Small Business Development

Most new startups today are in highly regulated industries with strong incumbents - transportation, hotels, drones, energy, gaming, education, health care, cannabis, finance, liquor, insurance. The more startups try to snatch a piece of the establishment's pie, the more they risk running into a political wall. That's where Bradley Tusk comes in. As Tusk writes, "Every new company is essentially a tech startup. And when you disrupt someone in any industry, they don't say thank you. They punch you in the nose.

Traditional workplace conversations - which are based on a parent-child model - stymie growth and erode commitment. The Showkeirs advocate instead authentic conversations that are based on an adult-adult model. These conversations tell the truth, let go of the illusion of control, and view people as in charge of their own motivation. The result is a conversation revolution that creates greater commitment, real accountability for results, and improved organizational performance.

What does success look like? Five a.m. conference calls and late nights in the office? Winning every argument in the office and always getting your own way? What does a successful woman look like? The shoulder-pad wearing alpha? The dogmatist who rules with an iron fist? The reality is far more nuanced. Yet women are still reduced to alpha boss or the beta secretary or assistant, but when 47 percent of the workforce are reduced to two unhelpful stereotypes, how can you embrace your inner beta and be a success on your own terms?

An indispensable guide to building a start-up and breaking down the barriers for diverse entrepreneurs from the visionary venture capitalist and pioneering entrepreneur Kathryn Finney. Build the Damn Thing is a hard-won battle-tested guide for every entrepreneur who the establishment has left out. Finney, an investor and start-up champion, explains how to build a business from the ground up, from developing a business plan to finding investors, growing a team, and refining a product.

Three short years ago, when Chris Brogan and Julien Smith wrote their best seller, Trust Agents, being interesting and human on the Web was enough to build a significant audience. But now, everybody has a platform. The problem is that most of them are just making noise. In The Impact Equation, Brogan and Smith show that to make people truly care about what you have to say - you need more than just a good idea, trust among your audience, or a certain number of fol­lowers.

In Design to Grow, a Coca-Cola senior executive shares both the successes and failures of one of the world's largest companies. In this rare and unprecedented behind-the-scenes look, David Butler and senior Fast Company editor Linda Tischler, use case studies to show how this works at Coca-Cola - and how other companies can use the same approach to grow their business. This audiobook is a must for managers inside large corporations as well as entrepreneurs just getting started.

Spending the night in juvie wasn't the worst thing to happen to seven-year-old Teresa that summer. When her much-anticipated cross-country vacation turns to abduction, Teresa is forced to care for her mother, sister, and twin brothers. Homeless, abused, and afraid in the slums of San Francisco's Tenderloin District, Teresa finds joy in her adventures while fantasizing of a better life. Keeping this dream alive throughout her childhood is what drives her to end the cycle of abuse and poverty.

In the book, The Daily Entrepreneur, we talk about the power of habit development and show how to use it to overcome your specific challenges. What makes this book different is it's organized according to obstacles that we all face on a daily basis.

An Insider's Perspective on the Chief of Staff explores every aspect of the Chief of Staff role in a straightforward and engaging way. Author Emily Sander provides one-of-a-kind insights, combining her own experience as a Chief of Staff with perspectives gained from colleagues and her coaching clients. Sander offers her unique perspective on how the role fits into the organizational big picture, with real-life examples to drive home her points.

Listeners will learn how to work through the four steps of The Invention Cycle: Imagination (envisioning things that do not yet exist), Creativity (applying your imagination to address a challenge), Innovation (applying creativity to generate unique solutions), and Entrepreneurship (applying innovation to bring ideas to fruition, where our ideas then gain the power to inspire the imaginations of others). Using each step to build upon the last, you can create something complex, interesting, and powerful.

In this revolutionary guide, Stanford University professor and international best-selling author of inGenius adapts her popular course material to teach everyone how to make imaginative ideas into realities.

Having a clear knowledge of your business's financial life is important. No one should be in the dark about their overall financial picture. That's a disaster waiting to happen. However, with a perfunctory knowledge of basic accounting principles, including assets and liabilities, creating financial statements, budgeting, and more, you'll be on the road to healthier relationship with your money.

If you're like most entrepreneurs, the biggest obstacle to business growth is inside of your own head. The biggest obstacle is fear. Don't Let the Fear Win will help you get out of your own way so that you can build a business that you love. One that supports you, your family, and the people you are here to serve.

In this zippy listen packed with true-life stories, Jen Nash explains how the opportunity to connect is everywhere and how we can get more than we ever dreamed of out of life if we make the effort to lean in and say hello. Whether you want to go to more parties, get a better job, make more money, or be a better person—listening to this book can give you practical strategies for doing it all. A happier, more successful, and more fulfilling life is within your reach, and The Big Power of Tiny Connections will show you the way.

In their best-selling business classic Lean Thinking, James Womack and Daniel Jones introduced the world to the principles of lean production, principles for eliminating waste during production. Now, in Lean Solutions, the authors establish the groundbreaking principles of lean consumption, showing companies how to eliminate inefficiency during consumption.

Leaving the Rat Race with Python shows you how to nurture, grow, and harness your work-from-home coding business online - and live the good life!

The S.U.M.O Guy returns with a fun, fast-paced guide to gaining confidence and getting the most out of dealing with other people. With his trademark wit and good humour, Paul McGee arms you with 21 simple, proven methods for quickly building your communication muscle. Packed with priceless insights, expert advice, and skill-building exercises, How To Succeed With People gets you quickly up and running with the skills you need to communicate effectively with bosses, team members, customers, family, friends, neighbours...even complete strangers.

Win at both! On a tandem bicycle, two riders with different strengths can ride together and cover a lot of ground efficiently—if they have the same destination in mind and communicate effectively. Sounds a lot like marriage, doesn’t it? If you are an entrepreneur who has experienced the frustration of trying to balance your work life with your marriage life, only to fall behind in both areas, you’re far from alone. You can achieve greater balance simply by taking action together, in tandem, as outlined in this book.

This book will help you perfect the art of chitchat until it becomes second-nature. For many communication students, this is the final piece of the puzzle needed to turn one into a master conversationalist. At the very least, becoming confident in your ability to engage in small talk will make conversation more enjoyable and increase fulfillment in your social life. But the potential rewards are so much more far-reaching, both professionally and personally, that it is well worth the relatively small effort to attain.

From the marketing consultant down the street to the home based "mompreneur," they are America's new economic icons: the job-hopping, tech-savvy, fulfillment-seeking, independent workers. This entertaining and provocative account of the new frontier - by Fast Company contributor Pink - will change your thinking...and maybe even change your life.