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The Freaks Shall Inherit the EarthAccording to author, consultant, and entrepreneur Chris Brogan, there has never been such a promising time for “freaks” to succeed in business. These innovative, independent thinkers are perfectly positioned to take advantage of opportunities that others lack the vision or passion to pursue. At the same time, entrepreneurial success still depends on discipline, structure, and productivity. In The Freaks Shall Inherit the Earth, Brogan provides readers with specific guidance for how they can harness the power of out-of-the-box ideas, overcome their fears of failure, and build lives that they love.

According to Brogan:

  • Today’s business world is far more open than in the past to entrepreneurs who cannot or will not conform to corporate structures and expectations. However, even the most creative and hard-working nonconformists still need clear plans and to understand fundamental business skills.
  • A freak is someone who does not fit in with conventional businesspeople, dislikes settling or compromise, and seeks ways to make these characteristics an asset. Freaks can make a profit by finding and serving communities made up of like-minded people.
  • To succeed in business, freaks need to determine not only what makes them unique, but also how to sell to and build relationships with their customers. This involves building discipline, overcoming fear, and learning from experience.
  • Mastery of certain skills is critical to every business. These include basic legal contract skills, finance skills, marketing skills, and sales skills.
  • Some freaks can be successful as employeepreneurs, or people who work for companies but do their jobs like entrepreneurs. They take ownership of available resources and find better ways to get things done.
  • Freaks use media outlets to tell stories that people can relate to and choose to consume. This type of storytelling helps build communities that can then become markets for different products and services.
  • When things go wrong, making excuses or shifting blame never helps. The most effective way for people to deal with their problems is to define what went wrong, reassess their goals, and take action. If others have been hurt, they must give meaningful apologies.

To download three free summaries, please visit our site.

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88408705The purpose of Stop Complainers and Energy Drainers is to teach people how to spot a complainer and fix the problem quickly. Complainers and energy drainers in the workplace can have strong negative effects on a company through lost work, loss of good employees due to an unhealthy work environment, and damage to a company’s reputation. Complainers inhibit innovation and growth in companies while negatively affecting daily productivity. Linda Swindling attempts to help readers identify the types of complainers they are dealing with, understand the reasons for their behavior, and learn strategies and solutions to deal with them. The options, strategies, and solutions provided can help turn chronic complainers into chronic contributors and let everyone get back to work.

Swindling offers the following advice to readers:

  • Every complainer has their own motivations for behaving the way they do. Understanding their reality versus their outward reactions is key to helping them change their own behavior.
  • Workplace productivity can suffer from energy drains. Energy drains come in many forms including: technology and software that is complicated or not understood by its users; bottlenecks; too much work for a given timeframe; misaligned values between the company and workers; and depressing work environments.
  • Not all complaining is counterproductive. Constructive complaining can be beneficial to a company’s growth.
  • Changing chronic complainers into chronic contributors can go far to improving a company’s morale, promoting effective communication, and increasing productivity.

To download three free summaries, please visit our site.

Related book summaries in the BBS library: Make Difficult People Disappear, Three Signs of a Miserable JobEngagement Is Not Enough

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The key to high performance in the workplace goes beyond traditional “hard skills” — passion is an essential element of productivity. Employees who are able to identify a “passion and purpose” in their lives experience heightened engagement and innovation, and they feel connected to their work in exciting new ways. Organizations that cultivate this sense of engagement can gain a valuable edge in today’s competitive marketplace.

In The Purpose Linked Organization, leadership development experts Alaina Love and Marc Cugnon explain the powerful role passion and purpose play in the workplace and explain how leveraging them effectively can enhance organizational performance. Using the ten “Passion Profile Archetypes,” the authors show readers how they can hone the temperaments necessary for high performance and channel them in a positive direction.

For a free trial of EBSCO Business Book Summaries click here.

Related book summaries in the BBS library: Purpose, Common Purpose

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