Smart Customers, Stupid Companies

Smart Customers, Stupid Companies PDF Author: Michael Hinshaw
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780985133917
Category : Consumer behavior
Languages : en
Pages : 187

Get Book Here

Book Description

Smart Customers, Stupid Companies

Smart Customers, Stupid Companies PDF Author: Michael Hinshaw
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780985133917
Category : Consumer behavior
Languages : en
Pages : 187

Get Book Here

Book Description


Smart Business, Stupid Business

Smart Business, Stupid Business PDF Author: Diane Kennedy
Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
ISBN: 1600378064
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
Smart Business, Stupid Business” provides a practical approach for the small business owner. This is a book written specifically for the small business owner with specific action steps. It's filled with meaningful information that cuts to the chase. It's the comprehensive content that turns any business owner into a Smarter Business Owner.

Think Smart - Act Smart

Think Smart - Act Smart PDF Author: J. Nightingale
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470224363
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 178

Get Book Here

Book Description
Praise For Think Smart--Act Smart Avoiding the Business Mistakes That Even Intelligent People Make "Increased productivity and optimizing efficiencies...start with this book. Think Smart--Act Smart is a must-read for anyone concerned with the optimal operation of any organization...and all management personnel." --Travis AlexanderCEO, Alexander Worldwide Protection Services "This book should be mandatory reading for any of us in the leadership business. It exposes the fallacies of decision making that have become so endemic in organizations today. Jim's style of writing seamlessly translates sound theory into practical application--making it perfect for both the student and managerial practitioner. A welcomed addition to the decision-making literature." --Philip T. Anderson, PhDDirector, Organization Effectiveness, JohnsonDiversey, Inc. "Think Smart--Act Smart is a book that walks you through the 'how to' of thinking outside the box in your everyday approach to problem solving and how to avoid the old patterns buried in society's IQ-driven approach to problem solving. A very refreshing and mind-opening journey that shares a wonderful look into a number of startling truths about the way we think." --C. Brandy DouglasPresident, The Douglas Group, Inc. "Jim Nightingale provides a new and unique perspective on organizations today. The thesis of his books...is basic to working and managing in today's knowledge economy. Anyone who is responsible for making complex organizational decisions should benefit from this book." --Peter SorensenDirector, Organization Development PhD Program, Benedictine University, Illinois "We have all seen really smart, successful people do really dumb things. We have all asked the question, 'what was he/she thinking?' Jim Nightingale has taken an interesting, cerebral look at why this might be. His views are thought-provoking for those interested in getting the most out of their organization." --Spencer Clark IIIFormer Chief Learning Officer, Cadence Design Systems Why do smart people sometimes do such stupid things? In 1720 Isaac Newton lost a fortune in a stock market crash that he had personally predicted. How could this happen? Since the discoverer of gravity and the inventor of calculus can hardly be accused of stupidity, we must seek other reasons for this, and other, high-profile judgment errors by very smart people. Whether you are a CEO, a business manager, or simply a student of human behavior, Think Smart--Act Smart reveals why smart people make costly mistakes and provides you with a realistic plan to think smart in your life and on the job.

How Excellent Companies Avoid Dumb Things

How Excellent Companies Avoid Dumb Things PDF Author: Neil Smith
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1137031611
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Get Book Here

Book Description
Every day, seemingly intelligent and successful companies make headline news for poor decisions that can cause their business to stumble and make many of us scratch our heads in wonder. Why would such a successful business make "that" strategic decision? Neil Smith, with more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale performance improvements, reveals the hidden barriers that limit excellent companies from reaching their potential, and cause even the smartest managers and leaders to falter. During his experience transforming some of the top global businesses, Smith has identified 8 barriers that exist in every organization and prevent them from implementing literally thousands of ideas to improve the way they work: Avoiding Controversy Poor Use of Time Reluctance to Change Organizational Silos Management Blockers Incorrect Information and Bad Assumptions Size Matters Existing Processes Rich with anecdotes and case studies, Smith identifies the ways in each of these barriers interrupt your own business. He then outlines a fast and proven process in which 12 principles of business transformation can break down the processes that hold companies back. What Smith offers his readers is the same thing he offers every day to the major companies he works with, A PROMISE that by following his insights, the company will be able to increase communication, simplicity, and profit to levels never before attainable. Throughout the book, Dr. Richard Levak has contributed personality and organizational insights that shed light on why an individual or an organization behaves in contrary ways giving you a better sense of why these internal walls exist and how to be aware of your actions in your day to day life.

Why Business People Speak Like Idiots

Why Business People Speak Like Idiots PDF Author: Brian Fugere
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 9780743269094
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 194

Get Book Here

Book Description
There is a fundamental disconnection between the way business people speak and real people communicate. From advertisers, big business and CEOs - the blather is coming at us in waves. The International Language of Business is no longer English - it's gobbledygook. The authors blindly discovered the enormity of the problem in June 2003 with the launch of Bullfighter, an anti-jargon software tool. But jargon is just one symptom in a larger problem afflicting corporate communications today: the wholesale inability to connect with an audience. In the form of admirably straight-talk, we discover how to avoid the 'obscurity trap', 'the anonymity trap', the 'hard-sell trap' and most importantly, 'the tedium trap'. In this witty and practical new book readers are given all the tools they need to fight the 'spin' and learn to speak like the rest of us.

Blind Spots

Blind Spots PDF Author: Madeleine L. Van Hecke
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1615920013
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
Psychologist Van Hecke argues that much of what we label stupidity can better be explained as blind spots. Full of funny, poignant stories about human foibles, "Blind Spots" offers many insights for improving our social and political lives.

Who

Who PDF Author: Geoff Smart
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0345504194
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Get Book Here

Book Description
In this instant New York Times Bestseller, Geoff Smart and Randy Street provide a simple, practical, and effective solution to what The Economist calls “the single biggest problem in business today”: unsuccessful hiring. The average hiring mistake costs a company $1.5 million or more a year and countless wasted hours. This statistic becomes even more startling when you consider that the typical hiring success rate of managers is only 50 percent. The silver lining is that “who” problems are easily preventable. Based on more than 1,300 hours of interviews with more than 20 billionaires and 300 CEOs, Who presents Smart and Street’s A Method for Hiring. Refined through the largest research study of its kind ever undertaken, the A Method stresses fundamental elements that anyone can implement–and it has a 90 percent success rate. Whether you’re a member of a board of directors looking for a new CEO, the owner of a small business searching for the right people to make your company grow, or a parent in need of a new babysitter, it’s all about Who. Inside you’ll learn how to • avoid common “voodoo hiring” methods • define the outcomes you seek • generate a flow of A Players to your team–by implementing the #1 tactic used by successful businesspeople • ask the right interview questions to dramatically improve your ability to quickly distinguish an A Player from a B or C candidate • attract the person you want to hire, by emphasizing the points the candidate cares about most In business, you are who you hire. In Who, Geoff Smart and Randy Street offer simple, easy-to-follow steps that will put the right people in place for optimal success.

In Search of Stupidity

In Search of Stupidity PDF Author: Merrill R. Chapman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book Here

Book Description
Describes influential business philosophies and marketing ideas from the past twenty years and examines why they did not work.

Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things

Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things PDF Author: Calvin L. Hodock
Publisher: Prometheus Books
ISBN: 1615921788
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 357

Get Book Here

Book Description
Innovation is the lifeblood of American business. Without the creativity to find the next must-have product or service, companies quickly lose their competitive edge. Knowing this, corporate leaders invest heavily in research and development.Notwithstanding the dollars spent on R & D, the fact remains that better than 90 percent of innovation initiatives fail to achieve their return-on-investment targets. Poor management decisions and lack of marketplace savvy often undermine even huge research efforts. Can America continue to be a formidable global competitor with this kind of failure rate?Taking a case history approach, Calvin Hodock examines eight typical innovation blunders that continually doom new product development. From misjudging the market and dead-on-arrival products to fatal frugality and timetable tyranny, he discusses not only why such mistakes occur but also the dire consequences to both investors and employees. When Polaroid declared bankruptcy, because it missed the digital imaging trend, the company's employees lost their retirement and pension benefits. Now the failure of the American automobile industry to create gotta have cars threatens to wreak long-term havoc in a large segment of American workers.Among the problems Hodock points to are breakdowns in the marketing research process, marketing dishonesty, lack of real-world preparation among newly graduated MBAs, CEOs under pressure to deliver unrealistic earning targets, clueless boards of directors, and the general absence of accountability.After analyzing each problem, Hodock emphasizes the lesson learned and concludes with a list of best practices for successful innovation. He shows how even modest improvements in the innovation process can double the bottom line for any company while making their shareholders more prosperous and happier.Hodock's incisive analysis and illuminating new approaches to successful development and marketing are must reading for students of business, seasoned corporate executives, and anyone interested in the future of American business.Calvin L. Hodock (Skillman, NJ) is professor of marketing at Berkeley College, Garret Mountain and Middlesex Campuses, an adjunct professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, and a guest lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. He is the former chairman of the board of the American Marketing Association, the world's largest professional marketing society. He is also on the board of directors for NuVim, Inc. He has previously published for the American Marketing Association, McGraw-Hill, and the Advertising Research Foundation.

Why Smart Executives Fail

Why Smart Executives Fail PDF Author: Sydney Finkelstein
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101118237
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Get Book Here

Book Description
Bob Pittman and AOL Time Warner. Jean Marie Messier and Vivendi. Jill Barad and Mattel. Dennis Kozlowski and Tyco. It's an all too common scenario. A great company breaks from the pack; the analysts are in love; the smiling CEO appears on the cover of Fortune. Two years later, the company is in flames, the pension plan is bleeding, the stock is worthless. What goes wrong in these cases? Usually it seems that top management made some incredibly stupid mistakes. But the people responsible are almost always remarkably intelligent and usually have terrific track records. Just as puzzling as the fact that brilliant managers can make bad mistakes is the way they so often magnify the damage. Once a company has made a serious mis-step, it often seems as though it can't do anything right. How does this happen? Instead of rectifying their mistakes, why do business leaders regularly make them worse? To answer these questions, Sydney Finkelstein has carried out the largest research project ever devoted to corporate mistakes and failures. In WHY SMART EXECUTIVES FAIL, he and his research team uncover-with startling clarity and unassailable documentation-the causes regularly responsible for major business breakdowns. He relates the stories of great business disasters and demonstrates that there are specific, identifiable ways in which many businesses regularly make themselves vulnerable to failure. The result is a truly indispensable, practical, must-read book that explains the mechanics of business failure, how to avoid them, and what to do if they happen.