Disasters happen every day. Are your investments preparedThe investor who knows how to anticipate historically significant or earth-shattering events who is prepared to act when others are frozen with fear will always have a substantial advantage. By closely analyzing potential global threats and the opportunities they present, The Wall Street Journal Guide to Investing in the Apocalypse offers investors the key to finding a silver lining in almost any cataclysm. Even if the catastrophic does not occur, the strategies here can pay huge dividends even under more mundane circumstances.The Wall Street Journal Guide to Investing in the Apocalypse provides readers with valuable information for investment success: the ability to see opportunity where others see peril. Whether a global disaster is natural or man-made, environmental or financial, every fearsome scenario contains the seeds of profit for the investor who stays calm and thinks rather than panics and runs.

The measure of the executive, Peter Drucker reminds us, is the ability to "get the right things done." This usually involves doing what other people have overlooked as well as avoiding what is unproductive. Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge may all be wasted in an executive job without the acquired habits of mind that mold them into results. Drucker identifies five practices essential to business effectiveness that can, and must, be learned: Management of time Choosing what to contribute to the practical organization Knowing where and how to mobilize strength for best effect Setting up the right priorities And Knitting all of them together with effective decision making Ranging widely through the annals of business and government, Peter Drucker demonstrates the distinctive skill of the executive and offers fresh insights into old and seemingly obvious business situations.

Why have all the sprinters who have run the 100 meters in under ten seconds been blackWhat's one thing Mozart, Venus Williams, and Michelangelo have in common?Is it good to praise a child's intelligenceWhy are baseball players so superstitiousFew things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival. We love to win and hate to lose, whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box, in the office or in the classroom. In this bold new look at human behavior, award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature why we win, why we don't, and how we really play the game of life. Bounce reveals how competition the most vivid, primal, and dramatic of human pursuits provides vital insight into many of the most controversial issues of our time, from biology and economics, to psychology and culture, to genetics and race, to sports and politics. Backed by cutting-edge scientific research and case studies, Syed shatters long-held myths about meritocracy, talent, performance, and the mind. He explains why some people thrive under pressure and others choke, and weighs the value of innate ability against that of practice, hard work, and will. From sex to math, from the motivation of children to the culture of big business, Bounce shows how competition provides a master key with which to unlock the mysteries of the world.

From the author who brought you the massive New York Times bestseller Bringing Down the House, this is the startling rags-to-riches story of an Italian-American kid from the streets of Brooklyn who claws his way into the wild, frenetic world of the oil exchange.After conquering the hallowed halls of Harvard Business School, he enters the testosterone-laced warrens of the Merc Exchange, the asylumlike oil exchange located in lower Manhattan. A place where billions of dollars trade hands every week, the Merc is like a casino on crack, where former garbagemen become millionaires overnight and where fistfights break out on the trading floor.This ordinary kid has traded Brooklyn for the gold-lined hotel palaces of Dubai. He keeps company on the decks of private yachts in Monte Carlo teeming with half-naked girls flown in by Saudi sheiks and makes deals in the dangerous back alleys of Beijing.But the Merc is just a starting place. Taken under the wing of another young gun and partnering with a mysterious young Muslim, the kid embarks on a dangerous adventure to revolutionize the oil trading industry and, along with it, the world.Rigged is the explicit, exclusive, true story behind the headlines that dominate the world stage.

In The Power of Business en Espaol, Cancela, one of the most well-respected business experts in the Spanish-speaking world, provides readers with a guide to the exciting yet often confusing Spanish-language market. From how to deal with the many Spanish accents and colloquialisms to learning where the Spanish-dominant consumer really lives and spends money, The Power of Business en Espaol is a book that will demystify Spanish-dominant consumers for non-Spanish speakers. Broken down into seven easy chapters that include specific examples of real companies that have been successful (or unsuccessful) in their marketing techniques for this demographic, this handbook gives you the tools to build your business and reach out to this rapidly expanding market. Giving readers simple keys to understanding the people, the culture, and the language that unites this growing segment of the population, The Power of Business en Espaol is a road map for anyone who wants to prepare their business for the language hurdles of the twenty-first century or simply wants to learn more about their new neighbors.

This game-changing book empowers readers to become confident, independent, wise decision-makers— savvy to how our emotions, moods, and habits can trip us up. An investor wonders whether to put his money into the stock market or to keep it in a savings account. A patient is torn between opting for surgery and trying an experimental drug therapy. A college-bound student questions whether to take on debt to attend an Ivy League school or to choose a public institution with low tuition. We face momentous decisions with important consequences throughout our lives. We have never had better access to information and expertise, yet this data deluge has become a double-edged sword. Which sources of information are credibleHow can we separate the signal from the noiseWhose advice can we trustAll of these questions are reasons for us to become empowered decision-makers capable of making high-stakes choices ourselves. Whether you are a politician, a businessperson, a professional, or a parent, now is the time to take a radically different approach. In Eyes Wide Open, the bestselling author and visionary thinker Noreena Hertz shares insights from the latest research along with practical advice, including why looking at information in black and white rather than in color can lead to better decisions why it's smart to be skeptical about experts' pronouncements, and how to identify the best among them why it's crucial to carve out time to think, even in moments of crisis how and why you should regulate your emotional thermostat to make smart decisions why you need to shake up your social network if you don't want only to reinforce what you already know and amplify the beliefs you already have It's time to make decisions with our eyes wide open—for the sake of our health, our wealth, and our future security.

In this age of digital communication, getting the right message across clearly is crucial to success. Communicating Effectively, a comprehensive and essential resource for any manager on the run, shows you how.Learn to: Build relationships through effective communication Get more done via e-mail Draft pitch perfect letters, memos, and reports Conduct productive conference calls Deliver hard-hitting presentations The Collins Best Practices guides offer new and seasoned managers the essential information they need to achieve more, both personally and professionally. Designed to provide tried-and-true advice from the world's most influential business minds, they feature practical strategies and tips to help you get ahead.

Best-selling author Andy Kessler ties up the loose ends from his provocative book, Running Money, with this history of breakthrough technology and the markets that funded them.Expanding on themes first raised in his tour de force, Running Money, Andy Kessler unpacks the entire history of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, from the Industrial Revolution to computers, communications, money, gold and stock markets. These stories cut (by an unscrupulous editor) from the original manu* were intended as a primer on the ways in which new technologies develop from unprofitable curiosities to essential investments. Indeed, How We Got Here is the book Kessler wishes someone had handed him on his first day as a freshman engineering student at Cornell or on the day he started on Wall Street. This book connects the dots through history to how we got to where we are today.

Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it. Meet Lou Holtz, the motivational miracle worker who revitalized the Notre Dame football program by leading the legendary Fighting Irish to nine bowl games and a national championship. During his twenty-seven years as a head football coach, Holtz garnered a 216-95-7 career record. Each new assignment brought a different team with different players, but, invariably, the same result--success. How did he do itBy designing a game plan for his players that minimized obstacles while maximizing opportunities. Now he wants to pass his game plan on to you. In Winning Every Day, you'll discover ten strategies that will drive you to the top of your professional and personal life. Coach Holtz will reveal how you can acquire the focus and commitment it takes to be a champion. It won't be easy; it takes sacrifice to be the best. But now you'll have a proven winner alongside you in the trenches. Winning Every Day demonstrates how you can elevate your performance while raising the standards of everyone around you. Follow Coach's strategies and winning becomes habitual. You will learn to welcome sacrifice as you dedicate yourself to excellence. He will show you how to clearly define your short-term and long-term goals, to develop an unwavering sense of purpose without compromising flexibility. Through it all, Coach Holtz will help you discover the courage you need to live a life of unremitting triumph. You couldn't have a better guide. He will provide you with the strategies he has shared with Fortune 500 companies, groups, and organizations. Voted the top motivational speaker two years running by a survey of speakers' bureaus, Coach is going to present you with all the Xs and Os, the basics of his game plan for success in life and business.

What's the hard truthSoft skills get little respect but will make or break your career. Master your soft skills and really get ahead at work! Fortune 500 coach Peggy Klaus encounters individuals every day who excel at their jobs but aren't getting where they want to go. It's rarely a shortfall in technical expertise that limits their careers, but rather a shortcoming in their social, communication, and self-management behaviors. In The Hard Truth About Soft Skills Klaus delivers practical tools and techniques for mastering soft skills across the career spectrum. She shows how to: manage your workload handle the critics develop and promote your personal brand navigate office politics lead the troops and much more! Klaus reveals why soft skills are often ignored, while bringing their importance to life in her trademark style straightforward, humorous, and motivating. Perfect for readers at all professional stages from those who are just starting out to seasoned executives this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to take his or her career to the next level.

When it comes to money, are you controlled by fearDo you live in financial chaos?Do you underestimate your worthAre you ready to go to the next level, but can't seem to get thereIf the answer is yes to these questions, you may be an underearner. Underearners are self-saboteurs who never live up to their earnings potential, says Barbara Stanny, a financial educator, motivational speaker, former journalist, and career counselor. Underearners tend to live paycheck to paycheck. They rarely balance their checkbooks and are often in debt. Ironically, many work incredibly hard. Yet they are ashamed to admit that money matters to them. They all have a high tolerance for low pay. The good news is that underearning is often self-imposed. By focusing on overcoming underearning, you will not only earn what you deserve, but you can live up to your full potential. With techniques and exercises that have helped thousands of people who have participated in her Overcoming Underearningworkshops, Stanny teaches you five essential steps to financial independence. Once you understand these steps, you will be confident asking for a raise, increasing your prices, or getting a better job. "Now I'm making more than my friends, all because I had the guts to dream and ask for more," says one Stanny fan. First, Tell the Truth: be honest about your financial situation and figure out your attitudes toward money. Second, Make a Decision: decide that you want to make more money. Third, Stretch: take action, face your fears, and be willing to be uncomfortable. Fourth, Create Community by finding supporters and asking for help. Fifth, Respect and Appreciate Money: learn to save and invest. Overcoming Underearning is filled with inspiring, real-life stories of underearners who turned their lives around. Stanny brings a message of empowerment and hope to all those who chronically undervalue themselves. "I'm making more, working less, feeling healthier, have more energy, and I'm so much happier," concludes another Stanny believer.

This expert, one-of-a-kind handbook shows you how to ensure that your inheritance instructions will be carried out the way you want them to be; protect your children's inheritance from creditors, ex-spouses, addictions, tax troubles, mismanagement, squandering, and other risks of loss; prevent family conflict that can arise when parents die and children divide the family money leave more money to your children and grandchildren, and less to the IRS; avoid creating inheritance problems in your family with cautionary tales of inheritance planning gone bad; understand why you still have to deal with estate tax issues even if your net worth falls below the new death-tax-exemption.

Do you have a hobby you wish you could indulge in all dayAn obsession that keeps you up at nightNow is the perfect time to take that passion and make a living doing what you love. In Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, Gary Vaynerchuk shows you how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses. Gary spent years building his family business from a local wine shop into a national industry leader. Then one day he turned on a video camera, and by using the secrets revealed here, transformed his entire life and earning potential by building his personal brand. By the end of this book, readers will have learned how to harness the power of the Internet to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Step by step, Crush It! is the ultimate driver's manual for modern business.

One of the nations' foremost financial consultants shares 78 proven ways to cut costs dramatically, send productivity through the roof, and, in just six months, double profits.

Want freedom from management, mediocrity and moronsEver wonder what the best bosses know that you don'tDo you want to have great employees, people who don't need to be managed and who make everyone around them work harder and raise the department to a higher standardThe Gifted Boss is management guru Dale Dauten's classic yet revolutionary guidebook on teaching managers how to spot and court talent and how to give great employees what they want and need. This is a comprehensive system full of valuable insight and lessons aimed at creating the best work environment for the best people. Throughout The Gifted Boss, Dale Dauten defines his different breed of leader as one who is able to shape a business environment and culture that is a magnet for self-motivated employees. Dauten's starting point is a powerful fact about hiring great employees: the best ones are almost never in the job market. His system also includes a discussion of "ideal turnover" and how the great managers employ "the secret skill" of "de-hiring" to gracefully move mediocre employees up or out. Throughout his discussions, Dauten incorporates priceless knowledge gained from an exhaustive search for America's best bosses. The wisdom he acquired was startling, and it pertained to every type of organization: "Different isn't always better, but better is always different." The Gifted Boss has already earned itself a cult following. Now, based on conversations with hundreds of readers, Dauten has revised his work by adding a quick-start guide to help his audience get fast results and a discussion guide to help executives share the book with their teams. Though new technology continues to bring new changes to communication in the workplace, The Gifted Boss still remains the essential guide to maneuvering the tricky world of managing the modern employee. It belongs on every businessperson's desk.

Kate White New York Times bestselling author, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan for fourteen years, and motivational speaker shares her gutsy secrets to success in this witty, straight-talking new career guide for women.Whether you've just settled into your first work cubicle and have no clue how to go after the success you crave, or you've already got a sweet little office but you aren't sure how to take your career to the next level, I Shouldn't Be Telling You This gives you all the secrets you need to become a success, go big with it, and then savor every second. It is jam-packed with insider strategies, interviews with women at the top of their game, and Kate's advice from her own career running five major magazines (including one of the bestselling women's magazines in the world, Cosmopolitan). She hows you how to break out of the pack, master the learning curve, make bold moves, and, ultimately, have the career you've always lusted for!Kate shares five secrets every woman needs to know how to:Land a Job You're Truly Passionate About Use "Bitch Envy" to Your Advantage Radiate Confidence and Get Buzzed About (Without Worrying What Other People Think)Ask for the Money You Want and Get It Manage Your Career and Not Just Your Job (It's a Whole Different Ball Game!)But more than anything, Kate says, you have to go big or go home do what's unexpected and always keep your career trajectory in mind. It might be tackling a project that no one else is taking on and nailing it then making sure your boss knows it. Or it might be developing a "golden gut" that will help you to break the rules the right way, so you always end up shining. In I Shouldn't Be Telling You This, Kate White shares the kinds of secrets no boss is ever likely to spill all with her irreverent wit and candid style. You'll come away with the know-how you need and you'll feel as though you've just gotten up from a fabulously dishy lunch!

How do you get a job without experience and get experience without a jobIt's the question virtually every college student or recent graduate faces. In Getting from College to Career, Lindsey Pollak offers the first definitive guide to building the experience, skills, and confidence you need before starting your first major job search. Her 90 action-oriented tips include strategies ranging from the simple to the expert, including: Avoid the biggest mistake in career prep and job hunting Subscribe to a daily newspaper E-mail like a professional Make every event a networking success Practice the eight essentials of internship achievement Perform five minutes of stand-up Overprepare for interviews Persist Getting from College to Career gives you the essential information and guidance you need to get your foot in the door of the real world. Don't start your first job search without it!

Wall Street is a funny business. All you have is your reputation. Taint it and someone else will fill your shoes. Longevity comes from maintaining that reputation. Ask Jack Grubman, the All-Star telecom analyst from Salomon Smith Barney; uber-banker Frank Quattrone at CS First Boston; Morgan Stanley's Mary "Queen of the Net" Meeker; or Merrill Lynch's Henry Blodget.Well, they probably won't tell you anything. But have I got some great stories for you. Successful hedge fund manager Andy Kessler looks back on his years as an analyst on Wall Street and offers this cautionary tale of the intoxicating forces loose in the world of finance that overwhelmed sober analysis.

Why is medical care in the United States so expensiveFor decades, Americans have taken it as a matter of faith that we spend more because we have the best health care system in the world. But as costs levitate, that argument becomes more difficult to make. Today, we spend twice as much as Japan on health care—yet few would argue that our health care system is twice as good. Instead, startling new evidence suggests that one out of every three of our health care dollars is squandered on unnecessary or redundant tests; unproven, sometimes unwanted procedures; and overpriced drugs and devices that, too often, are no better than the less expensive products they have replaced. How did this happenIn Money-Driven Medicine, Maggie Mahar takes the reader behind the scenes of a $2 trillion industry to witness how billions of dollars are wasted in a Hobbesian marketplace that pits the industry's players against each other. In remarkably candid interviews, doctors, hospital administrators, patients, health care economists, corporate executives, and Wall Street analysts describe a war of "all against all" that can turn physicians, hospitals, insurers, drugmakers, and device makers into blood rivals. Rather than collaborating, doctors and hospitals compete. Rather than sharing knowledge, drugmakers and device makers divide value. Rather than thinking about long-term collective goals, the imperatives of an impatient marketplace force health care providers to focus on short-term fiscal imperatives. And so investments in untested bleeding-edge medical technologies crowd out investments in information technology that might, in the long run, not only reduce errors but contain costs. In theory, free market competition should tame health care inflation. In fact, Mahar demonstrates, when it comes to medicine, the traditional laws of supply and demand do not apply. Normally, when supply expands, prices fall. But in the health care industry, as the number and variety of drugs, devices, and treatments multiplies, demand rises to absorb the excess, and prices climb. Meanwhile, the perverse incentives of a fee-for-service system reward health care providers for doing more, not less. In this superbly written book, Mahar shows why doctors must take responsibility for the future of our health care industry. Today, she observes, "physicians have been stripped of their standing as professionals: Insurers address them as vendors ('Dear Health Care Provider'), drugmakers and device makers see them as customers (someone you might take to lunch or a strip club), while . . . consumers (aka patients) are encouraged to see their doctors as overpaid retailers. . . . Before patients can reclaim their rightful place as the center—and indeed as the raison d'être—of our health care system," Mahar suggests, "we must once again empower doctors . . . to practice patient-centered medicine—based not on corporate imperatives, doctors' druthers, or even patients' demands," but on the best scientific research available.

The workplace guide to putting "I wish I'd said" moments in the past Ever wish that you could have a "do over" after a conversation at workDo you often find yourself regretting what you've said to a coworker or kicking yourself for not saying something better, stronger, or more preciseIf so, you're like most people, and in Comebacks at Work, management professor and consultant Kathleen Kelley Reardon, Ph.D., provides the tips and tools you need to know what to say and how to say it better next time.In this compelling, entertaining book, Reardon argues that we are responsible for 75 percent of the way we're treated at work, and our success or failure at the workplace depends largely on how we handle ourselves in conversation with our colleagues. To break free of the stale *s and expected actions that allow politically astute people to manipulate us, we must increase our conversational awareness and effectively employ what Reardon calls "comebacks." Comebacks at Work provides a game plan for doing so and explains: Why some comebacks work, while others fall flat; Why our mind goes blank when we are confronted, and how to overcome that response; How to determine which comebacks work, and when to use them. Every conversation is different, and while many situations are common, one set of comebacks isn't enough. Offering a personalized repertoire of comebacks and a plan for using them strategically as well as the skills you will need to package them for maximum effect, Comebacks at Work will prepare you for any difficult conversation that comes your way.

A riddle: Five frogs are sitting on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many are leftAnswer: Five WhyBecause there's a difference between deciding and doing. Written by Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt of PricewaterhouseCoopers, Five Frogs on a Log offers readers an entertaining and no-nonsense field guide to the mergers and acquisitions jungle, packed with insight and instruction for executing corporate change and capturing shareholder value. Whether you're buying another company or acquiring a new vision of the future, this book proffers an unconventional perspective and a practical, readily accessible set of solutions to the single greatest challenge facing today's managers: executing rapid transitions ion mergers, acquisitions and gut wrenching change. Designed for corporate managers and CEOs caught up in the whirlwind of change, every chapter provides accessible ideas and wisdom for navigating the most demanding business transitions. The authors offer a unique hands-on perspective based on their work with top Fortune 500 firms. As they state: "Increasingly, the companies that win are those that learn faster, act quicker and adapt sooner. They will compress time by making and executing early, informed decisions about economic value creation, ruthless prioritization and focused resource allocation. They will use these decisions to take early firm stands on management deployment, organization structure and culture. Their actions will increasingly be linked to long-term, sustained economic value creation." The advice and expertise offered in this book can be used to solve a range of operational problems from speeding up new product development to merging two businesses; from changing company culture to repositioning a business in a while new marketplace. Whatever the challenges and opportunities facing you, your company, your industry, Five Frogs on a Log will move you from deciding to doing.