New Summaries of the Week

Results Without Authority

Results Without Authority

Managing projects with sanctioned leadership authority can be challenging. In Results Without Authority, Tom Kendrick provides a detailed guide to help leaders gain and maintain control throughout a project’s lifecycle, with special consideration for leaders who lack formal authority over team members. Because projects range in complexity and character, Kendrick provides various options for leaders to pick and choose from the detailed guidelines and examples in order to find the information that is most appropriate to their projects.

 Kendrick, Tom
You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

You’ve Got to Be Kidding!

In You’ve Got to Be Kidding!, Nan DeMars explains why companies that have distinct ethical cultures are the best companies for which to work and also the most profitable. These companies have a strategic competitive advantage because they know how to resolve ethical dilemmas before they cause major problems. Ethical dilemmas are the result of human weaknesses and, therefore, will always exist. An ethical dilemma occurs when people must choose between two negatives (i.e., disobey their boss or defy their own conscience).

 DeMars, Nan
Zennovation

Zennovation

In Zennovation, Adam Taki chronicles the career trajectory of his father, Tomio Taki, the leader of a large Japanese conglomerate. An entrepreneur who skillfully leveraged his background and contacts, Tomio Taki expanded the family business to introduce Western fashion to Japan, devised innovative distribution practices, and explored diverse business ventures to greatly increase his firm’s holdings. In 1974, Taki became a partner in the Anne Klein fashion house, and later helped launch the career of Donna Karan by naming her as the company’s chief designer.

 Taki, Tomio
Everywhere

Everywhere

Social media is driving significant changes in how businesses and consumers connect. In Everywhere, Larry Weber explains that to be relevant and competitive in a digital world, companies must focus on developing social outreach that bypasses traditional forms of marketing and forges one-on-one relationships with consumers. This outreach spans the spectrum of social tools, including blogging, product reviews, contests, and events.

 Weber, Larry
The Business of Influence

The Business of Influence

When individuals think or do something they would not ordinarily think or do, they have been influenced. Although, the heart of any traditional Marketing and Public Relations (PR) effort is to influence an intended stakeholder, it has always been an imprecise method with nonlinear results. Now, with the advent of innovative and evolving technologies, organizations can center influence at the core of their corporate strategies using an elegant Six Influence Flows framework.

 Sheldrake, Philip