What I Learned From Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World

Praise for WHAT I LEARNED FROM SAM WALTON

“Michael Bergdahl’s book presents unique insights into the staggering international success of Wal-Mart. Throughout the pages of this book, you can almost hear Sam Walton himself coaching and inspiring his legion of employees to greatness.”
-Tracy Mullin, President and CEO, National Retail Federation

“Retailers, non-retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers will enjoy Bergdahl’s insights into Wal-Mart’s service culture and its leadership icon, Sam Walton.”
-Roger J. Dow, Senior Vice President Global and Field SalesMarriott International, Inc.

Bergdahl outlines his competitive strategy with the acronym P.O.C.K.E.T.S.

P-Price: Don’t try to compete on price; differentiate your product selection.

O-Operations: Break the retail “ready, shoot, aim” tactical orientation bydeveloping an actual strategy to compete.

C-Culture: Build a can-do culture with a strong sense of urgency. Communicate your values and beliefs over and over again to your employees.

K-Key Item Promotion/Product: Determine who you are and uniformly communicate your brand message to your entire team.

E-Expenses: Become obsessed about controlling costs.

T-Talent: Recruit constantly and hire people who have both experience and high potential.

S-Service: Never take your customer for granted. Empower your employees to make decisions involving customer concerns.

What I Learned From Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World

The Wal-Mart Way: The Inside Story of the Success of the World’s Largest Company

Since Sam Walton’s death in 1992, Wal-Mart has gone from being the largest retailer in the world to holding the top spot on the Fortune 500 list as the largest company in the world. Don Soderquist, who was senior vice chairman during that time, played a crucial role in that success. Sam Walton said, “I tried for almost twenty years to hire Don Soderquist . . . But when we really needed him later on, he finally joined up and made a great chief operating officer.” Responsible for overseeing many of Wal-Mart’s key support divisions, including real estate, human resources, information systems, logistics, legal, corporate affairs, and loss prevention, Soderquist stayed true to his Christian values as well as Wal-Mart’s distinct management style. “Probably no other Wal-Mart executive since the legendary Sam Walton has come to embody the principles of the company’s culture-or to represent them within the industry-as has Don Soderquist,” Discount Store News once reported.

In The Wal-Mart Way, Soderquist shares his story of helping lead a global company from being a $43 billion company to one that would eventually exceed $200 billion. Several books have been written about Wal-Mart’s success, but none by the ones who were the actual players. It was more than “Everyday Low Prices” and distribution that catapulted the company to the top. The core values based on Judeo-Christian principles-and maintained by leaders such as Soderquist-are the real reason for Wal-Mart’s success.

–This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Implanting Strategic Management

Provides an integrated approach for bringing a corporation into the next century. Giving special attention to managing technology, the book covers the key building blocks of strategic management and presents an approach to meeting the challenges of the 1990s and beyond. –This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Implanting Strategic Management

Strategic Management Classic Edition

This book is the original, classic text by H. Igor Ansoff, the pioneer and “Father of Strategic Management”. This is the founding work on strategic management, a concept that lies at the core of modern business. Ansoff focuses upon the behavior of complex organizations in turbulent environments and upon what determines success. This groundbreaking approach to modeling strategic capability and strategic choice has influenced an entire generation of managers and strategists. It remains today a key work on strategy.

Where Good Ideas Come from: A Natural History of Innovation. Steven Johnson

Where Good Ideas Come from: A Natural History of Innovation. Steven Johnson

The Innovator’s Cookbook: Essentials for Inventing What Is Next

From bestselling author and Internet pioneer Steven Johnson, an essential book for anyone interested in innovation: the key texts on the topic from a wide range of fields as well as interviews with successful, real-world innovators, prefaced with an original essay from Johnson that draws upon his own experiences as an entrepreneur and author.

In The Innovator’s Cookbook, Johnson compiles the best and most influential foundational texts and essays from field leaders including Stewart Brand, Clayton Christensen, Richard Florida, Teresa Amabile, Peter Drucker, Amar Bhide, and many more. New conversations on innovation from Ray Ozzie (former chief software architect at Microsoft), Beth Noveck, Jon Schnur, Katie Salen, Tom Kelley, and Brian Eno are included.

Innovation is todays buzzword for a reason. The need to push forward, find new paths and new ideas in an ever-evolving world, is a vital part of business, of education, of politics, of our daily lives. Building on the success of Johnson’s Where Good Ideas Come From — one of the most acclaimed business books of 2010 — The Innovator’s Cookbook makes a major new contribution to this vital conversation.

Negotiation Games

The concept of negotiation is critical to coping with all manner of strategic problems that arise in the everyday dealings that people have with each other and organizations. Game theory illustrates this to the full and shows how these problems can be solved.
This is a revised edition of a classic book and uses some wonderfully adroit case studies that remain relevant today. Negotiation Games covers such themes as:

trade offs and the game of chicken
the effects of power in the cease-fire game
the use of threat power in sequential games
fallback bargaining and rational negotiation.

Written by one of the leading game theorists of the generation, this book will be greatly appreciated not only by academics and students involved in game theory, economics, business and international relations, but also by those involved in diplomacy and international business.

‘If you are looking for a wide ranging application of game theory, with many applications to political science, then you will find that this book is well worth the read.’ – Managerial and Decision Economics

Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life Management & Leadership Sy

Change or Die. What if you were given that choice? If you didn’t, your time would end soona lot sooner than it had to. Could you change when change matters most?

This is the question Alan Deutschman poses in Change or Die, which began as a sensational cover story by the same title for Fast Company. Deutschman concludes that although we all have the ability to change our behavior, we rarely ever do. From patients suffering from heart disease to repeat offenders in the criminal justice system to companies trapped in the mold of unsuccessful business practices, many of us could prevent ominous outcomes by simply changing our mindset.

A powerful book with universal appeal, Change or Die deconstructs and debunks age-old myths about change and empowers us with three critical keysrelate, repeat, and reframeto help us make important positive changes in our lives. Explaining breakthrough research and progressive ideas from a wide selection of leaders in medicine, science, and business (including Dr. Dean Ornish, Mimi Silbert of the Delancey Street Foundation, Bill Gates, Daniel Boulud, and many others), Deutschman demonstrates how anyone can achieve lasting, revolutionary changes that are positive, attainable, and absolutely vital.

Change or Die: The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life

Radical Honesty: How to Transform Your Life by Telling the Truth

This new edition of the source book of the whole Radical Honesty movement includes Brad’s accumulated observations since 1994 of those people whose lives have been transformed by getting out of the self-made jails of their minds into the truth they have always known.

Primal Management: Unraveling the Secrets of Human Nature to Drive High Performance

The biological approach lends a fresh aspect to the subject of employee performance enhancement, and the well-researched, entertaining presentation should make this is an appealing reference for progressive business leaders.

— Publishers Weekly

This is a great book for any leader to read. Should be required reading for all CEOs.

CEO BLOG

Primal Management is an important book for managers at any level.

Foreword This Week

Value Chain Management in the Chemical Industry: Global Value Chain Planning of Commodities

Supply chain management helped companies to manage volumes, fulfil customer demand and optimize costs in production and distribution. Specifically, chemical industry companies with high complexity in production and distribution used supply chain management to steer their operations. Confronted with globalization and increasing raw material and sales price volatility, optimizing supply chain costs is no longer sufficient to ensure the overall profitability of the business. Value chain management takes supply chain management to the next level by integrating all volume and value decisions from sales to procurement. The book presents the value chain management concept and demonstrates how it is applied in a global value chain planning model for commodities in the chemical industry. A comprehensive industry case study illustrates the effects of decision making integration, e.g. the influence of raw material prices or exchange rates on optimal sales, production, distribution and procurement plansas well asoverall company profitability.

Value Chain Management in the Chemical Industry: Global Value Chain Planning of Commodities (Contributions to Management Science)

Shaping the Industrial Century: The Remarkable Story of the Evolution of the Modern Chemical and Pharmaceutical Industries

The dean of business historians continues his masterful chronicle of the transforming revolutions of the twentieth century begun in Inventing the Electronic Century.

Alfred Chandler argues that only with consistent attention to research and development and an emphasis on long-term corporate strategies could firms remain successful over time. He details these processes for nearly every major chemical and pharmaceutical firm, demonstrating why some companies forged ahead while others failed.

By the end of World War II, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries were transformed by the commercializing of new learning, the petrochemical and the antibiotic revolutions. But by the 1970s, chemical science was no longer providing the new learning necessary to commercialize more products, although new directions flourished in the pharmaceutical industries. In the 1980s, major drug companies, including Eli Lilly, Merck, and Schering Plough, commercialized the first biotechnology products, and as the twenty-first century began, the infrastructure of this biotechnology revolution was comparable to that of the second industrial revolution just before World War I and the information revolution of the 1960s. Shaping the Industrial Century is a major contribution to our understanding of the most dynamic industries of the modern era.

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On Becoming a Leadership Coach: A Holistic Approach to Coaching Excellence

This book focuses oncoaching leaders in the context of the organizational systems within which they lead, drawing on the curriculum of the Georgetown University Leadership Coaching Certificate Program, one of the premier coach training programs in the world and the only one with this particular focus.

“On Becoming a Leadership Coach is a truly remarkable and accessible resource. It vividly captures a wide array of insights, skills, perspectives and techniques for those interested in leadership coaching.A deeply talented team of contributorshasproduced a uniquecompendium with enduring value.” — Bill Lindberg, President, The Ash Grove Group

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect Yourself from the Most Pervasive Crime in America

It could happen when you make a routine withdrawal from an ATM, respond to an e-mail asking for information about an online account, or leave a new box of checks unattended in your mailbox. Identity theft is one of the easiest crimes to commit in Americaand one of the hardest to prosecute. As thieves become increasingly clever, Americans have more reasons than ever to fear this elusive, ubiquitous crime. Now theres a book to help you beat it.

In two easy-to-understand sections, Terri Cullen, The Wall Street Journals expert on identity theft, first walks you through the most common types of identity theft and how to arm yourself against them, and then leads victims step-by-step through the process of reclaiming a stolen identity. The average victim loses more than $6,000 and spends approximately 600 hours negotiating the complex bureaucracies and paperworkthis book will help save time and effort by laying out the process. And by following the advice in the first half, you may never need the second!

Youll learn:
how to avoid the most common scams, from phishing to dumpster diving
why children under eighteen are the fastest-growing target, and how you can protect your family
why your credit report is the single most important document for protecting your identity
how to use the sample letters, forms, and other useful tools inside for recovering from identity theft

In todays marketplace, your two most valuable assets are your credit and your identity. No one should be without this vital guide to protecting them.

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect Yourself from the Most Pervasive Crime in America (Wall Street Journal Identity Theft Guidebook: How to Protect)

The Truth About Identity Theft

Praise for The Truth About Identity Theft

“This book will open your eyes, scare you smart, and make you think twice. Identity theft can happen to you and this book is a must read. Jim Stickley tells you why and how you need to protect yourself.”

Matt Lauer, Anchor, TODAY Show

“Nowadays, identity theft is an all-too-common occurrence that puts more than just your finances in jeopardy. Fortunately, Jim Stickleys easy-to-understand advice can teach you how to spot and stay ahead of security threats. In short, this book is a must read.”

Wes Millar, Senior Vice President of CUNA Strategic Services

“In an age when identity theft will affect everyone sooner or later, this book is simply a must-read. Jim Stickley teaches you to spot the danger signs and offers smart solutions for everything from banking security and online shopping scams to medical identity theft. Whether its you, your parents, or your kids identities, everyone has something to protect. This book tells you what you need to know.”

Jim Bell, Executive Producer, TODAY Show

“Jim Stickley shares his amazing experiences as a professional hacker in the most entertaining manner. He’s a great storyteller and captures your attention with his experiences, which will make you want to upscale your efforts protect your firm’s data and your own ID. Jim’s stories are fascinating. Most of us can’t imagine how simple it is for him to succeed as a conman in situations we think are safe. The trade secrets of hackers he shares with us are mind boggling! You won’t let your guard down after learning what Jim has actually done to get companies and individuals private information. He’s the updated version of To Catch a Thief[el]but he’s a good guy!”

Nancy E. Sheppard, President & CEO of Western Independent Bankers (A Trade Association of 350 Banks)

“If you’re not worried about identity theft, you should be[el]and Stickley tells you exactly why. His engaging writing style, coupled with real-life stories about identity theft and concrete actions to help you prevent identity theft are exactly what’s needed to make people take notice of this growing crime. I’ll recommend this book again and again!”

Jerri L. Ledford, About.com Guide to Identity Theft

Everything you must know to protect yourself and your business from identity thieves!

• The truth about real-world identity theft attacks

• The truth about how easy it is for thieves to make off with your identity

• The truth about stopping identity thieves in their tracks

Jim Stickley has stolen credit cards, hacked Social Security numbers, robbed banks, and created fake ATMs. He has broken into armed government facilities and has stolen from teenagers. He is an identity thief, but he is no criminal. Fortunately for all victims involved, Jim was hired to perform these attacks by corporations testing their security, news agencies investigating security concerns, and other media outlets interested in knowing just how easy it is to commit identity theft. His job is to find security flaws before the real criminals find them. This book has been designed to give you the insight that most people only experience after becoming victims of identity theft. Each Truth walks you through a different type of attack, explaining the complete process in a very simple and straight-forward way. Like a magician actually revealing what happens behind the curtain, Jim takes you through the attacks to reveal how people at home, work, and on the road become victims. Prepare yourself. What you read here might be disturbing, but you will never be truly safe from identity thieves until you learn to think like one.

Strategy and the Business Landscape: Core Concepts

For a first-year MBA strategy course grounded in business strategy. Pankaj Ghemawat, respected and renowned Harvard Business School Professor, has designed and written a brief strategy text designed to help students master a body of analytical tools and develop an integrative point of view when making strategic choices. In order to allow for more flexibility in course management, this version of the text does not include the Harvard cases originally published with the text.

Strategy and the Business Landscape: Core Concepts

Matching Supply with Demand: An Introduction to Operations Management

MATCHING SUPPLY WITH DEMAND by Cachon and Terwiesch is the most authoritative, cutting-edge book for operations management MBAs. The book demands rigorous analysis on the part of students without requiring consistent use of sophisticated mathematical modeling to perform it. When the use of quantitative tools or formal modeling is indicated, it is only to perform the necessary analysis needed to inform and support a practical business solution.