Future Business

Today, not only is everything digital getting faster, cheaper, and smaller at an exponential rate, we also have the Internet. When these two revolutions - one in technology and the other in communications - joined, an explosive force was unleashed that changed the very nature of innovation. And with any change, we have seen many strategic blunders and extraordinary learning curves along the way.

In How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, veteran journalist Chris Taylor traces the series from the difficult birth of the original film through its sequels, the franchise’s death and rebirth, the prequels, and the preparations for a new trilogy. Taylor provides portraits of the friends, writers, artists, producers, and marketers who labored behind the scenes to turn Lucas’s idea into a legend.

In The 4 Day Week, entrepreneur and business innovator Andrew Barnes makes the case for the four-day week as the answer to many of the ills of the 21st-century global economy. Barnes conducted an experiment in his own business, the New Zealand trust company Perpetual Guardian, and asked his staff to design a four-day week that would permit them to meet their existing productivity requirements on the same salary but with a 20 percent cut in work hours. The outcomes of this trial, which no business leader had previously attempted on these terms, were stunning.

"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 Not only does this outdated perspective need to change, the future demands it.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.

As the founder of financial futures and initiator of Globex, the world’s first global electronic trading system, Leo Melamed revolutionized the finance industry. Man of the Futures, his definitive memoir, recounts Melamed’s journey from Holocaust survivor and accidental runner at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), to one of the most prominent leaders in the world of finance.

"I've set up my corporation. Now what do I do?" All too often business owners and real estate investors are asking this question. They have formed their protective entity - be it a corporation, LLC, or LP - and don't know what to do next. Run Your Own Corporation provides the solution to this very common dilemma. Breaking down the requirements chronologically (i.e. the first day, first quarter, first year), the audiobook sets forth all the tax and corporate and legal matters new business owners must comply with.

There is a deep instinct inside of people that many times is latent and undeveloped or has even gone dormant. Coach Micheal Burt calls this instinct PREY DRIVE. An animal has a prey drive, which is the animal's instinct to stalk, capture, and pursue its prey. Prey Drive in humans, as defined by Coach Burt is a person's instinctual ability to see something with the eyes or in the mind and to have the persistence and intensity to pursue it.

Subscription companies are growing nine times faster than the S&P 500. Why? Because unlike product companies, subscription companies know their customers. A happy subscriber base is the ultimate economic moat. Today's consumers prefer the advantages of access over the hassles of maintenance. Simply put, the world is shifting from products to services. As the CEO of the world's largest subscription management platform, Tien Tzuo has helped hundreds of companies transition from relying on individual sales to building customer-centric, recurring-revenue businesses.

National leader Stacey Abrams has written the guide to harnessing the strengths of being an outsider and succeeding anyway. Leadership is hard. Convincing others - and yourself - that you are capable of taking charge and achieving more requires insight and courage. Lead from the Outside is the handbook for outsiders, written with an eye toward the challenges that hinder women, people of color, the working class, members of the LGBTQ community, and millennials ready to make change.

The future of mobility is evolving at an accelerating pace. This is most evident in the automotive retail channel, as both car dealers and automakers are experiencing an enhanced level of change. The Future of Automotive Retail provides a framework for how these changes are impacting both automaker and automotive dealer. The book provides a handy framework to categorize these changes across vehicle production, evolving consumer expectations, vehicle ownership, vehicle power sources, autonomy, connectivity, and servicing of vehicles.

World renowned business sage Gary Hamel argues that organizations need bold management innovation now more than ever. With incisive analysis and vivid illustrations, he explains how to turn your company into a serial management innovator.

In Paid to Think, international consultant David Goldsmith presents his groundbreaking approach to leadership and management based on research revealing the 12 specific activities that all leaders perform on a daily basis, and he provides you with each activity’s accompanying tools and instructions proven to boost your performance and that of your entire organization.

Warnings is the story of the future of national security, threatening technologies, the US economy, and possibly the fate of civilization. In Greek mythology Cassandra foresaw calamities, but was cursed by the gods to be ignored. Modern-day Cassandras clearly predicted the disasters of Katrina, Fukushima, the Great Recession, the rise of ISIS, and many more. Like the mythological Cassandra, they were ignored. There are others right now warning of impending disasters, but how do we know which warnings are likely to be right?

Monsanto, a St. Louis chemical firm that became the world’s largest maker of genetically engineered seeds, merged with German pharma-biotech giant Bayer in 2018 - but its Roundup Ready® seeds, introduced 25 years ago, are still reshaping the farms that feed us. When researchers found trace amounts of the firm’s blockbuster herbicide in breakfast cereal bowls, Monsanto faced public outcry. Award-winning historian Bartow J. Elmore shows how the Roundup story is just one of the troubling threads of Monsanto’s past, many told here and woven together for the first time.

Since the release of Doug Stephens’ first book, The Retail Revival, change in the global retail sector has accelerated beyond even the boldest forecasts. As predicted, online giants like Amazon and Alibaba.com are growing at a dizzying pace. Hundreds of well-known brick-and-mortar retailers have closed their doors, and brands and retailers across categories are struggling to understand the shifting needs and expectations of a new consumer.

What To Do When Machines Do Everything is a guidebook to succeeding in the next generation of the digital economy. When systems running on Artificial Intelligence can drive our cars, diagnose medical patients, and manage our finances more effectively than humans it raises profound questions on the future of work and how companies compete. Drawing upon real-world cases, data, and insight, the authors provide clear strategic guidance and actionable steps to help you and your organization move ahead in a world where exponentially developing new technologies are changing how value is created.

Do you want to boost your success and well-being, while finding greater fulfillment and purpose in your life and work? Do you want to increase your influence and connection with people, and enjoy a more meaningful life? You can achieve this, and so much more, through the power of Lift. In Lift Your Impact, Richard Newman shares the groundbreaking communication techniques that can help you gain the results and respect you deserve.

This is an audio summary of Zero to One, a book containing hard-hitting set of standards for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and thought-leaders to carefully consider when building the “next big thing” of the future.

There’s not just one way to get there, and it’s also not only for those who get straight as in school. Your kid literally doesn’t need to have a certain background or skill set. No, it isn’t a dream - it’s today’s reality! Finally, over 47 ways to get started with making some extra cash at a very young age - watch your kid have fun and understand more about money management so that they’re ready for future success.

Learn from the past. Understand the present. Explore the future.