Saving the World at Work or 1897 Sears Roebuck Co Catalogue

Saving the World at Work: What Companies and Individuals Can Do to Go Beyond Making a Profit to Making a Difference

Author: Tim Sanders

Even the actions of a single person can help to change the world. How? Through simple acts of leadership and compassion. Open up this book, and discover the true stories of people whose actions have caused a chain reaction at work and in their communities. Among them:
A manager who gives an employee some supportive praise, and as a result literally saves his life (page 231).

A small group of bank tellers who spearhead a movement to raise millions of dollars for breast cancer, making it the biggest fundraiser in North America, and enhancing their company’s reputation (page 213).

A sales manager who gets a copy of a groundbreaking book that leads to a transformation of the company’s operations. As a result, hundreds of millions of pounds of carpet waste avoid the landfill, and the company sparks a revolution in its industry (page 12).

A “responsibility revolution” is shaking up corporate America. In this provocative and insightful book, bestselling author Tim Sanders reveals why companies must to go beyond making a profit and start making a difference.

Every one of us, regardless of title or position, can inspire our companies to change the way they do business, helping them to become a positive force for enriching people, communities, and the environment. When this happens, not only do we help save the world, we help save our companies from becoming irrelevant. We also become part of what Sanders calls the Responsibility Revolution.

Companies that don’t participate in this revolution risk becoming obsolete. Today customers, employees, and investors are demanding that companies focus on their socialresponsibilities—not just their bottom lines. Sixty-five percent of American consumers say they would change to brands associated with a good cause if price and quality were equal; 66 percent of recent college graduates will not work for companies with poor social values. And more than sixty million people are willing to pay a premium for socially and environmentally responsible products.

In SAVING THE WORLD AT WORK, Tim Sanders offers concrete suggestions on how all of us can help our companies join the Responsibility Revolution. Drawing on extensive interviews with hundreds of employees and CEOs, and illuminated by countless stories of people who are making a difference in the workplace and in the world, Sanders offers practical advice every individual and company can use to make the world a better place--now and in the future.

Publishers Weekly

The "Responsibility Revolution" is underway, and it's challenging the importance of the bottom line, argues Sanders (Love Is the Killer App), former CSO of Yahoo. Both consumers and employers have turned away from price consciousness to demand that companies make a difference to society through their products, manufacturing methods, environmental efforts and community outreach. According to the author, casual consumers now represent the minority; mindful consumers have brought in a new value system, paying as much attention to a company's environmental and social policies as to its pricing structures. Companies that do not clean up their acts will be left in the dust, losing customers who want their money to go toward good causes and employees who place more importance on green factors and job satisfaction than pay scale. Through success stories like Horst Rechelbacher, the brains behind the ecologically sound cosmetics company Aveda, and Lee Scott's greening of Wal-Mart in 2004, Sanders makes a compelling argument for the necessity for businesses to appeal to their customers' hearts as well as their wallets. (Sept.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New interesting book: Weird Texas or Ceremony

1897 Sears Roebuck & Co. Catalogue

Author: Skyhorse Publishing

Imagine it’s the end of the nineteenth century, and, with one catalog, you can buy everything from beds and tools to clothing and opium. (Yes, opium.) Not to mention ear trumpets, horse buggies, and Bibles. The 1897 Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalogue is both a wonderfully fascinating collector’s item and a valuable piece of American history. For every recognizable item included, there are plenty of others guaranteed to confuse or interest  21st century readers—like Bust Cream or Food and Sweet Spirits of Nitre. What was once standard household fare is today a sometimes strange, often funny look at what life was once like for the average American family. It’s amazing to see that a Princely Shirt for Princely Men cost $0.95 or three for $2.75 or that a Complete Violin Outfit (with bow and case) cost only $2.00.

Table of Contents:

Ordering Instructions     1
Groceries     8
Drug Department     26
Hardware Department     52
Builder's and Hardware Material     100
Refrigerators     118
Bells     120
Cutlery     121
Stoves and Household Utensils     133
Agricultural Implements     162
Tailor Made Men's Clothing     181
Boys' Clothing Department     193
Boots, Shoes, and Rubbers     204
Men's Clothing     228
Hat and Cap Department     250
Trunks     268
Dry Goods Department     272
Ladies' and Girls' Clothing     285
Carpets, Curtains, and Linens     302
Women's Accessories     319
Books and Stationery     348
Watches and Jewelry     374
Silverware     444
Clocks     463
Optical Goods     468
Surveyors' Instruments     473
Thermometers and Electrical Goods     475
Cameras and Equipment     479
Musical Goods Department     497
Sporting Goods     524
Furniture     582
Baby Carriages     628
Sewing Machines     633
Vehicle, Harness, and Saddlery Department     642
What the People Say     694
Index     697

The Dip or How to Read a Financial Report

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick)

Author: Seth Godin

NOTE: The CD edition of this title is a Barnes & Noble Exclusive read by the author.

The old saying is wrong—winners do quit, and quitters do win.

Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point—really hard, and not much fun at all.

And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you're in a Dip—a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it's really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try.

According to bestselling author Seth Godin, what really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.

Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you'll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.

Losers, on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip—they get to the moment of truth and then give up—or they never even find the right Dip to conquer.

Whether you're a graphic designer, a sales rep, an athlete, or an aspiring CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you're in a Dip that's worthy of your time, effort, and talents. If you are, The Dip will inspire you to hang tough. If not, it will help you find the courage to quit—so you can be number one at something else.

Seth Godin doesn't claim to have all the answers. But he will teach you how to ask the right questions.

Books about: Market Augmenting Government or Learning Team Skills

How to Read a Financial Report: Wringing Vital Signs Out of the Numbers

Author: John A Tracy CPA

Hidden somewhere among all the numbers in a financial report is vitally important information about where a company has been and where it is going. This is especially relevant in light of the current corporate scandals.
The sixth edition of this bestselling book is designed to help anyone who works with financial reports--but has neither the time nor the need for an in-depth knowledge of accounting--cut through the maze of accounting information to find out what those numbers really mean.

Money Doesnt Grow on Trees or Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees: A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children

Author: Neale S Godfrey

and/or stickers showing their discounted price. More about bargain books

See also: Divine Healing or Chinese Fitness

Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat?: An Easy Plan for Losing Weight and Living More

Author: Peter Walsh

Diets don't work. Why not? Because they focus on what foods we should and shouldn't eat but completely ignore everything else that makes us fat. Look at your own situation: You say you want to lose weight, but you just can't stop indulging. You say you'd exercise more if only you had the time, yet you spend precious hours every night in front of the TV doing what? Munching nutrition-free snacks and drinking supersized beverages.

Peter Walsh, the bestselling author of It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff, believes that the secret to successfully losing weight is to forget about calorie counting and weekly weigh-ins. Instead you need to focus on how, why, and where you eat. When it comes to clearing clutter (the fat in our homes) it isn't about the stuff itself, it's about the life you want to live. The same is true for losing weight: It's not about the pounds, it's about living the life you deserve in the body you want.

Using his expert techniques honed from years as a clutter expert and organizational consultant on TLC's Clean Sweep, Peter helps you address how the clutter in your kitchen, your pantry, and your home is directly related to the clutter on your body and negatively affects your ability to lead a full and healthy life. This book shows you how to clean up not just the spaces where you eat, but the routines around them: from planning meals and shopping to dinnertime rituals.

Peter knows all the pitfalls and all the excuses. In Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? he gives you the tools (and courage) you need to get over all your excuses, face the issues, and make the change to a betterlife.

This is not a diet book. This is a book about your life -- about creating the healthy life and body you have always imagined for yourself. Peter helps you kick the food-clutter habit forever. You have only one life. Start living it today.

While America Aged or Bringing out the Best in People

While America Aged: How Pension Debts Ruined General Motors, Stopped the NYC Subways, Bankrupted San Diego, and Loom as the Next Financial Crisis

Author: Roger Lowenstein

From the bestselling author of Buffett, When Genius Failed, and Origins of the Crash, a wake-up call to the pension and retirement crisis facing America and the road map for a way out

In While America Aged, bestselling author Roger Lowenstein explains how corporations and governments ran up ruinous pension and health-care promises to workers—promises that are now coming due and that will hit America like a tsunami if nothing is done.

Negotiating high benefits means gambling with future finances—and when the farm gets sold out from underneath major corporations or public institutions, it affects all of us, and in ways we might not imagine. With his trademark narrative panache, Lowenstein unravels the truth about how pensions work in America and illuminates the impending crisis. While America Aged is comprised of three fascinating case studies— each an object lesson and a compelling historical saga. The first goes back to the early days of the United Auto Workers and its crusading leader, Walter Reuther, to tell the story of how pensions and health-care obligations destroyed the American auto industry, in particular General Motors.

Lowenstein then shifts the scene to New York City to tell the story of the rise of public pensions and public sector unions through the vehicle of the Communist-led Transport Workers Union. Once again, justifiable benefits were followed by outrageous ones, such as the right to retire at age fifty. The saga reached a dramatic climax in 2005, when workers responded to proposed pension cutbacks with a massive strike that brought New York's subways and buses to a screeching halt days beforeChristmas.

In the concluding episode, Lowenstein visits a metropolis even more reckless in doling out benefits—San Diego. Desperate not to impose higher taxes, city officials in this highly conservative enclave cut a series of deals with unions to short-change the retirement system and use pension funds to run the city. A massive scandal ensued—two mayors resigned, officials were indicted, and San Diego lost its bond rating. Lowenstein warns that the pension wars that erupted in Detroit, New York City, and San Diego are only the first. But he also recognizes that workers are entitled to decent security in their retirement—a critical problem as the country ages. While America Aged explains how we came to this crisis, and it also proposes a way out. Arming readers with knowledge of the consequences of doing nothing, While America Aged, first and foremost, a call to action.

The Washington Post - Phillip Longman

Having struggled for years to make my own writing on pension issues interesting enough for anyone to want to read, I particularly appreciate Lowenstein's use of real people to illustrate the deeper financial issues involved. Even if they sometimes contain too much detail, there is a kind of gripping, slow-motion train wreck quality to the long, sad stories Lowenstein tells about people and institutions in deep denial. And those stories certainly have a clear moral. Boiling it down to its essence on the book's final page, he concludes, "The most effective remedy—in pensions, health care, and even in Social Security—is to banish the credit card. Benefits should not be charged to a future generation; they should be paid for now." Sadly, though, even if we can refrain from borrowing more from our children, we will still bear the dead weight of past borrowing that now falls to us.

The New York Times - Jeff Madrick

as Roger Lowenstein nicely illustrates in While America Aged, the country "is sitting on a retirement time bomb." He is not talking about Social Security, which, he writes, is among the more manageable of future concerns. He is addressing the large-scale failure of America's once-enviable private pension system. Lowenstein is one of the nation's most talented business writers, with a particular ability to make obscure financial issues clear as the morning light.

Publishers Weekly

America's impending pension problem is brutally simple: private companies and governments have pledged to provide retirement income and health care for workers, but have not set aside the money to make good on their promises. Typical accounts of the crisis tend to obfuscate the issue and fixate on laying blame, but Lowenstein (Origins of the Crash) has a refreshing perspective-he tells three fascinating stories in American economic history and situates the current pension problems in the struggle for dignity for workers. Lowenstein regards fixing pensions as a worthy culmination to a century's struggle for justice rather than a painful chore unfairly foisted on the present by the past. Unfortunately, after this incisive and inspiring history lesson, the 10 pages at the end devoted to solutions are too abstract and unoriginal. The book gives the reader lively stories and historical insight, but may disappoint those looking for policy recommendations. (May 5)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Reviews

Lowenstein (Origins of the Crash: The Great Bubble and Its Undoing, 2004, etc.) probes a dangerous miscalculation made by American private and public enterprise: laying off responsibility for workers' pensions and retirement health benefits on some unspecified future. As baby boomers move into the retirement mainstream, the former Wall Street Journal columnist warns, the worst is yet to come. Examining how such situations evolved at General Motors, one of capitalism's former crown jewels, and in two of the nation's largest cities, he argues that confrontation-averse executives and pension trustees allowed hardball labor unions threatening crippling strikes to leverage benefit packages that were unsustainable from the beginning. Competitive pressures on the GM side and electoral politics in New York and San Diego also played their part in getting the unions attractive early retirement deals that, when workers began opting for them, brought crushing "future costs" closer than anyone had imagined. The GM story is perhaps the most tragic. In the late '90s, the company found itself with some 180,000 hourly employees on its payroll-and 400,000 retirees. Unable competitively to raise prices, GM cuts its dividend; stockholders, the company's nominal owners, begin to pick up the bill for retirees. In the cases of New York's Transit System workers and San Diego city employees, the same syndrome was made more sordid by political infighting and backroom deals. Others simply buried their heads in the sand. Former New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman, for example, bet that pension-fund investments in a booming stock market would cover unfunded liabilities-then the market went down. Some form of paidnational healthcare is inevitable for the future, says Lowenstein: "Business is global, and U.S. companies compete against foreign-based firms whose home-countries do pick up the tab." Fixing pensions, he notes, will be even tougher, but at minimum Congress needs to regulate 401(k)s, which were "essentially developed in a social and legislative vacuum."A chilling anatomy of one bad decision followed by another-and another. Agent: Melanie Jackson/Melanie Jackson Agency

Book review: Presentations and Public Speaking or The Great Depression

Bringing out the Best in People: How to Apply the Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement

Author: Aubrey C Daniels

The classic bestseller on performance management is updated to reflect changes in today's working environment. When an employer needs to know how to gain maximum performance from employees, renowned behavioral psychologist--Aubrey Daniels is the man to consult. What has made Daniels the man with the answers? His ability to apply scientifically based behavioral stimuli to the workplace while making it fun at the same time.

Now Daniels updates his ground-breaking book with the latest and best motivational methods, perfected at such companies as Xerox, 3M, and Kodak. All-new material shows how to: create effective recognition and rewards systems in line with today's employees want; Stimulate innovations and creativity in new and exciting ways;overcome problems associated with poorly educated workers; motivate young employees from the minute they join the workforce.

Aubrey C. Daniels, Ph.D., is the president of Aubrey Daniels & Associates, Inc. (Atlanta, GA), a management consulting firm that helps companies solve problems in productivity, quality, cost, and morale. One of the foremost speakers and writers in the human resources field, he has instituted his performance management system at more than two hundred organizations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, France, and Italy, and has worked closely with such noted clients as 3M, GTE, Rubbermaid, and Honeywell. Dr. Daniels is also the founder and PUblisher of Performance Management magazine.

Table of Contents:

Preface to the Second Edition.

Preface to the First Edition.

Acknowledgments to the Second Edition.

Acknowledgments to the First Edition.

Part 1. The Perils of Traditional Management.

Fads, Fantasies, and Fixes.

Management by Common Sense Is Not Management at All.

Louder, Longer, Meaner.

Part 2. The Astonishing Power of Positive Reinforcement.

Behavior Is a Function of Its Consequences.

The ABCs of Performance Management.

The High Price of Negative Reinforcement.

Capturing Discretionary Effort Through Positive Reinforcement.

Decreasing Behavior - Intentionally or Otherwise.

Effective Delivery of Reinforcement.

Part 3. The Scientific Approach to Leadership.

Pinpoint Precision.

The Effective Use of Measurement.

Performance Feedback.

A Model for Problem Solving.

Part 4. Turning Good Intentions into High Performance.

Goal Setting to Shape Behavior.

The Missing Link in Quality.

Teams and Empowerment.

Turning Downsizing into Rightsizing.

Compensation and Performance Appraisal.

Part 5: Revitalizing the Workplace.

Performance Management: The Executive Function.

Accelerated Learning: Teaching More with Less.

Increasing Creativity and Managing Change.

Managing the Nintendo Generation and Beyond.

Thank God It's Monday - Celebrating Work.

Epilogue.

References.

Index.

Jim Cramers Real Money or Egonomics

Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World

Author: James J Cramer

How do we find hot stocks without getting burned? How do we fatten our portfolios and stay financially healthy? Former hedge-fund manager and longtime Wall Street commentator Jim Cramer explains how to invest wisely in chaotic times, and he does so in plain English in a style that is as much fun as investing is -- or should be, when it's done right.

For starters, Cramer recommends devoting a portion of your assets to speculation. Everyone wants to find the big winners that can bring outsized gains, and Cramer explains how to allocate your portfolio so that you can afford to take this kind of risk wisely. He explains why "buy and hold" is a losing philosophy: For Cramer, it's "buy and homework." If you can't spend an hour a week researching each of your stocks, then you should hand off your portfolio to a mutual fund -- and Cramer identifies the very few mutual funds that he'd recommend.

Cramer reveals his Ten Commandments of Trading (Commandment #5: Tips are for waiters). He explains why he's not afraid to compare investing to gambling (and tells you which book on gambling you should read to become a better investor). He discloses his Twenty-Five Rules of Investing (Rule #4: Look for broken stocks, not broken companies).

Cramer shows how to compare stock prices in a way that you can understand, how to spot market tops and bottoms, how to know when to sell, how to rotate among cyclical stocks to catch the big moves, and much more. Jim Cramer's Real Money is filled with insider advice that really works, information that Cramer himself used to make millions during his fourteen-year career on Wall Street.

Written in Cramer's distinctive turbocharged style,this is every investor's guide to what you really must know to make big money in the stock market.

Publishers Weekly

After telling the story of his own trading days in Confessions of a Street Addict, Cramer appeases fans hoping for advice on how to duplicate his success with their own investment portfolios. But not without some strong caveats: his approach requires devoting at least an hour a week to educating yourself about each stock you own. But since most pros are "rank amateurs themselves," anyone willing to do the work should consider getting in. Cramer breaks down the fundamentals of his investment approach, built on the twin principles of diversification and speculation: while most of your portfolio should contain reliables like oil, financials and blue-chip companies, 20% percent of your money should go toward a slightly riskier bet on a company's future ("owning a stock is a bet on the future, not the past"). He also explains techniques for figuring out when to buy rock bottom stocks and sell the ones that have hit their peaks. Cramer drills his main points over and over, which can get repetitive on the anecdotal level but reinforces the simplicity of his message: investing is for anybody willing to put the time into learning how to do it right. His enthusiasm should prove inspiring, and even investors on the wrong side of Wall Street's recent shakeups may find the courage to get back in the game. Either way, Cramer's radio, TV and print platforms are sure to make this one another hit. Agent, Suzanne Gluck at William Morris. (Apr. 5) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Dale Farris - Library Journal

Cramer, author of Confessions of a Street Addictand Jim Cramer's Mad Money, among other books, and cohost of CNBC's Kudlow & Cramer, made hundreds of millions of dollars for investors while managing money for 38 of the world's wealthiest families. He applied his investment skills to his currently successful CNBC Mad Moneyprogram, which features Cramer's now familiar antics, unusual sound effects, and savvy investment advice. While Confessionstold the story of his early trading days, Cramer now helps listeners learn how to duplicate his success with their own portfolios, how to become really rich, not just make ends meet. He explains commonsense principles that enabled him to establish his financial success and makes it clear that investing is for anyone willing to devote at least one hour a week to learning how to do it right. Explaining his two fundamental principles of diversification and speculation while focusing a portfolio on tested reliables such as oil, financials, and blue-chip companies, he suggests allowing 20 percent of investment funds for riskier bets on the future of companies ("owning a stock is a bet on the future"). He also covers techniques for figuring out when to buy rock-bottom stocks and when to sell the ones that have hit their peak. He divulges how to make money in speculation, reveals his Ten Commandments of Trading, and discloses his Twenty-Five Rules of Investing. Cramer's infectious enthusiasm, his plain-speaking approach, his personal success story, and his always entertaining and thoroughly committed narration will inspire listeners as much as his television persona. While this solid material covers similarfinancial investment advice already on the shelves, Cramer's extensive TV, radio, and print notoriety will make this a certainty for all public libraries. Note that the CD contains additional text and graphic files that can be printed for reference. Highly recommended for larger public libraries and university libraries supporting a business curriculum.

Library Journal

Cramer describes his special brand of "prudent speculation." With a six-city tour. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

See also: The Elephant and the Dragon or McIlhennys Gold

Egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability)

Author: Dave Marcum

and/or stickers showing their discounted price. More about bargain books

Table of Contents:

Ego and the bottom line: why managing the power of ego is the first priority of business     1
The ego balance sheet: the four early warning signs that ego is costing your company, and the three principles of egonomics that turn it around     21
Early warning sign 1-being comparative: how being too competitive can make us less competitive     38
Early warning sign 2-being defensive: the difference between defending ideas and being defensive     55
Early warning sign 3-showcasing brilliance: how intelligence and talent can keep the best ideas from winning     74
Early warning sign 4-seeking acceptance: how our desire for respect and recognition gets in our way     89
Humility: opening minds and creating opportunity for change     100
Humility, part II: intensity and intent: using humility as a bridge to turn silence or argument into vigorous debate     137
Curiosity: how different types of curiosity unlock our minds and conversations     168
Veracity: how to make the undiscussables discussable, and closing the gap between what we think is going on and what's really going on     199
Appendix     229
Notes     235
Acknowledgments     249
Index     251