Ancient conspiracy. Relentless evil. The hunt for answers continues. The climactic ending of The Façade left Brian Scott and Melissa Kelley with only each other--and the terrible secrets they carry. The Portent finds them living under new identities, their future clouded by constant fear of being exposed. By the time Brian and Melissa learn they're being watched, their carefully constructed lives will be over. Follow Brian and Melissa into the center of an unthinkably vast, centuries-old conspiracy, conceived to turn the faith of millions against itself. Revelations from ancient tombs, long-forgotten Nazi experiments, UFOs, occult mythologies, biblical theology, and godlike technologies converge in answer to a terrifying question: Now that "they" are here, what do they want?

Sci-fi meets historical fact in this thrilling novel by ancient-language scholar Michael S. Heiser. Haunted by his parents' death and his career failures, Dr. Brian Scott has begun to settle for the life he's been given. Until he's kidnapped by military insiders known as The Group. Disappearances. Visitations. Murder. Brian and a team of world-class scholars are given a confidential mission: To prepare humanity for a new reality. They are here. But as the government's involvement with extraterrestrials is revealed, strange things begin to happen. Something isn't right. Unpeeling layer after layer of deception and counter-deception, Brian moves toward a shocking revelation that will forever alter how humanity sees itself. Every document cited in The Façade actually exists. Every ancient text discussed in The Façade is authentic. Every historical figure referred to or quoted in The Façade is real.

The crucial need to substitute true leadership for bad management practices such as Management By Objectives (MBO) and the use of fear is now well known and was often championed by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. While significant progress has been made, many organizations (especially outside of manufacturing) are either just getting started with their improvement efforts or they are faking their way forward (going through the motions), trying to imitate what they have read in books or have seen at conferences. The executives of these organizations might give permission for the tools of Lean and Six Sigma to be taught but many of them still refuse to look in a mirror and change their own leadership style. They have built a "façade of excellence" that crumbles quickly whenever a bit of chaos is introduced. Not being able to sustain improvements over the long term is one of the top complaints from improvement professionals. What ingredient is missing that prohibits changes to occur throughout the leadership ranks that might create a culture that embraces teamwork, collaboration and improvement? To start, what exactly do we mean by leadership? The common mistake is to try and put all effective leaders into the same box. Leadership actually has many dimensions and several definitions. This book explores four different styles of leadership that includes "The Crisis Leader," "The Idea Gathering Leader," "The Team Forming Leader," and "The Empowerment Leader." Each of the four styles is appropriate when given a certain set of circumstances (an organization in trouble needs a "Crisis Leader" for example). The goal is to shift the organization, including the leaders and all of the employees at every level, toward collaboration and empowerment. Why go through the pains to rebuild an organization’s culture and leaders? In the annual "IndustryWeek Magazine - Best Plants" competition, the companies that have made the transition to high performance, fully empowered teams ("The Empowerment Leader"), in general, demonstrate far better results than all other applicants (and they tend to win "Best Place to Work" awards as well). So, what is keeping organizational leaders, especially those in the middle of the organization chart, from adopting the "The Empowerment" leadership style? This book defines and helps the reader understand what this new normal of leadership consists of and: Explains the four different styles of leaders and how these are different than a typical "old style" manager. Indicates which style is appropriate given a certain set of circumstances and how a leader knows when it is time to migrate from one style to another. Illustrates what it means for an organization to shift from a "dictator" culture to one of collaboration and what steps can be taken to help this transformation. Explores the current definition of a "promotable manager" and how this differs from a new normal definition of an outstanding, effective "Empowerment" leader. Defines Mission, Vision, Strategy, and Values and how these four cultural principles fit into the leadership progression model. Shows how the culture within the organization will be different after the adoption of empowered teams and introduces the concept of "Enthusiastic Productivity."

Facades - they are the first feature of a building to be noticed, they determine its distinctive appearance and are often the subject of controversial debate. This new first edition of the Facade Construction Manual provides a systematic survey of contemporary expertise in the application of new materials and energy- efficient technologies in facade design, and represents an invaluable addition to our series of Construction Manuals. It surveys the facade design requirements made by various types of buildings, as well as the most important materials, from natural stone through to synthetics, and documents a diversity of construction forms for a wide range of building types. Over 100 international case-studies in large-scale, detailed drawings are presented in the comprehensive project section.

In this steamy romance from a New York Times bestseller, dark secrets threaten the passion and joy of a couple’s connection as the truth of their pasts slowly creeps up on them. "Phen-om-enal! Nyrae Dawn paints with words in a way that made me drink Facade down in one big gulp. This is one of those books you can read again and again." -- New York Times bestselling author, Courtney Cole on Facade. From bestselling author, Nyrae Dawn, comes Book 2 in her New Adult, Games Series! Can love save them? After her father commits a crime that shatters her family, eighteen-year-old Delaney Cross is tired of pretending everything is alright. Packing up her car, she sets out to find the people her father hurt. Her search leads her to places she's never been--and into the arms of Adrian Westfall. To the outside world, Adrian is a sexy, charming ladies man. But his playboy persona is just an act. Secretly his soul is tortured by a memory too painful to share. Only Delaney seems to see through his favßade to the real man underneath. And for the first time in his life, Adrian feels he can begin to open up about his past. Together, Adrian and Delaney share a passionate, carefree love they never expected to find. Yet both still harbor their own secrets. When the dark truth is finally revealed, will it bring them closer together, or tear them apart forever?

When businesses receive positive publicity, it's exciting! More customers means more cash. But too much growth, too soon can be catastrophic, especially if a business lacks the operations to support this influx of customers. Behind the Façade introduces business infrastructure as a way to manage fast growth for repeatable and lasting success.