An Executive Guide to Data Management

Explains how companies must pinpoint business strategies to a few critically important choices, identifying common blunders while outlining simple exercises and questions that can guide day-to-day and long-term decisions.

This textbook offers undergraduate students an introduction to the main principles and some of the most popular techniques that constitute ‘software quality assurance’. The book seeks to engage students by placing an emphasis on the underlying foundations of modern quality-assurance techniques , using these to highlight why techniques work, as opposed to merely focussing on how they work. In doing so it provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of where software quality fits into the development lifecycle (spoiler: everywhere), and what the key quality assurance activities are. The book focuses on quality assurance in a way that typical, more generic software engineering reference books do not. It is structured so that it can (and should) be read from cover to cover throughout the course of a typical university module. Specifically, it is Concise: it is small enough to be readable in its entirety over the course of a typical software engineering module. Explanatory: topics are discussed not merely in terms of what they are, but also why they are the way they are – what events, technologies, and individuals or organisations helped to shape them into what they are now. Applied: topics are covered with a view to giving the reader a good idea of how they can be applied in practice, and by pointing, where possible, to evidence of their efficacy. The book starts from some of the most general notions (e.g. quality and development process), and gradually homes-in on the more specific activities, assuming knowledge of the basic notions established in prior chapters. Each chapter concludes with a “Key Points” section, summarising the main issues that have been covered in the chapter. Throughout the book there are exercises that serve to remind readers of relevant parts in the book that have been covered previously, and give them the opportunity to reflect on a particular topic and refer to related references.

If you want to be as successful as Jack Welch, Larry Bossidy, or Michael Dell, read their autobiographical advice books, right? Wrong, says Roger Martin in The Opposable Mind. Though following best practice can help in some ways, it also poses a danger. By emulating what a great leader did in a particular situation, you'll likely be terribly disappointed with your own results. Why? Your situation is different. Instead of focusing on what exceptional leaders do, we need to understand and emulate how they think. Successful businesspeople engage in what Martin calls integrative thinking, creatively resolving the tension in opposing models by forming entirely new and superior ones. Drawing on stories of leaders as diverse as AG Lafley of Procter & Gamble, Meg Whitman of eBay, Victoria Hale of the Institute for One World Health, and Nandan Nilekani of Infosys, Martin shows how integrative thinkers are relentlessly diagnosing and synthesizing by asking probing questions including: What are the causal relationships at work here? and What are the implied trade-offs? Martin also presents a model for strengthening your integrative thinking skills by drawing on different kinds of knowledge including conceptual and experiential knowledge. Integrative thinking can be learned, and The Opposable Mind helps you master this vital skill.

An innovative approach to winning more profitable sales in the growing professional services industry In recent years, professional services providers have had to rethink their sales methods and adapt to profound changes in the way clients buy services. In response, Winning the Professional Services Sale argues for fundamental changes in the seller's mindset and sales strategies. Rather than pressing the sale, salespeople must help clients buy--the way that works best for each client. This new approach gives buyers what they now want in a services seller: a consultative problem solver, change agent, and solution integrator, all rolled into one. Author Michael McLaughlin presents a strategy for winning new business with a holistic approach to each client relationship. Only by fully understanding a sale from every angle, including its impact on the client's business and career, can salespeople thrive in the new era of the service economy.

10 Insider Secrets to a Winning Job Search offers a complete step-by-step roadmap on how to get the job you want—fast—even in tough times! This book will motivate you, increase your self-confidence, and show you how to sell yourself so companies want to hire you. You’ll have an unfair advantage when searching for a job! In this book, Todd Bermont shares with you the secrets he has learned to find a job in any economy, secrets that he used to get six job offers his senior year of college, to land three job offers in one week during a recession, and to earn numerous job promotions since. Additionally, having also been a hiring manager, Todd gives you a behind-the-scenes look into the hiring process that will give you another unfair advantage. With 10 Insider Secrets to a Winning Job Search, you’ll: — Discover the job you really want — Convince companies to hire you—even when no positions are available — Write attention-grabbing resumes and cover letters — Network and market yourself to maximize your job opportunities — Learn how to negotiate your job offers to receive top dollar 10 Insider Secrets to a Winning Job Search clearly demonstrates the many similarities between job hunting and selling—from how to develop a positive attitude and identify your key selling points to comprehensive preparation and successful interviewing. You’ll feel so confident and have such a good game plan that you’ll actually look forward to interviews and enjoy the process—especially when the job offers pour in!