Throughout the United States and indeed the world, organizations have become places of darkness, where emotional savagery and brutality are now commonplace and where psychological forms of violence--intimidation, degradation, dehumanization--are the norm. Stein succeeds in portraying this dramatically in his evocative, lucid new book, and in doing so he counters official pronouncements that simply because unemployment is low and productivity high, all is well. Through the use of symbolism and metaphor he gives us access to the interior experience of organizational life today. He employs a form of disciplined subjectivity, based on Freud's concept of counter-transference, and other methods to help us comprehend what such dominating notions as managed social change really mean. Downsizing, reengineering, managed care, endless organizational restructuring--all are presented as just business but in reality, says Stein, they are devastatingly personal in their effects. With numerous vignettes and anecdotes drawn from his formal and informal research, Dr. Stein shows us in often horrifying detail what work has come to be in so many of these dark places--but also what must happen, and can happen, to lift them into the light. Through consultations, observation, and personal experience, Stein documents the ordinary assaults on the human spirit, a form of violence in the workplace that usually escapes common classification. By that he means culturally sanctioned violence, such as everyday forms of intimidation, ridicule, goading, and doubling of workloads--all in an asserted effort to make the workplace more productive, more competitive. His examples, metaphors, symbols, images come from the Holocaust and the Vietnam War, and refer back to other horrors in other times, the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition among them. His book demonstrates precisely how brutal so many of our rational business practices have become, and how disposable all of us ultimately are, at all levels, in all organizations. Stein draws upon a variety of research techniques, including a form of counter-transference based on Freud's concept, to understand the inner meanings and feelings contained in workplace metaphors and symbols. An incisive foreword by Dr. David B. Friedman, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine, comments on this, puts the book in perspective and offers additional insights into Stein's themes and how brilliantly he develops them.

Jimmy Alden, a successful businessman, is mugged in a parking garage and would have been killed were it not for the intervention of a strange little man known as Bub. Bub uses the mugging to extort Jimmy and force him into a life of terrorism with incredible consequences for Jimmy, for his family, and for the nation.

Today in America, we are no longer the worlds largest market economy. If anything, the only thing greatest about the American economy is the amount of money we owe to other countries. Politicians and activists portray big government as essential to safeguard the common good. There is no question we need the government to protect our rights and assure the rule of law. But overly large and politicized government ends up dominating and undermining a moral society. Instead of empowering people, big government programs, from welfare subsidies to corporate bailouts, promote dependency and deteriorate personal responsibility, encouraging both people and companies to make bad decisions. How did we, as a country, allow our students and our citizens in general to become so economically uneducated in just two generations?

Nothing Personal, It's Just Business is a mafia management-style primer for young managers and CEOs that cuts through the corporate bull and takes you through streetwise management principles that aren't taught in business school. Dr. Lou puts you on the path of the Godfathers and Tony Sopranos of today's corporate America. He presents his 'bada-bing' management theory in a humorous, easy-to-understand, mob-style language. In Nothing Personal, It's Just Business, Dr. Lou sifts out the surprising truths that young CEOs must know to develop into the best corporate bosses they can be. Nothing Personal, It's Just Business is entertaining, practical, and packed with common sense principles that will earn you the respect and success you deserve.

It's Not Personal-It's Strictly Business: The Godfather Way of Surviving, Conniving, and Thriving in Corporate America by Tony Serri serves up a funny and insightful perspective on surviving in the cutthroat culture of American business. It's Not Personal... takes the lessons of The Godfather saga and analyzes the actions and outcomes of the Corleone family, drawing corollaries to real-life business challenges. Having trouble keeping your cool at work? Conquer your work demons in the chapter, "Your Sonny Disposition." Do you struggle at making tough decisions? Stop listening to your "conscience" and start listening to your "Don-science" in "What Would Vito Do?" Written in droll prose, It's Not Personal... sends a clear message that you can be ruthless in the workplace and keep your eternal soul if you learn the tricks of the most famous and successful criminal family in movie history. David Shore, Executive Producer of House M.D. says of It's Not Personal, "I know some extremely funny people. I know experts on everything Godfather. I know some people who have been spit on by corporate America. But I know only one person who has dedicated his life to these great goals. If this is the same Tony Serri, you should definitely but this book."

Do people see you as the kind of leader you want to be? Are your strongest leadership qualities getting in the way of your greatness? After decades of advising and inspiring some of the most eminent chief executives in the world, Lolly Daskal has uncovered a startling pattern: within each leader are powerful abilities that are also hidden impediments to greatness. She’s witnessed many highly driven, overachieving leaders rise to prominence fueled by well-honed skill sets, only to falter when the shadow sides of the same skills emerge. Now Daskal reveals her proven system, which leaders at any level can apply to dramatically improve their results. It begins with identifying your distinctive leadership archetype and recognizing its shadow: ■ The Rebel, driven by confidence, becomes the Imposter, plagued by self-doubt. ■ The Explorer, fueled by intuition, becomes the Exploiter, master of manipulation. ■ The Truth Teller, who embraces candor, becomes the Deceiver, who creates suspicion. ■ The Hero, embodying courage, becomes the Bystander, an outright coward. ■ The Inventor, brimming with integrity, becomes the Destroyer, who is morally corrupt. ■ The Navigator, trusts and is trusted, becomes the Fixer, endlessly arrogant. ■ The Knight, for whom loyalty is everything, becomes the Mercenary, who is perpetually self-serving. Using psychology, philosophy, and her own experience, Daskal offers a breakthrough perspective on leadership. She’ll take you inside some of the most cloistered boardrooms, let you in on deeply personal conversations with industry leaders, and introduce you to luminaries who’ve changed the world. Her insights will help you rethink everything you know to become the leader you truly want to be.