In the spring of 1942, Japan's Admiral Yamamoto devised an ingenious strategy to attack Midway Island and deliver the knockout punch of the war in the Pacific. His elegant operational plan--which involved elaborate traps and diversions and required clockwork coordination--was founded on complete faith that he could predict the Americans' every move. But the perfect plan went wrong, and Japan's elite Strike Force was crushed, losing four carriers, over three hundred aircraft, and 2,500 men.What can today's business managers learn from Yamamoto's stunning defeat at the Battle of Midway? A great deal, according to Richard Luecke, and in Scuttle Your Ships Before Advancing, he illuminates lessons to be learned from Yamamoto and other leaders who have faced memorable crises. We find, for instance, the epitome of decisiveness and entrepreneurialism in Hernan Cortes, as he and a small band of 16th-century adverturers risked everything in a bold gamble for the Aztec empire (the book's title, Scuttle Your Ships, refers to Cortes' strategy that kept his men moving forward). Underdogs who would challenge the status quo can look to France's Louis XI, the "Spider King," and learn how he undermined entrenched rivals through patience and cunning. The Emperor Hadrian, in his consolidation of the sprawling Roman Empire, provides a brilliant model for managing today's multinational corporation. And attitudes toward technology and innovation are vividly illustrated by the 15th-century Battle of Agincourt, in which the stubborn refusal of the French to adopt their English enemy's weapon--the longbow--led to their massacre. From these and other historical episodes, Luecke shows how leadership, daring, and artful administration meant the difference between success and failure. He draws explicit lessons for managers from these long-ago events, and he also reveals parallels in the recent experiences of major corporations from GM to Shearson Lehman. And along the way, he evokes portraits of Martin Luther, W. Edwards Deming, and other visionaries as they struggled with the timeless challenges of authority, change, and human conflict.Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Skillfully narrated, inspiring yet down-to-earth, Scuttle Your Ships Before Advancing serves up powerful historical lessons for all who would manage and lead in the twenty-first century.

Business professionals that struggle to understand key concepts in economics and how they are applied in the field rely on Microeconomics. The 5th edition makes the material accessible while helping them build their problem-solving skills. It includes numerous new practice problems and exercises that arm them with a deeper understanding. Learning by Doing exercises explore the theories while boosting overall math skills. Graphs are included throughout the mathematical discussions to reinforce the material. In addition, the balanced approach of rigorous economics gives business professionals a more practical resource.

Strategy is best understood not as a science, but as an art – one of universal applications that transcend situation or historical context. The principles that were successful in war and politics through history can have real and demonstrable applications in business and management. Here, professor of strategy Owen Hughes helps practitioners and students to draw those parallels and to develop a profound and holistic understanding of strategy that will help them plan for, and achieve, success. Describing strategy as an intersection of five facets – purpose, capability, will, terrain and tactics – Hughes draws from colourful and dramatic examples from history, and clearly demonstrates how these tactics might be applied in your own life and work. This book is an ideal strategy text for any practitioner, lecturer or student who tires of familiar strategy frameworks with limited scope.

"This book describes a set of innovative management tools that will help organizations and their 'walkabout' decision makers cope with the new workplace environment of corporate amnesia alongside individuals' short, selective and defensive memory. It outlines a 'how-to' plan to overcome the corporate equivalent of Alzheimer's, which will also be around when economic conditions improve"--Resource description p.

This guide provides over 300 pages of resources suggested by leadership educators in surveys, Center for Creative Leadership staff, and search of library resources. This eighth edition is half-new, including web sites and listserv discussion groups, and it places a stronger focus on meeting the needs of human resources professionals and corporate trainers. An annotated bibliography groups leadership materials in several broad categories: overview; in context; history, biography and literature; competencies; research, theories, and models; training and development; social, global, and diversity issues; team leadership; and organizational leadership (180 pages). Includes annotated lists of: journals and newsletters (9 pages); instruments (21 pages); exercises (41 pages); instrument and exercise vendors (5 pages); videos (29 pages); video distributors (4 pages); web sites (6 pages); organizations (21 pages); and conferences (9 pages). (Contains a 66-page index of all resources.) (TEJ)

Based on surveys and interviews with hundreds of executives at top firms such as Johnson & Johnson, Xerox, and Coca-Cola, as well as the deans of such prestigious business schools as Stanford, Wharton, and MIT/Sloan Graduate School of Management, this guide provides sage advice and insights on the most promising career opportunities and a sense of what employers are looking for in today's competitive market.