masters of the subtle and largely subconscious aspects of political communication. It’s not an escalation in Iraq, it’s a surge; it’s not the inheritance tax, it’s the death tax; it’s not drilling for oil, it’s exploring for energy. Conservatives didn’t intuit the path to persuasive messaging—they learned these techniques. There is no reason why progressives can’t learn them too. In Cracking the Code, Hartmann shows you how. Drawing on his background as a psychotherapist and advertising executive as well as a national radio host, he breaks down the science and technology of effective communication so you can apply it to your own efforts to counter right-wing disinformation. It’s both an art and a science—as Hartmann explains, political persuasion is as much about biology as ideology, about knowing how the brain processes information and how that influences the way people perceive messages, make decisions, and form a worldview. Throughout the book, Hartmann shows you precisely how to master this technology, providing examples dating back to the time of the Founding Fathers. As you read deeply in this book, you’ll see things you hadn’t realized were there—in everything from advertising to political rants—and discover abilities you didn’t know you had. Whether you’re a politician, an activist, a volunteer, or a concerned citizen, you’ll develop a strong sense for how to reach into that part of the collective human psyche where we truly do have the power to create a new world.

Healthy compromise is necessary for accomplishing any meaningful goal with other people. But when your job presses you to betray your word, your principles, or other important commitments, it becomes profoundly unhealthy and deeply stressful. And it can happen even while working for an organization or leader you otherwise respect and admire. Elizabeth Doty offers the antidote: redefining the game. When you feel pressured to play by rules that undermine your integrity, Doty shows how you can tap into six personal foundations that will allow you to stay true to your deepest values and aspirations. Through more than fifty vivid firsthand accounts of compromise and courage in business, she provides guidance for anyone at any organizational level who wants to act with greater clarity, strength, and purpose, as well as for senior leaders striving to lead organizations that allow people to remain true to themselves. The Compromise Trap details a strategy that enables you to remain a positive force—for yourself and whatever you define as the greater good—no matter how difficult the circumstances.

Whether you are a world-weary worker juggling the demands of a hectic life or a seeker of soul-satisfying experiences, this deceptively simple book is your key to refresh, renew, rethink and recharge. From an unexpectedly arduous backpacking trip, Eileen McDargh discovers truths from the experience. Deep in grime, grit, and grace-filled mornings, she finds insights for business, for relationships, for family, for life, and for the soul. Whether musing on wild onions or mosquitoes, river crossings or thunderbolts, Eileen shares lessons for understanding the mundane and the magnificent, the difficult and the delightful, the ordinary and the extraordinary. Mountains become a lyrical metaphor for coping with life’s complexities. You’ll be reminded of what you may already know but have likely forgotten in the tension of time constraints, work worries, and family frustrations. McDargh will jar your memory, evoke new awareness, and spur you to action. Illustrated with stunning watercolor paintings, Gifts from the Mountain helps you to pay attention to the process of life and take joy in the journey.

Do you ever tell yourself that you’re not enough? Not smart enough, not rich enough, not good enough, not fill-in-the-blanks enough? Or do you worry that there is not enough: not enough time, not enough money, not enough opportunity, not enough…whatever? Consciously and unconsciously, dozens of times a day, we tell ourselves that we are lacking, that our lives are lacking, that the universe is lacking. We lull ourselves into what Victoria Castle calls the “Trance of Scarcity”—a numbed state in which we’re crippled by the pervasive assumption that lack, struggle, and separation are our unavoidable fate. But what if it is the very story we tell ourselves—both as individuals and as a society—that keeps us trapped in this limited state? Here Castle shows you how to embody a new story—one that is about abundance, inspiration, and your own innate ability to create your reality. Once you break free from the Trance of Scarcity, you’ll be able to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

Whether you facilitate meetings for a living or simply as part of your job, you’ve surely found yourself “standing in the fire”—at the center of a group that is polarized, angry, fearful, and confused. Veteran facilitator Larry Dressler has found that what makes the crucial difference in these situations is the leader’s presence. You have to master a way of being that allows you to remain effective no matter how hot things get. Dressler shows how to cultivate six “stances”—mental, emotional, and physical— that will keep you steady, impartial, purposeful, compassionate, and good-humored,. Drawing on his own experiences and the insights of thirty-five distinguished practitioners, he helps you keep your cool and make the kind of inventive, split-second decisions these pressure-cooker situations demand.

Too much to do! I never get anything done! I have so little control over my life! These were thoughts Ray had as he headed home later for supper, confident his wife, Carol, would be sympathetic to his problem. One sentence into unloading his problems on her, he heard, "Too much to do? Tell me about it!" Her problems were as big as or even bigger than his. When they went to a friend for help, they discovered more than hope, "That sounds like us several years ago. But Coach Eric's Aligned Thinking not only solved those problems, it helped us to do what most people believe impossible: align every action to what we really want. With mild hope and huge skepticism, Ray and Carol visited Coach Eric and gave him a description of their ideal professional and personal life. Coach Eric assured them that Aligned Thinking could help them enjoy each item on their list. However, when he asked them to add to their list "make every moment count so life becomes a celebration," Ray and Carol became even more skeptical.

American democracy, argues Charles Derber, is being subverted in the name of democracy itself. Derber shows how the current regime has maintained power by intensifying the red/blue culture wars—supporting religious extremists, exploiting terrorism fears, and manipulating the electoral process. And he reveals our best hope for positive change: an alliance between the Democratic Party and another source of hidden power—the grass roots progressive movements that have always been catalysts for change. Thoughtful, eloquent, and compelling, Hidden Power offers real hope for restoring genuine democracy to America.

This is not just another book telling consultants how to advise their clients on solving specific problems—increasing sales, finding the best IT system, reducing turnover, and so on. Consulting Mastery teaches consultants how to master the real challenge of working with organizations: effecting actual change. It examines how to help clients help themselves to achieve higher levels of performance. Drawing on interviews with fourteen master consultants and ten executives in client organizations, Merron explores how consultants can profoundly impact the way organizations operate. Whether you are a seasoned consultant or just starting out, Consulting Mastery will inspire you to adopt goals , strategies, and the mindset that will help you make a real difference in your work and in your client organizations.

What do Wal-Mart, Dell, Fidelity Investments, Boeing, and Cabela’s have in common? They’re all part of a $50 billion a year scam in which—in the name of "job creation"—corporations play states and cities against each other to win hefty taxpayer subsidies that routinely exceed $100,000 per job. But do they provide more jobs, higher wages, or improved living standards in exchange? Greg LeRoy exposes these deals for what they are—no-strings-attached free rides for corporations that rarely create any new jobs. In fact, after securing these packages, many companies lay people off, pay poverty wages, or even relocate to other states. This is the Great American Jobs Scam: a costly bait-and-switch that swindles communities in more ways than one. They lose jobs—or gain jobs so low-paying they do nothing to help the community—and they lose revenue through massive corporate tax breaks. That means fewer resources for maintaining schools, public services, and infrastructure. LeRoy exposes corporations' careful orchestration of this scam, dissects government and corporate mumbo-jumbo with plain talk, and offers commonsense reforms that will give taxpayers powerful new tools to protect our communities.

Management books are traditionally written by industry "experts": scholars, consultants, senior managers. They're writing about how to manage workers, but none of these experts really understands the viewpoint of the average worker, the regular grunt in the trenches-the peon. Peons are the ones affected when a manager decides to manage-in-one-minute, to move somebody's cheese, to try that fifth discipline. Rather than consult some expert, why not go to the source, and ask the peons? Who better to teach you how to train a dog than the dog himself? And who better to tell you how to manage than one of those who are being managed? The Peon Book gives managers the perspective they've been lacking. Author and self-proclaimed Chief Executive Peon Dave Haynes' sole, powerful source of expertise is that he has been managed in different companies and in different industries, and he knows what worked-and what failed catastrophically. In irreverent, straight-talking terms, Haynes tells managers what they really need to do to make their employees motivated, committed, and productive-and it's not memorizing yet another "technique" or "strategy" or "discipline." Haynes writes in a common sense, easy-to-read style that is both witty and wise. Every boss can benefit, and every employee can empathize with the words in The Peon Book. "The inability to empathize can be a real speed bump on the road to a trusting, personal relationship with your employees. So how are you supposed to show more empathy? I take issue with management books that give you a phrase to say to show empathy like 'I understand,' or 'I know what you mean,' or that say that by rephrasing a statement you can show empathy. Don't use some coined phrase to show empathy, just mentally put yourself in our shoes. Sometimes it's just a matter of remembering what it's like to have to get all those reports turned in on a Friday. Or remembering what it's like to have to ask for time off. Or remembering what it's like to be the new guy on the job, and have a hard time remembering everything. Do you see the key concept I'm getting at? Empathy = remembering. Who said you'd never use math in the real world?"

It's true. You can be fired from your job at any time, with or without warning for a false reason, a mean reason, a reason that is unfair or even capricious, just about any reason at all. In fact, you could be fired for reading this book. Employment law attorney Glenn Solomon explains that the overwhelming majority of working Americans are employed 'at will." They are hired-and can be fired-at their employers will. While there are a few specific kinds of discriminatory termination (based on age, sex, race, etc.) prohibited by law, it is difficult to prove such discrimination in court. Solomon argues that the at-will rule is inherently unjust, since it leaves the livelihood of most Americans subject to their employers' whims. How can you fight back? Solomon details: Four exceptions to the at-will rule: how effective are they, and how can you take advantage of them Your rights under the current system: how to make the most of them, including what to consider when deciding whether or not to sue your employer and what to expect if you do and An alternative to the at-will rule that protects the rights of both workers and employers.

Bringing out the best in others is good business. When we bring both respect and interpersonal savvy to our work relationships, we do more than make people feel good. We enhance personal and organizational performance. And as the workplace grows more complex and competitive, managing our work relationships becomes even more essential and difficult. Now more than ever we need to work people smart. Working PeopleSmart describes the six core strategies used by people-smart individuals and shows how to apply them in the toughest workplace situations. Individuals who are people smart know how to open others up rather than make them defensive or resistant. They have a knack for diffusing tension rather than creating it. They set a good example through their own behavior on the job and can inspire and influence others with less developed skills. Working PeopleSmart can serve as your virtual coach to guide you through difficult work relationships skillfully. How do you deal with a critical colleague? Make your boss listen to you? React to an offensive joke? Get the resources you need? The authors look at over 50 real-life situations and offer people-smart prescriptions for handling them effectively. They provide coaching tips for each scenario and describe exactly what a people-smart response sounds like. As two psychologists with both organizational and clinical expertise, coauthors Mel Silberman and Freda Hansburg are highly qualified to deliver the message that we can emerge from even the toughest interpersonal moments on the job with dignity and grace. Where other books rely on typologies that categorize people according to their interpersonal styles and then offer advice on how to deal with each type, the strategies described in Working PeopleSmart are straightforward and universal. They can be used immediately to deal with any type of person or any situation, no matter how difficult or sensitive.

A stellar list of contributors bring a variety of perspectives to establish one central theme: diversity is an advantage to be utilized, not a problem to be solved. Themselves representing a wide range of cultural, national, and vocational perspectives, the contributors examine how diversity creates new possibilities for working together in our projects, our organizations, and our lives. Working Together reveals diversity as a rich resource to meet the challenges of our changing times, an unparalleled opportunity to bring together a multiplicity of gifts for a common purpose.

For millions of people, technology is making their lives harder, not easier. They're bombarded with so much information they can barely read it, let alone process it. They're tied to the office-through email, cell phones, pagers, voice mail and fax machines-24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Their sense of balance is under assault from the relentless onslaught of data and the feeling that they must be constantly "connected." For everyone who yearns to simplify life, slow down, and get centered, all without compromising their career, Dot Calm offers more than hope-it offers answers. Based on the authors' in-depth interviews and survey results, Dot Calm outlines a wide variety of proven tactics that real people in all walks of life are using to cope with the ubiquitous problems of information, access, and work overload. This book provides an unprecedented chance to leverage the success strategies of people who have managed to sever the "electronic tether" that kept them constantly bound to their jobs. Dinnocenzo and Swegan show that you don't have to sacrifice productivity or efficiency to have a sane, balanced life. On the contrary-technology can so overwhelm people with data that they have a hard time focusing on those activities that truly matter. Unplugging will actually make you more effective.

Everyone is a project manager-projects are what all of us do day in and day out. Skillful project management is fundamental to survival in today's warp-speed world. Yet it is often misunderstood, leading to unrealistic deadlines, poorly defined goals, and wasted time. The secret to successful project management, argues Barry Flicker, is making and keeping clear commitments-far easier said than done in a time of complex, cross-departmental projects and sometimes unclear lines of authority. Through a story about people confronting daily frustrations on the job, Flicker demonstrates how shifting focus from blaming "the idiots out there" to examining one's own behaviors and assumptions helps people to overcome obstacles. Working at Warp Speed shows how following four simple laws can transform workers' most frustrating complaints from persistent barriers into potential breakthrough experiences.

The new economy moves with lightning speed. Those who would lead no longer have the luxury of analyzing, planning, then implementing. They must plan and implement simultaneously. Learning and performance must be integrated into a continuous cycle: knowledge must be captured from performance as it is happening and used to improve the next round of performance. In their new book, Lloyd Baird and John Henderson show how to produce knowledge as part of the work process and quickly apply that learning back to performance to create a "knowledge engine" that drives ongoing performance improvement and adds value in every area of the organization. Built on five years of research and application in leading corporations, The Knowledge Engine details a five-step knowledge-performance cycle, explaining how to: Focus on exactly what is necessary to drive performance and create competitive advantage Acquire knowledge you can use as you go, performing and learning simultaneously Structure learning so that it can be shared and benefit the entire organization Target knowledge so that the organization applies it when and where it is really needed Reflect on the big picture the new knowledge presents, consolidate it, and identify new areas of focus The book includes a wealth of practical tools that organizations can use to put each step of the knowledge-performance cycle into actual practice-such as an "After Action Review, " that helps explore lessons learned from performance and a "Peer Review, " that gets what others know into the performance process quickly. The Knowledge Engine not only explains the principles of creating and leveraging knowledge as an asset that will provide competitive advantage-it gives concrete examples of how to do it right now. The authors provide extensive illustrations of how leading organizations-including BP Amoco, Xerox, the U.S. Army, Merck, and Lucent-are getting improved performance and bottom line results by creating their own "knowledge engines, " and offer a framework to help any organization implement systems and procedures for leveraging its knowledge assets.

Do you long to build a cult-like following for your business? Would you like to have customers that don't just forgive you when you err, but actually help you correct what caused the mistake? Customers that don't just recommend you, but assertively insist that their friends do business with you? Discover the seven "magnetic service" secrets that have created devoted fan bases for brands like Starbucks, Harley-Davidson and Ritz-Carlton. Magnetic Service provide a practical blueprint for going beyond mere customer loyalty to create and sustain customer devotion, showing how businesses that inspire cult-like devotion-companies as diverse as Jack Daniels, GE, eBay and many others-create customer experiences so captivating that they bind their customers to them.

Everyone can be a high performer, according to Jerry Fletcher. Not just in occasional, heroic bursts of success, but consistently, in everything we do. It's not a matter of imitating star athletes or successful entrepreneurs. In fact, you just have to be fully yourself at your best.

For a Better Life, Close the Gaps! We all want to make a difference. But just as you need to put on your own oxygen mask before helping other passengers on an airplane, getting your own life together is the first step to making a positive impact in the world. Franklin Covey cofounder Hyrum Smith shows that what stops us are gaps between where we are and where we want to be. The first is the Beliefs Gap, between what we believe to be true and what is actually true. The second is the Values Gap, between what we value most in life and what we actually spend our life doing. The third is the Time Gap, between what we plan to do each day and what we actually get done. Smith offers a practical blueprint that we all can use to recognize and close each of these three gaps and illustrates how it can be done through inspiring true stories. The 3 Gaps provides the concepts and the tools needed to establish a solid foundation from which you can help make the world a better place.