Books published by Berrett-Koehler

For astronaut Ron Garan, living on the International Space Station was a powerful, transformative experience - one that he believes holds the key to solving our problems on Earth. On spacewalks and through windows, Garan was struck by the stunning beauty of the earth from space but sobered by knowing how troubled our planet is. And yet on the International Space Station, Garan, a former fighter pilot, was working side by side with Russians, who only a few years before were "the enemy." If fifteen nationalities could collaborate on one of the most ambitious, technologically complicated undertakings in history, surely we can apply that kind of cooperation and innovation toward creating a better world. That spirit is what Garan calls the "orbital perspective."Garan vividly conveys what it was like learning to work with a diverse group of people in an environment only a handful of human beings have ever known. But more importantly, he describes how he and others are working to apply the orbital perspective here at home, embracing new partnerships and processes to promote peace and combat hunger, thirst, poverty, and environmental destruction. This book is a call to action for each of us to care for the most important space station of all: planet Earth. You don't need to be an astronaut to have the orbital perspective.

It's a paradox: as big companies get better at achieving operational excellence, actual breakthroughs seem to decrease. It's the scrappy little startups, with comparatively tiny budgets, that continue to be founts of innovation. Why is it that as industry leaders get better at what they do, they get worse at innovation?By conducting deep research within companies as diverse as Apple, Google, Pfizer, General Motors, Nike, and Sony, the authors have found the answer: the very pursuit of operational excellence - that is, making one's existing business as efficient as it can be - blinds managers to the kinds of disruptive business model changes vital for innovation. These changes could threaten all that hard work. It's why Nokia famously killed its smart phone - the company was too invested in "dumb phones." Nothing less than a complete redesign and rethinking of the corporation - down to how accountants capture innovation costs and overhead - is necessary to get companies moving again. The authors' new model, "the startup corporation," marries the strengths of corporate scale to the nimbleness of entrepreneurs.For a model of the new startup corporation, the authors return again and again to Apple, which doesn't have the usual corporate structure and accounting systems. Not every company can be an Apple, but all companies can learn to break the bonds of operational thinking if they'll take the authors' lessons to heart.

The United States has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in the world. But are we any safer? Journalist Maya Schenwar proves that locking people up actually makes society less safe - and that there are alternatives that do a better job of deterring crime and providing justice for victims. Schenwar looks at how incarceration breaks the bonds that hold people together and deprives incarcerated people of exactly the kind of support and life skills necessary to reintegrate into society - which is why more than two-thirds of prisoners are re-arrested within three years of release. She draws heavily on her personal experience (her sister has spent the better part of ten years entangled in the system), as well as the struggles of other prisoners and their families.Far from advocating the complete abolition of prisons, Schenwar simply argues that they shouldn't be the only approach. She describes how highly effective alternative justice programs in the US and other countries do a better job of both preventing recidivism and providing meaningful restitution to victims. Above all, however, Schenwar seeks to convince her readers that prisoners, for all their hurtful deeds, shouldn't be treated as "non-persons." Her book is a passionate argument that "throwing away the key" ultimately hurts individuals and society.

Trust is a non-negotiable for high performing relationships and organizations. Yet trust is fragile, and ninety percent of the behaviors that break it are subtle, fleeting, and unintentional. Drs. Dennis and Michelle Reina have rewritten this third edition of their best-selling, award-winning book Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace to empower everyone at every level of responsibility - not just leaders - to build and sustain trust in their workplaces. Updated and completely rewritten with new case studies, tools, tips, and reflections, this third edition is the culmination of the authors' more than 20 years of rigorous research and "in the trenches" trust building experience with hundreds of organizations and thousands of people around the world. As pioneers in the field of trust, Dennis and Michelle tell the truth about what it takes to build sustainable trust in the workplace - trust that withstands the tests of time, geography, and an increasingly volatile and competitive marketplace. In this third edition, the authors provide the most detailed blueprint available for building highly effective, trust-based connections and organizations. Drs. Dennis and Michelle Reina have devoted their careers to trust because they believe that people don't just want and need trustworthy relationships - they have a fundamental right to them. In this rewritten third edition of Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace, the authors reveal their practical, proven approaches to accessing this right to trust - one thought, intention, and behavior at a time.