This project-based guide is a blueprint for service learning—from getting started to assessing the experience—and integrates the K–12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. It provides ideas for incorporating literacy into service learning and suggestions for creating a culture of service. An award-winning treasury of activities, ideas, annotated book recommendations, author interviews, and expert essays—all presented within a curricular context and organized by theme. Digital Content contains all of the planning and tracking forms from the book plus bonus service learning plans, and more.
"The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping Students Make Meaning from Text provides readers with a deeper understanding of reading comprehension and recommendations for developing evidence-based instruction. This organizational framework, aligned with the language comprehension strands of Scarborough's Reading Rope, prompts educators to ask themselves critical questions about vocabulary, syntax and sentence comprehension, text structures, students' background knowledge, levels of understanding, and inference. Sample classroom activities, a unit plan, sample lesson plans, and other resources provide valuable models and tools to use for designing and delivering high-quality instruction"--
This major practical handbook bridges the gap between strategy and design, presenting a step-by-step design process with a strategic approach and extensive methods for innovation, strategy development, design methodology and problem solving. It is an effective guide to planning and implementing design projects to ensure strategic anchoring of the process and outcome. Built around a six-part phase structure that represents the design process, covering initial preparations and project briefing, research and analysis, targets and strategy, concept development, prototyping and modelling, production and delivery, it is a must-have resource for professionals and students. Readers can easily dip in and out of sections, using the phase structure as a navigation tool. Unlike other books on the market, Design and Strategy addresses the design process from the perspective of both the company and the designer. For businesses, it highlights the value of design as a strategic tool for positioning, competition and innovation. For the designer, it teaches how to create solutions that are strategically anchored and deliver successful outcomes for businesses, resulting in appreciative clients. It includes over 250 illustrations and diagrams, tables, and text boxes showing how to move through each stage with clear visualisation and explanation. This book encourages all designers in product design and manufacturing, service design, communication design, branding, and advertising, to think beyond shape and colour to see design through the lens of strategy, process and problem solving, and all business managers, innovators and developers, to see the value in strategic design outcomes.
Essential reading for any would-be entrepreneur Blueprint to Business is the ultimate guide to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Bestselling author and CEO Mike Alden puts aside the rainbows and sunshine, gets real about what it takes to 'make it,' and gives you the real-world guidance you need to hear. Through anecdotes and advice, he shares his experiences along with those of other top founders and entrepreneurs to give you a realistic picture of what it takes to build a business. It's a bit of tough love, a healthy dose of reality, and a tremendously motivating guide to striking out on your own; from motivation and commitment to business licenses and the IRS, this guide is your personal handbook for the biggest adventure of your career. So you want to start a business: how much are you willing to commit in terms of time, money, and energy? How do you plan to bring in customers? What will set you apart from the crowd? What will convince clients to come to you rather than your competitor with an established track record? These questions must be answered before you even begin planning—and then, you have to make that canyon-sized leap from planning to doing. This book guides you through the early stages with practical advice from a real-world perspective. Turn 'dreams' into goals, and goals into reality Discover just what it takes to build a successful business Dig into the paperwork and legal/regulatory requirements Adjust your expectations to reflect your abilities and willingness to commit Starting a business could be the best thing you've ever done—or it could be the worst. Mitigate the risk by setting yourself up for success from the very beginning with the invaluable advice in Blueprint to Business. Praise for Blueprint to Business "I've had the opportunity to work directly with Michael Alden on his children's book. His business know how and ability to get things done is unparalleled.” —Naren Aryal, CEO Mascot Books. "As an entrepreneur and author myself, I would recommend Blueprint to Business to anyone who is in business or looking to start a company. Michael Alden's no nonsense approach is much needed for anyone who wants the real truth about the life of an entrepreneur." —Ken Kupchik, author of The Sales Survival Handbook Cold Calls, Commissions, and Caffeine Addiction The Real Truth About Life in Sales "Michael Alden's story is truly inspirational. He has seen some extremely difficult times and has overcome extraordinary odds along his journey. He harnessed what he learned even as a young child to achieve great business success. The lessons in Blueprint to Business not only help those in business but it is for anyone who wants more out of life.” —June Archer, author of YES! Every day can be a good day: The Keys to success that lead to an Amazing life “As a young entrepreneur, I have found that truly successful people help and teach others. Michael Alden has taken the time to help me with my business and my book. His experience is undeniable and I would recommend Blueprint to Business to any entrepreneur who wants to learn from someone who has done great things and continues to.” —Casey Adams, social media influencer and author of Rise of The Young: How To Turn Your Negative Situation Into A Positive Outcome, and Build A Successful Personal Brand “Being an entrepreneur has its challenges. Michael Alden shares his business experiences to help others succeed. His advice and enthusiasm is directed towards teaching and leading through example. If you are looking to succeed in business this book is a must read!
A complete reference for designing and building scalable microservices platforms with NATS messaging technology for inter-service communication with security and observability Key FeaturesUnderstand the use of a messaging backbone for inter-service communication in microservices architectureDesign and build a real-world microservices platform with NATS as the messaging backbone using the Go programming languageExplore security, observability, and best practices for building a microservices platform with NATSBook Description Building a scalable microservices platform that caters to business demands is critical to the success of that platform. In a microservices architecture, inter-service communication becomes a bottleneck when the platform scales. This book provides a reference architecture along with a practical example of how to implement it for building microservices-based platforms with NATS as the messaging backbone for inter-service communication. In Designing Microservices Platforms with NATS, you'll learn how to build a scalable and manageable microservices platform with NATS. The book starts by introducing concepts relating to microservices architecture, inter-service communication, messaging backbones, and the basics of NATS messaging. You'll be introduced to a reference architecture that uses these concepts to build a scalable microservices platform and guided through its implementation. Later, the book touches on important aspects of platform securing and monitoring with the help of the reference implementation. Finally, the book concludes with a chapter on best practices to follow when integrating with existing platforms and the future direction of microservices architecture and NATS messaging as a whole. By the end of this microservices book, you'll have developed the skills to design and implement microservices platforms with NATS. What you will learnUnderstand the concepts of microservices architectureGet to grips with NATS messaging technologyHandle transactions and message delivery guarantees with microservicesImplement a reference architecture for microservices using NATSDiscover how to improve the platform's security and observabilityExplore how a NATS microservices platform integrates with an enterprise ecosystemWho this book is for This book is for enterprise software architects and developers who want to gain hands-on microservices experience for designing, implementing, and managing complex distributed systems with microservices architecture concepts. Intermediate-level experience in any programming language and software architecture is required to make the most of this book.
This e-book brings together a collection of hands-on Service Design-related activities. This collection was assembled with a view to take students across the process of designing a service, from the early stage of exploratory research to the service blueprint phase. Besides providing step-by-step instructions to each activity, the e-book introduces students to a set of digital templates specifically created to support each of the activities described in the e-book.
Customers who have inconsistent, broken experiences with products and services are understandably frustrated. But it’s worse when people inside these companies can’t pinpoint the problem because they’re too focused on business processes. This practical book shows your company how to use alignment diagrams to turn valuable customer observations into actionable insight. With this unique tool, you can visually map your existing customer experience and envision future solutions. Product and brand managers, marketing specialists, and business owners will learn how experience diagramming can help determine where business goals and customer perspectives intersect. Once you’re armed with this data, you can provide users with real value. Mapping Experiences is divided into three parts: Understand the underlying principles of diagramming, and discover how these diagrams can inform strategy Learn how to create diagrams with the four iterative modes in the mapping process: setting up a mapping initiative, investigating the evidence, visualizing the process, and using diagrams in workshops and experiments See key diagrams in action, including service blueprints, customer journey maps, experience maps, mental models, and spatial maps and ecosystem models
A Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly Bestseller Lift your leadership to new heights Doug Conant, Founder of ConantLeadership, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company, and former President of Nabisco Foods, shares transformational insights in his new book, The Blueprint. Conant is the only former Fortune 500 CEO who is a New York Times bestselling author, a top 50 Leadership Innovator, a Top 100 Leadership Speaker, and a Top 100 Most Influential Author in the World. Get Unstuck In 1984, Doug Conant was fired without warning and with barely an explanation. He felt hopeless and stuck but, surprisingly, this defeating turn of events turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to him. Doug began to consider what might be holding him back from realizing his potential, fulfilling his dreams, and making a bigger impact on the world around him. Embarking on a journey of self-reflection and discovery, he forged a path to revolutionize his leadership and transform his career trajectory. Ultimately, Doug was able to condense his remarkable leadership story into six practical steps. It wasn't until Doug worked through these six steps that he was able to lift his leadership to heights that ultimately brought him career success, joy, and fulfillment. Reach High - Envision Dig Deep - Reflect Lay the Groundwork - Study Design - Plan Build - Practice Reinforce - Improve In The Blueprint, part leadership manifesto, part practical manual, Doug teaches leaders how to work through the same six steps that he used to transform his journey. The six steps are manageable and incremental, designed to fit practically within the pace of busy modern life. Knowing how daunting the prospect of change can be, Doug arms readers with exercises and practices to realistically bring their foundation to life in every situation. Now, today’s leaders who feel stuck and overwhelmed finally have a blueprint for lifting their leadership to make meaningful change in their organizations and in the world.
"If you haven't had the good fortune to be coached by a strong leader or product coach, this book can help fill that gap and set you on the path to success." - Marty Cagan How do you know that you are making a product or service that your customers want? How do you ensure that you are improving it over time? How do you guarantee that your team is creating value for your customers in a way that creates value for your business? In this book, you'll learn a structured and sustainable approach to continuous discovery that will help you answer each of these questions, giving you the confidence to act while also preparing you to be wrong. You'll learn to balance action with doubt so that you can get started without being blindsided by what you don't get right. If you want to discover products that customers love-that also deliver business results-this book is for you.
In September 2017, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, completely upending the energy grid of the small island. The nearly year-long power outage that followed vividly shows how the new climate reality intersects with race and access to energy. The island is home to brown and black US citizens who lack the political power of those living in the continental US. As the world continues to warm and storms like Maria become more commonplace, it is critical that we rethink our current energy system to enable reliable, locally produced, and locally controlled energy without replicating the current structures of power and control. In Revolutionary Power, Shalanda Baker arms those made most vulnerable by our current energy system with the tools they need to remake the system in the service of their humanity. She argues that people of color, poor people, and indigenous people must engage in the creation of the new energy system in order to upend the unequal power dynamics of the current system. Revolutionary Power is a playbook for the energy transformation complete with a step-by-step analysis of the key energy policy areas that are ripe for intervention. Baker tells the stories of those who have been left behind in our current system and those who are working to be architects of a more just system. She draws from her experience as an energy-justice advocate, a lawyer, and a queer woman of color to inspire activists working to build our new energy system. Climate change will force us to rethink the way we generate and distribute energy and regulate the system. But how much are we willing to change the system? This unique moment in history provides an unprecedented opening for a deeper transformation of the energy system, and thus, an opportunity to transform society. Revolutionary Power shows us how.
