Business

Brief Summary Buying Professional Services: How to Get Value for Money from Consultants and Other Professional Service Providers. Public and private sector organisations are spending huge amounts of money buying professional services, and most are doing it badly, without sufficiently rigorous procurement processes or an adequate understanding of the marketplace, resulting in wasted money and disappointing outcomes. Even among those organizations with formal procurement processes and techniques, many are applying them inappropriately and therefore achieve similarly poor results. On the other side of the fence, many professional services firms don't understand how the increasing application of procurement processes could affect the way they get business and work with clients, the way they charge and, ultimately, their profitability. Furthermore, while they are working together, both professional services providers and their clients too often behave in ways that reduce the potential benefits to both parties. Using real examples from a range of private sector firms, government departments and the professional services firms themselves, this book explores what users and providers of professional services need to do to ensure that the users' money is well spent and the providers' earnings are well earned. "A practical and thought provoking guide that gets to the heart of the matter about what differentiates this category of spend."—Helen Wilber FCIPS, Senior Procurement Manager, Professional Services, Group Procurement, Royal Mail "This insightful book will help buyers and providers of professional services get a better understanding of the issues – and achieve better results."—Lindsay Morgan,Partner and Head of Global Real Estate, Norton Rose LLP and Group ISBN:9781846683251 Author:Fiona Czerniawska and Peter Smith

Brief Summary The secrets of the UK's biggest online entrepreneurs revealed Thinking of starting a business? Already have a business online and looking to take it to the next level? The wonderful world wide web has made creating a start-up that much easier. Thousands of people are out there reaping the rewards the web can bring. If you want to join them, you've come to the right place. Profiling today's foremost web entrepreneurs, Lucy Tobin - who meets successful business founders every week writing an enterprise column for The Evening Standard – takes us through their start-up stories and maps out exactly what's made them so successful. You’ll hear first-hand from the bright sparks behind some of the UK's top online businesses. With interviews, practical advice and insights, you'll learn how they did it, what they recommend, and how you can do it too. ISBN:9780857082886 Author:Lucy Tobin

Brief Summary Nationally renowned body language expert Tonya Reiman illuminates what until now has been a gray area in interpersonal communication: harnessing the power of your nonverbal cues to get what you want out of "every" aspect of life, from professional encounters to personal relationships. Unlike other books on this fascinating topic, "The Power of Body Language" is your practical, personal playbook for getting what you desire from others -- and zoning in on what others are saying to you without words. Once you know the hidden meaning behind specific gestures, facial cues, stances, and body movements, you will possess a sixth sense that can be a life-changing, career-saving, trouble-shooting skill you will never leave home without! Learn how to: Take control of your own secret signals Gain trust -- and detect untrustworthiness Ace a job interview Shake hands (the right way) Make a dazzling first impression Exude confidence -- even when you're not feeling it Recognize if someone is lying Understand why men and women "speak" a different language Read a face to know a person's inner emotional state...and much more. In an insightful and engaging narrative, Tonya Reiman analyzes all of the components of body language -- the languages of the face, the body, space and touch, and sound. She shows you how to become a Master Communicator with The Reiman Rapport Method, a surefire system for building an instant connection with anyone, in any situation. And she shares the experiences of her clients, from executives to politicians to relationship seekers: Learn from Cindy, a confident and ambitious manager who turned her career around by altering the subconscious messages she was sending her male colleagues...and Peter, the wedding DJ whose client list blossomed as soon as he practiced the art of social smiling! Peppered with photos and fun facts, "The Power of Body Language" is as entertaining as it is instructive. Get the power to send and receive the messages you want -- and never be left in the dark again. ISBN:9781416559016 Author:Tonya Reiman

Brief Summary In development circles, there is now widespread consensus that social entrepreneurs represent a far better mechanism to respond to needs than we have ever had before--a decentralized and emergent force that remains our best hope for solutions that can keep pace with our problems and create a more peaceful world. David Bornstein's previous book on social entrepreneurship, How to Change the World, was hailed by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times as "a bible in the field" and published in more than twenty countries. Now, Bornstein shifts the focus from the profiles of successful social innovators in that book--and teams with Susan Davis, a founding board member of the Grameen Foundation--to offer the first general overview of social entrepreneurship. In a Q & A format allowing readers to go directly to the information they need, the authors map out social entrepreneurship in its broadest terms as well as in its particulars. Bornstein and Davis explain what social entrepreneurs are, how their organizations function, and what challenges they face. The book will give readers an understanding of what differentiates social entrepreneurship from standard business ventures and how it differs from traditional grant-based non-profit work. Unlike the typical top-down, model-based approach to solving problems employed by the World Bank and other large institutions, social entrepreneurs work through a process of iterative learning -- learning by doing--working with communities to find unique, local solutions to unique, local problems. Most importantly, the book shows readers exactly how they can get involved. Anyone inspired by Barack Obama's call to service and who wants to learn more about the essential features and enormous promise of this new method of social change, Social Entrepreneurship: What Everyone Needs to Know(R) is the ideal first place to look. ISBN:9780195396331 Author:David Bornstein and Susan Davis

Brief Summary Many of us dream of running our own business, but lack of experience and entrepreneurial skills often prevent people from making that first step. For those with the nous, confidence and, crucially, vision it should be easy - but a great idea doesn't mean investors will be queuing up at your door. In the BBC TV series Dragons' Den, entrepreneurs were put on the spot in front of a panel of potential investors. Given only minutes to pitch their idea, the pressure was on - some simply frazzled in the fiery breath of the dragons, others sweated it out, made it through and saw the money on the other side. Using case studies from the series, updates on the progress of the successes and failures - here's one of the successes, but who got the best deal? Tracie Herrtage wanted GBP 54,000 for her suspendable Le Beanock - think the bean bag meets the hammock suspended from high ceilings and lofts to replace your sofa at a price of around GBP 900! The male dominion of Dragons mocked the idea and thought the prices swung too high, the concept ungrounded and it wasn't an interesting proposition for their equity. Rachel Elnaugh wasn't put off and agreed that Tracie's vision hit a niche market. the tightest deal yet, buying 49 per cent of Tracie's company as sole investor. The done deal: 49 per cent company shares for GBP 54,000 investment. With essential insider advice and tips from the dragons themselves, this handbook will guide you through the hazardous process of finding your product, identifying your market, developing and maximising your business acumen, honing your presentation skills and finding the right partner. And most importantly, how to close the deal when you do find it. ISBN:9780091909154 Author:Evan Davis

Brief Summary Traditional thinking habits of businesses need to be greatly improved. Analysis and judgement are no longer enough to make important corporate decisions; you can analyse the past but you have to design the future. Corporate decisions depend on values. Disputes and conflicts often arise because of a clash of those values; each party in the dispute wants to pursue its own values, often at the expense of the other party. It is therefore essential that companies, managers and employees have a full understanding of the values of everyone involved to design a way forward that benefits all parties. From the bestselling author of How to Have a Beautiful Mind and Six Thinking Hats, this groundbreaking business book provides a basis for value assessment, an essential tool in decision-making for 21st century corporations. De Bono demonstrates that values come into all areas of thinking, behaviour and decision-making and outlines a framework to focus employees' attention on a variety of values including human values, organisational values, cultural values and perceptual values. By introducing a scoring system to rate different values as strong, sound, weak or remote de Bono helps readers to prioritise and make executive decisions that count. ISBN:9780091894597 Author:Edward de Bono

Brief Summary Every General Manager Today All The Way Up To The Ceo Is Expected By His Or Her Stakeholders To Achieve New Breakthroughs In Performance And Fast. Those Who Don’t Make Visible Progress Toward That Goal Within The First Year Or Two Will Likely Find Themselves Looking For Another Job. It Is Precisely Because Of This Growing Breakthrough Imperative That Managers Today, Whether In Corporations Or Nonprofits, Need To Get Off To A Fast Start. They Don’t Have Time For Mistakes Or For Going Back And Redoing What They Should Have Done Right In The First Place. But, Despite The Intensity Of These Pressures, Despite The High Expectations And Short Time Frames, A Number Of Ceos And General Managers Turn In Truly Exceptional Results. How Do They Meet and Exceed the Breakthrough Imperative? To Answer This Question, Consultants And Former Managers Mark Gottfredson And Steve Schaubert Interviewed More Than Forty Ceos From Both Industry And The Nonprofit Sector, Conducted An Intensive Study Of What Successful Managers Do Right And What Some Do Wrong And Drew On Their Own Combined Fifty-Plus Years Of Experience At Bain & Company, Where Their Insights Have Consistently Been Found In The Pages Of The Harvard Business Review. Together They Came Up With The Four Straightforward Principles Deceptively Simple Yet Remarkably Powerful That Everyone Must Follow To Succeed At Achieving Breakthrough Results: • Costs and Prices Always Decline • Competitive Position Determines Options • Customers and Profit Pools Don’t Stand Still • Simplicity Gets Results Although Seemingly Simplistic, Mastering These Four Laws Means Mastering the Basics of Great Management a Foundation on Which to Build the Rest of One’s Management Strategy. Whether you’re Managing A Small Work Group Or A Multinational Corporation, A Single Division or an Entire Nonprofit, The Breakthrough Imperative Presents These Core Laws of Business to Help You Determine Where You Are, Just How Far You Can Go, and How to Get There with Stellar Results. ISBN:9780061711480 Author:Mark Gottfredson and Steve Schaubert

Brief Summary How happy would you be if you had all the money in the world? The universal lament about money is that there is never enough. We spend endless hours obsessing over our budgets and investments, trying to figure out ways to stretch every dollar. We try to follow the advice of money gurus and financial planners, then kick ourselves whenever we spend too much or save too little. For all of the stress and effort we put into every choice, why are most of us unhappy about our finances? According to Laura Vanderkam, the key is to change your perspective. Instead of looking at money as a scarce resource, consider it a tool that you can use creatively to build a better life for yourself and the people you care about. For instance, the average couple spends $5,000 on engagement and wedding rings, making these pricey purchases largely because everyone else does. But what if you decided to spend $300 on rings and apply the rest to future date nights, weekend getaways, and thinking-of-you bouquets over the next ten years? In he long run, what would bring more joy to your marriage? Likewise, will owning a home with a pristine lawn and a two-car garage—the American Dream—really make you more satisfied? Or are you saving up for this investment just because financial planners tell you it’s worth it? Vanderkam shows how each of us can figure out better ways to use what we have to build the lives we want. Drawing on the latest happiness research as well as the stories of dozens of real people, Vanderkam offers a contrarian approach that forces us to examine our own beliefs, goals, and values. Among her advice: Laugh at the Joneses: It’s human nature to compare yourself to those around you, but you can create lifestyle hat rings you personal satisfaction without copying your neighbors. Give yourself the best weekend ever: Studies show that experiences often bring more pleasure than material goods. With a little planning and creativity, you can give yourself a memorable getaway without leaving town or going broke. Embrace the selfish joy of giving: Giving back not only helps you build karma, it also helps you build a community—which is much more fulfilling than a tax deduction. All the Money in the World is a practical and inspiring guide that shows how money can buy happiness—if we spend it wisely. ISBN:9781591844570 Author:Laura Vanderkam