The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done

The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done Review

The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done Feature

• ISBN13: 9780061703614
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done Overview

Using a mix of psychology, science, self-help, and a decade of groundbreaking research, Dr. Piers Steel, internationally recognized as the foremost authority on procrastination, explains why procrastination is dangerously on the rise and tells us how to overcome the destructive patterns that affect our health and happiness to create more positive lives.

If you think you are not one of the 95 percent of those of us who procrastinate, take Dr. Steel's test in The Procrastination Equation. Or if you think you procrastinate because you're a perfectionist—you're wrong. So, why do we surf the Web instead of finishing overdue projects? Why do we say we'll start that diet—tomorrow? Why do we stay up late watching television instead of going to bed? And how do we overcome these bad habits that we know work against our best intentions? Based on more than a decade of research, and written with humor, humanity, and solid science, The Procrastination Equation explains why we do what we do—or, in this case, don't—offering answers to such questions as:

• Are we biologically hardwired to procrastinate? If so, why?
• How does procrastination cost us?
• What tricks do we play on ourselves when we procrastinate at work, school, and home?
• If visualizing our dreams isn't enough to make them real, then what steps must we take?

Along the way, Dr. Steel dispels the myths and misunderstandings of motivation and procrastination, replacing them with a clear explanation of why we put off until tomorrow what we should be doing today. He then offers specific techniques we can use to tame and prevent the bad habits that adversely affect our health, happiness, and careers, all the while celebrating the very human foibles that make us who we are. The Procrastination Equation is the definitive and accessible guide for anyone who struggles with this age-old dilemma.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Mar 12, 2011 11:05:06

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism Review

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism Feature

• ISBN13: 9781608191666
• Condition: New
• Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism Overview

Thing 1: There is no such thing as free market.
Thing 4: The washing machine has changed the world more than the Internet.
Thing 5: Assume the worst about people, and you get the worst.
Thing 13: Making rich people richer doesn't make the rest of us richer.

If you've wondered how we did not see the economic collapse coming, Ha-Joon Chang knows the answer: We didn't ask what they didn't tell us about capitalism. This is a lighthearted book with a serious purpose: to question the assumptions behind the dogma and sheer hype that the dominant school of neoliberal economists-the apostles of the freemarket-have spun since the Age of Reagan.

Chang, the author of the international bestseller Bad Samaritans, is one of the world's most respected economists, a voice of sanity-and wit-in the tradition of John Kenneth Galbraith and Joseph Stiglitz. 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism equips readers with an understanding of how global capitalism works-and doesn't. In his final chapter, "How to Rebuild the World," Chang offers a vision of how we can shape capitalism to humane ends, instead of becoming slaves of the market.

Ha-Joon Chang teaches in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Cambridge. His books include the bestselling Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. His Kicking Away the Ladder received the 2003 Myrdal Prize, and, in 2005, Chang was awarded the Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Mar 01, 2011 16:20:07

The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE

The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE Review

The Little Big Things: 163 Ways to Pursue EXCELLENCE Overview

#131 The Case of the Two-Cent Candy

Years ago, I wrote about a retail store in the Palo Alto environs—a good one, which had a box of two-cent candies at the checkout. I subsequently remember that "little" parting gesture of the two-cent candy as a symbol of all that is Excellent at that store. Dozens of people who have attended seminars of mine—from retailers to bankers to plumbing-supply-house owners—have come up to remind me, sometimes 15 or 20 years later, of "the two-cent candy story," and to tell me how it had a sizable impact on how they did business, metaphorically and in fact.

Well, the Two-Cent Candy Phenomenon has struck again—with oomph and in the most unlikely of places.

For years Singapore's "brand" has more or less been Southeast Asia's "place that works." Its legendary operational efficiency in all it does has attracted businesses of all sorts to set up shop there. But as "the rest" in the geographic neighborhood closed the efficiency gap, and China continued to rise-race-soar, Singapore decided a couple of years ago to "rebrand" itself as not only a place that works but also as an exciting, "with it" city. (I was a participant in an early rebranding conference that also featured the likes of the late Anita Roddick, Deepak Chopra, and Infosys founder and superman N. R. Narayana Murthy.)

Singapore's fabled operating efficiency starts, as indeed it should, at ports of entry—the airport being a prime example. From immigration to baggage claim to transportation downtown, the services are unmatched anywhere in the world for speed and efficiency.

Saga . . .

Immigration services in Thailand, three days before a trip to Singapore, were a pain. ("Memorable.") And entering Russia some months ago was hardly a walk in the park, either. To be sure, and especially after 9/11, entry to the United States has not been a process you'd mistake for arriving at Disneyland, nor marked by an attitude that shouted "Welcome, honored guest."

Singapore immigration services, on the other hand:

The entry form was a marvel of simplicity.

The lines were short, very short, with more than adequate staffing.

The process was simple and unobtrusive.

And:

The immigration officer could have easily gotten work at Starbucks; she was all smiles and courtesy.

And:

Yes!

Yes!

And . . . yes!

There was a little candy jar at each Immigration portal!

The "candy jar message" in a dozen ways:

"Welcome to Singapore, Tom!! We are absolutely beside ourselves with delight that you have decided to come here!"

Wow!

Wow!

Wow!

Ask yourself . . . now:

What is my (personal, department, project, restaurant, law firm) "Two-Cent Candy"?

Does every part of the process of working with us/me include two-cent candies?

Do we, as a group, "think two-cent candies"?

Operationalizing: Make "two-centing it" part and parcel of "the way we do business around here." Don't go light on the so-called substance—but do remember that . . . perception is reality . . . and perception is shaped by two-cent candies as much as by that so-called hard substance.

Start: Have your staff collect "two-cent candy stories" for the next two weeks in their routine "life" transactions. Share those stories. Translate into "our world." And implement.

Repeat regularly.

Forever.

(Recession or no recession—you can afford two cents.)

(In fact, it is a particularly Brilliant Idea for a recession—you doubtless don't maximize Two-Cent Opportunities. And what opportunities they are.)

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jan 06, 2011 22:45:05

The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion

The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion Review

What motivates me to write is this quote from the "publishers' review: the authors "make poor analogies for someone looking to revitalize a corporation or present a compelling case for change to colleagues or an intransigent CEO. Professionals who already know that the Internet isn't just a phase will need more information than this book provides."

It seems to me the publishers are still a last century push company. This insensitivity is like being a parent of a dyslexic or highly functional autistic child, who is told his child is a retarded idiot. If we talk about recession, and if we hope the recession will pass and we will be happy as before, you must read this book. The "push" companies believe we can predict the future, we can plan resources being pushed wherever they want, and we can make money ad infinity as if the society is made of force-feeding geese. This is why most top five hundred companies are factories for meekness, people put up with jobs that make them chronically unhappy. They do what5 they are told to do, as if the company knows everything, and particularly the elites know everything. Here is quote from Betterness Manifesto that summarizes what this book says in essence:

"Work. You're worth something. Stop giving your talent away to organizations that misallocate it, underutilize it, and possibly even abuse it. If you're doing something meaningless, quit. Betterness can't happen if you're spending your life churning out toxic junk. It can only happen when more meaningful work is done. Find a company that's better. Better yet, start one. No, it's not easy. But here's the thing: over the next decade, the businesses that can't do better, the ones you're giving your talent away to, are to go extinct anyway. Cut the cord now, before the axe falls and cuts it for you."

You must read this book to understand why it is revolutionary and relieving the pain we are not crazy or sick felling miserable working for all these big stupid companies, just because we need the bi-weekly check. There are alternatives, I hope, no despair. Yet it is not a book for everyone. Sadly society moves ahead with only about 5% of the people doing something about it.

The power of pull is a litmus test to prove we are not sick, the illusion of freedom might become reality, work and happiness can be synonymous.

The Power of Pull: How Small Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion Overview

In a radical break with the past, information now flows like water, and we must learn how to tap into its stream. Individuals and companies can no longer rely on the stocks of knowledge that they’ve carefully built up and stored away. Information now flows like water, and we must learn how to tap into the stream. But many of us remain stuck in old practices—practices that could undermine us as we search for success and meaning.

In this revolutionary book, three doyens of the Internet age, whose path-breaking work has made headlines around the world, reveal the adjustments we must make if we take these changes seriously. In a world of increasing risk and opportunity, we must understand the importance of pull. Understood and used properly, the power of pull can draw out the best in people and institutions by connecting them in ways that increase understanding and effectiveness. Pull can turn uncertainty into opportunity, and enable small moves to achieve outsized impact.

Drawing on pioneering research, The Power of Pull shows how to apply its principles to unlock the hidden potential of individuals and organizations, and how to use it as a force for social change and the development of creative talent.

The authors explore how to use the power of pull to:

• Access new sources of information
• Attract likeminded individuals from around the world
• Shape serendipity to increase the likelihood of positive chance encounters
• Form creation spaces to drive you and your colleagues to new heights
• Transform your organization to adapt to the flow of knowledge

The Power of Pull is essential reading for entrepreneurs, managers, and anybody interested in understanding and harnessing the shifting forces of our networked world.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 29, 2010 12:35:09

The Design of Everyday Things

The Design of Everyday Things Review

This is the classic text on design. All players in the tech industry need to read this. An early quote," Each time a new technology comes along, new designers make the same horrible mistakes as their predecessors. Technologists are not noted for learning from the errors of the past. They look forward, not behind, so they repeat the same problems over and over again."

Norman spent a lot of time in Apple's early days as VP Advance Products Group, and the rest is history. A fascinating easy to read writer, he fills the book with concrete examples of horrid mis design, drawn from all around us. And he is right, present wireless devices are horrid. While reading this you will become sensitized as to how bad design permeates our life. From the huge (Chernobyl and Challenger) to the almost trivial (bathroom taps), you will start to see what he sees. Computer programs of course come in for a lot of abuse. (My favorite is the brutal treatment we receive from telco and Revenue Canada voice mail systems. Enjoy. (He has other books , Emotional Design, The Design of Future Things and Living With Complexity) By the way his website [...] is a bit of a surprise. a sample of his writing [...]

The Design of Everyday Things Overview

Donald Norman's best-selling plea for user-friendly design, with more than 175,000 copies sold to date, is now a Basic paperback.

First, businesses discovered quality as a key competitive edge; next came service. Now, Donald A. Norman, former Director of the Institute for Cognitive Science at the University of California, reveals how smart design is the new competitive frontier. The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how--and why--some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.

The Design of Everyday Things Specifications

Anyone who designs anything to be used by humans--from physical objects to computer programs to conceptual tools--must read this book, and it is an equally tremendous read for anyone who has to use anything created by another human. It could forever change how you experience and interact with your physical surroundings, open your eyes to the perversity of bad design and the desirability of good design, and raise your expectations about how things should be designed.

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 24, 2010 07:31:05

First Things First

First Things First Review

I find Stephen Covey's work extremely practical and logical. If only our world could operate on his principles we would be far better off. It is a mix of personal growth as well as how to organize your life into an efficient and practical way. Both are necessary in order to live a fulfilling life. He talks about delegating without losing control, he talks aboutwin win situations, instead of just trying to be the winner. He talks about habits, time management and how to turn your resolutions into reality. Good for everyone no matter what path they are walking in lifeDr Gunta Krumins-Caldwell author of On Silver Wings

First Things First Feature

• ISBN13: 9780684802039
• Condition: New
• Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

First Things First Overview

I'm getting more done in less time, but where are the rich relationships, the inner peace, the balance, the confidence that I'm doing what matters most and doing it well?

Does this nagging question haunt you, even when you feel you are being your most efficient? If so, First Things First can help you understand why so often our first things aren't first. Rather than offering you another clock, First Things First provides you with a compass, because where you're headed is more important than how fast you're going.

First Things First Specifications

What are the most important things in your life? Do they get as much care, emphasis, and time as you'd like to give them? Far from the traditional "be-more-efficient" time-management book with shortcut techniques, First Things First shows you how to look at your use of time totally differently. Using this book will help you create balance between your personal and professional responsibilities by putting first things first and acting on them. Covey teaches an organizing process that helps you categorize tasks so you focus on what is important, not merely what is urgent. First you divide tasks into these quadrants:

1. Important and Urgent (crises, deadline-driven projects)
2. Important, Not Urgent (preparation, prevention, planning, relationships)
3. Urgent, Not Important (interruptions, many pressing matters)
4. Not Urgent, Not Important (trivia, time wasters)

Most people spend most of their time in quadrants 1 and 3, while quadrant 2 is where quality happens. "Doing more things faster is no substitute for doing the right things," says Covey. He points you toward the real human needs--"to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy"--and how to balance your time to achieve a meaningful life, not just get things done. --Joan Price

Available at Amazon Check Price Now!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Oct 18, 2010 04:46:05