Business Problem Solving

Manager 3.0 is the first-ever management guide for Millennials. They will master crucial skills such as dealing with difficult people, delivering constructive feedback, and making tough decisions - while gaining insight into the four generations in the workplace and how they can successfully bring out the best in each. Packed with interviews and examples from companies like Zappos, Groupon, Southwest Airlines, and Google, Manager 3.0 will help these new managers enhance their unique talents while developing a leadership style all their own.

Drawing on a wide array of people and places, Uncharted traces long-term projects that shrewdly evolved over generations to meet the unpredictable challenges of every new age. Heffernan also looks at radical exercises and experiments that redefined standard practices by embracing different perspectives and testing fresh approaches. Preparing to confront a variable future provides the antidote to passivity and prediction.

Meetings don't have to be a waste of time. When managed right, they are a powerful tool for solving problems, making decisions, exchanging ideas - and getting results fast. Based on years of experience in consulting for companies around the world, Brian Tracy has learned firsthand what works in meetings - and what doesn't. Now he reveals simple, proven ideas you can use to make meetings shorter, more effective, and more satisfying to everyone in attendance.

Rajiv J. Shah is no stranger to pulling off the impossible, from helping vaccinate 900 million children at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to a high-pressure race against the clock to stop the spread of Ebola. His secret? A big bets philosophy—the idea that seeking to solve problems rather than make incremental improvements can attract the unlikely partners with the power and know-how to achieve transformational change. Part career sweeping memoir, part inspirational playbook, Big Bets offers a master class in decision-making, leadership, and changing the world one bet at a time.

How can you come up with great ideas by yourself, or in the context of your team, and quickly determine which are worthy of investment? The simple metric of ideaflow determines success like no other. Ideaflow is a mindset, a way of approaching all your business problems, that multiplies your efforts and unleashes your full potential. Nurture ideaflow and watch your results transform.

In this thought-provoking exploration, Matthew May defines elegance as the elusive combination of unusual simplicity and surprising power, and pinpoints the four key elements that characterize it: seduction, subtraction, symmetry, and sustainability. In a story-driven narrative that sheds light on the need for elegance in design, engineering, physics, art, urban planning, sports, and work, May offers a surprising array of stories that illustrate why what's "not there" often matters more than what is.

Too many people associate creativity solely with the arts, even though to be an incredible scientist, engineer, or entrepreneur requires immense creativity. Combining creativity tools and techniques with real-world stories of innovative people and businesses, this audiobook is a provocation, an inspiration, and an invitation to unleash the innate creativity that lies within each of us. It offers a more dynamic and integrative way to adapt and innovate, one that allows us the freedom to access our full human selves.

If you read (or listen to) nothing else on decision making, listen to these ten articles. We've combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you and your organization make better choices and avoid common traps.

Much of our business thinking is shaped by delusions that distort our understanding of the real reasons for a company's performance. The most pervasive delusion is the Halo Effect. When a company's sales and profits are up, people often conclude that it has a brilliant strategy, a visionary leader, capable employees, and a superb corporate culture. When performance falters, they conclude the opposite. In fact, little may have changed.

Ever wished you could navigate the complexities of arguments with grace and precision, uncovering hidden truths and crafting compelling arguments? The Socratic method, a powerful tool for critical thinking honed by the ancient philosopher Socrates, holds the key to unlocking your inner wisdom and becoming a master of persuasion. But mastering this method goes beyond simply asking questions. It delves into the art of crafting inquiries that unravel assumptions, expose hidden biases, and lead to profound insights.

This groundbreaking resource provides comprehensive coverage across all aspects of business analytics, presenting proven management guidelines to drive sustainable differentiation. Through a rich set of case studies, author Evan Stubbs reviews solutions and examples to over 20 common problems spanning managing analytics assets and information, leveraging technology, nurturing skills, and defining processes. Delivering Business Analytics also outlines the Data Scientist's Code, 15 principles that, when followed, ensure constant movement toward effective practice.

Find the best solutions to your problems. Become a better decision maker. We are surrounded by systems. Businesses, schools, families, the economy, our country are all systems. The more you understand how they work, what problems do they face and how can you improve your position in them, the happier, and more stress-free your life will be. Find strategic solutions considering every aspect of your problem. Apply systems thinking to solve work, business, and relationship problems. Learn to see through the hidden pathways of contemporary politics, economics, and education changes.

In Clarity in Crisis, Marc shares how true leaders need to lead in and through times of crisis and thrive under conditions of ambiguity, rather than message their way out or duck from hard decisions.

Beyond OODA: Developing the Orientation for Deception, Conflict and Violence is Varg Freeborn's highly anticipated follow up to the extremely popular Violence of Mind. While Violence of Mind was a broad introduction to all aspects of violence preparation, Beyond OODA focuses precisely on the development of mindset, or more accurately the orientation that influences and governs our decision making, and how it is developed for both good and bad people, alike.

An organization's future success depends on their decision makers' ability to anticipate changes and disruptions in the marketplace. This book provides the information you need to anticipate the future, understand tomorrow's market dynamics, and make the necessary decisions to meet the future on your terms. Small Data, Big Disruptions lets you exploit the period between the moment you could know about emerging disruptions and the moment most everybody will know about it. It's the difference between being ahead of the curve and struggling to catch up.

You're facing a problem at work. There are many ways you can approach the situation, but each comes with its own pros and cons. How do you sort through all the information so that you know you're taking the right path? The answer is in how you think. The HBR Guide to Critical Thinking will help you navigate your most challenging issues, from difficult problems to tough decisions to complex scenarios.

Belonging brings out the best in everyone. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, community organizer, or leader of any sort, your group is unlikely to thrive if the individuals don’t feel welcomed, included, and valued for who they are. The good news is that you can use design to create feelings of inclusion in your organization: rituals that bring people together, spaces that promote calm, roles that create a sense of responsibility, systems that make people feel respected, and more.

Do motivation and "how-to's" really work? Almost never! Why? There is something missing. In his newest results-getting book, If How To's Were Enough We Would All Be Skinny, Rich & Happy, Brian Klemmer explores what is missing and the real reason why most people do not succeed. The secret is found in seven paradigms that will change the course of your life. They are the basis of Klemmer & Associates' hugely popular series of experiential leadership seminars.

In The Partnership Charter, psychologist and business mediation expert David Gage offers a comprehensive guide to the art of establishing and maintaining a business partnership. The centerpiece of his approach is the Partnership Charter, a document that clearly outlines the goals, expectations, responsibilities, and relationships of the principals. The charter identifies potential sources of conflict and how they will be resolved, while addressing such sensitive issues as personal styles, values, money, and power.

This is humanity’s last chance. Centuries of greed, pride, and hate have sent humankind hurtling toward disaster, far from our original purpose. There is only one solution that can reset the compass and right the ship, and that answer is only two words. With time running out, it’s up to David Ponder and a cast of history’s best and brightest minds to uncover this solution before it is too late. The catch? They are allowed only five tries to solve the ominous challenge.