Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Get there early; sensing the future to compete in the present.
Johansen explains the importance of tuning into the future for business, government, and nonprofit leaders wanting to solve problems in the current world of "volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity." He details how to implement the Institute for the Future's Foresight to Insight to Action Cycle, including an explanation of ten-year forecasting, the Institute's map of the future, differences between problems and dilemmas, and using strategies such as stories, immersion experiences, and small-group workshops to gain insight and inspire others. The process in action is then described, using examples from the Institute's experiences with leaders in companies, government agencies, foundations, and nonprofits. Johansen is associated with the Institute for the Future, a nonprofit research group in Silicon Valley. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Our day to end poverty; 24 ways you can make a difference.
In 24 chapters that parallel 24 hours, Daley-Harris and Keenan outline ways that people can help end poverty. Each describes a practical action for combating poverty and includes a variety of specific ways to learn, contribute, serve, and live, in a checklist of sorts. The three parts that make up the book reflect UN Millennium development Goals and address actions relating to education, ending hunger and malnutrition, technology, access to microcredit, universal health care, housing, literacy, transportation, access to clean water, community, and sustainable environmental practices. Keenan is a strategic initiatives manager, and Daley-Harris is a freelance writer, editor, and consultant who has worked with the Children's Defense Fund, among other organizations. They were inspired to write the book by 50 Simple Things you Can Do to Save the Earth. Their book lacks a bibliography, but resources are mentioned along with the actions. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Seeing systems; unlocking the mysteries of organizational life, 2d ed.
Drawing on his years of experience creating organizational and societal simulations, Oshry, an educator and workshop facilitator, explains the human and system costs of five types of system blindness and shows how to transform system blindness into system insight. The book is similar in flavor to transactional analysis (remember "I'm OK-You're OK?"), written in acts and scenes, sprinkled with poems and dialogues, and populated with tops, middles, bottoms, elites, swimmers, slugs, the done-to customer, and other characters representing various organizational roles. This second edition features new cases and stories, and a new section on the "Tunnel of Limited Options." A new epilogue describes how Oshry is currently using theater, blogs, and podcasts to extend his ideas. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Show me the money; how to determine ROI in people, projects, and programs.
Getting the best return on investment (ROI) is not only the core of business practice; it is business practice, and likely will never significantly change. However, how firms get the RIO they want is changing and continues to change as expectations increase and understanding of the process improves. The authors, chairman and chief executive officer of their consulting firm, provide a systematic process for determining the monetary value of their programs and projects that will generate a balanced set of measurements, whether they be of products or people. They use plenty of examples to define the new business values, overview ROI methodology, ensure projects align with the business, compute perceived value, teach the process and isolate and evaluate its impact. They also show how to make data work on your side as well as measure the intangibles and make a business case, and how to report and sustain ROI. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
The speculation economy; how finance triumphed over industry.
American industry once focused on providing the best goods and services, but today, business success is measured almost exclusively by the price of a company's stock, forcing executives to keep the share price as high as possible and leading to neglect of long-term strategic planning. Mitchell (business law, The George Washington University) explains when, how, and why the stock market became the driving force of the American economy. Starting in the first decade of the 20th century, he tells the story of the legal, financial, economic, and social changes that allowed financiers to create large corporations for the main purpose of manufacturing stock and dumping it on the market. He shows how the federal government, wedded to an outdated economic model, failed to regulate finance and thus missed the chance to control corporations. (Annotation ©2007 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
