The first and only guide to diagnosing and dealing with the hidden or covert factors that can ruin even the most meticulously planned change processes. Organizational change initiatives often fail because they focus exclusively on the rational, overt aspects of change, overlooking the powerful role played by concealed or irrational factors. It’s well known that these covert processes—such as hidden agendas, blind spots, office politics, tacit assumptions, secret hopes, wishes and fears—frequently sabotage change efforts, but up until now nobody has offered a rigorous, consistent way of identifying and dealing with them. Drawing on over thirty years of experience as an organizational change consultant to global corporations and government agencies, Robert J. Marshak shows precisely how to bring these hidden processes to light and deal with their negative impact. Marshak identifies five different dimensions of covert processes, presents an integrated model to explain the ultimate source of all of them, and shows how to diagnose whether any covert processes might be at work in your organization. He then offers specific tools and techniques for engaging and managing these “under-the-table” processes and for creating the kind of organizational environment in which such hidden dynamics are unable to flourish. Covert Processes at Work is a comprehensive and practical guide that managers, leaders, and consultants can use to deal with the hidden dynamics that are often at the root of many organizational problems. “Adding these tools…will take both your practice and your clients to a whole new level of capability and impact.” —Karen Boylston, PhD, Managing Director, Duke Corporate Education

How can we overcome crises and shape our common future? Since the beginning of the Corona pandemic, we have all been put to an immense test. This shows how humanity can successfully and constructively deal with such situations and make the best of them. And we learn that the future is not something that happens to us, but that we can actively and constructively shape it. The basic prerequisite for this is an attitude of openness, mutual helpfulness and hope. This non-fiction book vividly reports on the currently prevailing images of the future and the common longings as well as on people's capacity for hope and action. It reveals the power of desirable images of the future and of a collective hope as the opposite of general helplessness or of blind and naïve optimism. The central statements of this book are based on the experiences of thousands of people in more than ten countries who participated in the scientific study of the Hope Barometer in 2019 and 2020. In a unique way, this combines lived practice with the latest findings of social science futurology, positive psychology and pragmatic philosophy. Target groups: This book is for anyone who wants to look to the future with hope. It offers concrete answers to key questions and shows how crises can be overcome while shaping a better future for individuals and society as a whole. About the author: Dr. Andreas M. Krafft teaches at the University of St. Gallen and at the Free University of Berlin. As co-president of swissfuture, the Swiss Association for Futures Research, and as a board member of the Swiss Society for Positive Psychology, he leads the international research network of the Hope Barometer.

This second edition of a teacher favorite features a fresh, easy-to-use layout including color coding by grade level, more support for student engagement in academics, greater emphasis on the effective use of teacher language, and a dedicated chapter on the all-important first day of school.

In our postmodern, experience-oriented culture, people are longing for greater authenticity, integrity, and depth in their pastors and leaders. Board directors, church members, and staff alike are all eagerly seeking leaders who effectively integrate their spirituality and leadership. Pastors and executives, however, often struggle with knowing how to integrate their spiritual values and practices into their leadership and management roles. Designed for pastors, executives, administrators, managers, coordinators, and all who see themselves as leaders and who want to fulfill their God-given purpose, The Spirit-Led Leader addresses the critical fusion of spiritual life and leadership for those who not only want to see results, but who also desire to care just as deeply about who they are and how they lead as they do about what they produce and accomplish. Geoffrion creates a new vision for spiritual leadership as partly an art, partly a result of careful planning, and always a working of the grace of God

Our Struggle, Our Hope, Our Victory invites you to 90-days to reflect, remember, and realize. Reflect on God’s wisdom available in the midst of any adversity, remember the victories He has already provided, and realize the hope-filled future He can give you as you rely on Him. Enjoy a variety of meditations to encourage you to grow stronger in your relationship with God and share His message of love with others.

In this Franklin Classic Storybook, Franklin faces the excitement and fear of starting school.