Love 'em or Lose 'em: Getting Good People to Stay by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans

Love 'em or Lose 'em: Getting Good People to Stay by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans (Jan 1, 2008)

• Paperback: 306 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; 4th edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576755576
• ISBN-13: 978-1576755570

Amazon.com Review

Because finding the ideal person for every workplace position has become an increasingly difficult task, the retention of top employees has become every manager's concern. Love 'Em or Lose 'Em, by organizational-development specialists Beverly L. Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans, proposes that this "race for talent" can be effectively run only by those who adopt programs and policies that truly support their personnel. It then shows how to do so, even in organizations reluctant to participate actively.Kaye and Jordan-Evans encourage an initial scan of their 26 alphabetically arranged chapters--such as "Information: Share It," "Mentor: Be One," and "Space: Give It"--so attention can be fully focused on the most relevant benefits and responsibilities associated with employee retention. All are bolstered with hands-on exercises and stories of others' failures and successes. The section on family-friendly conduct, for example, suggests uncovering specifics by directly asking employees what would make their lives easier. Resultant needs can be met, it continues, by allowing staffers to bring children to the office on occasion, assisting anyone who must line up care for an aging parent, giving weekday comp time to those who travel on weekends, etc. It also explains how Deloitte & Touche and DuPont addressed these issues. Any manager who dreads losing a top performer would do well to consider this book. --Howard Rothman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Companies of all sizes need new startegies to retain quality employees at all levels... Authors Kaye and Jordan-Evans provide some of the best thinking I have seen and do it in a format and sytle that make this book a must-read for any manager or supervisor." -Steve Bauman, vice president, Management Staffing & Development, Marriott International --Steve Bauman, vice president, Management Staffing & Development, Marriott International

"Love "Em or Lose 'Em is a practical hands-on book for managers. It uses proven retention techiniques from some of the best companies in North America and real world case studies. The book's structure and easy-to-read style will make it a popular desktop reference book for managers to find ready-to-use strategies that can be implemented immediately." -- Bill Smith, Vice President, KPMG

"Love 'Em or Lose 'Em has all the elements managers are telling me they want-practical, real, fast, and easy." -- Judy Mason, Global Manager of Career Development, Dow Corning

Cute tends to bring out the worst cynic in most of us. But Love 'Em or Lose 'Em is a trove of good, short, practical advice on how to retain employees.The premise is that a former employee, A.J. (we don't know age, gender, or race), has something to say at the beginning of each chapter about why he or she or someone else has left the company. The 26 chapters are arranged alphabetically according to their one-word titles, such as "Ask," "Jerk," and "Passion." In "Ask," for example, the authors write that one of the reasons companies don't know why they're losing employees is that they don't ask the employees themselves. That's followed by a series of to-do lists, company examples, and an "Alas" story drawn from the authors' personal experiences at the dozens of companies they've worked with. Each chapter follows a similar setup (and, yes, there is an assessment test to see if you're a jerk). Be forewarned that the content is all pretty basic stuff. There are no magic measurement tools or predictive aids. But then sometimes the best ideas are the simplest.
-- Inc. Magazine, November 1999 

Product Description

With replacement costs high and start-up time critical, employee retention is more valuable than ever. This best-selling guide provides 26 strategies to keep talented employees happy and productive. Citing research and experience with dozens of organizations, the authors present many examples of how today's companies have applied their retention strategies and increased their retention rates. The chapters are arranged alphabetically, from "Ask" to "Zenith." Each chapter includes a series of to-do lists, company examples, and an "alas" story drawn from the authors' personal experiences. This edition features new tips and to-do lists, new stories, and additional research from the media and from the authors' own extensive database. There are also three new appendices: a troubleshooting guide, a guide to saying "thank you" in the workplace, and a reading group guide.

From the Publisher

It happens time and time again: the brightest and most talented people leave the company for "better opportunities." Their peers wonder how management could let them go. Their managers feel helpless to make them stay. Bigger salaries, loftier titles, and added perks may work for a while, but what employees really want are meaningful work, opportunities for growth, excellent bosses, and a sense of connectedness to the group. The good news is that, unlike monetary compensation, these benefits are well within the reach of most managers.Beginning with an exit memo written by the composite employee "A.J.," authors Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans explore the truth behind the dissatisfactions of many of today’s workers and offer 26 strategies—from A to Z—that managers can use to address their concerns and keep them on the team. These strategies are neither difficult nor costly and, through research, tips, and corporate tales drawn from dozens of organizations, the authors provide examples of how these strategies work in some of the best companies in America.
With every employee who walks out the door costing the company up to 200 percent of their annual salary to replace, retention is one of the most important issues facing businesses today. This book gives everyone from the CEO to the front-line supervisor solutions for keeping the employees they simply can’t afford to lose. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

"You know - they're your talented, committed employees. You love them because they are critical to your success. They are the heart and soul of your organization. They are your stars."--BOOK JACKET. "They're the ones you simply can not afford to lose. And they are the ones your competitors are trying to steal from you."--BOOK JACKET. "So - how will you keep them? How will you get them to stay while others try to entice them away?"--BOOK JACKET. "Read the 26 strategies in this book and you will know what to do."--BOOK JACKET.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Beverly Kaye is Founder/CEO of Career Systems, a Talent Development and Engagement Company. She received the ASTD Legend award for her contribution to workplace learning over the past two decades. She is also the author of the classic career development book, Up Is Not The Only Way. Sharon Jordan-Evans is president of the Jordan Evans Group and is a pioneer in the field of employee retention and engagement. She serves as a prominent speaker for numerous conferences and works with Fortune 500 companies such as American Express, Boeing, and Disney. She is also an executive coach, working with the people companies can least afford to lose. Kaye and Jordan-Evans are also the co-authors of Love It Don't Leave It: 26 Ways to Get What You Want at Work.

The Science of Influence: How to Get Anyone to Say "Yes" in 8 Minutes or Less! by Kevin Hogan

• Paperback: 305 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 2nd Edition edition (27 Oct 2010)
• ISBN-10: 0470634189
• ISBN-13: 978-0470634189
• Product Dimensions: 22.8 x

The Science of Influence: How to Get Anyone to Say "Yes" in 8 Minutes or Less! by Kevin Hogan (Paperback - 27 Oct 2010)

Product Description

Get customers, clients, and co–workers to say "yes!" in 8 minutes or lessThis revised second edition by a leading expert of influence continues to teach a proven system of persuasion. Synthesizing the latest research in the field of influence with real–world tested experiences, it presents simple secrets that help readers turn a "no" into a "yes." Every secret in this book has been rigorously tested, validated, and found reliable.

• Learn dozens of all–new techniques and strategies for influencing others including how to reduce resistance to rubble
• Make people feel instantly comfortable in your presence
• Decode body language, build credibility, and be persistent without being a pain
• Expert author Kevin Hogan turns the enigmatic art of influence and persuasion into a science anyone can master

The amazing secret of The Science of Influence is its simplicity. After you read this book you will immediately understand why people say "no" to you and learn how to turn that "no" into a "yes" from that moment on.

From the Inside Flap

In the last decade, scientific research has revealed new and amazing insights into how persuasion really works. For The Science of Influence, persuasion expert Kevin Hogan examined and road–tested all the newest research and tactics in influence and here presents the best new ideas and strategies. Coupled with the most effective of the traditional persuasion techniques, this book offers a simple, concise, and practical compendium of what works and what doesn′t.For salespeople, marketing professionals, and anyone who persuades others for a living, there′s no excuse for not having the newest, most effective tools and tactics at hand—and this book provides them. Hogan combines these techniques into a revolutionary system that will get anyone to say "yes" in eight minutes or less.
With a wealth of the best new ideas and techniques—as well as secrets of persuasion never before revealed—The Science of Influence will show you how to:

• Present a convincing physical appearance
• Read and send powerful and effective body language messages
• Turn on the charm for maximum effect
• Make your target feel comfortable talking to you
• Ask questions to learn about your target′s values, desires, needs, and beliefs
• Use secret tools to build credibility fast
• Convince your target of the negative consequences of a "no" 
• Be persistent—but not annoying

The Science of Influence also reveals the hard science behind the most effective techniques—how the surrounding environment affects your listener, how they form habits and routines (and how to break them), and how the conscious and unconscious minds work. More than just a book about salesmanship, this book will change the way you communicate with coworkers and clients, family and friends. It′s the Holy Grail of persuasion—a proven system for turning a "no" into a "yes."

From the Back Cover

Praise for The Science of Influence"Want to influence others? Want to persuade others? Want to sell to others? Then this book is not just an option—it′s a landmark breakthrough of information you can use the minute you read it."
—Jeffrey Gitomer, author of The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling
"I shudder to think what an evil–minded person might do with these secrets of persuasion, but I also marvel at what good someone else could do as well. An astonishing, eye–opening, even amazing work."
—Joe Vitale, author of The Attractor Factor
"Kevin Hogan is that rarest of breeds: an expert who not only is master of his subject, but also understands how to teach it masterfully. No one in the business of influencing others—and who isn′t?—can afford to be without this book."
—Richard Brodie, author of Virus of the Mind
"Kevin Hogan has written that rare how–to book on the topic of persuasion that is rooted in current psychology research. The Science of Influence is an intelligent, practical, entertaining, and provocative guide."
—Professor Robert Levine, author of The Power of Persuasion: How We′re Bought and Sold
Kevin Hogan′s The Science of Influence has a simple premise: take the latest findings in behavioral science, test them in real–world business conditions, and describe what works. ThisSecond Edition relates key recent discoveries on persuasion in Hogan′s trademark nontechnical, highly readable style, so you can quickly understand these new routes to "yes" and immediately put them to use in your business and life. As you discover Hogan′s complete, scientifically based system for persuading someone in 8 minutes or less, you′ll be amazed at the knowledge level in such new areas as the secrets to what makes a "customer for life"; presentation order—what to say, and why—and its effect on persuasion; how people deal with choices between products and services as well as multiple options on a product or service; new, more effective ways to communicate with friends and family; and much more!

About the Author

Kevin Hogan is a public speaker and corporate trainer. He teaches, trains, and speaks about persuasion, influence, body language, emotional intelligence, communication, and motivation. Hogan holds a doctorate degree in psychology and has studied extensively in the fields of influence, hypnosis, and nonverbal communication. Visit KevinHogan.com.

Rich Like Them by Ryan D'Agostine

Rich Like Them: My Door-to-Door Search for the Secrets of Wealth in America's Richest Neighborhoods by Ryan D'Agostino

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (January 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316021466
• ASIN: B003GAN4AE

From Publishers Weekly

While academics frequently conduct research to try to unlock the secrets of garnering great wealth, Esquire editor D'Agostino took a more direct—and more entertaining—route: he picked the 20 wealthiest neighborhoods in America and went door to door, garnering interviews with 50 very wealthy, very different individuals—including doctors, art dealers, real estate moguls and one shrimp-peeling–machine manufacturer. Many of the author's subjects confessed that they have been less motivated by a drive for wealth than a desire for a certain lifestyle, an obsession with a certain field and a need for independence, and that focus, passion and street smarts have contributed more to their success than luck or any formal training. Several of his interviewees leveraged their success through reinvestment, often in real estate, raising the question of how well their net worths have survived in the current credit crunch. While D'Agostino freely admits that his sample is far from scientific, weighted heavily to friendly people who happened to be at home when he went calling, his debut is witty and inspiring. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Think door-to-door journalist who, out of curiosity and a desire to uncover so-called fail-safe secrets, knocks on approximately 200 doors in 20 of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the U.S. What’s even more amazing is that 50 responded cordially in face-to-face meetings with this Esquire magazine reporter. Armed with demographic information, D’Agostino trains, planes, and autos, often in Motel 6 and other inexpensive accommodations, from coast to coast to get the story. He backs up his primary interviews with solid psychological research, such as the study concluding that “persistence in pursuit of knowledge leads to success.” Although no one particularly famous is featured, all conversations help the author formulate five major (and many minor) observations:
(1) to connect the dots that lead to wealth, first you have to see the dots;
(2) luck doesn’t exist;
(3) you need an intensity that will scare people;
(4) the myth of risk—which is a bet you’ve tried to rig; and
(5) never let pride get in the way of profit; humility is the secret ingredient. Dialogue is sharp, bright, and engaging. --Barbara Jacobs

Review

"Rich Like Them not only proves wealth is within the grasp of us all, it also provides a blueprint for how you can make it a reality. It's a fun and potentially profitable read."-Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., author ofNice Girls Don't Get Rich and Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office

"Pay close enough attention to the wisdom in Ryan D'Agostino's fun, fast-paced book and the door he knocks on next time around may be yours."-Jean Chatzky, Today Show financial editor and author of Make Money, Not Excuses

"First came A Random Walk Down Wall Street, in which an Ivy League economist explained how the stock market works. Then came The Millionaire Next Door, which drew on in-depth research to explain how regular people accumulate wealth. Now comes Rich Like Them, in which Ryan D'Agostino takes a random walk among the millionaires that inhabit America's wealthiest neighborhoods. These ultra-achievers are surprisingly generous with their stories, their advice, and the secrets of their success. A hard book to put down-filled with ideas that you can put to work."--William C. Taylor, founding editor of Fast Company and coauthor of Mavericks at Work

"There are many wonderful and surprising things about Ryan D'Agostino's book. The first is that he didn't get socked in the face for knocking on strangers' doors and asking them about their private finances. The second is just how much wisdom-about both money and life in general-these people gave him. This is an inspiring read."-A. J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All

Product Description

Ryan D'Agostino, former senior editor at Money, wanted to know how the wealthiest in America got that way. So he asked. Knocking on 500 doors in some of the most affluent zip codes in America, D'Agostino met with men and women who welcomed him in and shared their most difficult financial decisions, toughest setbacks, greatest strategies, most triumphant moments, and deepest insights. In RICH LIKE THEM, he weaves together what he learned and offers maxims for achieving wealth, such as "Never Let Pride Get in the Way of Profit," and "When you fail miserably, be thankful." Filled with inspiring stories and straight-up advice, RICH LIKE THEMis a lively and practical get-rich guide that any reader can follow.

About the Author

Ryan D'Agostino is Articles Editor at Esquire magazine and former Senior Editor at Money magazine. His writing has also appeared in The New Yorker, New York, the Wall Street Journal, Ski, the New York Times, and Budget Living, among others.

Firnando Chau Review

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges (Oct 1, 2009)

 The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges (Oct 1, 2009)

Michelangelo's Finger: An Exploration of Everyday Transcendence by Raymond Tallis

Michelangelo's Finger: An Exploration of Everyday Transcendence - Hardcover (Sept. 7, 2010) by Raymond Tallis

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300166486
• ISBN-13: 978-0300166484

Review

Praise for The Kingdom of Infinite Space:"An amazing book about the human head, I''ve never seen anything like it. . . . A very heady, heady experience. . . . Thrilling."—Lynne Truss, Sunday Times

(Lynne Truss Sunday Times )

Praise for The Kingdom of Infinite Space:"The pages burst with an entertaining mixture of intriguing facts and thought-provoking observations."—Andrew Robinson, New Scientist

(Andrew Robinson New Scientist )

Product Description

In this startlingly original and persuasive book, Raymond Tallis shows that it is easy to underestimate the influence of small things in determining what manner of creatures humans are. He argues that the independent movement of the human index finger is one such easily overlooked factor. Indeed, not for nothing is the index finger called the “forefinger.” It is the finger we most naturally deploy when we want to pry objects out of small spaces, but it plays a far more significant role in an action unique to us among primates: pointing.

Tallis argues that it is through pointing that the index finger made a significant contribution to the development of humans and to the creation of a human world separate from the rest of the natural world. Observing the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the hugely familiar and awkward encounter between Michelangelo’s God and Man through their index fingers, Tallis identifies the artist’s intuitive awareness of the central role of the index finger in making us unique. Just as the reaching index fingers of God and Man are here made central to the creation of our kind, so Tallis believes that the seemingly simple act of pointing, which is used in a wide variety of ways, is central to our extraordinary evolution.

About the Author

Raymond Tallis is emeritus professor of geriatric medicine, University of Manchester, UK. As a poet, novelist, and philosopher, he has explored consciousness, language, and what is distinctive about human beings, and he is often cited as one of Britain’s great public intellectuals. His recent books include The Kingdom of Infinite Space; The Hand; I Am; The Knowing Animal; and The Enduring Significance of Parmenides. He lives in Cheshire, UK.

Here Comes Everybody by Clay Shirky

About the Book:-
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Penguin; First Thus edition (29 Jan 2009)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0141030623
ISBN-13: 978-0141030623


From getAbstract.com

• How new electronic media are changing society
• How they enable new forms of community
• How to use them to spread your message

Author Clay Shirky tackles a daunting task: He sets out to explain how new electronic media are transforming society. In itself, that sounds common enough, but Shirky’s focus and specificity raise his book to a level of much greater value and utility than its peers. He examines the social nature of human beings, and analyzes how tools ranging from e-mail to text messages change the way people organize into groups. His style is easy, and he tells vivid, interesting and highly convincing stories to illustrate the changes he observes. The result is a book that anyone dealing with group organization and communication should read. getAbstractrecommends this innovative work to marketers, social critics, readers interested in human nature, and entrepreneurs who hope to tap into or develop new social structures.

Table of Contents:-
Chapter 1 It Takes a Village to Find a Phone
Chapter 2 Sharing Anchors Community
Chapter 3 Everyone is a Media Outlet
Chapter 4 Publish, Then Filter
Chapter 5 Personal Motivation Meets Collaborative Production
Chapter 6 Collective Action and Institutional Challenges
Chapter 7 Faster and Faster
Chapter 8 Solving Social Dilemmas
Chapter 9 Fitting Our Tools to a Small World
Chapter 10 Failure For Free
Chapter 11 Promise Tool Bargain
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Index


Summary (from Wikipedia)


In the book, Shirky recounts how social tools such as blogging software like Wordpress and Twitter, file sharing platforms like Flickr, and online collaboration platforms like Wikipedia support group conversation and group action in a way that previously could only be achieved through institutions. In the same way the printing press increased individual expression, and the telephone increased communications between individuals, Shirky argues that with the advent of online social tools, groups can form without the previous restrictions of time and cost. Shirky observes that:


"[Every] institution lives in a kind of contradiction: it exists to take advantage of group effort, but some of its resources are drained away by directing that effort. Call this the institutional dilemma--because an institution expends resources to manage resources, there is a gap between what those institutions are capable of in theory and in practice, and the larger the institution, the greater those costs."


Online social tools, Shirky argues, allows groups to form around activities 'whose costs are higher than the potential value,' for institutions. Shirky further argues that the successful creation of online groups relies on successful fusion of a, 'plausible promise, an effective tool, and an acceptable bargain for the user.' However, Shirky warns that this system should not be interpreted as a recipe for the successful use of social tools as the interaction between the components is too complex.


Key concepts


Coasean Ceiling/Coasean Floor


In Chapter Two, "Sharing Anchors Community", the author uses theories from the 1937 paper The Nature of the Firm by Nobel Prize winning economist Ronald Coase to access the various challenges that transaction costs pose to institutions. From these theories, Shirky derives two terms that represent the constraints under which institutions operate: Coasean Ceiling and Coasean Floor.


Coasean Ceiling


The point above which the transaction costs of managing a standard institutional form prevent it from working well.


Coasean Floor


The point below which the transaction costs of a particular type of activity, no matter how valuable to someone, are too high for a standard institutional form to pursue.The author argues that social tools drastically reduce transaction costs, allowing loosely structured groups with limited managerial oversight to operate under the Coasean Floor. As an example, he cites Flickr, which allows groups to organically form around themes of images without the transaction costs of managerial oversight.


Promise, Tool, Bargain


In Chapter Eleven, "Promise, Tool, Bargain", Shirky states that each success story of using social tools to form groups contained within the book is an example of the complex fusion of 'a plausible promise, an effective tool, and an acceptable bargain with the users.'


Promise: Why someone would join a group


The first challenge to creating an effective promise is that the claim on the users' time for a particular activity must be greater than the activity the users are already doing. A second challenge is that social tools be satisfying to the individual user. Shirky suggests three strategies for handling these challenges.
1.  Make joining the group easy
2. Create personal value
3. Subdivide the community


Tool: Overcoming challenges to coordination of the group


A social tool is only as good as the job it is meant for, and it must be a tool that the user actually wants to use. Here the author switches focus away from the types of tools to the types of groups (large and small) that the tools are designed to support. Small groups tend to be more tightly knit and conversational than large groups.


Bargain: What to expect and what is expected of someone who joins the group


The author argues that the bargain is the most complex characteristic of the successful forming of groups using social tools, because it is both less explicit than promise and tool, and it requires more input by the user.

From Publishers Weekly


Blogs, wikis and other Web 2.0 accoutrements are revolutionizing the social order, a development that's cause for more excitement than alarm, argues interactive telecommunications professor Shirky. He contextualizes the digital networking age with philosophical, sociological, economic and statistical theories and points to its major successes and failures. Grassroots activism stands among the winners—Belarus's flash mobs, for example, blog their way to unprecedented antiauthoritarian demonstrations. Likewise, user/contributor-managed Wikipedia raises the bar for production efficiency by throwing traditional corporate hierarchy out the window. Print journalism falters as publishing methods are transformed through the Web. Shirky is at his best deconstructing Web failures like Wikitorial, the Los Angeles Times's attempt to facilitate group op-ed writing. Readers will appreciate the Gladwellesque lucidity of his assessments on what makes or breaks group efforts online: Every story in this book relies on the successful fusion of a plausible promise, an effective tool, and an acceptable bargain with the users. The sum of Shirky's incisive exploration, like the Web itself, is greater than its parts. (Mar.) 
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 


Other Reviews


'As crisply argued and as enlightening a book about the internet as has been written' Daily Telegraph 'As usable as the technology he writes about' Independent 'Clay Shirky's masterpiece ! brilliant insights that make me think ... that's how it all works' Cory Doctorow, co-editor of Boing Boing 'Anyone interested in the vitality and influence of groups of human beings ... needs to read this book' - Steven Johnson, author of Emergence 'Terrifically clever' Guardian 'Gordon Brown has been reading Clay Shirky's Here Comes Everybody, currently the book of the moment among webheads and new media obsessives.' - Matthew D'Ancona, Telegraph


"Clear thinking and good writing about big changes." - Stewart Brand 


"Clay Shirky may be the finest thinker we have on the Internet revolution, but Here Comes Everybody is more than just a technology book; it's an absorbing guide to the future of society itself. Anyone interested in the vitality and influence of groups of human beings -from knitting circles, to political movements, to multinational corporations-needs to read this book." - Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You and Emergence 


"How do trends emerge and opinions form? The answer used to be something vague about word of mouth, but now it's a highly measurable science, and nobody understands it better than Clay Shirky. In this delightfully readable book, practically every page has an insight that will change the way you think about the new era of social media. Highly recommended."- Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail 


"In story after story, Clay masterfully makes the connections as to why business, society and our lives continue to be transformed by a world of net- enabled social tools. His pattern-matching skills are second to none."- Ray Ozzie, Microsoft Chief Software Architect 


"Clay has long been one of my favorite thinkers on all things Internet-- not only is he smart and articulate, but he's one of those people who is able to crystallize the half-formed ideas that I've been trying to piece together into glittering, brilliant insights that make me think, yes, of course, that's how it all works." -- Cory Doctorow, co-editor of Boing Boing and author of Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present.


About the Book


Welcome to the new future of involvement. Forming groups is easier than it’s ever been: unpaid volunteers can build an encyclopaedia together in their spare time, mistreated customers can join forces to get their revenge on airlines and high street banks, and one man with a laptop can raise an army to help recover a stolen phone. The results of this new world of easy collaboration can be both good (young people defying an oppressive government with a guerrilla ice-cream eating protest) and bad (girls sharing advice for staying dangerously skinny) but it’s here and, as Clay Shirky shows, it’s affecting … well, everybody. For the first time, we have the tools to make group action truly a reality. And they’re going to change our whole world.


A revelatory examination of how the wildfirelike spread of new forms of social interaction enabled by technology is changing the way humans form groups and exist within them, with profound long-term economic and social effects-for good and for ill.


A handful of kite hobbyists scattered around the world find each other online and collaborate on the most radical improvement in kite design in decades. A midwestern professor of Middle Eastern history starts a blog after 9/11 that becomes essential reading for journalists covering the Iraq war. Activists use the Internet and e-mail to bring offensive comments made by Trent Lott and Don Imus to a wide public and hound them from their positions. A few people find that a world-class online encyclopedia created entirely by volunteers and open for editing by anyone, a wiki, is not an impractical idea. Jihadi groups trade inspiration and instruction and showcase terrorist atrocities to the world, entirely online. A wide group of unrelated people swarms to a Web site about the theft of a cell phone and ultimately goads the New York City police to take action, leading to the culprit's arrest. 


With accelerating velocity, our age's new technologies of social networking are evolving, and evolving us, into new groups doing new things in new ways, and old and new groups alike doing the old things better and more easily. You don't have to have a MySpace page to know that the times they are a changin'. Hierarchical structures that exist to manage the work of groups are seeing their raisons d'tre swiftly eroded by the rising technological tide. Business models are being destroyed, transformed, born at dizzying speeds, and the larger social impact is profound. 


One of the culture's wisest observers of the transformational power of the new forms of tech-enabled social interaction is Clay Shirky, and Here Comes Everybody is his marvelous reckoning with the ramifications of all this on what we do and who we are. Like Lawrence Lessig on the effect of new technology on regimes of cultural creation, Shirky's assessment of the impact of new technology on the nature and use of groups is marvelously broad minded, lucid, and penetrating; it integrates the views of a number of other thinkers across a broad range of disciplines with his own pioneering work to provide a holistic framework for understanding the opportunities and the threats to the existing order that these new, spontaneous networks of social interaction represent. Wikinomics, yes, but also wikigovernment, wikiculture, wikievery imaginable interest group, including the far from savory. A revolution in social organization has commenced, and Clay Shirky is its brilliant chronicler.


About the Author (2010)


Clay Shirky teaches at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU, where he researches the interrelated effects of our social and technological networks. He has consulted with a variety of groups working on network design, including Nokia, the BBC, Newscorp, Microsoft, BP, Global Business Network, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Navy, the Libyan government, and Lego. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, Harvard Business Review, Business 2.0, and Wired1. 

Colossians & Philemon [MACARTHUR BI STUDY GD COLOSSIA] - Paperback (Mar. 31, 2007) by John(Author) MacArthur

The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison

The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (April 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465019358
• ISBN-13: 978-046501935

From getAbstract.com

• What the theory of “pull” is
• How the three levels of pull work
• How to use pull to your advantage

“Pull” is the latest business dynamic that soon will be sweeping through an institution near you. At least, that’s what business consultants John Hagel III, John Seely Brown and Lang Davison predict. The authors, all members of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, make a solid, well-researched case for their strategic analysis, using detailed, candid accounts from active participants in a world where people use connections, knowledge and resources to solve problems. This is where the book sings: Its numerous colorful examples illuminate the benefits of pull. While this scholarly work provides some useful suggestions, the authors are more successful at defining and breaking down their theoretical information than at offering a how-to guide for using pull at your next business meeting. getAbstract recommends this volume to executives who want to move their companies ahead in the digital age and to unite young technology rats and traditional workers.

From Publishers Weekly

Exploring the paradigm shift in business brought about by innovations in communication technology, this collaboration from three consultant-authors provides a succinct metaphor for the shift in the information economy-from "push" to "pull"-but little else. Though they provide an effective survey of the effect of more interactive, ubiquitous and on-demand communication, it already feels dated; the essential messages that Hagel, Brown, and Davison derive-networking is key, you should pursue your passions, many traditional ways of doing business are over-are old news in the business self-help section. The examples they provide focus primarily on individually-driven collaborative efforts (wikis, online gaming) and make poor analogies for someone looking to revitalize a corporation or present a compelling case for change to colleagues or an intransigent CEO. Professionals who already know that the Internet isn't just a phase will need more information than this book provides.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States of America
“The Power of Pull examines the “how question”—how can we effectively address our most pressing challenges in a rapidly changing and increasingly interdependent world? In The Power of Pull, John Hagel, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison highlight fascinating new ways in which passionate thinking, creative solutions, and committed action can—and will—make it possible for us to seize opportunities and remain in step with change.”


Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
“The Power of Pull will do for our 21st-century information-age institutional leadership what Peter Drucker’s The Concept of the Corporation did for industrial-era management. This book begins to create a body of learnable principles that will revolutionize our ability to access and work with knowledge flows.”


Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO of Google
“Hagel, Brown, and Davison have given us a provocative and insightful look at the power of today's knowledge flow. If you want to meet the challenges of working and living in the 21st century, this book should be your guide.”


Joichi Ito, CEO of Creative Commons and Internet venture investor
“Connecting many important threads through beautiful metaphors and wonderful narratives, the authors provide both a mind-expanding view of how the world is changing and a solid framework and context to approach the future for anyone interested in surviving and enjoying it.”


John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends
“In times of unprecedented change, we as individuals and institutions can have extraordinary leverage and influence if we marshal the passion, knowledge and resources necessary to achieve great things. The Power of Pull empowers and guides us to make the most of today’s enormous possibilities.”


Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class and The Great Reset
“Stop whatever you are doing and read this amazing book. The authors totally nail it. Digging beneath the surface of stuff that distracts us on a daily basis, they unpack the deep forces that really truly matter and provide a guidebook each of us can use to unleash passion, transform how and why we work, and restore destiny and dignity to our lives.”


Mark E. Tucker, Former Group Chief Executive of Prudential plc, Member of the Court of the Bank of England
“We live in a global village, where borders are blurred, where all humanity could and should be responsible for the well-being of others. The Power of Pull proposes fresh insights that coalesce into a powerful way forward in this new world. This erudite manual for change is a testament to the creativity and insight of its authors.”


Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com
“As social media and enterprise cloud computing continue to exert their democratizing influences, the Power of Pull will become a key principle for success. The individuals who learn how to use these tools most effectively are the ones who will pull their institutions into new heights of rapid innovation, improved performance and significant achievement.”


Walter Isaacson, President and CEO, the Aspen Institute, and author of Einstein: His Life and Universe
“This brilliant and exciting book shows how to pursue your passions by harnessing the power of networks. Success no longer comes from possessing knowledge; instead, you have to participate with others in creating a flow of knowledge. The power of ‘pull’—the ability to draw out people and resources for each endeavor—can transform both individuals and institutions.”


Hasso Plattner, Founder and Chairman of SAP Supervisory Board
“This is a seminal work that explores the personal and professional implications of a powerful convergence of technologies, ranging from in memory databases for speed, massive parallel processing in the cloud, access via telephone for anything, anytime, everywhere. We are just beginning to understand what this means for us. The authors help us to understand where and how pull will change our lives and our work given the new digital infrastructures re-shaping our landscape. It offers us a roadmap that we neglect at our peril.”


John Doerr, Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers venture capital
"The Power of Pull is a powerful new meme for navigating and networking in the 21st century.”


Harvard Business Review
“In a ferociously dynamic world, what happens if we can’t plan but can only adapt? We must move, say the authors, from push to pull. At the center of the pull strategy is an individual (not a corporation) who has access to knowledge flows, takes advantage of porous boundaries and serendipitous interactions, and occupies new creative spaces to achieve a novel order of performance. I know. It’s a complex model with several moving parts. But it makes for an exhilarating read as the authors sublimely reinvent the world of enterprise."


Bloomberg Businessweek
“[T]his year’s must-read book on innovation . . . The book is a smart analysis of why executives need to broaden their thinking about innovation—and take action, now.”


MIT Sloan Management Review
“Provocative…the beauty of The Power of Pull is that the authors bring such seemingly disparate ideas into one simple, overarching imperative: Stop pushing; start pulling.”


800-CEO-READ
“The Power of Pull provide[s] great insight into the quickly changing world of information. On the surface, [it is a] book about technology and business, but on a deeper level, reveal[s] much more about the future of communication, culture, and people.”

Product Description

In a radical break with the past, information now flows like water, and we must learn how to tap into its stream. Individuals and companies can no longer rely on the stocks of knowledge that they’ve carefully built up and stored away. Information now flows like water, and we must learn how to tap into the stream. But many of us remain stuck in old practices—practices that could undermine us as we search for success and meaning.


In this revolutionary book, three doyens of the Internet age, whose path-breaking work has made headlines around the world, reveal the adjustments we must make if we take these changes seriously. In a world of increasing risk and opportunity, we must understand the importance of pull. Understood and used properly, the power of pull can draw out the best in people and institutions by connecting them in ways that increase understanding and effectiveness. Pull can turn uncertainty into opportunity, and enable small moves to achieve outsized impact.


Drawing on pioneering research, The Power of Pull shows how to apply its principles to unlock the hidden potential of individuals and organizations, and how to use it as a force for social change and the development of creative talent.


The authors explore how to use the power of pull to:

• Access new sources of information
• Attract likeminded individuals from around the world
• Shape serendipity to increase the likelihood of positive chance encounters
• Form creation spaces to drive you and your colleagues to new heights
• Transform your organization to adapt to the flow of knowledge

The Power of Pull is essential reading for entrepreneurs, managers, and anybody interested in understanding and harnessing the shifting forces of our networked world.

About the Author

John Hagel III is the co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge. He is the author of a series of best-selling business books, including Net Gain, Net Worth, Out of the Box andThe Only Sustainable Edge. He lives in Burlingame, California.


John Seely Brown is the independent co-chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge and a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California. He is co-author of the best-selling book The Social Life of Information. He lives in Palo Alto, California.


Lang Davison is executive director of the Deloitte Center for the Edge. He was also the collaborating writer for the best-selling and critically acclaimed book Net Gain, Net Worth, authored by John Hagel. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count by Richard E. Nisbett

Intelligence and How to Get It: Why Schools and Cultures Count [Paperback] Richard E. Nisbett

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (February 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393337693
• ISBN-13: 978-039333769

From Publishers Weekly

Whether intelligence is largely determined by genetics or environment has long been hotly contested. Nisbett, a University of Michigan psychology professor, weighs in forcefully and articulately, claiming that environmental conditions almost completely overwhelm the impact of genes. He comes to this conclusion through a careful statistical analysis of a large number of studies and also demonstrates how environment can influence not only IQ measures but actual achievement of both students and adults. (People often overachieve when appropriate incentives are in place, Nisbett argues.) Nisbett builds a very strong case that measured IQ differences across racial, cultural and socioeconomic boundaries can easily be explained without resorting to hereditary factors. The result is a very positive message: schools, parents and government programs can have a huge impact if they take the right, which are not necessarily the most expensive, steps. Without those steps, he says, the current role of socioeconomic factors is frightening, with economically disadvantaged children largely condemned to failure. Although Nisbett relies heavily on statistics to document his claims, he does so in a manner accessible to general readers and uses a thoroughly appealing style to engage them throughout. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

Nisbett argues that a variety of social, cultural, and economic factors can significantly affect a child’s IQ, and suggests ways to improve intelligence scores, as well as grades, by manipulating those factors. (Chronicle Review )

A hugely important analysis of the determinants of IQ. . . . A ‘must-read.’ (Daniel Osherson, professor of psychology, Princeton University )

Product Description

“[Nisbett] weighs in forcefully and articulately . . . [using] a thoroughly appealing style to engage . . . throughout.”—Publishers Weekly Who are smarter, Asians or Westerners? Are there genetic explanations for group differences in test scores? From the damning research of The Bell Curve to the more recent controversy surrounding geneticist James Watson’s statements, one factor has been consistently left out of the equation: culture. In the tradition of Stephen Jay Gould’s The Mismeasure of Man, world-class social psychologist Richard E. Nisbett takes on the idea of intelligence as biologically determined and impervious to culture with vast implications for the role of education as it relates to social and economic development. Intelligence and How to Get It asserts that intellect is not primarily genetic but is principally determined by societal influences.

About the Author

Richard E. Nisbett is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has written numerous books on intelligence and cultural psychology and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.