Set against the vibrant backdrop of Latin America, this semi-autobiographical novel follows the transformative journey of an idealistic, naive Peace Corps Volunteer named Peter, whose life takes an unexpected turn when tragedy strikes his remote village in Paraguay propelling him on a harrowing escape with a semi-homeless 12-year-old boy.Their journey takes them through an indigenous community, a Mennonite colony, a squatters camp, and, finally, the lawless and chaotic city of Ciu...

Brave astronauts, flaring rockets, and majestic launches are only one side of the story of spaceflight. Any mission to space depends on years--if not decades--of work by thousands of dedicated individuals on the ground. These are the people whose voices offer a friendly link to Earth in the void of space, whose hands maneuver rovers across the face of planets, and whose skills guide astronauts home. This book is a long-overdue history of three major centers that have managed important miss...

This book examines the impact of the digital deluge on employees and organizations and sets out the leadership actions needed to create a corporate culture fit for the digital age.In the digital world executives are presented with exponentially more information than their predecessors were a generation ago – and yet we’re not exponentially more productive. Why? Because we’re using twenty-first century technology with a twentieth century mindset.Excessive working hours, emai...

Most accounts of the current financial crisis tell a story of deregulation, out-of-control markets and irresponsible speculation. But few of those works have done more than regurgitate the newspaper coverage. In contrast, The Great Credit Crash digs deeper, drawing on some of the most prominent radical analysts of the modern market to foreground the key questions that are still waiting to be answered.This volume presents a more complete and convincing analysis of the recent...

In Change by Design, Tim Brown, CEO of IDEO, the celebrated innovation and design firm, shows how the techniques and strategies of design belong at every level of business. Change by Design is not a book by designers for designers; this is a book for creative leaders who seek to infuse design thinking into every level of an organization, product, or service to drive new alternatives for business and society.Learn the proven, human-centered process for sparking true innovation:...

New tools for managing complexityDoes your organization manage complexity by making things more complicated? If so, you are not alone.According to The Boston Consulting Group’s fascinating Complexity Index, business complexity has increased sixfold during the past sixty years. And, all the while, organizational complicatedness-that is, the number of structures, processes, committees, decision-making forums, and systems-has increased by a whopping f...

In recent years, developing a value proposition has become a prime consideration for businesses. A value proposition is an analysis and quantified review of the business benefits, costs and value that a company can deliver to prospective customers and customer segments. Creating and Delivering your Value Proposition provides guidance for business leaders - demonstrating why having a strong value proposition is so important for a company. This practical new title shows readers how ...

Join forces with others inside and outside your organization to solve your toughest problems.If you read nothing else on collaborating effectively, read these 10 articles. We’ve combed through hundreds of articles in the Harvard Business Review archive and selected the most important ones to help you work more productively with people on your team, in other departments, and in other organizations.Leading experts such as Daniel Goleman, Herm...

From the New York Times bestselling author of How We Got To Now and FarsightedSteven Johnson, author of Where Good Ideas Come From, Emergence, Everything Bad is Good for You, Mind Wide Open and Ghost Map, and an acknowledged bestselling leader on the subject of innovation, gathers - for a foundational text on the subject of innovation - essays, interviews, and cutting-edge insights by such exciting fiel...

Over the last decade, and even since the bursting of the technology bubble, pundits, consultants, and thought leaders have argued that information technology provides the edge necessary for business success. IT expert Nicholas G. Carr offers a radically different view in this eloquent and explosive book. As IT's power and presence have grown, he argues, its strategic relevance has actually decreased. IT has been transformed from a source of advantage into a commoditized "cost of doing busi...

This comprehensive handbook is a valuable resource for companies of all sizes who are considering (or already developing) enhanced professional learning programs.Often working in conjunction with traditional educational institutions, they boast cream-of-the-crop faculty from the academic and business communities. Once the province of only the largest corporations, corporate universities are fast becoming the standard at smaller companies as well.Featuring c...

A fundamental shift is underway that will change how we conceive of value. In an era of increasing interconnectedness, individuals, as opposed to institutions, stand at the center of value creation. To adapt to this tectonic shift, organizations can no longer unilaterally devise products and services. They must engage stakeholders—from customers and employees to suppliers, partners, and citizens at large—as co-creators.Co-creation guru Venkat Ramaswamy and Kerimcan Ozcan call for e...