Business & Economics

In this long-awaited book from the world’s premier brand expert and author of the seminal work Building Strong Brands, David Aaker shows managers how to construct a brand portfolio strategy that will support a company’s business strategy and create relevance, differentiation, energy, leverage, and clarity.

Building on case studies of world-class brands such as Dell, Disney, Microsoft, Sony, Dove, Intel, CitiGroup, and PowerBar, Aaker demonstrates how powerful, cohesive brand strategies have enabled managers to revitalize brands, support business growth, and create discipline in confused, bloated portfolios of master brands, subbrands, endorser brands, cobrands, and brand extensions.

Renowned brand guru Aaker demonstrates that assuring that each brand in the portfolio has a clear role and actively reinforces and supports the other portfolio brands will profoundly affect the firm’s profitability. Brand Portfolio Strategy is required reading not only for brand managers but for all managers with bottom-line responsibility to their shareholders.

JetBlue Chairman Joel Peterson provides the playbook for establishing and maintaining a culture of trust that breaks down the operational silos and CYA mentality that plague many organizations, in this groundbreaking expanded edition of The 10 Laws of Trust.

Trust is the glue that holds an organization together. It turns deflection into transparency, suspicion into empowerment, and conflict into creativity. With it, a tiny company like John Deere grew into a worldwide leader. Without it, a giant corporation like Enron toppled.

In The 10 Laws of Trust Expanded Edition, JetBlue chairman Joel Peterson explores how a culture of trust gives companies an edge.

How does it feel to work for a firm where leaders and colleagues trust one another? Freed from micromanagement and rivalry, every employee contributes his or her best. Risk-taking and innovation become the norm. And, as Peterson notes, “When a company has a reputation for fair dealing, its costs drop: Trust cuts the time spent second-guessing and lawyering.”

With compelling examples, Peterson details how to establish and maintain a culture of trust, including: Start with integrity * Invest in respect * Empower everyone * Require accountability * Create a winning vision * Keep everyone informed * Budget in line with expectations * Embrace conflict * Forget “you” to become an effective leader * And more.

With this book in hand, you’ll be able to plant the seeds of trust—and reap the rewards of reputation, profits, and success.

This fully expanded edition includes a powerful self-assessment tool for organizations to evaluate their culture of trust and discover areas for improvement. Peterson has also added rich new case studies and chapters on the theme of betrayal, including how to manage and guard against it.

Former economic hit man John Perkins shares new details about the ways he and others cheated countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. Then he reveals how the deadly EHM cancer he helped create has spread far more widely and deeply than ever in the US and everywhere else—to become the dominant system of business, government, and society today. Finally, he gives an insider view of what we each can do to change it.

Economic hit men are the shock troops of what Perkins calls the corporatocracy, a vast network of corporations, banks, colluding governments, and the rich and powerful people tied to them. If the EHMs can’t maintain the corrupt status quo through nonviolent coercion, the jackal assassins swoop in. The heart of this book is a completely new section, over 100 pages long, that exposes the fact that all the EHM and jackal tools—false economics, false promises, threats, bribes, extortion, debt, deception, coups, assassinations, unbridled military power—are used around the world today exponentially more than during the era Perkins exposed over a decade ago.

As dark as the story gets, this reformed EHM also provides hope. Perkins offers specific actions each of us can take to transform what he calls a failing Death Economy into a Life Economy that provides sustainable abundance for all.

What are the rules for business etiquette today? Is it acceptable to text your boss at home? What is the polite way to ask a colleague to take a distracting conversation behind closed doors? What about the use of smartphones in meetings? In today’s workplace, manners matter more than ever. With an increasing amount of open-plan workplaces and constant connectivity, the chances of unintentionally annoying or offending others is growing exponentially.Merging classic rules of behavior with new realities of modern business, Excuse Me spotlights dozens of puzzling situations, with suggestions for bridging divides.

The book untangles the nuances of: meeting etiquette, interview expectations, proper office attire, electronic manners, privacy in tight spaces, nonverbal cues, small talk, social media use, and much more.In even the most diverse workplaces, good manners will create an atmosphere of respect, smoothing the way for everyone to succeed. Excuse Me explains how to begin.

Why not make money off that empty room? Home-hosting platforms like Airbnb have inspired millions of homeowners to start a vacation rental business. One room is all it takes to generate real income-if you know what you’re doing. The short-stay marketplace has grown increasingly competitive. Bad reviews can torpedo bookings, while problem guests can strain your property and sanity. Before you leap, let this helpful guide steer you in the right direction

You play it cool, letting your team take half days on Friday and overlooking the occasional latecomer to the office. You stand up for your people and make sure they know you’re there for them, but they still hate working for you. What gives? Well, you’re clearly screwing something up, and it’s time you find out what it is.

It’s frustrating. You’ve put in the work and finally made it to the management team, and you haven’t stopped there. You show up first and leave last. You’re there every time one of your employees needs something. To any outsider looking in, you’re killing this management thing.

But still, your employees want nothing to do with you. They scoff when you tell them what to do and suddenly get quiet when you walk into the room. You know you have to get your team behind you if you’re going to stay on the management team. Chances are it’s not about what you’re doing right–it’s about what you’re doing wrong.

How Not to Manage is filled with interviews and stories of people who were being held back by the things they didn’t realize were working against them. The workplace is a minefield filled with politics and unspoken rules. This book is here to teach you:

-How you’re screwing it up and what to do about it
-How other people screwed it up before figuring it out
-What you should stop doing immediately
-What you should be doing more of

Now, stop panicking and letting frustration hold you back. This book is the tool you need to get your team on your side and rock the manager title!