Our Library

When You Say Yes But Mean No

We live in a culture—especially at work—that prefers harmony over discord, agreement over dissent, speed over deliberation. We often smile and nod to each other even though deep down we could not disagree more. Whether with colleagues, friends, or family members, the tendency to paper over differences rather than confront them is extremely common. We believe that the best thing to do to preserve our relationships and to ensure that our work gets done as expeditiously as possible is to silence conflict.

“Saying yes when you really mean no” is a problem that haunts organizations from start-ups to multi- nationals. It exists across industries, levels, and functions. And it’s exacerbated by a down economy, when the fear of losing one’s job is on everybody’s mind and the idea of allowing conflict to surface or disagreeing with others seems particularly risky. All too often, the conversation at work bespeaks harmony and togetherness, even though passionate disagreements exist beneath the surface.

Whether it’s a Fortune 500 firm, small business, or government bureaucracy, Perlow provides a keen understanding of the hidden issues behind what people say (and don’t say). And more important, she shows how to create relationships where individuals feel empowered to express their genuine thoughts and feelings and to harness the power of positive conflict.

The Halo Effect...and The Eight Other Delusions That Deceive Managers

In a brilliant and unconventional book, Phil Rosenzweig unmasks the delusions that are commonly found in the corporate world. These delusions affect the business press and academic research, as well as many best-selling books that promise to reveal the secrets of success or the path to greatness. Such books claim to be based on rigorous thinking, but operate mainly at the level of storytelling. They provide comfort and inspiration, but deceive managers about the true nature of business success.

The Halo Effect is a landmark book that replaces mistaken thinking with a sharper understanding of what drives company performance. It’s a guide for the thinking manager, a way to detect errors in business research and to reach a clearer understanding of what drives success and failure. For managers who want to separate fact from fiction in the world of business, The Halo Effect is a much-needed antidote to the conventional thinking that clutters business bookshelves.

The Power of Positive Confrontation

When slighted, misunderstood, cut-in-front-of, annoyed, taken advantage of, or treated rudely, most people avoid their bosses, ignore co-workers, change hairdressers, complain to friends, shout and pound their fists. They often miss the most positive, effective alternative of all: confronting positively. Now, for everyone who was never taught, or never realized, that between "bully" and "wimp" is a range of behavior that is positive, dignified, and effective for dealing with life's bothersome situations, there is The Power of Positive Confrontation. This practical, step-by-step guide will not only improve your ability to confront others, but will also help you to live a more conflict-free life. Filled with hundreds of real-life examples drawn from communications expert Barbara Pachter's twelve years of teaching assertiveness and business etiquette to more than 150,000 people at all organizational levels, The Power of Positive Confrontation will show you how to: • assess your usual confrontational style • identify the main reasons why you many not be confronting • understand the consequences of not confronting or confronting negatively • learn how to evaluate another person's behavior in a conflict situation • master the three essential steps of polite and powerful behavior • recognize vital verbal and non-verbal factors that can help ensure a positive confrontation • handle difficult conversations, no matter what the circumstances.

Working With You is Killing Me: Freeing Yourself from Emotional Traps at Work

For anyone trapped in an energy-zapping relationship with a co-worker, boss or subordinate, Crowley and Elster offer an exit strategy—a highly practical and easily implemented guide to making the situation workable. Looking at the workplace from every employee's perspective, Crowley, a Harvard-trained psychotherapist, and Elster, an entrepreneurial consultant, have created a book as valuable to readers on the top rungs of the corporate ladder as it is to those near the bottom. Readers in the throes of a work crisis can find a relevant case study to lead them to relief from any situation. Whether the problem's a charming and demanding boss, dealing with a saboteur or addressing one's own inclination to play the office martyr, the authors offer frameworks for breaking down the conflict and achieving détente. They even detail the inevitable verbal confrontation. Supervisors are provided suggestions for "parenting" employees who chronically underachieve or disappoint to help them live up to expectation, or at least their job descriptions. This empowering book delivers a sense of control over nasty workplace situations. It may also offer the answer to high job turnover.

Made to Stick: Why Do Some Ideas Survive and Others Die...

Why do some ideas thrive while others die? And how do we improve the chances of worthy ideas? In Made to Stick, accomplished educators and idea collectors Chip and Dan Heath tackle head-on these vexing questions. Inside, the brothers Heath reveal the anatomy of ideas that “stick” and explain sure-fire methods for making ideas stickier, such as violating schemas, using the Velcro Theory of Memory, and creating “curiosity gaps.”

Made to Stick is a book that will transform the way you communicate ideas. It’s a fast-paced tour of idea success stories (and failures)—the Nobel Prize-winning scientist who drank a glass of bacteria to prove a point about stomach ulcers; the charities who make use of the Mother Teresa Effect; the elementary-school teacher’s simulation that actually prevented prejudice . Provocative, eye-opening, and funny, Made to Stick shows us the principles of successful ideas at work—and how we can apply these rules to making our own messages “stick.”

egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset

Could too much or too little ego be hampering the success of your business?

In this book, authors David Marcum and Steven Smith share the results of a five year research project that explored the role of ego in the boardroom. They explore both the warning signs that ego is playing a negative role in planning and decision making as well as examples of ego playing a positive role at work.

Egonomics takes a deeper look at both good and bad examples of ego. The book is an easy read with some unexpected insights.

With that in mind, the best place to start is by reading Egonomics and learn first-hand the warning signs that ego-driven problems are damaging your business, as well as the signs of a healthy ego-environment.

What Got You Here Won't Get You There

The corporate world is filled with executives, men and women who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management. They're intelligent, skilled, and even charismatic. But only a handful of them will ever reach the pinnacle -- and as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book, subtle nuances make all the difference. These are small "transactional flaws" performed by one person against another (as simple as not saying thank you enough), which lead to negative perceptions that can hold any executive back. Using Goldsmith's straightforward, jargon-free advice, it's amazingly easy behavior to change.

Executives who hire Goldsmith for one-on-one coaching pay $250,000 for the privilege. With this book, his help is available for 1/10,000th of the price.