Organizational Health

With this indispensable guide, you'll cultivate a values-driven approach to building a culture of sustained authentic inclusion where everyone can thrive; learn how to improve the interview process to avoid missing game-changing talent; develop a hybrid office protocol that works for everyone and a support infrastructure that aligns with universal design principles; uncover and eliminate the destructive influence of unconscious cognitive biases; understand unique problem-solving abilities such as lateral thinking, visual-spatial thinking, multisensory thinking, and much more.

We know that our minds are capable of great things because, every now and then, they come out with a brilliant idea or two. However, our minds are also unpredictable, spending large stretches of time idling or distracting themselves. This is a book about how to optimize these beautiful yet fitful instruments so that they can more regularly and generously produce the sort of insights and ideas we need to fulfill our potential and achieve the contentment we deserve.

Citing a wealth of research data and drawing on illustrative anecdotes, The Burnout Challenge shows how organizations can change to promote sustainable productivity. Christina Maslach and Michael P. Leiter provide useful tools for identifying the signs of employee burnout, most often exhaustion, cynicism, and ineffectiveness. They also advise managers on assembling and interpreting worker self-evaluation surveys, which can reveal workplace problems and potential solutions. And when it comes to implementing change, Maslach and Leiter offer practical, evidence-driven guidance.

What will your 100-year life look like? Does the thought of working for 60 or 70 years fill you with dread? Or can you see the potential for a more stimulating future as a result of having so much extra time? Many of us have been raised on the traditional notion of a three-stage approach to our working lives: education, followed by work and then retirement. But this well-established pathway is already beginning to collapse.

When you tame your most impulsive, primitive reactions to the crazy situations you face every day, you'll help others do the same. Tame the Primitive Brain offers a new and simple system to understanding and controlling the behavior of others. Noted body language, behavior, and communication expert Mark Bowden explains the fastest and most effective ways to understand why someone acts toward you the way they do; why you react to their behavior in the way you do; and most important, what exactly to do to achieve the right outcomes.

Weaving together cutting-edge social science with riveting stories that take us from the front lines of the Volkswagen scandal to backstage at the Oscars, and from deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico to the top of Mount Everest, Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik explain how the increasing complexity of our systems creates conditions ripe for failure and why our brains and teams can't keep up. They highlight the paradox of progress: Though modern systems have given us new capabilities, they've become vulnerable to surprising meltdowns - and even to corruption and misconduct.

Leonard Mlodinow, the best-selling author of The Drunkard’s Walk and coauthor of The Grand Design (with Stephen Hawking), gives us a startling and eye-opening examination of how the unconscious mind shapes our experience of the world and how, for instance, we often misperceive our relationships with family, friends, and business associates, misunderstand the reasons for our investment decisions, and misremember important events.

If you have ever felt unsure or uncomfortable when facing a social dilemma, John Bridges answers these questions and more in his classic handbook for men. The rules were simpler in bygone days, but technological changes have caused seismic shifts to the cultural landscape of 21st century. Do the rules of common courtesy still apply?

In Bringing Out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement, renowned thought leader and internationally recognized workplace expert Aubrey Daniels takes a look at today's rapidly changing work environment, providing a timely update to his seminal book on performance management.

How do you make sure your brand connects with consumers? Branding that Means Business draws from the authors’ experience and business literature as well as psychology, sociology, and even anthropology to show listeners that while any brand serves the business, the mechanisms that enable it are all about connecting with people. Listeners will learn how to create, maintain, and operationalize their brand, and think creatively about how to differentiate their product and most importantly, make consumers fall in love with it.

What does the collapse of sub-prime lending have in common with a broken jackscrew in an airliner’s tailplane? These were systems that drifted into failure. While pursuing success in a dynamic, complex environment with limited resources and multiple goal conflicts, a succession of small, everyday decisions eventually produced breakdowns on a massive scale. The growth of complexity in society has outpaced our understanding of how complex systems work and fail. This book explores complexity theory and systems thinking to understand better how complex systems drift into failure.

There is so much we get wrong about power: who has it, what it looks like, and the role it plays in our lives. Grounded in over two decades’ worth of scientific research and inspired by the popular class of the same name at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, Acting with Power offers a new and eye-opening paradigm that overturns everything we thought we knew about the nature of power.

Stretch identifies key ways for people and organizations to work beyond their resources to achieve higher performance. Based on in-depth research in psychology and management, Scott Sonenshein shows how to accomplish goals, find professional and personal success, and live a richer life. Sonenshein reveals that while we rarely have all we think we need, we usually have more than we imagine.

Of all the women you know, how many of them would you describe as "a lady"? Naturally, you know women who are kind and intelligent, witty and resourceful; but a lady is an altogether different variety of female. She's mindful of the effect she has on those around her, and she's careful not to let her words or appearance betray her true intentions. How to Be a Lady is a charming reminder of what it takes to be an exemplary woman - someone who knows how to breeze through an awkward conversation with poise, or delicately sidestep the beauty salon gossip.

"Your story is your life," says Loehr. As human beings, we continually tell ourselves stories: of success or failure; of power or victimhood; stories that endure for an hour, or a day, or an entire lifetime. We have stories about our work, our families and relationships, our health; about what we want and what we're capable of achieving.

Boundaries, Priorities, and Finding Work-Life Balance is filled with practical advice from HBR experts who can help you answer questions like: How do I set clear boundaries around my work life and my personal life? How can I pursue my passions while making time for my job? What are the signs of burnout and how do I conserve my energy? What steps can I take to protect my mental health at work?

Enchantment, as defined by bestselling business guru Guy Kawasaki, is not about manipulating people. It transforms situations and relationships. It converts hostility into civility and civility into affinity. It changes the skeptics and cynics into the believers and the undecided into the loyal. Enchantment can happen during a retail transaction, a high-level corporate negotiation, or a Facebook update.

Now, based on years of academic research, The Formula finally unveils the ground-breaking discoveries of their pioneering study, not only highlighting the scientific and mathematic principles that underpin success, but also revolutionizing our understanding of: Why performance is necessary but not adequate. Why "experts" are often wrong How to assemble a creative team primed for success. How to most effectively engage our networks.

In this endlessly fascinating book, New Yorker columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea that has profound implications: large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant. Groups are better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.

This is the go-to guide on working with anyone in your office - from the difficult or negative to the toxic and destructive - whether they are your manager, a team member, or someone who’s just waiting out the clock. Chock-full of useful advice that will make your workday happier and more productive.