Disruptive change has clearly intensified in today’s fast-paced business world. Why are boards of directors so ineffective in dealing with the threats inherent in every corporate governance system? In Better Boardrooms, Donner Prize winning author Patricia Meredith zeroes in on how boards can help manage uncertainty. Meredith outlines the specific corporate strategies that should be implemented in order to reduce the tremendous waste of resources – financial, human, intellectual, social, and environmental – that occurs when companies fail to respond effectively to forces that are so obviously surrounding them. To regain the reputation of boards as vibrant enablers of economic growth, Better Boardrooms proposes that a broad cross-section – including policy makers and regulators, customers, suppliers, bankers, and investors – work together to create a system better suited to the business obstacles of the twenty-first century. Discussing how the current corporate system is flawed and in desperate need of a digitally focused restructuring, Better Boardrooms proposes a new model of governance, one based on dialogue and collaboration that ensures all relevant voices are heard and included. As boundaries between industries blur and stakeholders gain greater access to information, it is vital that boards of directors help set corporate strategy rather than simply approve it.

Distinguished governance experts offer cures for what ails our boards of directors In light of corporate malfeasance in recent years, the governance of corporations has been receiving great attention from regulators, researchers, shareholders, and directors themselves. Based on Richard Leblanc's in-depth five-year study of 39 boards of directors of both for- and not-for-profit organizations, Building a Better Board goes behind the scenes to reveal the inner workings of boards of directors, including how they make decisions. Recently chosen as one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40"(TM), Dr Richard Leblanc is an award-winning teacher and researcher, certified management consultant, professional speaker, professor, lawyer and specialist on boards of directors. He can be reached at [email protected]. James Gillies, PhD (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), is Professor Emeritus at the Schulich School of Business, York University, where he serves as Chair of the Canada-Russia Corporate Governance Program.

"From the bestselling author of Nixonland and The Invisible Bridge comes the dramatic conclusion of how conservatism took control of American political power"--

HOW DO YOU MAKE IT IN BUSINESS? STOP LISTENING AND START WATCHING Your Body at Work is a guide to seeing past the words that fill the hallways, conference rooms, and e-mails of your workplace, and to deciphering the hidden meanings that lie behind them. Through real-life examples from the world of business, and with background from the science of communication, you'll learn to sight-read colleagues and use your own body language to your best advantage. You'll find out: • How a co-worker's hands, much more than her words, tell you how she felt about your presentation • Why gestures at a meeting are more memorable than words • When a shrug of the shoulders can mean the difference between "job well done" and "job could be better" • How to train a nosy boss to back off—without uttering a single word • What your shoes and your hair may be saying about your commitment to the job • Why you'll find more smiley-face stickers in cubicles than in corner offices David Givens has been a consultant to some of the biggest companies in the United States. With his expertise, he'll help you look past the words so you can really read your workplace.

AT BETHANY: Sermons and Essays is a collection of some of the most effective and thought-provoking works of the author during his tenure at Bethany Christian Church in Houston, a church known for sound preaching since its founding by Dr. Elmer D. Henson in 1947. These writings bring the Gospel of Christ to bear upon issues of political and social concern such as war, poverty, and the environment as well as matters of personal discipleship.

In the past 100-plus years, forestland ownerships have gone through two structural changes in the US and other parts of the world: the accumulation of industrial timberlands between 1900s and 1980s and the transformation of industrial timberlands to institutional ownerships afterwards. This book is about the history and economics of these two structural changes with the emphasis on the latter. The scale of both changes is unprecedented and truly revolutionary, impacting tens of millions of acres of private landholdings and billions of dollars of investment and affecting industrial structure, forest management and policy, research and development, community welfare, and forest sustainability. Looking though a historical count of key events, players, prevailing management philosophies, public policy, and institutional factors, the author of this book searches for an economic explanation and assesses the impact of these two changes. Its main contributions are three folds. First, it explains why industrial firms were able to profit from owning large areas of forest lands in the first place and how institutional investors could purchase these lands later. Many details of the history that could have otherwise been lost are revealed in this book for the first time. Second, it compares private and public equity timberland investments with respect to risk-adjusted returns as well as such other dimensions of interest to investors and forest managers including alignment of interests, capacity to exploit market inefficiencies, and their forest management and conservation records. Finally, it provides thoughtful commentary into the future of institutional timberland investments and global forest sustainability. This book is required reading for anyone interested in understanding the workings of the modern forest sector in the U.S. and elsewhere, forest investment, and forest sustainability.

The seminal work on mutual funds investing is now a Wiley Investment Classic Certain books have redefined the way we view the world of finance and investing—books that should be on every investor’s shelf. Bogle On Mutual Funds—the definitive work on mutual fund investing by one of finance’s great luminaries—is just such a work, and has been added to the catalog of Wiley’s Investment Classic collection. Updated with a new introduction by expert John Bogle, this comprehensive book provides investors with the wisdom of the pioneer of mutual funds to help you identify and execute the ideal mutual fund investment choices for your portfolio. The former Vanguard Chief Executive, Bogle has long been mutual funds' most outspoken critic; in this classic book, he provides guidance on what you should and shouldn't believe when it comes to mutual funds, along with the story of persistence and perseverance that led to this seminal work. You'll learn the differences between common stock, bond, money market, and balanced funds, and why a passively managed "index" fund is a smarter investment than a fund managed by someone making weighted bets on individual securities, sectors, and the economy. Bogle reveals the truth behind the advertising, the mediocre performance, and selfishness, and highlights the common mistakes many investors make. Consider the risks and rewards of investing in mutual funds Learn how to choose between the four basic types of funds Choose the lower-cost, more reliable investment structure See through misleading advertising, and watch out for pitfalls Take a look into this timeless classic and let Bogle On Mutual Funds show you how to invest in mutual funds the right way, with the expert perspective of an industry leader.