Entrepreneurship / Start-ups Books

Book SynopsisIn the midst of the Arab Spring, another revolution emerged which promises to reinvent the region as a centre of innovation and progress: entrepreneurship. Seasoned investor Christopher Schroeder met thousands of talented, successful entrepreneurs and the companies willing to invest in them to understand this fertile business ground.

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Book SynopsisThis book builds on the idea that peer-to-peer infrastructures are gradually becoming the general conditions of work, economy, and society. Using a four-scenario approach, the authors seek to simplify possible outcomes and to explore relevant trajectories of the current techno-economic paradigm within and beyond capitalism.Table of ContentsPART I: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 1. Capitalism as a Creative Destruction System 2. Beyond the End of History: Three Competing Value Models 3. The P2P Infrastructures: Two Axes and Four Quadrants PART II: COGNITIVE CAPITALISM 4. Netarchical Capitalism 5. Distributed Capitalism 6. The Social Dynamics of the Mixed Model of Neo-feudal Cognitive Capitalism PART III: THE HYPOTHETICAL MODEL OF MATURE PEER PRODUCTION: TOWARDS A COMMONS-ORIENTED ECONOMY AND SOCIETY 7. Resilient Communities 8. Global Commons 9. Transition Proposals Towards a Commons-oriented Economy and Society Conclusions

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Book SynopsisMake a lasting impact by launching new initiatives, inspiring others, and championing innovative approaches with this from-the-trenches guide by trusted executive mentor, entrepreneur, and leadership expert Joel Peterson.

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Book SynopsisIn this book he brings together a vast amount of experience to show the, 'best practices' of the most successful and long-lasting families in business. This is the most comprehensive book on sustaining the family business and contains international examples and cases and essential tools and checklists of best practice.Table of ContentsPART I: FRAMEWORKS FOR FAMILY BUSINESSES THAT LAST The Ultimate Management Challenge The Five Insights and the Four P's A Vision of the Future PART II: THE LESSONS Stage I: The Owner/Managed Business Stage II: The Sibling Partnership Stage III: The Cousin Collaboration Taking the Longest View Appendicies

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Book SynopsisMary Hogarth is Principal Lecturer leading the Features Journalism programme at Southampton Solent University, UK. John Jenkins is a former night editor of the Daily Telegraph. From Fleet Street he established two magazine publishing companies, has edited 22 books, written three biographies and established the magazine Writers' Forum. He has sold articles and stories to more than 300 titles around the world and lectured at several universitiesTrade ReviewWith all the noise about what platforms magazines should inhabit, it's easy to forget what makes a great magazine, how tough it to launch one and how important they are to our culture. This is a book that warns prospective launch editors not just of the months of market research, the long nights, the business nous and the passion you need to successfully launch a magazine, but also the fun and the tingle you get when you know you've got a brilliant idea. * Barbara Rowlands, Director of the Magazine Journalism MA, City University London, UK *How to Launch a Magazine in this Digital Age is going straight onto my students’ core reading list and my bookshelf as soon as it comes off the press. Accessible with supportive, developmental exercises and essential resources, it is illustrated by analyses of trends, colourful first-hand case studies and professional expertise with a helpful digital link to keep the moment flowing. As Future’s Mike Goldsmith says in its pages “the only precedent is that everything changed yesterday and it might change again today”. In such an era of social changes and reactive publishing brands, this is a book whose time has come. * Catherine Darby, Course Leader for the MA in Magazine Journalism, University of Central Lancashire *This book will help students, and all those who wish to critically assess the viability of their new magazine idea and launch it as a sustainable brand and business that can connect with audiences across multiple media platforms. The excellent insights provided by media and publishing industry leaders, editors and creative entrepreneurs are informative and inspiring. * Desmond O’Rourke, Course Director, MA Publishing and Leader of the Magazine Specialism, London College of Communication, University of the Arts London, UK *This is an excellent book. The wide range of content is particularly relevant for those wanting to know how to launch an idea on various media platforms. Written in a very readable style, each chapter sets out and explains the key points, well illustrated by case studies, a summary, input by industry gurus and an action plan. There is an associated website set up as an online interactive learning tool. The comprehensive and up to date information from editorial to advertising, production to strategy in both print and digital makes this book a ‘must read’ for students and indeed for anyone working in media. It should become a standard reference work. * Jessany Marsden, Editorial Consultant, External Examiner for Degrees in Journalism, (ex) ipcmedia Editorial Training and Development, UK *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgements Introduction 1. A gap in the market 2. Developing your magazine 3. Target audiences 4. Publishing strategies: print, digital & online 5. A sustainable business model 6. Branding and editorial concepts 7. Distribution strategies 8. Your team 9. Advertising & other revenue streams 10. Production: Print, digital & online 11. A successful launch 12. Conclusion Contributors Glossary Resources Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisEveryone knows that Lord Sugar has strong opinions and is not afraid to share them - no matter how controversial they may be. The Way I See It takes us into the world of Alan Sugar: entrepreneur, Twitter addict, television star, keen cyclist, peer of the realm and bemused grandfather. In The Way I See It he shares his trenchant views on subjects as varied as over-priced poncy restaurants, the problems with British society, why French drivers wind him up, the secrets of his own success, and the reason he respects Katie Price more than most celebrities. Crammed full of brilliant stories, amusing rants and sound advice, this is the last word on life, the universe and everything from the nation''s favourite straight-talking businessman.

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Book SynopsisThe vastly increased level of competitive intensity faced by corporations and the increased costs of selling have radically changed the nature of the traditional selling process. Key or "strategic" accounts have now become a company''s most important asset, in some cases supplying in excess of 80 percent of a firm''s revenues. Here, in one powerful volume, key account management expert Noel Capon provides the most comprehensive treatment of key account management and planning yet published. For the first time, Capon introduces his breakthrough four-part "congruence model" of key account management -- a new, thoroughly researched approach to optimally managing your key account portfolio. First, the author shows how to select and conceptualize the key account portfolio; second, how to organize and manage key accounts; third, how to recruit, select, train, retain, and reward key account managers; and fourth, how to formulate and execute strategy and issues of coordination and control. This congruence model serves as a backdrop as Capon takes the reader step-by-step through the vital functions of key account management including identifying key account criteria, considering the threats and opportunities for the key account, and understanding the roles and responsibilities of critical players. Capon backs up his points with extensive research, real-life stories of successes and failures at a variety of companies, and clarifying figures. Special chapters are devoted to partnering with key accounts and in-depth information on global key account management, an increasingly important weapon for staying ahead of the competition.Timely, important, and essential, Key Account Management and Planning is the only reference handbook those with key account responsibilities will ever need.Table of ContentsContentsPrefaceAcknowledgmentsI. INTRODUCTIONCHAPTER ONE: The Rationale for Key Account ManagementII. STRATEGY, ORGANIZATION, AND HUMAN RESOURCES FOR KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENTCHAPTER TWO: Developing Strategy for the Firm?s CustomersCHAPTER THREE: Organizing for Key Account ManagementCHAPTER FOUR: The Key Account ManagerIII. SYSTEMS AND PROCESSESCHAPTER FIVE: Key Account Planning: Analysis of the Key AccountCHAPTER SIX: Key Account Planning: Analysis of Competition and the Supplier Firm, Planning Assumptions, and Opportunities and ThreatsCHAPTER SEVEN: The Key Account StrategyCHAPTER EIGHT: Managing the Key Account RelationshipIV. CRITICAL ISSUES FOR KEY ACCOUNT MANAGEMENTCHAPTER NINE: Partnering with Key AccountsCHAPTER TEN: Global Account ManagementExercisesAppendixesNotesIndex

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Book SynopsisGoing far beyond previous empirical work, John Kotter and James Heskett provide the first comprehensive critical analysis of how the culture of a corporation powerfully influences its economic performance, for better or for worse. Through painstaking research at such firms as Hewlett-Packard, Xerox, ICI, Nissan, and First Chicago, as well as a quantitative study of the relationship between culture and performance in more than 200 companies, the authors describe how shared values and unwritten rules can profoundly enhance economic success or, conversely, lead to failure to adapt to changing markets and environments.With penetrating insight, Kotter and Heskett trace the roots of both healthy and unhealthy cultures, demonstrating how easily the latter emerge, especially in firms which have experienced much past success. Challenging the widely held belief that strong corporate cultures create excellent business performance, Kotter and Heskett show that while many shared values and institutionalized practices can promote good performances in some instances, those cultures can also be characterized by arrogance, inward focus, and bureaucracy -- features that undermine an organization''s ability to adapt to change. They also show that even contextually or strategically appropriate cultures -- ones that fit a firm''s strategy and business context -- will not promote excellent performance over long periods of time unless they facilitate the adoption of strategies and practices that continuously respond to changing markets and new competitive environments.Fundamental to the process of reversing unhealthy cultures and making them more adaptive, the authors assert, is effective leadership. At the heart of this groundbreaking book, Kotter and Heskett describe how executives in ten corporations established new visions, aligned and motivated their managers to provide leadership to serve their customers, employees, and stockholders, and thus created more externally focused and responsive cultures.Table of ContentsContentsPrefaceI. Introduction1. The Power of CultureII. The Performance Question: What Kind of Corporate Cultures Enhance Long-Term Economic Performance?2. Strong Cultures3. Strategically Appropriate Cultures4. Adaptive Cultures5. The Case of Hewlett-Packard6. The Nature of Low-Performance CulturesIII. The Change Question: How Can Corporate Cultures Be Purposefully Changed to Make Them More Performance Enhancing?7. People Who Create Successful Change8. Leaders in Action9. The Case of ICI10. The Case of NissanIV. Summary and Conclusions11. On the Role of Top ManagementAppendixNotesBibliographyIndex

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