With clear strategies, helpful diagrams and real-life examples, this book will give you the keys to unlocking your IT function’s hidden potential.

Many of today's business leaders champion learning as essential to business success, backing their belief with massive investments in Training and Development (T&D). In fact, T&D investments reach $56 billion per year in the U.S. alone. In this era of unprecedented opportunity, the time is right for T&D to become a full-fledged "player" in the world of business. At issue, the authors contend, is T&D's inability to seize this opportunity and deliver unmistakable value to its most influential customers-the exectuvies who pay for trainiing services but are unable to see clear business value being returned on their companies' training investments. The authors also contend that T&D must alter the traditional precepts that keep it "separate form the business" and "out of the loop" strategically. Van Adelsberg and Trolley suggest that the key to delivering unmistakable business value lies in transforming T&D-in spirit and in practice-from a funciton to a business. The authors draw on their experiences working inside Moore Corporation, DuPont, Mellon Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Texas Instruments, and other top businesses to illustrate how "Running Training Like a Business": 1. Eliminates the many hidden costs of training; 2. Re-focuses T&D from delivering training content to addressing business issues; 3. Makes T&D a full stategic partner in business decision making; 4. Ensures that training measurement is "baked in, not bolted on"; 5. Improves the effectiveness and efficiency of internal and/or external T&D organizations. Trolley and van Adelsberg lead the reader through a proven four-step process for transforming traditional training organizations into training enterprises capable of delivering unmistakable value, quarter after quarter and year after year.

A new way forward for sustainable quality of life in cities of all sizes Strong Towns: A Bottom-Up Revolution to Build American Prosperity is a book of forward-thinking ideas that breaks with modern wisdom to present a new vision of urban development in the United States. Presenting the foundational ideas of the Strong Towns movement he co-founded, Charles Marohn explains why cities of all sizes continue to struggle to meet their basic needs, and reveals the new paradigm that can solve this longstanding problem. Inside, you’ll learn why inducing growth and development has been the conventional response to urban financial struggles—and why it just doesn’t work. New development and high-risk investing don’t generate enough wealth to support itself, and cities continue to struggle. Read this book to find out how cities large and small can focus on bottom-up investments to minimize risk and maximize their ability to strengthen the community financially and improve citizens’ quality of life. Develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying logic behind the “traditional” search for never-ending urban growth Learn practical solutions for ameliorating financial struggles through low-risk investment and a grassroots focus Gain insights and tools that can stop the vicious cycle of budget shortfalls and unexpected downturns Become a part of the Strong Towns revolution by shifting the focus away from top-down growth toward rebuilding American prosperity Strong Towns acknowledges that there is a problem with the American approach to growth and shows community leaders a new way forward. The Strong Towns response is a revolution in how we assemble the places we live.

Build that business! Take chances! Run. But run slowly!In an increasingly volatile business environment, managers must balance the need for speedy response to market opportunities with the need for a cool head and a steady hand. Not an easy task. Running a business is fraught with danger and expensive pitfalls, especially when operating in the full glare of social media.Today's - and tomorrow's - talented employees are adopting much more of a consumer mindset when targeting potential employers. The game has changed. Now, it is companies that must qualify to meet the needs of their employees, who expect the workplace to be a life-enhancing 'experience' rather than just the place they go to do a job. No doubt about it: the war for talent is about to ramp up to a fierce level. Are you ready to fight for your very survival?In light of the acceleration of change brought about by economic imperatives, populist-fueled expectations and the rise of the robots, there is an increasing need for those heading businesses to demonstrate clear leadership, develop a worthwhile purpose, communicate corporate strategy clearly and deploy resources fairly and appropriately to inspire - and challenge - employees. And they must do all this while steering the organization towards success.This book offers invaluable guidance on how to make this happen.In a clear and straightforward manner, it provides structure and direction to help managers achieve success in running an organization. The author shares his global experience in a highly visual manner, using well-crafted summaries and anecdotes to help managers navigate the increasingly choppy waters of running a business. Chock-full of good advice, it is full of wisdom and practical recommendations for anyone in a management position, to create focus and alignment within the team and most importantly, to foster engagement. It gets to the point quickly, with concrete suggestions to create a safety net and to accelerate successful execution.Overall, it takes the reader on a journey through all the vital areas of a typical organization and shares well-proven ways to handle many of the key situations managers will likely encounter along the way. It is particularly relevant today, when more and more people are starting their own businesses and have very little margin for error. With more than 30 years of experience as CEO in global companies across cultures, as well as an owner of SMEs, the author is direct and frank, although distinctly empathetic. Why make the same mistakes others have already made for you? Buy the book. Read it! And set yourself apart from the crowd.

The Challenge Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the verybeginning. But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? The Study For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great? The Standards Using tough benchmarks, Collins and his research team identified a set of elite companies that made the leap to great results and sustained those results for at least fifteen years. How great? After the leap, the good-to-great companies generated cumulative stock returns that beat the general stock market by an average of seven times in fifteen years, better than twice the results delivered by a composite index of the world's greatest companies, including Coca-Cola, Intel, General Electric, and Merck. The Comparisons The research team contrasted the good-to-great companies with a carefully selected set of comparison companies that failed to make the leap from good to great. What was different? Why did one set of companies become truly great performers while the other set remained only good? Over five years, the team analyzed the histories of all twenty-eight companies in the study. After sifting through mountains of data and thousands of pages of interviews, Collins and his crew discovered the key determinants of greatness -- why some companies make the leap and others don't. The Findings The findings of the Good to Great study will surprise many readers and shed light on virtually every area of management strategy and practice. The findings include: Level 5 Leaders: The research team was shocked to discover the type of leadership required to achieve greatness. The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity within the Three Circles): To go from good to great requires transcending the curse of competence. A Culture of Discipline: When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great results. Technology Accelerators: Good-to-great companies think differently about the role of technology. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Those who launch radical change programs and wrenching restructurings will almost certainly fail to make the leap. “Some of the key concepts discerned in the study,” comments Jim Collins, "fly in the face of our modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people.” Perhaps, but who can afford to ignore these findings?

Many of today's business leaders champion learning as essential to business success, backing their belief with massive investments in Training and Development (T&D). In fact, T&D investments reach $56 billion per year in the U.S. alone. In this era of unprecedented opportunity, the time is right for T&D to become a full-fledged "player" in the world of business. At issue, the authors contend, is T&D's inability to seize this opportunity and deliver unmistakable value to its most influential customers-the exectuvies who pay for trainiing services but are unable to see clear business value being returned on their companies' training investments. The authors also contend that T&D must alter the traditional precepts that keep it "separate form the business" and "out of the loop" strategically. Van Adelsberg and Trolley suggest that the key to delivering unmistakable business value lies in transforming T&D-in spirit and in practice-from a funciton to a business. The authors draw on their experiences working inside Moore Corporation, DuPont, Mellon Bank, Kaiser Permanente, Texas Instruments, and other top businesses to illustrate how "Running Training Like a Business": 1. Eliminates the many hidden costs of training; 2. Re-focuses T&D from delivering training content to addressing business issues; 3. Makes T&D a full stategic partner in business decision making; 4. Ensures that training measurement is "baked in, not bolted on"; 5. Improves the effectiveness and efficiency of internal and/or external T&D organizations. Trolley and van Adelsberg lead the reader through a proven four-step process for transforming traditional training organizations into training enterprises capable of delivering unmistakable value, quarter after quarter and year after year.

The Everything Start Your Own Business Book, 2nd Edition has everything you need to start your own business-and keep it running in the black. Completely updated and expertly revised by successful businesswoman Judith B. Harrington, this one-stop resource contains new information on: Online business strategy Critical professional associations and organizations Regulatory pitfalls Competitive concepts such as leased employees Being your own boss, head cook, and bottle washer isn't easy-one in three new businesses fail the first year. With this straightforward, no-nonsense reference book, you can make sure your business succeeds. Whether you need help formulating a business plan, finding financing, or running the business once it's off the ground, you'll find it all in The Everything Start Your Own Business Book, 2nd Edition.