We are in the middle of an economic downturn that is deeper and more damaging to the world economy than anything experienced since the 1930s. This means that to thrive'or even just to survive'company owners, executives, managers and even employees must take action today to remake their businesses in a way that is profound and long-lasting. To do this, it is first necessary to understand that most employees today feel apprehensive, overworked, and underappreciated. During tough and challenging times when we are asking them to do even more with less, they report feeling even more stressed and fearful than ever before. But, there is hope. By focusing on the right things in this negative and challenging time, any company can make a dramatic and marked difference in improving its ability to compete more effectively. And, to keep employees from becoming overloaded and myopic, management needs to especially be proactive and positive in difficult times. In this book, Dr. Bob Nelson, best-selling author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, discusses his recent research, experience and insights as to how managers and organizations can make a practical difference during tight and recessionary times'even with little time, resources or budget. This book uses hundreds of current and practical examples of what today's managers and business owners are doing to keep employees focused and positive in ways that can help their organization to emerge stronger from difficult economic times.

As the economic pendulum swings, it’s time to start living smart Living Well in a Down Economy For Dummies offers ideas for keeping more money in your pocket during a topsy-turvy economy. With more than 100 tips, it shows you how to tighten your belt without feeling a big pinch in your day-to-day life. Discover innovative and effective ways to cut expenses and boost your income in today’s economy. It isn’t about making sacrifices. It’s about setting priorities. Gain the skills you need to take control of your spending, make smarter choices, and stop the financial drain that can accompany a downturn in the economy. Inside, you’ll find practical advice on how to live and thrive when prices creep up or your income falls. Get tips for spending less in all areas of life—utilities, groceries, pet care, entertainment, and beyond. And figure out how to slip in some self-care without breaking the bank. You can do this, thanks to this no-judgment For Dummies guide. Reduce your expenses by cooking at home, doing your own car maintenance, cutting your own hair, and more Discover creative ways to increase your income, interview for better-paying jobs, and continue to save for college or retirement Save money on home maintenance, insurance, and other reoccurring costs Minimize your tax bill, improve your credit, and avoid foreclosure If you’re looking for practical tips on how to make ends meet that you can implement today, this For Dummies guide is for you.

About This Book The bad news! This book is not about how to get rich quick. It is definitely not about spending your life accumulating objects that will only turn to dust. The good news! This book takes a back-to-basics approach. It's about living well-for-less. It's about living from the inside-out. Within these pages it makes every effort to present materials in an easy-to-understand format. It is for everyday people who feel the need to live a more meaningful life that reflects their true potential. Never does it make any unrealistic claims to give a cure-all-solution to life's problems. Neither, does it imply that you can improve your life without putting forth honest and committed efforts. Our objective is to stimulate your mind, give you access to simple down-to-earth strategies that can help you to wake up, get up, go up, and stay up in any type of economy. Simply put, our aim is to help you "spend less than you earn and enjoy it." More about This Book Being a real estate broker for the past 13 yrs, I can truly see your vision and where this book is leading this next generation. The message in your book is so clear, and the life that you are living has inspired me and many of my close associates to step it up a notch in the way we handle our everyday finances. You demonstrated so clearly in your book, many of the key fundamentals to getting out of debt, a simple written plan of instructions that's easy to follow, and once you've built the wealth; how to keep it! Parents, I recommend you buy this book for your children before puberty. It's like putting money in the bank for your future. Ruben Surles Real Estate Broker San Antonio, Texas

Strategies for Leading Your Company in a Down Economy is an authoritative, insiders perspective on weathering the business climate in difficult times. Featuring chief executive officers representing some of the top companies in the nation, this book provides best practices for maintaining a positive outlook, minimizing impact on customers, and even benefiting, in some ways, from a down economyfor example, the potential for acquisitions. In the wake of the Wall Street crisis, these authors discuss how to maintain momentum by keeping employees motivated, amending plans for growth, and cutting costs as needed. From focusing on company strengths to seeking new business opportunities, these authors explain the proactive measures a CEO can take to ensure that his or her strategy will optimize performance during this economic downturn. This book provides valuable insight for every CEO today that needs to keep an ear to the ground and an eye on the bottom line by reformulating the business plan and making the tough decisions necessary to escape this catastrophe unscathed. Underlining a CEOs need to be agile, adaptable, and resourceful in this tumultuous financial environment, the authors demonstrate how a CEOs strong leadership skills are more vital than ever to the success of a company. The different niches presented and the breadth of perspectives represented enable readers to get inside some of the leading executive minds of today, as these insiders offer up their thoughts around the keys to keeping your companys chin up in a down economy.

Early in the twenty-first century, a quiet revolution occurred. For the first time, the major developed economies began to invest more in intangible assets, like design, branding, and software, than in tangible assets, like machinery, buildings, and computers. For all sorts of businesses, the ability to deploy assets that one can neither see nor touch is increasingly the main source of long-term success. But this is not just a familiar story of the so-called new economy. Capitalism without Capital shows that the growing importance of intangible assets has also played a role in some of the larger economic changes of the past decade, including the growth in economic inequality and the stagnation of productivity. Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake explore the unusual economic characteristics of intangible investment and discuss how an economy rich in intangibles is fundamentally different from one based on tangibles. Capitalism without Capital concludes by outlining how managers, investors, and policymakers can exploit the characteristics of an intangible age to grow their businesses, portfolios, and economies.

Is Wall Street bad for Main Street America? "A well-told exploration of why our current economy is leaving too many behind." —The New York Times In looking at the forces that shaped the 2016 presidential election, one thing is clear: much of the population believes that our economic system is rigged to enrich the privileged elites at the expense of hard-working Americans. This is a belief held equally on both sides of political spectrum, and it seems only to be gaining momentum. A key reason, says Financial Times columnist Rana Foroohar, is the fact that Wall Street is no longer supporting Main Street businesses that create the jobs for the middle and working class. She draws on in-depth reporting and interviews at the highest rungs of business and government to show how the “financialization of America”—the phenomenon by which finance and its way of thinking have come to dominate every corner of business—is threatening the American Dream. Now updated with new material explaining how our corrupted financial sys­tem propelled Donald Trump to power, Makers and Takers explores the confluence of forces that has led American businesses to favor balance-sheet engineering over the actual kind, greed over growth, and short-term profits over putting people to work. From the cozy relationship between Wall Street and Washington, to a tax code designed to benefit wealthy individuals and corporations, to forty years of bad policy decisions, she shows why so many Americans have lost trust in the sys­tem, and why it matters urgently to us all. Through colorful stories of both “Takers,” those stifling job creation while lining their own pockets, and “Makers,” businesses serving the real economy, Foroohar shows how we can reverse these trends for a better path forward.

One of our most incisive and committed journalists—author of the classic All the Livelong Day—shows us the real human cost of our economic follies. The Great Recession has thrown huge economic chal­lenges at almost all Americans save the super-affluent few, and we are only now beginning to reckon up the human toll it is taking. Down the Up Escalator is an urgent dispatch from the front lines of our vast collective struggle to keep our heads above water and maybe even—someday—get ahead. Garson has interviewed an economically and geographically wide variety of Americans to show the pain­ful waste in all this loss and insecurity, and describe how individuals are coping. Her broader historical focus, though, is on the causes and consequences of the long stag­nation of wages and how it has resulted in an increasingly desperate reliance on credit and a series of ever-larger bubbles—stocks, technology, real estate. This is no way to run an economy, or a democracy. From the members of the Pink Slip Club in New York, to a California home health-care aide on the eve of eviction, to a subprime mortgage broker who still thinks it could have worked, Down the Up Escalator presents a sobering picture of what happens to a society when it becomes economically organized to benefit only the very rich and the quick-buck speculators. But it also demonstrates the wit and resilience of ordinary Americans—and why they deserve so much bet­ter than the hand they’ve been dealt.