Praise for The Art of Constructive Confrontation "There's no magic formula for building a successful enterprise, large or small. If you're in the business of making a profit, you're in the business of building people. First you build your people. After that, your people produce the profit. The Art of Constructive Confrontation is an easy-to-follow, systematic process that makes sure you don't get those things backwards. Constructive confrontation is the closest thing you'll ever find to hold people accountable for what they do, while at the same time reducing the conflicts that get in the way of productivity and, ultimately, profits." --Spencer Hays, founder, The Tom James Company Executive Chairman, Southwestern/Great American, Inc. "The Art of Constructive Confrontation is a clear and concise road map to making the all-important conversations between team leaders and team members happen. More than that, the constructive confrontation process keeps those conversations happening, keeps them consistent and constructive, keeps everybody accountable, and unleashes the leadership potential in everyone." --Angelo Valenti, PhD, leader of The Company Psychologist and coauthor, Unleashing Leadership "Embracing constructive confrontation builds a strong, effective leader with a strong, effective team. This book covers the step-by-step process to make you that kind of leader." --Danny Cox, coauthor, Leadership When the Heat's On

"John Paul Lederach's work in the field of conciliation and mediation is internationally recognized. He has provided consultation, training and direct mediation in a range of situations from the Miskito/Sandinista conflict in Nicaragua to Somalia, Northern Ireland, Tajikistan, and the Philippines. His influential 1997 book Building Peace has become a classic in the discipline. In this book, Lederach poses the question, "How do we transcend the cycles of violence that bewitch our human community while still living in them?" Peacebuilding, in his view, is both a learned skill and an art. Finding this art, he says, requires a worldview shift. Conflict professionals must envision their work as a creative act-an exercise of what Lederach terms the "moral imagination." This imagination must, however, emerge from and speak to the hard realities of human affairs. The peacebuilder must have one foot in what is and one foot beyond what exists. The book is organized around four guiding stories that point to the moral imagination but are incomplete. Lederach seeks to understand what happened in these individual cases and how they are relevant to large-scale change. His purpose is not to propose a grand new theory. Instead he wishes to stay close to the "messiness" of real processes and change, and to recognize the serendipitous nature of the discoveries and insights that emerge along the way. overwhelmed the equally important creative process. Like most professional peacemakers, Lederach sees his work as a religious vocation. Lederach meditates on his own calling and on the spirituality that moves ordinary people to reject violence and seek reconciliation. Drawing on his twenty-five years of experience in the field he explores the evolution of his understanding of peacebuilding and points the way toward the future of the art." http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0616/2004011794-d.html.

THE ART OF FRIENDLY CONFRONTATION This book describes the coping skills, strategies and methods to help others see your point of view. These skills work with the precursors of ego, anger and power in personal relationships and keep your own dignity with understanding role placement, power and reversal. When problems arise, as they always do, these conflict skills found in The Art of Friendly Confrontation identify the skills for fairness in relationships. $10.00 ? Understand purpose of coping skills, methods and strategies. ? Identify the precursors of conflict: ego, anger, power. ? Recognize role placement, role power, and role reversal. ? Evaluate vulnerability in healthy relationships. ? Identify coping skills to increase self esteem.

Was it a typo when the CEO mandated that the organization “institutionalize incompetents”? If not, how did the company wind up institutionalizing incompetence instead? How to Work for an Idiot is still the confessions of a recovering Idiot Boss. After decades of writing and consulting, Dr. Hoover finally realized that many of the people he kept trying to “energize” and “enlighten” were, well, idiots. More importantly, he was an idiot for thinking he could change them. This new edition of How to Work for an Idiot is bigger and better—and filled with even more idiots—than before. The same technology that has enabled cluelessness from the corner office to go viral can help you protect yourself and keep your inner idiot in check. Yes, the book goes that deep. Not every boss is an idiot, and not every idiot is a boss. Let Dr. Hoover help you find the wisdom to know the difference.

"This is a well-written book. Quite simple and precise . . . The authors should be commended. This book deals with leadership from a very contemporary perspective that reflects the importance of multiculturalism." –Guo-Ming Chen, University of Rhode Island No matter how culturally different the person or group, there will be common-ground similarities and no matter how similar the person or group, there will be significant differences. Culture influences our thoughts, words, and actions in ways that are often unrecognized, leading to misunderstandings. Each misunderstanding can become very expensive, both in terms of missed opportunities and less effective business outcomes. Leadership in a Diverse and Multicultural Environment provides leaders with the tools necessary to effectively interact with all individuals. Although much of the research related to multiculturalism has focused on expatriates and international assignments, Leadership in a Diverse and Multicultural Environment also focuses on leaders in domestic organizations, as they can benefit from developing their own multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Effective leaders can shape the culture of their organization to be accepting of individuals from all races, ethnicities, religions, and genders with a minimum of misunderstandings. Leadership in a Diverse and Multicultural Environment is well grounded in solid research, but written in an easy-to-comprehend style that: Provides a "culture centered" leadership perspective allowing organizational leaders the opportunity to attend to the influence of culture Helps the reader find examples of how multicultural awareness can make their leadership task easier Promotes an organizational culture that is more satisfying to both individuals and their leaders by embracing and celebrating differences. Leadership in a Diverse and Multicultural Environment is an ideal supplemental text for undergraduate- or graduate-level international management, leadership, or diversity-related courses taught in the business curriculum. It could also be used in leadership courses taught in education and communication departments.

HOW TO SELL TO AN IDIOT Selling to customers looking to get the most bang for their buck is a difficult feat. The only customers tougher than hagglers are the ones so uninformed about what they are buying, they don't even realize when they are getting the deal of a lifetime. In How to Sell to an Idiot, authors John Hoover and Bill Sparkman show you how to ignore your own inner idiot and start selling more by doing less of what doesn't work and more of what does. Along with a wealth of proven sales guidance and effective techniques, you'll learn how to: Use idiot-proof planning and preparation to make prospecting far more effective Use idiot-speak to connect with prospects and gather vital information that makes selling easy Spice up your sales pitch for faster closings and larger sales Wring referrals out of clients like water from a sponge And much more! "Selling is an act of compassion. Sales professionals must believe that their products and services will improve the quality of their customers' lives. Hoover and Sparkman get that. Selling must also be fun-for the salesperson and the customer. How to Sell to an Idiot makes it clear that the first laugh of the day must be at ourselves." —Roger P. DiSilvestro, former Chairman and CEO, Athlon Sports Publishing and coauthor of The Art of Constructive Confrontation "How to Sell to an Idiot hits the bull's-eye. Great practical steps that will help anyone in sales reach the goal line. Truly a creative approach with fresh new ideas delivered with humor." —Charles S. Dreyer, Director of Sales-Southern California Coastal Region, K. Hovnanian Homes, a Fortune 500 company "How to Sell to an Idiot provides an entertaining and creative look at the formula for sales success. Insightful and fun, you'd have to be an idiot not to add this book to your resource library!" —Chip Cummings, international speaker, marketing expert, and author of Stop Selling and Start Listening

"The Six-C approach provides a framework within which people can work together to attack the problem, not each other. By ending each conflict with conciliation, those who use this approach can do much more than resolve conflict—they can build each other up so future conflicts will be easier to resolve." —Bob Bowen, Chief Executive Officer The Mandt System, Inc. Don′t let conflict get in the way of meaningful collaboration! Conflict is inevitable, but educators can work together effectively if they understand how to defuse difficult situations before they escalate. This resource describes the Six-C process, a conflict resolution method that allows educators to take progressively more assertive steps as necessary to resolve disagreements. Based on research and easy to remember, this approach helps readers handle challenging situations using the least amount of time and energy. Illustrated with many examples and scenarios, the six steps are: Concern: identifying actionable concerns Confer: expressing concerns in nonthreatening ways Consult: reviewing and clarifying the situation collaboratively Confront: considering consequences and giving clear warnings Combat: taking sustained, logical action Conciliation: mending the wounds and restoring relationships Focused on preserving relationships while resolving disagreements, From Conflict to Conciliation can be used in any situation or setting, from the classroom to the community.