Centuries of Success is the first book to chronicle the colorful success stories and timeless lessons of some of the world's oldest family businesses. This one-of-a-kind work blends complete family histories with corporate philosophies and business sensibilities that are practical, adaptable, and enduring. From Japan's Hoshi Ryokan -- a hotel that dates back forty-seven generations to 718 -- to the sprawling Tuscan vineyards of Marchesi Antinori -- winemakers since 1385 -- Centuries of Success brings to life the strength and dedication that puts family-run businesses in a league of their own. William T. O'Hara, president emeritus of Bryant University, has produced a unique work that is certain to influence business philosophies and practices for many years to come and stir renewed excitement for family businesses worldwide. Book jacket.
How our collective intelligence has helped us to evolve and prosper Humans are a puzzling species. On the one hand, we struggle to survive on our own in the wild, often failing to overcome even basic challenges, like obtaining food, building shelters, or avoiding predators. On the other hand, human groups have produced ingenious technologies, sophisticated languages, and complex institutions that have permitted us to successfully expand into a vast range of diverse environments. What has enabled us to dominate the globe, more than any other species, while remaining virtually helpless as lone individuals? This book shows that the secret of our success lies not in our innate intelligence, but in our collective brains—on the ability of human groups to socially interconnect and learn from one another over generations. Drawing insights from lost European explorers, clever chimpanzees, mobile hunter-gatherers, neuroscientific findings, ancient bones, and the human genome, Joseph Henrich demonstrates how our collective brains have propelled our species' genetic evolution and shaped our biology. Our early capacities for learning from others produced many cultural innovations, such as fire, cooking, water containers, plant knowledge, and projectile weapons, which in turn drove the expansion of our brains and altered our physiology, anatomy, and psychology in crucial ways. Later on, some collective brains generated and recombined powerful concepts, such as the lever, wheel, screw, and writing, while also creating the institutions that continue to alter our motivations and perceptions. Henrich shows how our genetics and biology are inextricably interwoven with cultural evolution, and how culture-gene interactions launched our species on an extraordinary evolutionary trajectory. Tracking clues from our ancient past to the present, The Secret of Our Success explores how the evolution of both our cultural and social natures produce a collective intelligence that explains both our species' immense success and the origins of human uniqueness.
In The Business of the 21st Century, Robert Kiyosaki explains the revolutionary business of network marketing in the context of what makes any business a success in any economic situation. This book lends credibility to multilevel marketing business, and justifies why it is an ideal avenue through which to learn basic business and sales skills... and earn money.
An illuminating biography of the man who taught Americans “how to win friends and influence people” Before Stephen Covey, Oprah Winfrey, and Malcolm Gladwell there was Dale Carnegie. His book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, became a best seller worldwide, and Life magazine named him one of “the most important Americans of the twentieth century.” This is the first full-scale biography of this influential figure. Dale Carnegie was born in rural Missouri, his father a poor farmer, his mother a successful preacher. To make ends meet he tried his hand at various sales jobs, and his failure to convince his customers to buy what he had to offer eventually became the fuel behind his future glory. Carnegie quickly figured out that something was amiss in American education and in the ways businesspeople related to each other. What he discovered was as simple as it was profound: Understanding people’s needs and desires is paramount in any successful enterprise. Carnegie conceived his book to help people learn to relate to one another and enrich their lives through effective communication. His success was extraordinary, so hungry was 1920s America for a little psychological insight that was easy to apply to everyday affairs. Self-help Messiah tells the story of Carnegie’s personal journey and how it gave rise to the movement of self-help and personal reinvention.
"There is no nation in which the teachers of law play a more prominent role than in the United States. In this unique volume Stephen Presser, a law professor for four decades, explains how his colleagues have both furthered and frustrated the American ideals that ours is a government of laws not men, and that our legal system ought to promote justice for all. In a dazzling review of three centuries of teaching about American law, from Blackstone to Barack Obama, Presser shows how these extraordinary men and women shaped not only our law, but also our politics and culture"--Publisher's website.
The phenomenal follow-up to the bestselling Built to Last Imagine discovering what successful people have in common, distilling it into a set of simple practices, and using them to transform your career and your life. That's what Jerry Porras, Stewart Emery, and Mark Thompson, leading thinkers in organizational development and self-improvement, have done in Success Built to Last. Two hundred remarkable people are included, notably: -Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO, Amazon.com -Warren Buffett -Bill Clinton -Frances Hesselbein, former CEO, Girl Scouts of America -Maya Angelou -Bill Gates Each shares how he or she harvested victories, learned from failures, and found the courage to be true to their passions. By following a set of simple principles culled from these inspiring interviews, readers can transform their business and personal lives, and discover the true meaning of success.
Why has Switzerland - a tiny, land-locked country with few natural advantages - become so successful for so long at so many things? In banking, pharmaceuticals, machinery, even textiles, Swiss companies rank alongside the biggest and most powerful global competitors. How did they get there? How do they continue to refresh themselves? Does the Swiss 'Sonderfall' (special case) provide lessons others can learn and benefit from? Can the Swiss continue to perform in a hyper-competitive global economy? Swiss Made offers answers to these and many other questions about the country as it describes the origins, structures and characteristics of the most important Swiss companies. The authors suggest success is due to a large degree to sound entrepreneurial thinking and an openness to new ideas. And they venture a surprising forecast on the country's ability to keep pace in an age of globalisation.
A collection of essays and photographs celebrates the first two hundred years of the illustrious military institution whose alumni include Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Buzz Aldrin, and Norman Schwarzkopf.
This authoritative publications examines the Army's role in internal improvements, natural disaster relief, economic assistance, domestic order, and a host of other contingencies. From the Foreword "Since its official birth on 14 June 1775 - over a year before the Declaration of Independence - the United States Army has played a vital role in the growth and development of the American nation. Drawing on both long-standing militia traditions and recently introduced professional standards, it won the new Republic's independence in an arduous eight-year struggle against Great Britain. AT times it provided the lone symbol of nationhood around which patriots could rally. During the Civil War it preserved the Union through four years of bitter conflict that turned brother against brother. It has repeatedly defended the United States against external threats from the "second war of independence" with Great Britain in 1812 through the crusades that finally rid the world of the specters of Nazi totalitarianism, Japanese imperialism, and world communism. The defense of the nation has always been the Army's primary mission but, as this pamphlet shows, not its only one. From the beginning the Army has also been involved with internal improvements, national disaster relief, economic assistance, domestic order, and a host of other contingencies. Although these missions may not have always been those it would have chosen for itself, our Army has drawn great satisfaction from knowing that when the nationa was in need, it answered the call" Excerpt from John S, Brown, Chief of Military History, February, 2005
