In Igbo culture, names are more than just individual markers or identifiers—they carry the weight of destiny. My younger brother, Peter, bore the name, Onwuchekwa—"Death, wait"—a command, a defiance, a plea. Growing up, I thought his name was mighty, almost untouchable. I mean, telling death to wait? What could be bolder than that?But surprisingly, death did not wait. It came too soon—abrupt, unrelenting—leaving behind only silence and unanswered questions.In this poignant ...

One of the first steps to take toward increasing team effectiveness is to pay attention to how the team is formed. You can head off most of the problems that beset teams during the formation stage by setting a clear direction, building organizational support, creating an empowering team design, identifying key relationships, and monitoring external factors. When a team is formed with the five high-performance principles described in this guidebook, it has a head start on achieving success....

Despite all of the attention and accolades that organizations place on teams, they are not always the most efficient way to meet a business challenge. It's expensive and time consuming to launch a team, and it's a full-time job to lead a team toward achieving organizational objectives. This guidebook was written to help managers determine if a team is the right tool for meeting a business goal, and explains potential obstacles and challenges to forming a team that can operate at its full p...

This book by a pioneer generation civil servant is a fascinating and an engaging account of Singapore's spectacular development from a sleepy backwater village to a first world State within a single generation and defying, in the process, all odds against its survival. This story is unique in many ways and starts right at the beginning when Singapore became a self-governing State in 1959, the same year the author entered the civil service. The author's involvement and participation in the ...

Australia has two nations: native Aboriginal land and majority settlers territory. January 26 should be observed as national mourning day for real reconciliation in Australia. All the talk of reconciliation and apologies did not change ground situation for the Aboriginals. George Bush killed more Americans than Osama Laden killed. Americans paid heavy price for the mass hysteria and melancholia in the aftermath of September 2001. Berlin wall was brought down but walls were erected in Iraq ...

Between the time a team is launched and the time it delivers results, managers need to know that the team is on course. Whether they have launched a team to achieve a business objective or have inherited a team, they need to monitor effectiveness on an ongoing basis and make course corrections that keep small problems from becoming major disasters. Monitoring and maintaining team performance is a key element of leading a team. You can provide that leadership by paying attention to four imp...

Getting your team off on the right foot is critical to its success. This guidebook tells managers and team leaders how to address four critical points during the launch of a team: setting purpose and direction, defining roles and responsibilities, designing procedures and practices, and building cooperation and relationships. Understanding and implementing these key elements is key to a team's achieving the goals the organization has set for it.

"Taylor's elegantly simple prose is compelling, and his attention to detail is the work of an expert storyteller. An unforgettable book that will resonate with readers of World War Il historical fiction." – Library Journal starred review"A man's reverence for art leads to wartime defiance in the enchanting historical novel The Prodigal of Leningrad. Told with fabulistic clarity…a moving exploration of what it costs to uphold Christian virtues, including truth and ...

God Bless America: Scriptures, Devotions & Prayers for Our Nation is a powerful 60-day devotional journal that weaves together faith, history, and hope in honor of America's 250th anniversary.In a time when our nation faces division and uncertainty, this inspiring devotional invites you to draw near to God and stand in the gap through prayer. Each day features meaningful Scripture, reflective insights, historical connections, and guided prayer prompts—help...

The third volume in the internationally bestselling McKinsey Trilogy, The McKinsey Engagement is an action guide to realizing the consistently high level of business solutions achieved by the experts at the world’s most respected consulting firms.Former consultant Dr. Paul Friga distills the guiding principles first presented in the bestselling The McKinsey Way and the tested-in-the-trenches methodologies outlined in The McKinsey Mind, and combines them w...

**#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A passionate call to arms against our era’s most pervasive human rights violation—the oppression of women and girls in the developing world. From the bestselling authors of Tightrope,two of our most fiercely moral voicesWith Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn as our guides, we undertake an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet the extraordinary women struggling there, among them a Cambodian teenager sold into ...

Meetings are an integral part of leadership and management and may be the most important vehicle for collaboration, discussion, decision-making, and action. A well-run meeting is efficient, productive, and energizing for its participants. On the other hand, a poorly run meeting can be frustrating, unproductive, demoralizing—and a big waste of valuable time. When you learn effective ways to plan and run meetings, this ability will definitely contribute to your success as well as the success...