Hidden Assets: Harnessing the Power of Informal Networks

Book Description

Based on his diverse personal experiences and two decades of interdisciplinary research, Dr. Ehin unveils the "mysteries" and shows the practicality of tapping into the ever evolving, yet extraordinarily powerful, informal networks present in all social groups. What this book reveals is the extraordinarily dynamic and tight linkage between three "hidden" organizational success factors responsible for most work accomplished in both for profit and nonprofit ventures, especially in the development of new innovations. The book shows why in a knowledge economy it is essential to design organizations that facilitate the fundamental collaborative and creative qualities of human nature rather than unconsciously suppressing them. In doing so, it is made obvious why most mergers and change efforts fail and the reasons why an average employee only works at two-thirds of his/her capacity.

This work clearly demonstrates how "smart" institutions can harness, rather than manage, these invisible emergent forces and in the process avoid the dismal record of past organizational transformation initiatives. Hidden Assets is a must read not only for top executives, knowledge professionals, and organizational scholars, but for everyone associated with private, public, or voluntary social institutions.

Customer Reviews:

Tapping the power of self-organization.......2005-02-23

The author's previous book Unleashing Intellectual Capital was concerned with the working conditions required to stimulate maximum development of intellectual capital. This book expands the same general theme to wider aspects of the effectiveness of organizations.

The main thesis is important. It is also fairly simple and a variation on the theme of several other authors:

* humans have an ability to self-organize in small groups around shared tasks: this ability is very deep-seated, being derived from our ancient hunter-gatherer past;

* historically more recent developments have led to hierarchical arrangements for carrying out tasks and these arrangements have tended to ignore or even actively discourage the capacity for self-organization;

* with the rise of the knowledge economy and recognition of complexity theory as a better descriptor of human affairs than previous more deterministic and linear theories, self-organization is increasingly evidently a more effective means of achieving results than top-down command-and-control in many (even most) situations;

* we therefore need to find forms of organization and of leadership that support and encourage self-organization.

The author suggests approaches, based on examples of organizations (particularly W.L. Gore and Associates) that use these principles successfully.

As mentioned above, variants on this general thesis are attracting attention from a number of other authors, notably Dee Hock: Birth of the Chaordic Age and Lewin and Regine: The Soul at Work.

Ehin goes into substantial detail to explore the various innate drives in humans, show how they interact and explore how the tensions between different drives (such as the drive for cooperative self-organization and the drive for power) play out. My reaction is that the discussion is interesting and useful but that, if you accept the importance and value of self-organization - as I do - it is not necessary to follow these arguments in detail, although it is important to note the implications that the author draws out of his arguments.

The more important practical issue is "how do we get best use of these 'hidden assets' under different organizational circumstances and how far is the currently dominant hierarchical form of organization necessarily hostile to harnessing these 'hidden assets'?"

This can be broken into two rather different questions which raise substantially different issues:

1. How to build an organization from new (or from small and flexible beginnings) that makes best use of these human characteristics and capacities.

2. How to adjust procedures and attitudes within established hierarchical organizations, such as to gain maximum benefits from self-organization.

Unfortunately, the author does not make a clear distinction between these two situations and much of his argument is implicitly more directed to the first than the second situation. Arguably, the second situation is more important and offers the greater challenges.

In this context, two of the factors influencing access to self-organization that he does discuss are style of leadership and (briefly) physical layout (For more on this interesting and important issue, see Turner: New Workspace, New Culture). Both are important as facilitators or serious inhibitors of self-organization.

Average customer rating:

Very good book

What an investment!

The Perfect Source For Success Guidance

Our Number 1 Asset!

An educational book that actually motivates!!!

The Million Dollar Toolbox: A Blueprint for Transforming Your Life & Your Career with Powerful Communication Skills
Ty Boyd
Manufacturer: Alexa Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Communications | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Speak With Confidence : Powerful Presentations That Inform, Inspire and Persuade

ASIN: 097137421X

Book Description

Communication is a money skill, a people skill, a relationship skill. It is a skill worth millions-in dollars, in personal satisfaction, in career success. In this book from one of the worlds master communicators, TY BOYD shows you how to open your toolbox of communication skills and put those tools to work. He shows you how to manage fear how to connect with an audience of one or one thousand how to survive a hostile audience how to tap into energy and passion in ways that can change your world.

Customer Reviews:

Very good book.......2005-05-06

This book contains many essential elements of human phychology. It also tell you how to implement those elements in everyday life. Communication is only one aspect. The book deserve good marks.

What an investment!.......2002-05-12

I've been on the speaking circuit for nearly 30 years and I still find invaluable nuggets of wisdom from Ty Boyd's THE MILLION DOLLAR TOOLBOX. If communication is the lubricant of relationships, then Ty has the oil can! I'd recommend this book to anyone who wants to get your thoughts across ... to your boss, your kids or your lover. Imagine $1,000,000.00 worth of tools for just a few bucks!

The Perfect Source For Success Guidance.......2002-05-07

I've been a follower of Ty Boyd for decades. From his days as a radio and TV commentator to his presidency of the National Speakers Association and founder of the Excellence In Speaking Institute, I've watched his wisdom grow. And I've benefitted from it personally. Ty shares in this book the accumulated wisdom of thousands of speaking engagements and his involvement at the leadership level of many organizations. Become a Ty Boyd follower like I have, your own life will be richer because of it.

Our Number 1 Asset!.......2002-05-05

Being able to communicate effectively is the most important skill set we can possess. For the past four years, I have been an avid student of professional speaking skill's education. During this time, I have read over 30 books on public speaking and communication. If I had to recommend just one book on the subject of communication it would be Ty Boyd's "The Million Dollar Toolbox." Because as Ty says, "Words well spoken, makes of us giants."

An educational book that actually motivates!!!.......2002-05-02

Communication...Mr. Boyd reminds me just how important this subject really is and that I have room for improvement. His understanding and ability to teach his proven methods through his writing is superb.
The most impressive characteristic of the book to me was Mr. Boyd's enthusiasm for his message that drips from the book, and how his enthusiasm transferred to me. I found myself very motivated to take action and following his suggestions. Powerful stuff!

Book Description

Learn the fundamentals of strategic business planning as they apply to the airline industry with WHEELS UP: AIRLINE BUSINESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT. Focusing on issues of particular concern to airline professionals, this timely book covers such topics as flexibility in the current competitive environment, the importance of understanding the structural organization of an airline, and the considerations necessary when making any strategic decision. In addition, you are encouraged to consider current trends (post-9/11) and topics of special interest (cost-cutting, aircraft fleet management, and corporate structure) while learning the process of creating a successful business plan.

Customer Reviews:

Unique and Enlightening.......2007-05-11

I work in the airline business and was delighted to find a book that focuses on the fundamentals of airline strategic business plan development. The book captures the unique elements of airline business including the airline business environment, schedule, network and fleet planning, cost management and reduction and airline business models.

The book is well written in an easy to follow and understand format that should make it accessible to the various stakeholders of the air transport business. This is a must read book for all managers in airlines.

First book ever written on this subject and well needed.......2004-03-14

This is the world's first book ever written on airline business pland development. The author outlines the true "elements" of an airline business plan versus the generic business plan. Anyone interested in starting a big or small company, airline or otherwise, must have this book. Every airline, airport, air cargo operator, consultant, entrepreneur, investor, and enthusiast must have this reference on hand. Excellent work!

Book Description

Basic business legislation, laws, export-import regulations affecting business, business climate and contacts

Average customer rating:

China Business Law Handbook
USA IBP , and Emerging Markets Investment Center
Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Business Law | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Business | English Law | Law | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This law handbook contains information on basic business legislation, laws and regulatoins affecting export-import, business, foreign investments, property rights, taxation and banking.

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China Business Law Handbook

Manufacturer: International Business Publications, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Business Law | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books

Business | English Law | Law | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0739719351

Book Description

This law handbook contains information on basic business legislation, laws and regulatoins affecting export-import, business, foreign investments, property rights, taxation and banking. (Updated annually)

China Business Law Handbook (World Business Law Handbook Library)

Average customer rating:

China Business Law Handbook (World Business Law Handbook Library)

Manufacturer: Intl Business Pubns USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Exports & Imports | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Business Law | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | International Law | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0739773356

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Handbook of Chinese Accounting
Chi-Wan Yang , and Jiliang Yang
Manufacturer: Oxford Univ Pr (Sd)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Business Law | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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NAGA China Business Guide
Laurence J. Brahm
Manufacturer: NAGA Publishing, Hong Kong
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Business Law | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

NAGA China Business Guide (with 1999 Beijing Yellow Pages), furnishes the most up-to-date summary of regulations and advice for foreign businesses in China, including key guidance on business etiquette, taxation, investment, import and export, joint venture management, employing local staff and business law.

China Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Laws and Regulations Handbook (World Strategic and Business Information Library)

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China Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry Laws and Regulations Handbook (World Strategic and Business Information Library)
USA Int'l Business Publications
Manufacturer: Intl Business Pubns USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Exports & Imports | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Industrial Relations | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | International Law | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1433060221

China: A Spy Guide (World Business Law Handbook Library)

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China: A Spy Guide (World Business Law Handbook Library)

Manufacturer: Intl Business Pubns USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 073978465X

Book Description

Everything a successful "spy" must know on the country. Strategic and practical information on government, national security, army, foreign relations, economy, technology, mineral resources, as well as culture, history, traditions, government and business contacts and more...

Guidebook on Trading with the People's Republic of China

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Guidebook on Trading with the People's Republic of China

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management Science | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Criminal Law | Law | Subjects | Books

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Legal Aspects of Doing Business With China 1986 (Commercial Law & Practice Course Handbook Series, No 405)

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Legal Aspects of Doing Business With China 1986 (Commercial Law & Practice Course Handbook Series, No 405)
Eugene A. Theroux
Manufacturer: Practising Law Inst
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 9999522637

Average customer rating:
Principles in Communication 3e Sm
ZIEMER
Manufacturer: John Wiley & Sons Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Running Meetings & Presentations | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0471124982

Customer Reviews:

A book well worth buying........1999-08-30

I found That Kind of Money in a mystery bookstore and bought it for my young niece and nephew. Before passing the book along, I read a few pages, just to get a feel for the story, and the next thing I knew, it was nearly midnight and I'd finished it. How it compares with other juvenile fiction, I can't say, since I can't recall when I last read any, but I found the characters--both teen and adult--deftly drawn and completely convincing. There is a genuine mystery, with a believable solution, at the heart of of the novel; there is a certain amount of suspense and tension. But, mostly there is humor, in the situations portrayed, and in the rueful take the two adolescent protagonists--Woody and Steve--have on themselves and the other people in their small world. A few locutions (like "hydro" for "electricity" and "slivers" for "splinters") mark the characters as Canadian but this is a story that could take place anywhere there is snow at Christmas and Chambers of Commerce to sponsor seasonal decoration contests and teenagers who dream of being rock stars. A book well worth buying, in my opinion; I'll let you know what the niece and nephew have to say on the topic.

Circular: Salem Female Academy, February 20th, 1864. In order to prevent misunderstanding of every kind I would hereby give notice that no more C.S. Treasury notes

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Circular: Salem Female Academy, February 20th, 1864. In order to prevent misunderstanding of every kind I would hereby give notice that no more C.S. Treasury notes
Robert De Schweinitz
Manufacturer: s.n
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Money & Monetary Policy | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0008ABE7A

Profitable honey plants of Australasia: A handbook, the first of its kind, on Australasian plants that fill the treasury of the bee-hive, and render possible ... volume to "Money in bees in Australasia"

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Profitable honey plants of Australasia: A handbook, the first of its kind, on Australasian plants that fill the treasury of the bee-hive, and render possible ... volume to "Money in bees in Australasia"
Tarlton Rayment
Manufacturer: Whitcombe and Tombs limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:
The Way to Save: A 10-step Blueprint for Lifetime Security
Ginita Wall
Manufacturer: Owl Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Public Finance | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Financial Planning | Personal Finance | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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The Way to Invest: A Five-Step Blueprint for Growing Your Money Through Mutual Funds, With As Little As $50 Per Month

ASIN: 080502705X

Book Description

Helping a new generation of nonsavers get back on track, Ginita Wall offers a hands-on approach to achieving lifetime financial security, no matter how modest the income.

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

If you've ever had the sneaking (and perhaps depressing) suspicion that the Internet is radically changing the world as you know it, buck up. No wait, buckle up--it is. While some people celebrate this and others bemoan it, Michael Lewis has been busy investigating the reasons for this rapid change. Employing the sarcastic wit and keen recognition of social shifts that readers of Liar's Poker and The New New Thing will recognize, Lewis takes us on a quick spin through today and speculates on what it might mean for tomorrow.

Central to Lewis's observations is the idea that the Internet hasn't really caused anything; rather it fills a type of social hole, the most obvious of which is a need to alter relations between "insiders" and "outsiders." In Next, Lewis shows how the Internet is the ideal model for sociologists who believe that our "selves are merely the masks we wear in response to the social situations in which we find ourselves." It is the place where a New Jersey boy barely into his teens flouts the investment system, making big enough bucks to get the SEC breathing down his neck for stock market fraud. Where Markus, a bored adolescent stuck in a dusty desert town and too young to even drive, becomes the most-requested legal expert on Askme.com, doling out advice on everything from how to plead to murder charges to how much an Illinois resident can profit from illegal gains before being charged with fraud ($5,001 was the figure Markus supplied to this particular cost-benefit query). Where a left-leaning kid of 14 in a depressed town outside Manchester is too poor to take up a partial scholarship to a school for gifted children, but who spends all hours (all cheap call-time hours, at least) engaged in "digital socialism," trying to develop a successor to Gnutella, the notorious file-sharing program that had spawned the new field of peer-to-peer computing. Lewis burrows deeply into each of these stories and others, examining social phenomena that the Internet has contributed to: the redistribution of prestige and authority and the reversal of the social order; the erosive effect on the money culture (both in the democratization of capital and in the effect of gambling losing its "status as a sin"); the decreased value we place on formal training (or as he puts it "casual thought went well with casual dress"); and the increased need for knowledge exchange.

Lewis's observations are piercingly sharp. He can be very funny in portraying ordinary people's behavior, but remains thorough and insightful in his examination of the social consequences. He notes that Jonathan Lebed, the teenage online investor, had "glimpsed the essential truth of the market--that even people who called themselves professionals were often incapable of independent thought and that most people, though obsessed with money, had little ability to make decisions about it." While Lewis's commentary gets a little more dense and theoretical toward the end, Next is an entertaining, thought-provoking look at life in an Internet-driven world. --S. Ketchum

Book Description

The New York Times bestseller. With his knowing eye and wicked pen, Michael Lewis reveals how the Internet boom has encouraged changes in the way we live, work, and think. In the midst of one of the greatest status revolutions in the history of the world, the Internet has become a weapon in the hands of revolutionaries. Old priesthoods are crumbling. In the new order, the amateur is king: fourteen-year-olds manipulate the stock market and nineteen-year-olds take down the music industry. Unseen forces undermine all forms of collectivism, from the family to the mass market: one black box has the power to end television as we know it, and another one may dictate significant changes in our practice of democracy. With a new afterword by the author.

Customer Reviews:

summary & review of Next.......2007-10-15

The first section of the Michael Lewis book "Next" is an extremely interesting story about Jonathan Lebed, a kid who basically found a loophole in the SEC's rules about what is right and wrong when it comes to stock manipulation. You see, Jonathan found out that he could buy a stock cheap and then drive up it's price by posting all over internet forums, convincing others to buy it. Then, he would sell high and make a killing. The fascinating thing is that this is similar to what stock analysts and other experts in the industry do every day. They make projections and recommend stocks, which will have the same outcome: changing the stock price. And these supposed analysts actually have a financial incentive to do this!!

The next kid, Marcus Arnold, has all kinds of knowledge on law, most of which he evidently gleaned from CourtTV. The lesson of Marcus is that you can become whoever you want on the internet (wearing a mask, the author terms it), and gain people's respect, even more so than the supposed experts.

The third teenager of this novel, Daniel Sheldon, didn't really do much on his own that was innovative, except he provides a transition story to other experts such as Justin Frankel (original creator of Winamp and Gnutella). There is another short blurb on this old woman being surveyed by some interactive TV hardware. These final stories are relevant, they're just not nearly as entertaining as the first two kids.

The conclusion is actually pretty good: we have Danny Hillis creating the Millennium Clock, which was supposed to be this grandiose symbol about us looking to the future with hope. Yet, before the project can be completed, it winds up being a monument meant to keep him from being forgotten. Likewise, we have Bill Joy (chief scientist at Sun Microsystems) somehow writing a book about a supposed Armageddon substance called "Gray Goo," screaming that the sky is falling despite not being any kind of expert in the field. It's just kind of ironic, because they have become the washed-up "incumbent" technologists, and the future isn't in their hands anymore.

The general theme is that the internet has allowed children to become experts. And despite the book being chiefly about technology, Lewis doesn't lose the reader in computer terminology. Although, he does spend a bit too much time on the social ramifications of TiVo.

The first two parts are fairly strong, as was the concluding pages. This book is simply about Lewis traveling around, interviewing lots of people, and then reiterating their story. Not spectacular, but still worth a read.

Information revolution.......2007-06-11

This book was just written after the dot com hype and the stock market collapsed. It tells a few stories about a 15 year old boy who beats professionals in the stock market and earns a few hundred K. It is about the internet that has changed a big part of the economy. I still think it is strange -- no ridiculous -- that building websites has started a whole new economy. It is strange that people have a day job running their virtual business in second life. Next shows and tells you that the world has changed and that the internet might be the next information revolution after the steam engine started the industrial revolution...

5 years later, this book is "old news" but still entertains.......2007-02-07

The internet and it's ramifications. It enables one kid to make tons of money "manipulating" the stock market by his online comments, and another kid to provide legal advice even though he has no legal training. It disrupts the TV industry, etc...... Yeah, it's old news, but the stories are still entertainig.

Lewis's best.......2006-11-10

To my mind, this is the best of Michael Lewis's work. His style and observations show the humor and zing that have become his hallmark, and his writing is at top form. Next examines the changes wrought by the Internet from the perspective of several entrepreneurs who have exploited its potential, mainly in the form of vignettes. There is no beginning, middle or end, so if you're looking for a story with a plot line, this is likely not going to appeal to you. The lack of story line is, however, what I found compelling - the theme of the book is, "There's this 1800-pound bull out there that everyone is studying and avoiding, and here are a few folks who have ventured out and ridden the bull and had great rides." This is pretty much quintessential Michael Lewis - he finds an individual, or an event, or an industry that has fomented a paradigm shift (a deliberate choice of words here, since Moneyball dealt with the emergence of SABRmetrics, whose acolytes all seem to have read "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions").

Fast Fun Read.......2006-08-29

Not a profound book. Lots of story-telling to make a few good points. A fast and fun read.

Book Description

After the 1997 Asian crisis, most Asian countries embarked on a serious process of reform to revitalize their economies. This highly topical book begins with a thorough analysis of the reforms proposed and implemented in China, South Korea, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia. This analysis focuses on financial and corporate sector reforms and on the changing role of public administrations. The authors argue that the chain effects of the Asian crisis are not only confined to a regional economic context: the evolution of the role of regional associations and of the security scenario in East Asia outlines the beginning of a deep and comprehensive political, economic and social change.

Leading scholars with in-depth knowledge of each country focus on these international variables, in particular: the role of APEC in the wake of the Asian crisis and the Seattle debacle, the process of economic integration in East Asia and the evolution in East Asian regional security.

As a multidisciplinary work, Reforming Economic Systems in Asia will be warmly received by researchers and academics of Asian studies, political science and political economy. Anyone involved in international business and in designing strategies for international enterprises will also find this book of special interest.

Book Description

At the beginning of the 1990s, Korean firms emarked on an impressive wave of direct investment abroad. This dramatic multinationalization was considered as yet another sign of Korea's remarkable economic performance, especially as a high proportion of the foreign ventures were located in advanced countires. But this unbalanced quest for globalization actually tested the 'Korean model' to its limits; after the 1997 crisis a new policy course prepared the way for a surge of inward investment.
Using empirical tests and case studies, this collection shows that Korean groups have invested in developed countries to jump over trade barriers, but also to source advanced technology and marketing capabilities. Moreover, their ambitious strategies have been stimulated by oligopolistic rivalry among the chaebols. From a policy perspective, the book provides an original discussion of national ownership by questioning the substitutability between inward and outward foreign investment and its relationship with the evolution of the national innovation system.
By shedding light on the pattern of Korea's internationalization, these essays make a valuable contribution to the thoery of international production and provide important insights for the current policy debates on globalization and innovation-led growth.

Book Description

Complete directory of the World Trade Centers located in over 100 countries worldwide

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