For most people, the Great Crash of 2008 has meant troubling times. Not so for those in the flourishing poverty industry, for whom the economic woes spell an opportunity to expand and grow. These mercenary entrepreneurs have taken advantage of an era of deregulation to devise high-priced products to sell to the credit-hungry working poor, including the instant tax refund and the payday loan. In the process they've created an industry larger than the casino business and have proved that pawnbrokers and check cashers, if they dream big enough, can grow very rich off those with thin wallets.Broke, USA is Gary Rivlin's riveting report from the economic fringes. From the annual meeting of the national check cashers association in Las Vegas to a tour of the foreclosure-riddled neighborhoods of Dayton, Ohio, here is a subprime Fast Food Nation featuring an unforgettable cast of characters and memorable scenes. Rivlin profiles players like a former small-town Tennessee debt collector whose business offering cash advances to the working poor has earned him a net worth in the hundreds of millions, and legendary Wall Street dealmaker Sandy Weill, who rode a subprime loan business into control of the nation's largest bank. Rivlin parallels their stories with the tale of those committed souls fighting back against the major corporations, chain franchises, and newly hatched enterprises that fleece the country's hardworking waitresses, warehouse workers, and mall clerks.Timely, shocking, and powerful, Broke, USA offers a much-needed look at why our country is in a financial mess and gives a voice to the millions of ordinary Americans left devastated in the wake of the economic collapse.

The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling over four million copies in thirty-five languages and changing the way we look at the world. Now, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner return with SuperFreakonomics, and fans and newcomers alike will find that the freakquel is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first. Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunkWhy is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffectiveCan a sex change boost your salarySuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as: How is a street prostitute like a department-store SantaWhy are doctors so bad at washing their handsHow much good do car seats doWhat's the best way to catch a terroristDid TV cause a rise in crimeWhat do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in commonAre people hard-wired for altruism or selfishness?Can eating kangaroo save the planetWhich adds more value: a pimp or a RealtorLevitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else, whether investigating a solution to global warming or explaining why the price of oral sex has fallen so drastically. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it really is good, bad, ugly, and, in the final analysis, super freaky. Freakonomics has been imitated many times over but only now, with SuperFreakonomics, has it met its match.

Throughout the 20th century, American corporations were governed by autocratic, almost unaccountable chief executives. Their word was law and the only check on their power was a board of directors composed of their friends and allies.Then, in a stunning reversal, a momentous series of firings deposed the heads of some of the world's best-known companies: AIG, Morgan Stanley, Boeing, Hewlett-Packard and Pfizer, just to name a few. Formerly unchallenged CEOs found themselves under fire, often from their own handpicked boards. The number of deposed executives is astonishing. In 2004, the leaders of 600 companies were asked to leave. That number more than doubled in 2005 and reached 1,400 companies in 2006.Flexing new muscles, directors are assuming new and unfamiliar responsibilities. In Revolt in the Boardroom, Alan Murray reveals the inner workings of the new seat of power. Using the access afforded to him by his influential Wall Street Journal column, Murray tells the story of three seminal board revolts the now-famous Hewlett-Packard drama, the ousting of Boeing's Harry Stonecipher and the end of the reign one of the world's most autocratic executives, Hank Greenberg at AIG.Murray goes further to chart the history of the corporation, the rise of governance and the effects of the new power gained by outside institutions like hedge funds and interest groups. Through it all, Murray shows how the job of chief executive has rapidly and permanently changed. Leaders like A. G. Lafley and Jeff Immelt govern instead of rule, build alliances and support instead of dictating direction and pay careful attention to a broader range of stakeholders than ever before.Revolt in the Boardroom is the first look at the new world of corporate power and the last word on the transformational events of the last two years.

In this follow-up to You Can't Win a Fight with Your Boss, Tom Markert returns to provide clever, timeless advice on how to offer exceptional service. The most important ruleYou can't win a fight with your client! As American companies large and small have shifted their focus from manufacturing to providing services, keeping clients satisfied has become critical to the survival of every business. Yet, very few people have mastered the art of managing clients successfully. In You Can't Win a Fight with Your Client, Tom Markert argues that the secret to great service lies in understanding and applying a few fundamentals. In fifty small doses, he provides practical advice on how to manage your relationships with your clients and ensure they receive the kind of service that will keep them coming back for more.A perfect resource for anyone working with clients at any level, You Can't Win a Fight with Your Client is the no-nonsense, straightforward guide to keeping clients happy in today's hypercompetitive and demanding business environment.

In The Leadership Engine Noel Tichy showed how great companies strive to create leaders at all levels of the organization and how those leaders actively develop future generations of leaders. In this new book he takes the theme further showing how great companies and their leaders develop their business knowledge into achable points of view pend a great portion of their time giving their learnings to others sharing best practices and how they in turn learn and receive business ideas/knowledge from the employees they are teaching. Calling this exchange a virtuous teaching cycle Professor Tichy shows how business builders from Jack Welch at GE to Joe Liemandt at Trilogy create organizations that foster this knowledge exchange and how their efforts result in smarter more agile companies and winning results. Some of these ideas were showcased in Tichy's recent Harvard Business Review article entitled Ordinary Boot Camp. Using examples from GE Ford Dell Southwest Airlines and many others Tichy presents and analyzes these principles in action and shows how managers can begin to transform their own businesses into teaching organizations and consequently better performing companies

Former NBA center Adonal Foyle has seen athletes burn through millions on women, large entourages, family gifts, gambling debts even shark tanks! Such spending habits are partly responsible for 60 percent of NBA players going broke within five years of retirement and nearly 80 perfect of NFL players being strapped within two.Rich with anecdotes from a sports insider, Winning the Money Game shows you how to avoid the financial fouls of athletes. Foyle gives you the straight, offering guidance on a wide range of money matters, from taxes to alimony, from child support to medical bills, and so much more. He beaks down expenses point by point, illustrating the difference between luxury items and family needs, and lays out the essential dos and don'ts to help you spend, save, and grow your money wisely.

With The E-Myth Contractor, Michael E. Gerber launches a series of books that apply the E-Myth to specific types of small businesses. The first is aimed at contractors.This book reveals a radical new mind-set that will free contractors from the tyranny of an unprofitable, unproductive routine. With specific tips on topics as crucial as planning, money and personnel management, The E-Myth Contractor teaches readers how to: Implement the ingenious turnkey system of management a means of creating a business prototype that reflects the business owner's unique set of talents and replicating and distributing them among employees and customers. Recognise and manage the four forms of money income, profit, flow and equity. Harness the power of change to expand the company. The book also provides help on a larger level, leading readers towards becoming business visionaries by relinquishing tactical work and embracing strategic work, by letting go to gain control. Once put into action, Gerber's revolutionary ideas promise not only to help contractors build successful businesses, but successful lives as well.

Michael Gerber, the world's top business guru and bestselling author, shows would-be entrepreneurs how to get started, operationalize their winning idea, and design a business that will thrive. Got a great idea to start a businessSo now whatThe E-Myth Enterprise explores the requirements that any new business must meet: the satisfaction of its four primary influencers its employees, customers, suppliers, and investors through four fundamental categories visual, emotional, functional, and financial. Together these form the twin strategies every entrepreneur must use to design a business. The latest book in the Gerber franchise, The E-Myth Enterprise, fits neatly into a training program all entrepreneurs can use to fulfill their dreams. The E-Myth Enterprise is an indispensable follow-up to Awakening the Entrepreneur Within, as it shows would-be entrepreneurs how to put a promising idea to work. Next, readers can turn to The E-Myth Revisited for tried-and-true advice about avoiding the pitfalls that prevent most small business owners from succeeding. Following this, The E-Myth Manager provides essential guidance for the management of any business. Finally, for advice on how to take an existing business to the next level of growth and opportunity, there's E-Myth Mastery. In The E-Myth Enterprise, Gerber completes the E-Myth series, to help transform every entrepreneur's dream into a reality.

Everything you ever wanted and needed to know about capitalism . . . but were afraid to ask. What is capitalism, and will it surviveWhat does globalization really mean and how does it affect your bank accountIf capitalism, left unchecked, has caused disasters like the Great Depression and the financial crisis of 2008–09, why has it been the economic system of choice for centuriesTo many people, the complex, jargon-rich world of capitalism can be intimidating, raising more questions than it answers. However, as the excesses and failures of free-market capitalism continue to hold sway over the daily news and our daily lives, understanding our economic system including where it has succeeded and where it has not is more important than ever. Edited by New York Times business journalist Gretchen Morgenson, The Capitalist's Bible is the essential reference on capitalism and how it works from the people who champion it to the mechanisms and institutions that uphold it to the terms and laws that define it. Whether you seek a more well-rounded understanding of the ideology that underwrites America's and, increasingly, the world's economy, or simply wish to be able to speak more knowledgeably on the subject in conversation, this book is an invaluable tool for understanding capitalism.

Today we all face more impossible challenges than ever before. But flash foresight lets you transform the impossible into the possible, revealing hidden opportunities and allowing you to solve your biggest problems before they happen. Daniel Burrus is one of the world's leading forecasters, corporate strategists, and visionaries. Over the past quarter century, he has established a reputation worldwide for his exceptional record of accurately predicting the future of technological change and its direct impact on the business world."Wouldn't it be amazing if you could predict the future and be right?" writes Burrus. "You can: all you have to do is leave out the parts you could be wrong about! And the amazing thing is, when you know where to look, there's more than enough you can be right about to make all the difference."From small businesses to multinationals, individual careers to entire industries, Flash Foresight looks at how Burrus's seven radical flash foresight "triggers" have transformed dozens of careers, fortunes, and lives. Both engaging and enlightening, Flash Foresight provides an easy-to-implement blueprint for applying the same strategies to your own business, enabling you to see the invisible and do the impossible.In the past, flash foresight was useful. Today, as the pace of technological change accelerates almost beyond the point of comprehension, it's an imperative.

The workplace around the world is changing growing increasingly multicultural, female, and younger. Experts often tell CEOs and managers what not to do, and corporate diversity programs can often appear to be like defensive measures against lawsuits and harassment charges. While technology has connected all of us as a global workforce, it has not equipped us with the capability to interact genuinely with people. In order to be successful in this new global business environment, we need to rethink the way we lead others.Flex offers a new approach a proactive strategy for managers to understand and leverage difference effectively in this new global economy.Flex shows managers how to understand the power gap the social distance between you and those in the workplace of different cultures, ages, and gender; stretch your management style and bridge the gap with more effective communication and feedback tools; and multiply the effect by teaching these skills to others and closing the power gap with clients, customers, and partners to create innovative solutions. Creating flex in a company's management style will affect all aspects of developing existing leaders, attracting future talent, and building relationships with customers in this competitive marketplace. Flex shows you how.

Why do some workplace cultures inspire energy and innovation, while others fuel anxiety, boredom, or cynicismUntil now, such legendary cultures have seemed like magic beyond our control. However, behind every culture is a surprisingly elegant science. Primed to Perform proves that the highest-performing cultures are built on a simple truth: why people work affects how well they work. Great organizations inspire the three most powerful motives for work play, purpose, and potential and eliminate the three most destructive emotional pressure, economic pressure, and inertia. They create total motivation (or ToMo, for short). Total motivation cultures create the highest-performing employees and the most adaptive organizations.Authors Neel Doshi and Lindsay McGregor show that extraordinary performance at companies like Southwest Airlines, Starbucks, Apple, and Whole Foods comes from cultures that inspire total motivation. They describe how investment professionals, salespeople, teachers, and CEOs perform better when driven by total motivation. And, most important, they share how you can build a culture that inspires total motivation in every moment of every day.Primed to Perform builds on over a century of academic thinking as well as the authors' original research into how ToMo drives performance at iconic companies. It introduces the authors' highly predictive new measurement tool, the total motivation factor, which allows leaders to measure the strength of their culture and understand how it changes over time. It gives leaders the tools to transform their own workplaces.High-performing cultures can't be left to chance; organizations must create systems that shape and maintain them. Whether you're a five-person team or a start-up, an elementary school or a university, a nonprofit or a mega-institution, Primed to Perform shows you how.

You are a good person. You are one of the 84 million Americans who volunteer with a charity. You are part of a national donor pool that contributes nearly $200 billion to good causes every year. But you wonder: Why don't your efforts seem to make a differenceFifteen years ago, Robert Egger asked himself this same question as he reluctantly climbed aboard a food service truck for a night of volunteering to help serve meals to the homeless. He wondered why there were still people waiting in line for soup in this day and age. Where were the drug counselors, the job trainers, and the support team to help these men and women get off the streetsWhy were volunteers buying supplies from grocery stores when restaurants were throwing away unused fresh food every nightWhy had politicians, citizens, and local businesses allowed charity to become an end in itselfWhy wasn't there an efficient way to solve the problemRobert knew there had to be a better way. In 1989, he started the D.C. Central Kitchen by collecting unused food from local restaurants, caterers, and hotels and bringing it back to a central location where hot, nutritious meals were prepared and distributed to agencies around the city. Since then, the D.C. Central Kitchen has been named one of President Bush Sr.'s Thousand Points of Light and has become one of the most respected and emulated nonprofit agencies in the world, producing and distributing more than 4,000 meals a day. Its highly successful 12-week job-training program equips former homeless transients and drug addicts with culinary and life skills to gain employment in the restaurant business. In Begging for Change, Robert Egger looks back on his experience and exposes the startling lack of logic, waste, and ineffectiveness he has encountered during his years in the nonprofit sector, and calls for reform of this $800 billion industry from the inside out. In his entertaining and inimitable way, he weaves stories from his days in music, when he encountered legends such as Sarah Vaughan, Mel Torme, and Iggy Pop, together with stories from his experiences in the hunger movement -- and recently as volunteer interim director to help clean up the beleaguered United Way National Capital Area. He asks for nonprofits to be more innovative and results-driven, for corporate and nonprofit leaders to be more focused and responsible, and for citizens who contribute their time and money to be smarter and more demanding of nonprofits and what they provide in return. Robert's appeal to common sense will resonate with readers who are tired of hearing the same nonprofit fund-raising appeals and pity-based messages. Instead of asking the "who" and "what" of giving, he leads the way in asking the "how" and "why" in order to move beyond our 19th-century concept of charity, and usher in a 21st-century model of change and reform for nonprofits. Enlightening and provocative, engaging and moving, this book is essential reading for nonprofit managers, corporate leaders, and, most of all, any citizen who has ever cared enough to give of themselves to a worthy cause.

After an eleven-year-old Kimberly Guilfoyle lost her mother to leukemia, her dad wanted her to become as resilient and self-empowered as she could be. He wisely taught her to build a solid case for the things she wanted. Creating a strong logical argument was the best way to ensure she could always meet her needs. That childhood lesson led her to become the fearless advocate and quick-thinking spitfire she is today. In Making the Case, Guilfoyle interweaves stories and anecdotes from her life and career with practical advice that can help you win arguments, get what you want, help others along the way, and come out ahead in any situation.Learning how to state your case effectively is not just important for lawyers it's something every person should know how to do, no matter what stage of life they are in. From landing her dream job right out of school, switching careers seamlessly midstream, and managing personal finances for greater growth and stability to divorcing amicably and teaching her young child to advocate for himself, Guilfoyle has been there and done it. Now she shares those stories, showing you how to organize your thoughts and plans, have meaningful discussions with the people around you, and achieve your goals in all aspects of your life. You'll also learn the tips and strategies that make the best advocates so successful, some of which come directly from courtroom scenarios where the stakes are highest.Told in her winning and humorous voice, Guilfoyle's experiences and the wisdom drawn from them are a ready guide to help you reach your potential and live a fulfilling and happy life at work and at home.

Welcome to the world of Martin "Buzzy" Schwartz, Champion Trader--the man whose nerves of steel and killer instinct in the canyons of Wall Street earned him the well-deserved name "Pit Bull." This is the true story of how Schwartz became the best of the best, of the people and places he discovered along the way and of the trader's tricks and techniques he used to make his millions.

#131 The Case of the Two-Cent CandyYears ago, I wrote about a retail store in the Palo Alto environs a good one, which had a box of two-cent candies at the checkout. I subsequently remember that "little" parting gesture of the two-cent candy as a symbol of all that is Excellent at that store. Dozens of people who have attended seminars of mine from retailers to bankers to plumbing-supply-house owners have come up to remind me, sometimes 15 or 20 years later, of "the two-cent candy story," and to tell me how it had a sizable impact on how they did business, metaphorically and in fact.Well, the Two-Cent Candy Phenomenon has struck again with oomph and in the most unlikely of places.For years Singapore's "brand" has more or less been Southeast Asia's "place that works." Its legendary operational efficiency in all it does has attracted businesses of all sorts to set up shop there. But as "the rest" in the geographic neighborhood closed the efficiency gap, and China continued to rise-race-soar, Singapore decided a couple of years ago to "rebrand" itself as not only a place that works but also as an exciting, "with it" city. (I was a participant in an early rebranding conference that also featured the likes of the late Anita Roddick, Deepak Chopra, and Infosys founder and superman N. R. Narayana Murthy.)Singapore's fabled operating efficiency starts, as indeed it should, at ports of entry the airport being a prime example. From immigration to baggage claim to transportation downtown, the services are unmatched anywhere in the world for speed and efficiency.Saga . . . Immigration services in Thailand, three days before a trip to Singapore, were a pain. ("Memorable.") And entering Russia some months ago was hardly a walk in the park, either. To be sure, and especially after 9/11, entry to the United States has not been a process you'd mistake for arriving at Disneyland, nor marked by an attitude that shouted "Welcome, honored guest."Singapore immigration services, on the other hand:The entry form was a marvel of simplicity. The lines were short, very short, with more than adequate staffing.The process was simple and unobtrusive.And:The immigration officer could have easily gotten work at Starbucks; she was all smiles and courtesy.And:Yes!Yes!And . . . yes!There was a little candy jar at each Immigration portal!The "candy jar message" in a dozen ways:"Welcome to Singapore, Tom!! We are absolutely beside ourselves with delight that you have decided to come here!"Wow!Wow!Wow!Ask yourself . . . now:What is my (personal, department, project, restaurant, law firm) "Two-Cent Candy"?Does every part of the process of working with us/me include two-cent candies?Do we, as a group, "think two-cent candies"?Operationalizing: Make "two-centing it" part and parcel of "the way we do business around here." Don't go light on the so-called substance but do remember that . . . perception is reality . . . and perception is shaped by two-cent candies as much as by that so-called hard substance.Start: Have your staff collect "two-cent candy stories" for the next two weeks in their routine "life" transactions. Share those stories. Translate into "our world." And implement.Repeat regularly.Forever.(Recession or no recession you can afford two cents.)(In fact, it is a particularly Brilliant Idea for a recession you doubtless don't maximize Two-Cent Opportunities. And what opportunities they are.)

When small- and medium-sized business owners first hear George Cloutier's rules, they often think he's a madman. His controversial rules for doing business rules that aren't taught at Harvard Business School include:The best family business has one member.Weekends are for working, not playing golf or coaching.Never pay your vendors on time.Wear your control freak badge with pride.Quit denial: if your business is failing during a recession, it's your fault. As the founder and CEO of American Management Services, Cloutier has emerged as "the leading advocate for small business" (Reuters), having spent over thirty years guiding business owners through the tough choices that line the road to profitability. He and his company have worked with more than six thousand companies, averting certain ruin for some and generating seemingly impossible growth and profitability for others.Cloutier graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School, but the lessons in this book aren't from there. Unlike his classmates, most of whom headed straight to Wall Street, Cloutier has been on the docks at 2 a.m. counting heads of lettuce for food distributors to make sure nothing would disappear without a waybill. He's spent long, overnight hours in truck stops, making sure sticky fingers stayed out of the tills. Cloutier and his colleagues at American Management Services become personal pitt bulls to the CEOs who hire them, doing whatever it takes to bring their clients' businesses back into long-term profitability.Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing is the long- overdue wake-up call for 23 million small- and midsize business owners across America. This book serves up the hard-boiled, unadulterated truth to aspiring and established entrepreneurs, without apologies. His no-nonsense advice may be hard to hear at times, but it works.

The definitive guide to turning the Millennials' great expectations into even greater results The Millennial generation (those born between 1982 and 2000) has rapidly entered the workforce in greater numbers, but its introduction to the workplace has been anything but seamless. In fact, many companies already report attention-grabbing stories about: the mother who called HR to complain when her Millennial daughter got a mediocre performance review; the new hire who dialed the CEO directly to tell him what the company could be doing better; the young employee who revealed a confidential new product on her Facebook page before it was made public. Clashes like these are happening in workplaces around the world, and they leave leaders and coworkers scratching their heads and wondering, "What do these Millennials wantWhy are they so differentHow do we get the good ones in the doorHow do we keep them there without alienating the other generations?" Going forward, a company's success will depend upon knowing the answers to these questions, because they are the keys to motivating this new generation and to taking advantage of the amazing potential it possesses. In The M-Factor, Baby Boomer Lynne Lancaster and Generation Xer David Stillman draw on cutting-edge case studies, findings from large-scale surveys, and hundreds of interviews to identify the seven trends essential for understanding and managing the Millennials: the role of the parents, entitlement, the search for meaning, great expectations, the need for speed, social networking, and collaboration. Observant, humorous, and savvy, this book the ultimate guide to Millennials in the workplace offers valuable insights and practical, take-action tips and solutions that Traditionalists, Boomers, Gen Xers, and even Millennials can use to bridge generational gaps, be more productive, and achieve organizational success like never before.

With her skill in selling real estate, her expertise in marketing, and her drive to succeed, Kendra Todd has mapped out an exciting and lucrative future for herself one that included taking the right kind of risks, profiting from them, and sharing her knowledge with others. Todd understands that the one thing that keeps people from making the big, bold moves that can improve their lives is a fear of risk, even more than lack of capital. The willingness to try new and different things, and the ability to keep your head on straight while your heart is pounding, is something that Todd knows well. Without risk, she doesn't have a business. Todd will address how men and women view risk from opposite sides of the galaxy, how anyone can become an entrepreneur, how you can set yourself up for success and what the ten steps are for turning risk into opportunity. With quizzes to test what kind of risk taker you are, and examples of successful risks that paid off, Todd is poised to become the hot voice of investment to her generation.

Here is the bestselling guide that created a new game plan for marketing in high-tech industries. Crossing the Chasm has become the bible for bringing cutting-edge products to progressively larger markets. This edition provides new insights into the realities of high-tech marketing, with special emphasis on the Internet. It's essential reading for anyone with a stake in the world's most exciting marketplace.

Transform Your Workplace!Imagine a company where people are excited about coming to work and giving their best efforts every day. In this innovative and engrossing business parable, Harry Paul and Ross Reck show managers at all levels how they can immediately and easily increase productivity by tapping into the discretionary effort of the people who work for them. Starting from the most basic aspect of business reality that people intentionally regulate the amount of effort they put into their jobs based upon how they feel they're being treated the authors point out that the most important part of the job of every manager, team leader, supervisor, and executive is to treat people in such a way that they become excited about applying all their discretionary effort toward performing their jobs.At the book's center is the story of Nancy Kim, a human resources director at a magazine that is struggling with all the problems associated with unhappy employees low productivity and morale along with high absenteeism and turnover. After she openly challenges the CEO's new management-by-the-numbers system, she's charged with turning the situation around immediately. Filled with real-world studies, Instant Turnaround! shows anyone how to turn the workplace into a destination a place where working hard feels like hardly working because it's engaging, enjoyable, and fulfilling.