Business Management

Continuing his groundbreaking analysis of economic structures, Douglass North develops an analytical framework for explaining the ways in which institutions and institutional change affect the performance of economies. Institutions exist due to the uncertainties involved in human interaction; they are the constraints devised to structure that interaction. Yet, institutions vary widely in their consequences for economic performance; some economies develop institutions that produce growth and development, while others develop institutions that produce stagnation.

The ability to craft an employee review that is meaningful and change-driven is what separates average supervisors from great managers. How often, though, have you struggled to find the most appropriate words for your needs? This completely revised and updated second edition of Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews provides hundreds of ready-made phrases you can use to clearly communicate any employee's performance in 74 different skill areas.

The Toyota Way Fieldbook builds on the philosophical aspects of Toyota's operating systems by detailing the concepts and providing practical examples for application that leaders need to bring Toyota's success-proven practices to life in any organization. The Toyota Way Fieldbook will help other companies learn from Toyota and develop systems that fit their unique cultures.

In the military, a field manual provides instructions in simple, clear, step-by-step language to help soldiers complete their mission. In the civilian sector, books offer information on everything from fixing a leaky faucet to developing an effective workout program to cooking a good steak. Leadership Strategy and Tactics explains how to take leadership theory, quickly translate that theory into applicable strategy, and then put leadership into action at a tactical level. This audiobook is the solution that leaders at every level need.

In A Bias for Action, Sumantra Ghoshal and Heike Bruch reveal that only 10 percent of managers act purposefully to get truly important work done. A Bias for Action shows that great managers produce results not by motivating others, but by engaging their own willpower through a powerful combination of energy and focus. Bruch and Ghoshal provide simple strategies for bolstering individual willpower and action-taking abilities, and explore ways to marshal the willpower of others to encourage collective action.

Being a pastor is a complicated calling. Pastors are often pulled in multiple directions and must "become all things to all people" (1 Cor. 9:22). What does the New Testament say (or not say) about the pastoral calling? And what can we learn about it from the apostle Paul? According to popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, pastoring must begin first and foremost with spiritual formation, which plays a vital role in the life and ministry of the pastor. As leaders, pastors both create and nurture culture in a church.

In this fully revised and updated edition of her breakthrough book, Women of Destiny, best-selling author and speaker Cindy Jacobs reveals the biblical foundation for women in ministry and leadership. Through sharing her own story, successes, and failures, she speaks to the doubts, fears, and insecurities women have about stepping up and speaking out.

The standard text on innovation advises would-be innovators to conduct creative brainstorming sessions and seek input from outsiders - users or communities. This kind of innovating can be effective at improving products but not at capturing bigger opportunities in the marketplace. In this book, Roberto Verganti offers a new approach - one that does not set out to solve existing problems, but to find breakthrough experiences. There is no brainstorming - which produces too many ideas, unfiltered - but a vision, subject to criticism.

When you want to learn about a subject, you go to the best. In the study of leadership, there's no one better than Brian Tracy, one of the world's top leadership experts. Over the last 30 years, he has spoken to more than 1,000 large corporations in 62 countries and 10,000 small and medium-sized companies in more than 5,000 talks and seminars on leadership, management, personal success and business development. In The 7 Secrets of Exceptional Leadership, Brian tells us that the wonderful thing about leadership is that your ability to grow as a leader never ends.

In this audio edition of the totally revised underground best seller, The E-Myth, Michael Gerber dispels the myths surrounding starting your own business and shows how commonplace assumptions can get in the way of running a business. He walks you through the steps in the life of a business, from entrepreneurial infancy, through adolescent growing pains, to the mature entrepreneurial perspective, the guiding light of all businesses that succeed.

BE 2.0 is a new and improved version of the book that Jim Collins and Bill Lazier wrote years ago. In BE 2.0, Jim Collins honors his mentor, Bill Lazier, who passed away in 2005, and reexamines the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship with his 2020 perspective. The book includes the original text of Beyond Entrepreneurship, as well as four new chapters and 15 new essays. BE 2.0 pulls together the key concepts across Collins' 30 years of research into one integrated framework called The Map.

Social scientist Brené Brown has ignited a global conversation on courage, vulnerability, shame, and worthiness. Her pioneering work uncovered a profound truth: Vulnerability—the willingness to show up and be seen with no guarantee of outcome—is the only path to more love, belonging, creativity, and joy. But living a brave life is not always easy: We are, inevitably, going to stumble and fall.

Finite games, like football or chess, have known players, fixed rules, and a clear endpoint. The winners and losers are easily identified. Infinite games, games with no finish line, like business or politics, or life itself, have players who come and go. The rules of an infinite game are changeable, while infinite games have no defined endpoint. There are no winners or losers - only ahead and behind. The question is, how do we play to succeed in the game we’re in? In this revelatory new audiobook, Simon Sinek offers a framework for leading with an infinite mindset.

When it comes to your own productivity, the smartest thing you can do is to learn what works best for you. Personal development author Gill Hasson helps you to discover how to manage your time and get things done with less stress and more efficiency. Being productive involves finding your own rhythm and getting things done in a way that works best for you; according to your circumstances, skills, and abilities and the time, energy, and resources you have.

La meditación te hace más productivo porque te permite recuperar tiempo. Por cada minuto que pases meditando, ganarás unos nueve minutos, como Chris Bailey—autor de The Productivity Project [El proyecto de productividad] y Hyperfocus [Hiperconcentración]—muestra en esta clara y contraintuitiva guía sobre los beneficios de la meditación en términos de productividad.

There’s an old saying that if the first thing you do each morning is eat a live frog, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re done with the worst thing you’ll have to do all day. For Tracy, eating a frog is a metaphor for tackling your most challenging task - but also the one that can have the greatest positive impact on your life. Eat That Frog! shows you how to organize each day so you can zero in on these critical tasks and accomplish them efficiently and effectively.

Life is messy. You know it and your employees know it. But the unspoken rules of professionalism dictate that we don’t talk about it. However, what if trying to keep your real, messy life compartmentalized from your work life isn’t doing you any favors? What if, instead, the opposite is true? We’re Gonna Need Cake, speaker and coach Valerie Garcia draws on her research, along with lessons she’s learned over decades working with brands around the globe, to demonstrate how bringing your whole self to work strengthens your leadership and propels your career forward.

Risk is a regular part of business, but knowing which risks to take and when to step back is often unclear. Whether you're assessing a new opportunity for innovation or thinking about your long-term strategy in an unsteady economy, you need to know the best way to proceed while ensuring that your company is financially secure and thriving. We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the 10 most important ones to help you determine which risks are worth taking and mitigate those your company - and your industry at large - are already facing.

Entrepreneurs often suffer from "superhero syndrome" - the misconception that to be successful, they must do everything themselves. They are not only the boss but also the salesperson, HR manager, copywriter, operations manager, online marketing guru, and so much more. It's no wonder so many people give up the dream of starting a business - it's just too much for one person to handle. But outsourcing expert and "Virtual CEO" Chris Ducker knows how you can get the help you need with resources you can afford.

Leadership isn't something you're born with or gifted as a reward for an abundance of charisma; true leadership stems from core skills that can be learned. Get more of the leadership ideas you want, from the authors you trust, with HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership (Vol. 2). We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles and selected the most important ones to help you maximize your own and your organization's performance.