The Non-Obvious Guide to Magical Meetings

The Non-Obvious Guide to Magical Meetings PDF

Author: Douglas Ferguson

Publisher:

Published: 2021-06

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781646871339

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An unusual and irreverent guide to transforming your meetings from time-sucking interruptions to productive moments of collaboration - whether your team is together or virtual. What if meetings could be the high point of collaboration in your day, instead of the usual time-sucking soul-draining experience they often become? In this guide, expert facilitators Douglas Ferguson and John Fitch tackle the myth that the most effective way to get more out of meetings is to just avoid having them or to have less of them. In a well-run organization, meetings should actually be integral to getting sh*t done. Meetings are the secret underappreciated weapon that businesses are using badly. And why do they use them so badly? Because no one has been taught how to make them better. In this guide, you will learn: What if having an agenda has no effect on whether you have a great meeting? What happens when you actually do the work in the meeting? What are the five common elements of every meeting that sucks, and how do you avoid them? Douglas and John show you how to adopt and adapt the non-obvious Meeting Mantras they developed at their company, Voltage Control. Their methods have helped companies and teams transform the perception of meetings from "going to the dentist" (ie - something you have to do but hate) into something you can't wait for - like a rock concert or great dinner.

Make Work Great: Super Charge Your Team, Reinvent the Culture, and Gain Influence One Person at a Time

Make Work Great: Super Charge Your Team, Reinvent the Culture, and Gain Influence One Person at a Time PDF

Author: Edward G. Muzio

Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional

Published: 2010-04-30

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 007162600X

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One person really can make a difference--learn how to be that one WHO WILL make your organization the best it can be. Award-winning author of Four Secrets to Liking Your Work International Society for Performance Improvement 2010 AWARD OF EXCELLENCE WINNER "A quick read with high ROI. This will turn anyone into a culture builder, anywhere in the organization." -- Roy White , Director of Operations, Semiconductor Capital Equipment Company "A must read for anyone contemplating starting up a new business and for CEOs and leaders of established corporations." -- Terry Sullivan, Director of Production, MemPro Ceramics "Combines storytelling with evidence-based content in a solid organizational change approach." -- Darlene Van Tiem , Ph.D., CPT, CPLP , President, ISPI "Never before has an author so cleverly balanced pragmatism with optimism to describe organizational norms as opportunities for personal empowerment." -- Paul Nieminen, Director of OD , UPS "The convergence of in-depth analytical research and practical everyday application." -- Dr. Donald E. Conklin, Vice President, United Corporate Services, Inc. Got ten minutes a day? -- Then you can create a more successful, more collaborative business culture! As a manager, you've tried to keep things positive, but nothing seems to work. You can't control the economy, what's going on in your employees' lives, or other factors--so what can you do to build and sustain a winning culture in your workplace? Whether you are a mid-level manager or a senior executive, Make Work Great offers the blueprint for building a positive, motivating, and productive workplace in any kind of organization. In this definitive guide for today’s multicultural, decentralized business environment, Ed Muzio, award-winning author, internationally recognized workplace improvement expert, and consultant, delivers state-of-the-art analysis, advice and guidance, and scores of team-building and motivation exercises that you and your staff can do in ten minutes a day--without disrupting routines or interrupting important business. You can't force others to change, but you can control what you do and with whom you engage at work to: Build a positive outlook, one-on-one Enlist a network within your organization to improve your business culture Strengthen peer relationships and improve problem-solving capabilities Take back control of workplace morale and efficiency Inspire others to support, encourage, and collaborate with their team members There are lots of excuses given for why businesses fail to make the most of their most valuable resource--the people whose work creates the value that drives the bottom line. With Make Work Great, you hold in your hands the key to unlocking your people's potential to exceed expectations, creating synergies out of the disparate talents and abilities they bring to the table, and making your business better able to anticipate opportunities and respond to challenges.

Brave New Work

Brave New Work PDF

Author: Aaron Dignan

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2019-02-19

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0525536205

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“This is the management book of the year. Clear, powerful and urgent, it's a must read for anyone who cares about where they work and how they work.” —Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing “This book is a breath of fresh air. Read it now, and make sure your boss does too.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg When fast-scaling startups and global organizations get stuck, they call Aaron Dignan. In this book, he reveals his proven approach for eliminating red tape, dissolving bureaucracy, and doing the best work of your life. He’s found that nearly everyone, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, points to the same frustrations: lack of trust, bottlenecks in decision making, siloed functions and teams, meeting and email overload, tiresome budgeting, short-term thinking, and more. Is there any hope for a solution? Haven’t countless business gurus promised the answer, yet changed almost nothing about the way we work? That’s because we fail to recognize that organizations aren’t machines to be predicted and controlled. They’re complex human systems full of potential waiting to be released. Dignan says you can’t fix a team, department, or organization by tinkering around the edges. Over the years, he has helped his clients completely reinvent their operating systems—the fundamental principles and practices that shape their culture—with extraordinary success. Imagine a bank that abandoned traditional budgeting, only to outperform its competition for decades. An appliance manufacturer that divided itself into 2,000 autonomous teams, resulting not in chaos but rapid growth. A healthcare provider with an HQ of just 50 people supporting over 14,000 people in the field—that is named the “best place to work” year after year. And even a team that saved $3 million per year by cancelling one monthly meeting. Their stories may sound improbable, but in Brave New Work you’ll learn exactly how they and other organizations are inventing a smarter, healthier, and more effective way to work. Not through top down mandates, but through a groundswell of autonomy, trust, and transparency. Whether you lead a team of ten or ten thousand, improving your operating system is the single most powerful thing you can do. The only question is, are you ready?

The Middle Finger Project

The Middle Finger Project PDF

Author: Ash Ambirge

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2020-02-11

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0525540334

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Fresh, funny, and fearless, The Middle Finger Project is a point-by-point primer on how to get unstuck, slay imposter syndrome, trust in your own worth and ability, and become a strong, capable, wonderful, weird, brilliant, ballsy, unfuckwithable YOU. "Don't worry, this isn't a book about God, nor is it a book about Ryan Gosling (second in command). But it is a book about authority and becoming your own." --Ash Ambirge After a string of dead-end jobs and a death in the family, Ash Ambirge was down to her last $26 and sleeping in a Kmart parking lot when she faced the truth: No one was coming to her rescue. It was up to her to appoint herself. That night led to what eventually became a six-figure freelance career as a sought-after marketing and copywriting consultant, all while sipping coffee from her front porch in Costa Rica. She then launched The Middle Finger Project, a blog and online course hub, which has provided tens of thousands of young "women who disobey" with the tools and mindset to give everyone else's expectations the finger and get on your own path to happiness, wealth, independence, and adventure. In her first book, Ash draws on her unconventional personal story to offer a fun, bracing, and occasionally potty-mouthed manifesto for the transformative power of radical self-reliance. Employing the signature wit and wordsmithing she's used to build an avid following, she offers paradigm-shifting advice along the lines of: • The best feeling in the world is knowing who you are and what you're capable of doing. • Life circumstances are not life sentences. If a Scranton girl who grew up in a trailer park can make it, so can you. • What you believe about yourself will either murder your chances or save your life. So why not believe something good? • You don't need a high-ranking job title to be authorized to contribute. You just need to contribute. • Be your own authority. Authority only works as long as you trust that someone smarter than you is making the rules. • The way you become a force is by being the most radically real version of yourself that you can be. • You only have 12 fucks a day to give, so use them wisely.

The Art of Convening

The Art of Convening PDF

Author: Craig Neal

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 2011-02-07

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 1605096709

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"Meetings are a waste of time," is a sentiment many of us share, which is tragic, because meetings bring us together as human beings. To achieve the kind of meaning or breakthrough results most of us really year for when we gather, the key quality needed is authentic engagement: a genuine expression of what is true for us, and an attentive listening to what is true for others. Why it so often eludes us can be a matter of habit, distrust, lack of attention, or fear. As co-founder of Heartland Inc., Craig and Patricia Neal have led over 170 of their acclaimed Thought Leader Gatherings with leaders from over 800 diverse organizations. Their new book shares for the first time the unique and powerful Art of Convening model -- developed in these gatherings and refined over six years of intensive trainings -- that brings authentic engagement and meaning to any group brought together for any purpose. Convening goes beyond facilitating. Convening creates an environment in which all voices are heard, profound exchanges take place, and transformative action results. The heart of this book is the Convening Wheel -- a series of nine steps, or Aspects, that bring the practices and principles needed for authentic engagement together as a whole. The book provides exercises, stories, and questions to help you master both the inner and outer dimensions of this work -- because, in convening, the state of the Convener is equally as important as the physical preparations. Convening works in any setting and can be adapted to virtually any group process. With this book you have all the tools you need to develop this essential life and leadership skill, one that will lead to improved outcomes in your organization, community, family, and relationships.

Time Off

Time Off PDF

Author: John Fitch

Publisher:

Published: 2020-05-25

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 9781734794403

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Discover the transformative power of leisure to recapture your calm and creativity.Are your busiest days really the ones that make you feel the most accomplished? It might be time to question whether 'busy' = 'productive'. After reaching breaking points in their careers, business coach John Fitch and AI researcher Max Frenzel learned the critical importance of taking time off. Now these former workaholics will help you revolutionize the way you get things done.History's greatest minds, as well as some of the most successful leaders, thinkers, and creatives of today, found success by practicing a more balanced approach to work and life. Embracing their insights on how constant hustle can be your worst enemy, you will realize that time off means much more than just taking a break. Rediscover a more fulfilled and versatile version of yourself and unlock your true creative potential.Through relatable personal anecdotes, historically sound approaches to downtime, and scientifically backed strategies for increasing your creativity, Time Off will reshape the way you think about work and leisure.In Time Off, you'll discover:- The most effective methods to reclaim leisure, while increasing productivity and creativity- Why having a rest ethic will be a key competitive advantage in the future of work- Tactics for getting away from the work without the dreaded guilt- How to thrive alongside AI and use technology to become more human- The many ways in which time off improves your leadership skills, and much, much more!

Beyond the Prototype

Beyond the Prototype PDF

Author: Douglas Ferguson

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 9781733495707

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"Have you ever struggled to move a key innovation project forward at work? Based on his experiences running Design Sprints for top companies, Douglas Ferguson wrote Beyond the Prototype to offer practical advice for people shifting from discovery to realization. Full of stories from companies like Google, Liberty Mutual, and Adobe, this guide outlines six steps that every team should take to launch their vision" -- amazon.com

Talent Chooses You

Talent Chooses You PDF

Author: James Ellis

Publisher:

Published: 2020-06-03

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13:

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If you want your business to grow, you need to be able to rely on your ability to hire talent reliably and consistently. No talent pipeline? No growth, and no business. But your recruiting team is drowning (I asked them). They need help. Now, if you ask recruiters, they will ask for headcount. Or more technology. But more bodies and more tools won't solve the issue (though it will eat up your budget). What you need a is a better strategy. And that strategy is called employer branding.Employer branding is about understanding, distilling and communicating what your company is all about in order to attract all the talent you need. That will differentiate your company as a place where people will want to work, rather than a place they land because they didn't know better.If you've heard about employer branding in business magazines, it might seem like something only "big companies" can do. Something that requires a dedicated team, expensive platforms, or a bunch of consultants. That isn't true. If you understand where your brand comes from, and how to apply it, any company (especially yours) can hire better with it.And this book will teach you how to do all of that, and then some.In this book, you'll learn what employer branding really is, how to make a compelling argument internally to leadership that creates commitment, how to work with other teams and be creative in finding solutions. As a special bonus, we are including a handbook on how to work with recruiting teams. This hands-on workbook is chock full of examples, checklists, step-by-step instructions and even emails you can copy and paste to make things happen immediately.