A warm, funny tale for little worriers At first, Raccoon thought a picnic with his friend Duck sounded like fun, but he?s having second thoughts. After all, picnics can be very dangerous. They might get attacked by bees, or fall into the river, or even run into a giant, fire-breathing dragon who lives in a cave! Yes, a picnic is a very bad idea indeed. Luckily, Duck knows that even though you can?t plan for the unexpected, there?s no reason to be afraid of it, because some surprises in life can be wonderful.
In his bestselling first book, Getting Things Done, veteran coach and management consultant David Allen presented his breakthrough methods to increase efficiency. Now “the personal productivity guru” (Fast Company) shows readers how to increase their ability to work better, not harder—every day. Based on Allen’s highly popular e-newsletter, Ready for Anything offers readers 52 ways to immediately clear your head for creativity, focus your attention, create structures that work, and take action to get things moving. With wit, inspiration, and know-how, Allen shows readers how to make things happen—with less effort and stress, and lots more energy, creativity, and effectiveness. Ready for Anything is the perfect book for anyone wanting to work and live at his or her very best.
'I can't imagine a better book ... to help cope with the level of stress we're all now experiencing on a daily basis' Angela Duckworth, author of international bestseller GRIT 'If you're depressed, burned out, or languishing, this book is brimming with practical ideas [...] for sustaining energy and well-being' Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THINK AGAIN 'A timely and welcome prescription' Arianna Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global ____________________________________________________________________________ The simple guide to reducing stress and boosting your happiness from leading Positive Psychologist, Dr Samantha Boardman. Forgetting your password, spilling coffee on your white shirt, missing your train - as our lives begin to return to normal and our days become busier, the challenges of daily life can easily build up and overwhelm us. But after 20 years of treating patients at the brink of burn-out, leading psychiatrist Dr Samantha Boardman has discovered the secret for how to combat micro-stressors and turn full days into more fulfilling days. In Ready for Anything, she explains that the key is to cultivate our vitality, the positive feeling of being alive and the energy that lies at the heart of a good day. The three ways we can do this are: - Meaningfully connecting with others - Engaging in challenging experiences - Contributing to something beyond ourselves Research shows that these three things boost our happiness more than when we focus inwards, which is why calling a freind rather than scrolling through social media or by going for a jog rather than spending an evening on the sofa, will make you feel more energised, happy and able to take on what life throws at you. So whether you feel stressed-out or stuck in a rut, this book will show you the best ways to truly recharge, de-stress and revolutionise the way you approach self-care. ____________________________________________________________________________ 'A must-read for anyone who seeks meaning and fulfilment' Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon
A book of insights, advice, inspiration and example, it examines the crises facing the planet and introduces The World System Model (a holistic way to understand our predicament) and The IFF World Game (a way to involve others in this process). Examines the most resilient solutions - whether applied at the level of a school, city or the planet.
Agile Strategy is a practical guide for managers responsible for setting the strategic direction of their organisations in increasingly dynamic markets. Through its frameworks, tools and real-world examples, it explains how to transform business performance through greater organisational agility. LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT STRATEGY BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION Why do we need a new book on strategy? The pace of change is increasing, and strategic management is not keeping up. More than one in four (28%) strategic initiatives fail to meet their original goals and business intent[1], with insufficient agility identified as one of the top three barriers to successful strategy implementation[2]. The square peg of traditional strategy — vision, mission and blue-sky exercises; the separation of strategy from “implementation” — no longer fits the round hole of increasingly dynamic markets. It is time for a new approach. How is Agile Strategy different? Agile Strategy distinguishes itself from other strategy and agile books currently available in that it is: Designed for large organisations: Much of the writing on agile techniques addresses start-ups or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which operate under very different constraints and freedoms. Agile Strategy is written for large organisations who want to be more agile. Commercially-led: The approach is not a lightly airbrushed business rewrite of agile software development practices, but rather a fundamental rethinking of commercial and operational business practices. Practical: It is anchored in innovative and robust concepts but designed as a practical “how-to” guide: a book for practitioners, written by a practitioner. Results-focused: Whilst addressing a broad range of organisational topics, the book is grounded in the definition and delivery of measurable business benefits. Why should I read it? Agile Strategy offers four key benefits to its readers: A clear framework ("RADAR") A single, easy-to-grasp guiding principle: The Horizon Measurable benefits A practical approach I hope you not only enjoy reading about this innovative new approach, but also go on to realise the full potential of your organisation by implementing it. Good luck! Ralph Fernando [1] Project Management Institute (2017) Pulse of the Profession [2] The Economist Intelligence Unit (2017) Closing the Gap: Designing and Delivering a Strategy that Works"
World-renowned future forecaster, game designer, and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Jane McGonigal gives us the tools to imagine the future without fear. How can we be confident about making plans? How might we feel secure despite the future being unknown? How do we learn to feel at peace with the unexpected? Today it feels more challenging than ever to feel unafraid, hopeful, and equipped to face the future with optimism. How do we map out our lives when it seems impossible to predict what the world will be like next week, let alone next year or next decade? What we need now are strategies to help us recover our confidence and creativity in facing uncertain futures. By learning to think the unthinkable and imagine the unimaginable you can better plan for a future you'd like to see. And by seeing what's coming faster, you can adapt to new challenges, reduce anxiety, and build hope and resilience. 'An accessible, optimistic field guide to the future.'-San Francisco Chronicle 'Jane McGonigal is unusually adept at anticipating events that most of us can't even fathom. In this eye-opening, actionable book, she teaches you how to widen your peripheral vision, extend your imagination farther into the future, and conceive of the inconceivable.' Adam Grant, #1 Bestselling Author of Think Again __________ 'Top 10 innovators to watch' Business Week 10 most powerful women to watch' Forbes 'Top 100 creative people in business' Fast Company
Ready for Anything: The Making of a Change Leader challenges students to think differently about their experience as a change leader. The book calls into question their assumptions about people and change and suggests new opportunities and strategies for effecting change. Pragmatically divided into four parts, the text addresses and gives thought to some of the primary dilemmas and paradoxes surrounding leadership and change. Part I provides readers with the essential tools to self-monitor and self-develop the leader within them. Part II focuses on the learning organization and how to prepare and shape the change culture. In Part III, readers are encouraged to rethink notions and complex conversations related to gender, race, class, ethics, and inclusion. The final chapters map out and explore future perspectives in organizational development and change leadership. Recognizing that the role of the change agent has become more complex, the second edition examines our new reality and how it affects society, organizations, and organizational effectiveness. The text is now coauthored by Dr. Michela Henke-Cilenti and features new content on nontraditional organizational development methods, transformation, positive change, and generative dialogues. The text has been restructured based on reviewer feedback with each chapter now featuring clear chapter takeaways, summaries, and discussion and self-reflection questions. The opening chapter is entirely new, and the book includes four comprehensive organizational development case, which demonstrate the complexities of change in practice. Timely and essential, Ready for Anything is an exemplary resource for courses in management and organizational behavior.
Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of practicing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By completing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the methods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard keyboard, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the simple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Figure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcomponents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accurate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chainsaws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.
The book Lifehack calls "The Bible of business and personal productivity." "A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"—Fast Company Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now shorthand for an entire way of approaching professional and personal tasks, and has spawned an entire culture of websites, organizational tools, seminars, and offshoots. Allen has rewritten the book from start to finish, tweaking his classic text with important perspectives on the new workplace, and adding material that will make the book fresh and relevant for years to come. This new edition of Getting Things Done will be welcomed not only by its hundreds of thousands of existing fans but also by a whole new generation eager to adopt its proven principles.
