"The ultimate "tricks of the trade" guide to mergers and acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions Playbook provides the practical tricks of the trade on how to get maximum value for a middle-market business. This book uniquely covers how to prepare for a sale, how to present the business most positively, and how to control the sale timetable. Written in a straight-talking style Provides the tricks of the trade on how to get maximum value for a middle-market business Shows how the sellers can take capitalize their inherent "unfair advantages" Examines the differences between "value" and "currency" Explains how to handle bankruptcy and distress company sales Offers tips on managing your lawyers in the documentation process Filled with empirical examples of successful-and unsuccessful-techniques, this practical guide takes you through every step of the M&A process, from how to manage confidentiality, how to create competition (or the impression of competition), to what to do once the deal is closed."--

"Social Breakthrough, from Dr. Paul Light of New York University, illustrates how to create the social breakthroughs needed to solve urgent global threats such as poverty, disease, and hunger. The book then turns to three alternative but complimentary paths to social breakthrough, (1) social protecting, (2) social exploring, and (3) social advocacy, and provides a detailed map of the journey from initial commitment to a world of justice and opportunity. The book includes: An examination of the current condition of the social impact infrastructure. Strategies for how to remedy the steady weakening of our social-impact infrastructure. Tactics to build strong social organizations and networks. Dynamic methods to respond to constant economic and social change."--

"Think Coca-Cola. Think iPod. Think Nike. Think Google. Each of these names represents a successful product or service but, more importantly, they are all successful brands. Most attempts to explain the role of brands focus on brands either as management tools (managerial perspective) or as symptoms of consumerism (sociological perspective). In Brand Society, Martin Kornberger combines these perspectives to show how brands have the power to transform both the organizations that develop them and the lifestyles of the individuals who consume them. This holistic approach shows how brands function as a medium between producers and consumers in a way that is rapidly transforming our economy and society. Using an array of practical case studies from a diverse set of organizations, this book provides a fascinating account of the way in which brands influence the lives of individuals and the organizations they work in"--Provided by publisher.

"Scientists are rarely given formal training in presentation skills and yet are often called upon to present the results of their research. This book provides a practical guide to the creation and delivery of scientific presentations, whatever the topic. Its practical 'how-to' style leaves discussion of the background psychology of public speaking to others and focuses instead on the issues that are of immediate concern to the busy scientist. The text covers all of the important aspects of scientific presentations, ranging from audience awareness to handling questions. Links are included throughout the text to the accompanying DVD, which contains annotated video clips of speakers delivering a talk and demonstrates the common problems found with many presenters, as well as the exercises designed to overcome them. Image files of different slide layouts, colour schemes and font styles demonstrate the design issues that one must consider when creating visual material"--Provided by publisher. "A scientific presentation is normally a formal communication of information to an audience at a conference, seminar or laboratory meeting. The majority of talks describe the background and design of experiments to increase knowledge of a particular scientific phenomenon. Then the results of these experiments are delivered, as well as the conclusions that can be drawn from them. The conclusions drawn from these experiments and the data that support them are almost always the most important pieces of information that can be communicated to an audience of fellow scientists. Presentations are therefore a showcase for your work, or that of your institution. How well you deliver scientific information depends on a number of factors; these include control of nerves and voice, as well as creating visual media that convey information clearly in as short a time as possible"--Provided by publisher.

Provides a quick key practice check up that helps both front line customer service professionals and their managers keep their focus on creating satisfied customers. Hits all the important bases, from trust and relationship building to maintaining a big picture perspective to avoid burnout on the job.

A special assistant to Ronald Reagan provides an illustrated commemoration of the fortieth president's life, along with six annotated landmark speeches.

Summer is the season when we gather in parks and backyards for picnics and barbecues. Cox provides simple, versatile recipes that range from classic American summertime staples to creative takes on the season's best produce.

"Novel Characters offers a fascinating and in-depth history of the novelistic character from the "birth of the novel" in Don Quixote, through the great canonical works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, to the most influential international novels of the present day. An original study which offers a unique approach to thinking about and discussing characterMakes extensive reference to both traditional and more recent and specialized academic studies of the novel. Provides a critical vocabulary for understanding how the novelistic conception of character has changed over time. Examines a broad range of novels, cultures, and periods. Promotes discussion of how different cultures and times think about human identity, and how the concept of what a character is has changed over time"-- "What makes novelistic characters unique? How do novelistic characters reflect or prefigure different ideas of human possibilities? Why and how has the concept of novelistic character changed over time? These are some the questions addressed in Novel Characters, an ambitious work that aims to reinstate character to its proper and central place in the art of fiction. Novel Characters argues that the novel is the literary form best suited to create characters of real, often troubling distinction, and that indeed it has a generic disposition, amounting to an obligation, to do so. DiBattista proposes a way of understanding what is distinctive about novelistic character as well as offering a discussion of how different cultures and times think about human identity. Novel Characters ranges from the "birth of the novel" in Don Quixote through the works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and concludes by considering today's most influential international fiction. It simultaneously develops a lexicon of terms to describe the 'development' and trace the moral genealogy of novelistic characters through various literary periods"--

"Tips, techniques, and trends on harnessing dashboard technology to optimize business performance In Performance Dashboards, Second Edition, author Wayne Eckerson explains what dashboards are, where they can be used, and why they are important to measuring and managing performance. As Director of Research for The Data Warehousing Institute, a worldwide association of business intelligence professionals, Eckerson interviewed dozens of organizations that have built various types of performance dashboards in different industries and lines of business. Their practical insights explore how you can effectively turbo-charge performance-management initiatives with dashboard technology. Includes all-new case studies, industry research, news chapters on "Architecting Performance Dashboards" and "Launching and Managing the Project" and updated information on designing KPIs, designing dashboard displays, integrating dashboards, and types of dashboards. Provides a solid foundation for understanding performance dashboards, business intelligence, and performance management. Addresses the next generation of performance dashboards, such as Mashboards and Visual Discovery tools, and including new techniques for designing dashboards and developing key performance indicators. Offers guidance on how to incorporate predictive analytics, what-if modeling, collaboration, and advanced visualization techniques. This updated book, which is 75% rewritten, provides a foundation for understanding performance dashboards, business intelligence, and performance management to optimize performance and accelerate results."--