Brave New Work

Author: Aaron Dignan
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525536213
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
“This is the management book of the year. Clear, powerful and urgent, it's a must read for anyone who cares about where they work and how they work.” —Seth Godin, author of This is Marketing “This book is a breath of fresh air. Read it now, and make sure your boss does too.” —Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take, Originals, and Option B with Sheryl Sandberg When fast-scaling startups and global organizations get stuck, they call Aaron Dignan. In this book, he reveals his proven approach for eliminating red tape, dissolving bureaucracy, and doing the best work of your life. He’s found that nearly everyone, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, points to the same frustrations: lack of trust, bottlenecks in decision making, siloed functions and teams, meeting and email overload, tiresome budgeting, short-term thinking, and more. Is there any hope for a solution? Haven’t countless business gurus promised the answer, yet changed almost nothing about the way we work? That’s because we fail to recognize that organizations aren’t machines to be predicted and controlled. They’re complex human systems full of potential waiting to be released. Dignan says you can’t fix a team, department, or organization by tinkering around the edges. Over the years, he has helped his clients completely reinvent their operating systems—the fundamental principles and practices that shape their culture—with extraordinary success. Imagine a bank that abandoned traditional budgeting, only to outperform its competition for decades. An appliance manufacturer that divided itself into 2,000 autonomous teams, resulting not in chaos but rapid growth. A healthcare provider with an HQ of just 50 people supporting over 14,000 people in the field—that is named the “best place to work” year after year. And even a team that saved $3 million per year by cancelling one monthly meeting. Their stories may sound improbable, but in Brave New Work you’ll learn exactly how they and other organizations are inventing a smarter, healthier, and more effective way to work. Not through top down mandates, but through a groundswell of autonomy, trust, and transparency. Whether you lead a team of ten or ten thousand, improving your operating system is the single most powerful thing you can do. The only question is, are you ready?

Brave New Girl

Author: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: Delacorte Press
ISBN: 0399552456
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
“Thrilling and dangerous, with an ending that will leave you gasping!” —SUZANNE YOUNG, New York Times bestselling author of the series THE PROGRAM In a world where everyone is the same, one girl is the unthinkable: unique. A high-stakes fast-paced series launch from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Vincent. Dahlia 16 sees her face in every crowd. She’s nothing special—just one of five thousand girls created from a single genome to work for the greater good of the city. Meeting Trigger 17 changes everything. He thinks she’s interesting. Beautiful. Unique. Which means he must be flawed. When Dahlia can’t stop thinking about him she realizes she’s flawed, too. But what if Trigger is right? What if Dahlia is different? But if she’s flawed, then so are all her identicals. And any genome found to be flawed will be destroyed, ONE BY ONE BY ONE. . . . “Captivates.” —VOYA “Thrilling.” —School Library Journal “I loved every second of it.” —The Best Books Ever

The Brave New World of European Labor

Author: Andrew Martin
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 9781571811677
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 440

Book Description
Using a common framework developed by a collaborative Harvard University and Brandeis University affiliated research team, this volume surveys and analyzes the strategic responses of national unions in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain to the last two decades of economic change. Also evaluated is the response of Sweden, long seen as the most successful variation of the European model, as well as EU level transnational unionism. The volume concludes with a reflection on new union positions and their implications, particularly on the question of what will happen to the "European model of society" as a consequence. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Brave New World of Work

Author: Ulrich Beck
Publisher: Polity
ISBN: 9780745623986
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
In this important book, Ulrich Beck - one of the leading social thinkers in Europe today - examines how work has become unstable in the modern world and presents a new vision for the future. Beck begins by describing how the traditional work society, with its life-long job paths, is giving way to a much less stable world in which skills can be suddenly devalued, jobs obliterated, welfare cover reduced or eliminated. The West would appear to be heading towards a social structure of ambiguity and multiple activity that has hitherto been more characteristic of the developing world. But what appears to be the end of traditional working practices can also be seen as an opportunity to develop new ideas and models for work in the twenty-first century. Beck's alternative vision is centred on the concept of active citizens democratically organized in local, and increasingly also regional or transnational, networks. Against the threat of social exclusion, everyone can and must have a right to be included in a new definition and distribution of work. This will involve constant movement between formal employment (with a major reduction in working hours) and forms of self-organized artistic, cultural and political 'civil labour', providing equal access to comprehensive social protection. The aim must be to turn insecurity around, so that it becomes a positive and enriching discontinuity of life. Drawing on his earlier work on risk and reflexive modernization, The Brave New World of Work is also closely linked to his studies on globalization and individualization. These processes are part of the same challenge upon which a politics of modernity must now base itself. Not only the future of work, but also the very survival of democracy and the welfare state will depend on the development of a newly committed and 'multi-active' transnational citizenship. This book will be of great interest to second- and third-year students in sociology, politics, geography and the social sciences generally. It will also appeal to a broader audience interested in the issues and debates surrounding the changing nature of work.

Brave New World

Author: Aldous Huxley
Publisher: Rosetta Books
ISBN: 0795311257
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Book Description
This classic novel of a perfectly engineered society is “one of the most prophetic dystopian works of the twentieth century” (The Wall Street Journal). Half a millennium from now, in the World State, the watchword is that every one belongs to every one else. No matter what class of human you are bred to be—from the intellectual Alphas to the Epsilons who provide the manual labor—you are a part of the efficient, well-oiled whole. You are nourished, secure, and blissfully serene thanks to the freely distributed drug called soma. And while sex is strongly encouraged, the old way of procreation is forbidden, eliminating even the pains of childbirth. But when a man and woman journey beyond these confines to where the “savages” reside, and bring back two outsiders, the cracks begin to show. Named as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the twentieth century by the Modern Library, Brave New World is one of the first truly dystopian novels. Influenced by the historic events of Huxley’s era yet as relevant today as ever, it is a remarkable depiction of the conflict between progress and the human spirit. “Chilling. . . . That he gave us the dark side of genetic engineering in 1932 is amazing.” —Providence Journal-Bulletin “It is a frightening experience, indeed, to discover how much of his satirical prediction of a distant future became reality in so short a time.” —The New York Times Book Review

Brave New World Order

Author: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532617011
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
In the aftermath of the Cold War, Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer offers his most challenging book to date: a probing assessment of the meaning and implications of what U.S. leaders have called a "new world order." While the end of the Cold War and the mobilization of sanctions against Iraq opened the possibility of a truly new world order, Nelson-Pallmeyer argues that the Gulf War was used to serve a very different purpose. United States elites in the national security establishment instead sought to make the world safe for future wars, to derail the post-Cold War "peace dividend," and to foreclose the possibility of a world order based on international justice and commitment to human rights. From the perspective of the Third World, where ever-greater debt leads to ever-greater death, Nelson-Pallmeyer shows how the "new world order" is only a new way of managing the old world order: the misery of the poor will continue to sustain the appetites of the rich. Parallel to the increased pauperization of the Third World, the 1980s saw the massive transfer of wealth within the United States, from the poor to the very wealthy. The consequences: the decay of our cities and dramatic increases in racial violence, drug abuse, and crime. At the same time, the impending ecological crisis has escalated rapidly. Finally, Nelson-Pallmeyer turns his attention to the role of Christians in blessing the "new world order." Appalled by the abuse of religious rhetoric in justification of the Gulf War he examines how Jesus confronted the "world order" of his day, and calls for a radical discipleship that worships the God of life rather than the idols of power and wealth.

Brave New War

Author: John Robb
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
ISBN: 1620458918
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 155

Book Description
“For my money, John Robb, a former Air Force officer and tech guru, is the futurists' futurist.” --"Slate" The counterterrorism expert John Robb reveals how the same technology that has enabled globalization also allows terrorists and criminals to join forces against larger adversaries with relative ease and to carry out small, inexpensive actions--like sabotaging an oil pipeline--that generate a huge return. He shows how combating the shutdown of the world's oil, high-tech, and financial markets could cost us the thing we've come to value the most--worldwide economic and cultural integration--and what we must do now to safeguard against this new method of warfare.

Game Frame

Author: Aaron Dignan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1451611072
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
Ever wonder why teens can spend entire weekends playing video games but struggle with just one hour of homework? Why we’re addicted to certain websites and steal glances at our smartphones under the dinner table? Or why some people are able to find joy in difficult or repetitive jobs while others burn out? It’s not the experiences themselves but the way they’re structured that matters. All our lives we’ve been told that games are distractions—playful pastimes, but unrelated to success. In Game Frame, Aaron Dignan shows us that the opposite is true: games produce peak learning conditions and accelerated achievement. Here, the crucial connection between the games we love to play and the everyday tasks, goals, and dreams we have trouble realizing is illuminated. Aaron Dignan is the thirty-something founder of a successful digital strategy firm that studies the transformative power of technology in culture. He and his peers were raised on a steady diet of games and gadgets, ultimately priming them to challenge the status quo of the modern workplace. What they learned from games goes deeper than hand-eye coordination; instead, this generation intrinsically understands the value of adding the elements of games into everyday life. Game Frame is the first prescriptive explanation of what games mean to us, the human psychology behind their magnetic pull, and how we can use the lessons they teach as a framework to achieve our potential in business and beyond. Games are a powerful way to influence and change behavior in any setting. Here, Dignan outlines why games and play are such important trends in culture today, and how our technology, from our iPhones to our hybrid cars, primes us to be instinctive players. Game Frame tackles the challenging task of defining games and the mechanics that make games work from several perspectives, then explores these ideas through the lens of neuroscience. Finally, Dignan provides practical tips for using basic game mechanics in a variety of settings, such as motivating employees at work or encouraging children at home, giving readers the tools to develop their own games to solve problems in their everyday lives. Illuminated throughout with a series of real-world examples and hypothetical scenarios, Game Frame promises a crash course in game design and behavioral psychology that will leave the reader—and, by extension, the world itself—more productive. Revolutionary, visionary, practical, and time-tested, Game Frame will change the way you approach life.

Brave New Unwired World

Author: Alex Lightman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0471218723
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
A whirlwind tour through the exciting landscape opening up around digital wireless communication In The Brave New Unwired World, the CEO of one of today's hottest wireless businesses explores the latest thinking and trends in the exciting world of digital wireless communication and boldly predicts the future of this hot new field. He acquaints readers with the amazing technologies involved and the no less amazing profit opportunities opening up around them. Drawing upon his unique access to top management at Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Verizon, IBM, Cisco, Psion, Microsoft, and other key players, he profiles those who are vying to be among the first to cash in on the wireless revolution while holding their own against brilliant upstarts, government regulation, and the threat of extinction by competitors who appear from virtually nowhere, at any moment.

Brave New Home

Author: Diana Lind
Publisher: Bold Type Books
ISBN: 1541742648
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
This smart, provocative look at how the American Dream of single-family homes, white picket fences, and two-car garages became a lonely, overpriced nightmare explores how new trends in housing can help us live better. Over the past century, American demographics and social norms have shifted dramatically. More people are living alone, marrying later in life, and having smaller families. At the same time, their lifestyles are changing, whether by choice or by force, to become more virtual, more mobile, and less stable. But despite the ways that today's America is different and more diverse, housing still looks stuck in the 1950s. In Brave New Home, Diana Lind shows why a country full of single-family houses is bad for us and our planet, and details the new efforts underway that better reflect the way we live now, to ensure that the way we live next is both less lonely and more affordable. Lind takes readers into the homes and communities that are seeking alternatives to the American norm, from multi-generational living, in-law suites, and co-living to microapartments, tiny houses, and new rural communities. Drawing on Lind's expertise and the stories of Americans caught in or forging their own paths outside of our cookie-cutter housing trap, Brave New Home offers a diagnosis of the current American housing crisis and a radical re-imagining of future possibilities.