Every so often a book comes along with a brand new, innovative and startling approach to an everyday subject. On the subject of business communication, that book is The Hidden Profit Center. While most business leaders agree--without much real thought-- that communication is important, author Helen Wilkie contends they have no idea just how important. In fact, when people communicate ineffectively at work, it costs companies money. Real, hard dollars-- and lots of them. Inspired by books like "The One Minute Manager and "Who Moved My Cheese?, Wilkie has written a deceptively simple fable that makes the shocking cost of poor communication unmistakable. Written for busy people, this small but invaluable book can be read in less than two hours--perfect for a business flight.

The illustrated guide to profitable, vibrant and sustainable permaculture-based market gardening Permaculture tends to be very much in the domain of home gardeners and property owners. But what if we could take it all a step further, and merge the fields of permaculture and market gardening? In The Permaculture Market Garden , author Zach Loeks brings together his passion for sustainable permaculture food production systems and beautiful, vibrant illustrations to provide a highly visual guide to the smooth integration of permaculture into the market garden, in ways that are scalable to specific situations. Profiling crops and ecosystem-based techniques, Loeks demonstrates a profitable, sustainable and approachable model for the future of market gardening. Along the way, Loeks introduces his own system of PermaBeds, season extension techniques, intensive and rotational interplanting, in-depth discussions on soil health, and more, bringing activities, designs and prospects of farming to life through illustrations, so the reader can be immersed within the world of permaculture farming. Playful, informative and curious, inspiring and beautiful and packed with accessible practical information, The Permaculture Market Garden will inspire both the seasoned market gardener as well as anyone aspiring to start a business. Zach Loeks is a market gardener, farm consultant and educator living in the Ottawa Valley. Winner of two regional awards for sustainability and innovation in agriculture, he shares his expertise in farming, design and business through a successful series of on-farm workshops, conferences and schools, as well as a successful year-round CSA.

Wayne reveals how the human body was used as the model for creating the buildings and high-rise structures we live and work in today. Yet, more telling he walks us through scientific evidence that shows how our building’s and structures can communicate with people. He uses a number of analogies and real life experiences to reveal how buildings and facilities operate and communicate. He systematically interconnects your cognitive functions with facilities-related processes. These interrelated functions encompass reasoning, memory, attention, and related facility engineering terms which lead directly to the attainment of information and, in-turn, enhance your understanding as a current and future facilities professional, as well as that of a novice that would just simply like to know of Wayne’s exploits or a basic curiosity of just how buildings work. Daisy Gallagher, a global Who’s Who within the built environment and Washington, DC insider, advances the Foreword of this book to introduce a number of Wayne’s achievements and teachings, that includes Wayne being recognized by the 114th Congress of the United States. She shares how Wayne takes the wrapper off some of America’s most prestigious companies and organizations to share a few of his insights and dealings with some of these recognizable structures, while ultimately convincing you that buildings are people too!

Complying with environmental protection laws need not punch a hole in a firm's bottom line. Smith shows that compliance can be profitable. He provides corporate executives with easily accessed data and analyses of the theory of environmental management systems (EMS), and in doing so covers the major environmental concerns worrying corporate America. The result is a practical guide to the tools of environmental management and how they can be used to enhance a corporation's profitability while at the same time reducing its impact on the environment and consequent financial liabilities. Readers will find ways to tailor an appropriate strategy to their specific business needs, justify that strategy financially, and integrate the EMS into an existing business plan. Smith takes the reader through all of the environmental factors that affect profits and productivity. He demonstrates the practicality of not only considering the life cycle of a single product or service, but also the impact of life cycles throughout the entire company. A degree in environmental science is not needed to follow Smith's reasoning and advice, but solid business knowledge ^Iis^R important. Smith provides all of the background needed to start an EMS program, the benefits of which are limited only by management's priorities and the creativity of a company's people.

The corporate world is typically structured in silos. Managers urgently need to overcome this "silo" effect by fusing ideas across different functional areas in the firm. In Fusion for Profit, Sharan Jagpal, a well-known and highly respected multidisciplinary researcher and business consultant, explains in simple language using real-world examples how managers can use sophisticated concepts to fuse different functional areas in the firm, especially marketing and finance, to increase the firm's value. The author provides novel solutions to a wide range of complex business problems ranging from choosing pricing and bundling strategies, to positioning and messaging strategies, to measuring brand equity, to measuring advertising productivity in a mixed media plan including Internet advertising, to compensating a multiproduct sales force, to measuring the potential gains and risks from mergers and acquisitions. These concepts are illustrated using case studies from a variety of firms in different industries, including AT&T, Coca-Cola, Continental Airlines, General Electric, Home Depot, Southwest Airlines, and Verizon.