Shifting Stories explores the power of stories in organisational life and will help you take a new approach to: Helping people who feel stuck Energising individuals who wish to change Getting teams to work more effectively Resolving interpersonal problems Helping people through organisational change Dealing with conflict Working on yourself Written in three sections, What’s the Big Idea?, The ManyStory Approach in Practice, and Concluding Thoughts, each section works towards the reader having a deeper understanding of how to create a better future at work. Section One describes how we all live our lives through story, how problems may arise because of the stories people have created, how we can make stories come true, for good or for ill, and how we can work with stories to achieve better outcomes. Section Two details how we can apply the ManyStory Approach, with case studies exploring coaching, teamwork, leading change, and resolving conflict. Section Three consolidates the ideas of the book, looking firstly at the few occasions when this approach hasn’t worked and what we can learn from that. This section also looks to the future and invites readers to share their experiences. Shifting Stories will be of strong interest to trainers, coaches, change agents, and leaders who seek to help individuals and teams to be more effective at work.

Shifting Stories explores the tale literature of eighth- and ninth-century China to show how the written tales we have today grew out of a fluid culture of hearsay that circulated within elite society. Sarah M. Allen focuses on two main types of tales, those based in gossip about recognizable public figures and those developed out of lore concerning the occult. She demonstrates how writers borrowed and adapted stories and plots already in circulation and how they transformed them—in some instances into unique and artfully wrought tales. For most readers of that era, tales remained open texts, subject to revision by many hands over the course of transmission, unconstrained by considerations of textual integrity or authorship. Only in the mid- to late-ninth century did some readers and editors come to see the particular wording and authorship of a tale as important, a shift that ultimately led to the formation of the Tang tale canon as it is envisioned today.

Shapeshifter Mercy Thompson has friends in high places—and in low, dark, scary ones. And in this must-have collection of short stories, you’ll meet new faces and catch up with old acquaintances—in all their forms... Includes the new stories... “Silver” “Roses in Winter” “Redemption” “Hollow” …and reader favorites “Fairy Gifts” “Gray” “Seeing Eye” “Alpha and Omega” “The Star of David” “In Red, with Pearls” “One of the best urban fantasy anthologies I’ve ever read.”—The BiblioSanctum

After bouncing from foster home to foster home, Magdalene Mae is transferred to what should be her last foster home in the tiny town of Silver City, New Mexico. Now that she's eighteen and has only a year left in high school, she's determined to stay out of trouble and just be normal. Agreeing to go to the prom with Bridger O'Connell is a good first step. Fitting in has never been her strong suit, but it's not for the reasons most people would expect-it all has to do with the deep secret that she is a shape shifter. But even in her new home danger lurks, waiting in the shadows to pounce. They are the Skinwalkers of Navajo legend, who have traded their souls to become the animal whose skin they wear-and Maggie is their next target. Full of romance, mysticism, and intrigue, this dark take on Navajo legend will haunt readers to the final page.

How disruptions and discontinuities caused by the introduction of new technologies often reveal aspects of practice not previously observed. What happens in an established practice or work setting when a novel artifact or tool for doing work changes the familiar work routines? Any unexpected event, or change, or technological innovation creates a discontinuity; organizations and individuals must reframe taken-for-granted assumptions and practices and reposition themselves. To study innovation as a phenomenon, then, we must search for situations of discontinuity and rupture and explore them in depth. In Shifting Practices, Giovan Francesco Lanzara does just that, and discovers that disruptions and discontinuities caused by the introduction of new technologies often reveal aspects of practice not previously observed. After discussing methodological and research issues, Lanzara presents two in-depth studies focusing on processes of design and innovation in two different practice settings: music education and criminal justice. In the first, he works with the music department of a major American university to develop Music LOGO, a computer system that allows students to explore musical structures with simple, composition-like exercises and experiments. In the second, he works with the Italian court system in the design and use of video technology for criminal trials. In both cases, drawing on anecdotes and examples as well as theory and analysis, he traces the new systems from design through implementation and adoption. Finally, Lanzara considers the researcher's role, and the relationship—encompassing empathy, vulnerability, and temporality—between the reflective researcher and actors in the practice setting.

Establish a school change culture where desired outcomes are actually achieved Change in schools is hard, but often essential. Internal and external factors require careful analysis before jumping into any change. Are you prepared to work with colleagues with confidence and clarity through such shifts? In Shifting, educators and leadership experts Jeff Ikler, Kirsten Richert, and Margaret Zacchei empower educational change leaders to proactively and coherently navigate complex change in schools to achieve the desired outcomes. Using a three-part framework—Assess, Ready, Change—this book leads educators to examine a school’s imperatives and readiness for change, identity the tools and abilities required to manifest change, and take action by defining the roles and processes necessary to effectively implement both sweeping change and smaller day-to-day adjustments. Change leaders learn to · Shift the emphasis in the change process from procedure to the people implementing change · Move from an environment of "command and control" to one of leaders creating other leaders · Reframe change as an essential shift in school culture rather than a series of episodic events Rich with leadership insights, stories, podcasts, and hands-on activities, Shifting offers an integrated tapestry of wisdom and support for changemakers intent on meaningful collaboration in a positive, engaged workplace.