Lean Knowledge Management Helped Change NASA’s Culture and It Can Do the Same for Your Organization.
NASA suffered three human spaceflight tragedies and Lean Knowledge Management was a major tool that helped NASA management implement massive cultural changes.
Traditional knowledge management is too often regarded as overly complicated or a wasteful bureaucratic exercise, but Lean Knowledge Management can become a critical component for your organization to operate effectively, efficiently and safely.
Lean Knowledge Management simplifies the process by:
Clearly defining your organization’s key employees,
Filtering the enormous amount of internal “information” into “critical knowledge”.
Utilizing a myriad of resources to get this critical knowledge to the people who need it most – the very people that can make your organization successful.
Repetitive mistakes and failures can cost an organization millions of dollars in lost revenue, scrap, and even lawsuits. Lean Knowledge Management strips away the academic jargon and implements a practical, cost-effective, organic program emphasizing lessons of the past.
Knowledge is free! Your hard-earned corporate knowledge is right in front of you, why risk losing it and having to pay for it all over again?
Knowledge is power! Lean Knowledge Management is a structured plan to harness that power for your organization.
The disciplines of accounting and finance have been rapidly changing in recent years. The methods and techniques being used have created a new language for managers, students, practitioners, academics. The Guide focuses specifically on the terms used in accounting and finance. Important terms and phrases are identified but with a much longer, in-depth explanation than you would normally find in a dictionary. Not only does each entry gives a thorough explanation of each term, it provides two or more references to academic articles that go into much greater depth. Hence, the entries give the reader immediate access to the literature.
At the end of the book, the full reference to all the articles that have been cited in the text is given including a list of the many acronyms used in the new world of accounting and finance.
“The Modern Trusted Advisor is insightful and practical and should become a new handbook for CEOs and trusted advisors to populate the world with inspiring leaders.” –Paul Wogan, CEO GasLog Ltd, Athens, Greece “In this world of emerging technologies and global change, the role of trusted advisors, as brilliantly provided in this book, who lead with empathy, kindness, curiosity, and contextual advice has never been more important.” –Katie Dudtschak, Executive Vice President, RBC, Toronto Canada “Nancy MacKay and Alan Weiss have produced a masterful book on the modern trusted advisor that every CEO, business owner, and advisor should read and heed! It’s ideal for these volatile times. Leaders at every level in the organization can also benefit, as they journey to become the trusted advisors of the future.” –Marshall Goldsmith, Author, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Triggers, and over 40 other books
The best and the brightest use advisors and experts. In fact, one could say that they are the best and the brightest because they utilized trusted advisors throughout their careers.
Whether in business, sports, entertainment, academia, or politics, expert help is a fundamental enabler of success. That means that the demand for expert advice will grow and the competition will increase for such help. This isn’t a matter of “certificates” and “universities,” it’s a matter of specific skill and behavioral sets that create a trusting bond and reliance. Trusted advisors are beyond coaches—they are comprehensive resources and supporters.
The Modern Trusted Advisor employs important mastery traits, such as subordinating ego, applying shared experiences, and managing emotional, mental, and intellectual health. We are entering a world of “no normal” today and leaders must inspire others daily.
This is the book that prepares you to inspire those leaders.
China’s rise to prosperity in recent decades coincided with the surge in global trade and falling protectionism. But as we are entering the third decade of the 21st century, the economic structure that prevailed in the West during the previous decades is now beginning to look very different. Global economic relationships are being redefined in the wake of the global financial crises, the recent US-China trade tensions, Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. However, when global trade suffers, so do local economies. In today’s economy, international cooperation and open trade are not an option, but a necessity.
Trading with China is a concise and useful handbook to Western businesses, entrepreneurs and investors doing business with or in China. It is also a practical guide of use to anyone considering to export goods, services and technology to the Chinese market.
The book contains industry information, updated data, key models, practical advice, and strategy options for different types of companies and industry sectors. It details all relevant procedures, opportunities and challenges by industry sector and geographical region. It discusses major issues such as market barriers, import requirements, distribution channels, labelling, and operational challenges. Topics covered in Trading with China also include: relevant rules, regulations, documentation and management issues related to the export of different types of goods, services and technology to China.
M&A failures is an established phenomenon. Human factors, such as acceptance of and readiness for change at the individual level, conflict of interest and cultural incompatibility are the key attributes of the success or failure of a merger or transformational change.
Balancing theory with practice, this book looks at the financial due diligence, cultural compatibility, and emotional sensitivity at various stages of the M&A and offers a practical process model. Business leaders, change agents, coaching and mentoring practitioners will find the rare combination of great interest.
Will Your Business Be Prepared When the Bubble Bursts?
Sabrin’s book is a must guide for corporate executives, managers, and business owners, for any size company; and for MBA students and executives in professional education programs and seminars to assist them better manage their companies during the boom-bust cycle.
The business cycle in the United States has been characterized booms and busts for decades. But how can corporate executives and their firms not just survive–but also thrive–when economic bubbles burst? And how can small business owners steer their companies during the business cycle so they too can thrive and survive.
This book is designed to give them tools and strategies to do that. After that grounding in fundamentals, readers are given specific tools and strategies that entrepreneurs and executives can use to help their companies prepare for when the next bubble bursts.
“Brad is a leader and expert program manager. He has years of hands-on experience managing programs which deliver concrete business goals by aligning program execution with business operations.” –Becky Oliver, Program Management Leader “I really enjoyed the book. Anyone can pick up project management books focused on the art of running projects, but this book focuses on the intersection of a company operations, economics, and human element.” –John Robbins, Senior Principal Program Manager “Throughout ‘The MBA Distilled for Project and Program Management Professionals’, Bradley Clark adeptly synthesizes the fundamental components of MBA programs. His objective, candid, and digestible style can readily assist both those considering business education as well as seasoned professionals looking to refresh or refine their skills. In an era of seemingly infinite choices, this book provides a clear framework for understanding the capacity of the MBA.” –William Sellman, MD, MBA, District Medical Director, One Medical, San Francisco
Certifications in project management are like birthdays: everybody has one. You need something more to distinguish yourself in this profession.
This book is a practical guide for project and program managers who want to increase their skills by incorporating relevant theory, formulas, and tools from Master of Business Administration (MBA) curriculum. The book provides an overview of core classes taught in most MBA programs, but in a way that makes the material practical for project practitioners.
Readers will learn new tools to improve critical decision making, formulas and techniques for making recommendations to leadership, and an assortment of theories for up leveling their project management skills.
When we apply for a job, we are essentially trying to sell ourselves. If we understand the process of marketing, we can make that sale a lot easier. This requires a plan that includes a deep understanding of our target audiences, an understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, an understanding of the benefits we can offer, and a knowledge of the 4 Ps, product, place, price and promotion.
Add to this, an ability to differentiate and position ourselves in the crowded marketplace and to use promotional tactics to rise to the top of the applicant pool, we can get the job of our dreams. When we master these skills, we make the chore of getting a great job, the job we want, more a certainty than a hopeful wish.
This book will show you how to network better, how to create an effective email pitch, write a powerful resume and cover letter, and how to persuade recruiters that you offer the most value to satisfy their needs. This book will make you a pro at marketing yourself!
Becoming a Successful Executive Won’t Require Spending Thousands on Training or Years Studying in a Degree Program!
This book is about taking personal control of your management career by planning for your development outside of training sessions or university degree programs. Careers and organizations are changing rapidly so personalizing your own training and competency development is critical.
Talent management is what your employer offers you but action learning in the workplace is building your own managerial competencies without losing a single day on the job. Use this book to spot your best learning opportunities within your current job and then learn how you can plan your job assignments to build valuable, portable, and job-relevant skills.
Included in this book are self-evaluations for cognitive competence, virtual competence, emotional competence, cross-cultural competence, socialization competence, health competence, and competencies in spotting leadership differences and situational recognition.
You will find sound applied strategies in each chapter for building these competencies into strengths that will further your career in management, such as:
“This book is a must read for anyone curious about, interested in, or involved with the direct selling channel. The topics are covered thoroughly, and the material is easy to understand. As a lawyer with 30 years of experience in the direct selling marketplace and a former board member of the Direct Selling Education Foundation, I have relied on a variety of materials to explain the ins and outs of direct selling. This excellent book—written by experienced and knowledgeable academics and business leaders—is exactly what I have sought all these years!” —Kerry Tassopoulos, The Tassopoulos Law Firm PLLC
“To best understand a channel of distribution experiencing innovation, transformation, and repositioning, we benefit from looking back as we look forward. This book provides the reader with an opportunity to do both. I found every chapter to be supportive of critical and strategic thinking. With the growing appeal of the gig-focused economy and the use of technology and digital platforms, the direct seller is envisioned to become even more unique as an intermediary connecting products and services with consumers in a personal manner. Every direct selling company executive needs to understand what is documented and presented in this work.”—John Fleming, Principal – Ideas & Design Group, LLC
The Power of Direct Selling.
Direct selling is not an industry per se nor is it merely a go-to-market business model and channel to reach consumers. It is bigger than any of this – direct selling is people. The ability for people with entrepreneurial spirit to build a successful business, whether it be from the ground up or by representing a company’s product, is at the heart of direct selling and it is people who made (and continue to make) direct selling the successful marketplace that it is today. The direct selling marketplace is comprised of mission-driven and socially responsible companies offering a wide variety of product and services, and the list of direct selling companies is abundant with entrepreneurs who built their businesses by utilizing an independent salesforce channel to market and sell their products or services directly to consumers.
Possibly one of the most prominent of these entrepreneurs is Mary Kay Ash, a legend as a glass-ceiling breaker and a woman who built a very successful business with a go-to-market strategy of direct selling. Unlike Mary Kay Ash, however, not all aspiring business owners are willing/able to invest their savings and time on a start-up business. These micro-entrepreneurs desire to have the economic and social benefits of managing their own businesses but do not want the startup costs and demands associated with traditional business planning. As such, becoming a direct selling distributor offers a low-risk, low-cost pathway to micro-entrepreneurship.
The traditional barriers to small business ownership are removed when a micro-entrepreneur builds a direct selling business that is backed by established brands. These established brands, several of which are featured in this book, offer the micro-entrepreneurs quality products, business training, and technological resources to achieve a self-determined metric of success.
Framed within the context of entrepreneurship and an historical overview of the long-term sustainability of this business model, this book is intended for practitioners who want to read about the breadth and depth of direct selling. Importantly, this book provides considerable depth in terms of three particular issues associated with direct selling:
Compensation,
Ethics & compliance, and
Global reach.
For scholars, this book is built on a strong foundation of valid and reliable research endeavors. The authors have published research on direct selling in high quality, reputable and peer-reviewed academic and practitioner journals. Thus, this book can add foundationally to the research efforts of academics who are conducting research in a wide variety of topics (such as sales, women empowerment, business strategy, ethics, distribution models, gig economy, and global entry – to name a few), as well as to members of the press who want reliable and valid content upon which to build their stories.
The book’s content is also particularly informative for policymakers at the local, state, national, and international levels. For students, reading this book will offer a variety of insights, particularly related to the intricacies of channel selection and design. Direct Selling: A Global and Social Business Model is a collective project from eight academics and practitioners who have dedicated much of their careers to understanding direct selling as both a go-to-market strategy and a channel of distribution and to capturing the people who are the foundation of direct selling. The pages of this book bring together a wealth of research and knowledge that can inform a broad spectrum of constituents about the economic and social benefits of direct selling, while also providing detail and clarity on key issues related to direct selling as a sustainable business model.
