Most companies have massive amounts of data at their disposal, yet fail to utilize it in any meaningful way. But a powerful new business tool - analytics - is enabling many firms to aggressively leverage their data in key business decisions and processes, with impressive results.In their previous book, Competing on Analytics, Thomas Davenport and Jeanne Harris showed how pioneering firms were building their entire strategies around their analytical capabilities. Rather tha...

Throughout ninety-nine percent of human history, life expectancy at birth was less than eighteen years. Few people had a chance to age. Today, thanks to extraordinary medical, demographic, and economic shifts, most of us expect to live long lives. Consequently, the world is witnessing a powerful new version of retirement, driven by the power and needs of the Baby Boomer generation. Consumers over age fifty account for more than half of all spending and control more than 70% of our total ne...

How do you develop products that people will actually use and buy? This practical guide shows you how to validate product and company ideas through customer development research—before you waste months and millions on a product or service that no one needs or wants.With a combination of open-ended interviewing and fast and flexible research techniques, you’ll learn how your prospective customers behave, the problems they need to solve, and what frustrates and delights them. These i...

PICTURE THIS: A BOLD NEW BUSINESS STRATEGY DRAWN FROM TODAY'S HOTTEST VISUAL TRENDSScientific studies have shown that looking at pictures, drawings, and other graphics engage both sides of the brain--opening the "mind's eye" and business systems to new possibilities we might not otherwise see. Frustrated by lackluster approaches to strategy, companies are combining illustrations and color with business strategy with phenomenal success.If you want to go beyond drawing on t...

Often downplayed in the excitement of starting up a new business venture is one of the most important decisions entrepreneurs will face: should they go it alone, or bring in cofounders, hires, and investors to help build the business? More than just financial rewards are at stake. Friendships and relationships can suffer. Bad decisions at the inception of a promising venture lay the foundations for its eventual ruin. The Founder's Dilemmas is the first book to examine the early de...

TAKE THE PAIN OUT OF PRESENTATIONS.Terrified of speaking in front of a group? Or simply looking to polish your skills? No matter where you are on the spectrum, this guide will give you the confidence and the tools you need to get results.Written by presentation expert Nancy Duarte, the HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations will help you:Win over tough crowdsOrganize a coherent narrativeCreate power...

DELIVER THE PRESENTATION OF YOUR LIFE--AND LAUNCH YOUR CAREERA nonprofit dedicated to ideas worth spreading, TED challenges the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers to give "the speech of their lives" in 18 minutes or less. The more than 14,000 talks on TED.com have been viewed over 1 billion times and include those by such luminaries as Tony Robbins, Dan Pink, and Sheryl Sandberg.Now you can learn how to give a TED-style talk to achieve your personal and business ...

Ben Horowitz, cofounder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential leadership advice on building and running a startup—practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog.While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult entrepreneurship is when it comes to running one. ...

LEADERSHIP STARTS WITH STORYTELLINGWith clarity around your message, you will energize those you lead and create a vision they can buy into. But first, you must first write the story that will get them excited and ready to execute.Clarity is key for any successful leader, so much so that top corporations, such as Micorsoft. Nike, Proctor and Gamble, Kimberly Clark, and many more, have incorporated storytelling into their leadership training...

'Beware who you give this book to.' Financial Times 'I recommend that you keep this delightful essay at your side.' Observer 'Dryly witty essay' Alain de Botton, Sunday Telegraph We all sit through meetings with that one person who seems to be able to persuade everyone. What is their secret? Are they more gifted than we are? Or is it just that they are very skilled in the art of persuation? That is exactly what it is. They are people who use subtle tricks to convince other people to agree ...

According to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity, more than 565,000 new businesses were created in 2010 in the United States alone—each one of them hoping to strike gold. The Startup Playbook will help them succeed. Going insider to insider with unprecedented access, New York Times bestselling author and Clickable CEO, David Kidder, shares the hard-hitting experiences of some of the world’s most influential entrepreneurs and CEOs, revealing their most closely h...

Great things don't happen in a vacuum. But creating an environment for creative thinking and innovation can be a daunting challenge. How can you make it happen at your company? The answer may surprise you: gamestorming.This book includes more than 80 games to help you break down barriers, communicate better, and generate new ideas, insights, and strategies. The authors have identified tools and techniques from some of the world's most innovative professionals, whose teams collabora...