‘Lessons I have Unlearned makes you feel like you are having a heart to heart with an old friend. Florence wades right into discussions about identity and spirituality, speaking to those inner voices which all of us battle, with clarity and fluency. I highly recommend this book for every person, because we all battle fears and insecurities. There are no easy answers, but this book is an encouragement that hope remains.' Selina Stone, Tutor and Lecturer in Political Theology at St Mellitus College We all have ideas about what we think life will be like - ideas we pick up from books, films, music videos, the adults around us, and even church. We think we have a roadmap that will guide us towards success. But it isn’t long before life throws some curve-balls at us. Florence Gildea looks at a series of myths that we cannot help but absorb from films, fairytales, songs, and advertisements: that we get to call the shots and have control over how our lives turn out; that a happily ever after is within our reach. All the strategies we have learned to make ourselves safe, loveable, and successful will backfire. Life, it turns out, is found exactly where Jesus said it was: at the end of ourselves, at the foot of the cross.

Your hard work is paying off. You are doing well in your field. But there is something standing between you and the next level of achievement. That something may just be one of your own annoying habits. Perhaps one small flaw - a behaviour you barely even recognise - is the only thing that's keeping you from where you want to be. It may be that the very characteristic that you believe got you where you are - like the drive to win at all costs - is what's holding you back. As this book explains, people often do well in spite of certain habits rather than because of them - and need a "to stop" list rather than one listing what "to do". Marshall Goldsmith's expertise is in helping global leaders overcome their unconscious annoying habits and become more successful. His one-on-one coaching comes with a six-figure price tag - but in this book you get his great advice for much less. Recently named as one of the world's five most-respected executive coaches by Forbes, he has worked with over 100 major CEOs and their management teams at the world's top businesses. His clients include corporations such as Goldman Sachs, Glaxo SmithKline, Johnson and Johnson and GE.

Colonel Pat Proctor’s long overdue critique of the Army’s preparation and outlook in the all-volunteer era focuses on a national security issue that continues to vex in the twenty-first century: Has the Army lost its ability to win strategically by focusing on fighting conventional battles against peer enemies? Or can it adapt to deal with the greater complexity of counterinsurgent and information-age warfare? In this blunt critique of the senior leadership of the U.S. Army, Proctor contends that after the fall of the Soviet Union, the U.S. Army stubbornly refused to reshape itself in response to the new strategic reality, a decision that saw it struggle through one low-intensity conflict after another—some inconclusive, some tragic—in the 1980s and 1990s, and leaving it largely unprepared when it found itself engaged—seemingly forever—in wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The first book-length study to connect the failures of these wars to America’s disastrous performance in the war on terror, Proctor’s work serves as an attempt to convince Army leaders to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

“This book merits every American’s serious consideration” (Vice President Joe Biden): from the Secretary of Education under President Obama, an exposé of the status quo that helps maintain a broken system at the expense of our kids’ education, and threatens our nation’s future. “Education runs on lies. That’s probably not what you’d expect from a former Secretary of Education, but it’s the truth.” So opens Arne Duncan’s How Schools Work, although the title could just as easily be How American Schools Work for Some, Not for Others, and Only Now and Then for Kids. Drawing on nearly three decades in education—from his mother’s after-school program on Chicago’s South Side to his tenure as Secretary of Education in Washington, DC—How Schools Work follows Arne (as he insists you call him) as he takes on challenges at every turn: gangbangers in Chicago housing projects, parents who call him racist, teachers who insist they can’t help poor kids, unions that refuse to modernize, Tea Partiers who call him an autocrat, affluent white progressive moms who hate yearly tests, and even the NRA, which once labeled Arne the “most extreme anti-gun member of President Obama’s Cabinet.” Going to a child’s funeral every couple of weeks, as he did when he worked in Chicago, will do that to a person. How Schools Work exposes the lies that have caused American kids to fall behind their international peers, from early childhood all the way to college graduation rates. But it also identifies what really does make a school work. “As insightful as it is inspiring” (Washington Book Review), How Schools Work will embolden parents, teachers, voters, and even students to demand more of our public schools. If America is going to be great, then we can accept nothing less.

A transformative system that shows leaders how to rethink their strategies, retool their capabilities, and revitalize their businesses for stronger, longer-lasting success.There’s a learning curve to running any successful business. But when leaders begin to rely on past achievements or get stuck in old thinking and practices that no longer work, they need to take a step back—and unlearn. This innovative and actionable framework from executive coach Barry O’Reilly shows leaders how to break the cycle and move away from once-useful mindsets and behaviors that were effective in the past but are no longer relevant in the current business climate and may now stand in the way of success.With this simple but powerful three-step system, leaders can: 1. Unlearn the behaviors and mindsets that keep them and their businesses from moving forward. 2. Relearn the skills, strategies, and innovations that are transforming the world every day. 3. Break through old habits and thinking by opening up to new ideas, perspectives, and resources. Good leaders know they need to continuously learn. But great leaders know when to unlearn the past to succeed in the future. This book shows them the way.

In his debut book, Vinod Kumar Nagpal, the author, takes us back to the early 1960s. This is the story of a child who is gullible, inquisitive, and curious about nature, religion, and God while he is still five years old. He poses a lot of questions to his father about mythology, religion, God, and the partition of Bharat, as his parents migrated from Western Punjab of the then undivided Bharat at the time of partition of the country. His father narrates a lot of incidences/mythological stories to his young son and also shares with him painful memories of partition and his struggles thereafter. Incidences/stories told by his father carry many good lessons. But because of his careless nature and aversion to studies, he does not pay heed to those lessons and suffers as a consequence. When he grows up, he realizes his mistakes and tries to re-learn those lessons which he had unlearned. Is he able to resurrect his life? A must-read to recollect childhood memories and get nostalgic. The book also discusses what God wants from us, what the actual meaning of religion is, and how one must conduct oneself.

"Why is it," writes noted assessment expert W. James Popham, "that today's educators seem almost compelled to replicate their predecessors' blunders?" Looking back over a career of more than fifty years in education, Popham identifies six key "unlearned lessons" in education and reflects on their impact on schools, teachers, and students. In an account enlivened by personal anecdotes and the unique perspective gained from long experience, he shows how each of these six mistakes has persisted over time, gives examples of encounters with these mistakes in the course of his professional career, and points the way toward straightforward solutions. This lucid and powerful book belongs on the bookshelf of anyone interested in the history of education and the intersection between assessment, policy, and instruction. "Popham shares the wisdom gained from a lifetime in education and assessment. He reminds us, with humor and clear examples, that there are ways to build accountability systems that do not lead to excessive test preparation, teaching to the test, or attempts to cover curricula more rapidly than is sensible. Unlearned Lessons helps us to see the folly of repeating our errors again and again." -- David C. Berliner, Regents' Professor, College Of Education, Arizona State University "A wise and witty analysis of six obstacles to better schools from one of the nation's foremost testing experts. Popham identifies persistent flaws in the way we approach education--and shows how to fix them. Anyone frustrated by the current wave of test-driven reforms will enjoy this guide to bringing more sense to schooling." -- Jack Jennings, president and CEO, Center on Education Policy "Given all that has been written about what ails American education and how to fix it, seldom are the problems and possible solutions captured so cogently, and in terms everyone can appreciate. There is much here that demands careful attention by educators and policymakers alike." -- Jim Pellegrino, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Education, University of Illinois at Chicago W. James Popham began his career in education as a high school teacher in Oregon. He is professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. He is the author of twenty-five books and a former president of the American Educational Research Association. In 2002 the National Council on Measurement in Education presented him with its Award for Career Contributions to Educational Measurement. In 2006 he was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the National Association of Test Directors..