Business & Economics

Conventional product development focuses on the solution. Empathy is a mindset that focuses on people, helping you to understand their thinking patterns and perspectives. Practical Empathy will show you how to gather and compare these patterns to make better decisions, improve your strategy, and collaborate successfully.

Interviewing is a foundational user research tool that people assume they already possess. Everyone can ask questions, right? Unfortunately, that's not the case. Interviewing Users provides invaluable interviewing techniques and tools that enable you to conduct informative interviews with anyone. You'll move from simply gathering data to uncovering powerful insights about people.

Design makes a tremendous impact on the produced world in terms of usability, resources, understanding, and priorities. What we produce, how we serve customers and other stakeholders, and even how we understand how the world works is all affected by the design of models and solutions. Designers have an unprecedented opportunity to use their skills to make meaningful, sustainable change in the world—if they know how to focus their skills, time, and agendas. In Design is the Problem: The Future of Design Must be Sustainable, Nathan Shedroff examines how the endemic culture of design often creates unsustainable solutions, and shows how designers can bake sustainability into their design processes in order to produce more sustainable solutions.

Why do some people succeed at change while others fail? It's the way they think! Liminal thinking is a way to create change by understanding, shaping, and reframing beliefs. What beliefs are stopping you right now?
You have a choice. You can create the world you want to live in, or live in a world created by others. If you are ready to start making changes, read this book.

User research war stories are personal accounts of the challenges researchers encounter out in the field, where mishaps are inevitable, yet incredibly instructive. Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries is a diverse compilation of war stories that range from comically bizarre to astonishingly tragic, tied together with valuable lessons from expert user researcher Steve Portigal.

Want to know what your users are thinking? If you’re a product manager or developer, this book will help you learn the techniques for finding the answers to your most burning questions about your customers. With step-by-step guidance, Validating Product Ideas shows you how to tackle the research to build the best possible product.

"Jobs To Be Done is key to building successful products, and this book masterfully gives a step–by–step guide on how to put it into practice."

—Melissa Perri, author of Escaping the Build Trap

These days, consumers have real power: they can research companies, compare ratings, and find alternatives with a simple tap. Focusing on customer needs isn't a nice–to–have, it's a strategic imperative.

The Jobs To Be Done Playbook (JTBD) helps organizations turn market insight into action. This book shows you techniques to make offerings people want, as well as make people want your offering.

Few organizations realize a return on their digital investment. They’re distracted by political infighting and technology-first solutions. To reach the next level, organizations must realign their assets—people, content, and technology—by practicing the discipline of digital governance. Managing Chaos inspires new and necessary conversations about digital governance and its transformative power to support creativity, real collaboration, digital quality, and online growth.

Design for Impact is a down–to–earth A/B testing guide. It features the Conversion Design process to operationalize effective experimentation in your company. In it, Erin Weigel gives you practical tips and tools to design better experiments at scale. She does this with self–deprecating humor that will leave you smiling—if not laughing aloud. As a bonus, The Good Experimental Design toolkit presents everything you learn into step–by–step process for you to use each day.

Who Should Read This Book?

If you're a curious person working in tech who wants to deliver impactful work, you should read this book. If you're a business leader looking to help your team make better decisions, you should read this book. If you want to level–up your approach to experimentation, you should read this book. In short, everyone—from CEOs to marketers, engineers, product people, through to designers and content folks—should read this book.

Takeaways

• Learn a fun, balanced approach to digital product experimentation to get your whole team testing customer–centric ideas.
• Stop making changes and start making improvements with the Conversion Design process.
• Follow the Good Experimental Design toolkit so that you and your entire team design for impact together.
• Clear up confusion around A/B testing with helpful tools and practical advice.
• Look for loads of actionable tips for effective product experimentation to give your team insight into the big picture.
• Make the complex math behind why experimentation works easy and understandable.

The User Experience Team of One prescribes a range of approaches that have big impact and take less time and fewer resources than the standard lineup of UX deliverables. Whether you want to cross over into user experience or you're a seasoned practitioner trying to drag your organization forward, this book gives you tools and insight for doing more with less.

Remote studies allow you to recruit subjects quickly, cheaply, and immediately, and give you the opportunity to observe users as they behave naturally in their own environment. In Remote Research, Nate Bolt and Tony Tulathimutte teach you how to design and conduct remote research studies, top to bottom, with little more than a phone and a laptop.

Meetings don’t have to be painfully inefficient snoozefests—if you design them. Meeting Design will teach you the design principles and innovative approaches you’ll need to transform meetings from boring to creative, from wasteful to productive. Meetings can and should be indispensable to your organization; Kevin Hoffman will show you how to design them for success.

"Finally a book that doesn’t treat leadership styles as one–size–fits–all. The Leader’s Journey helped me think through how to tell my own story as a leader." —Melissa Perri, author of Escaping the Build Trap and Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School 

A step–by–step leadership guide from executive coach, keynote speaker, and bestselling author Donna Lichaw to transform yourself, your team, and your business into a league of superheroes poised for success.

No one gives you a manual for how to be a great leader. Enter leadership expert Donna Lichaw. Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, design thinking, and her years of experience coaching business leaders from the likes of Amazon, Disney, Google, Mastercard, Lichaw’s tried-and-true leadership development methods will empower you to activate your superpowers, achieve your mission, and bring your team along for the ride. 

In this actionable four-part framework, you’ll learn: 

• How to own and leverage your core story as a leader
• How to activate your leadership superpowers–and manage your personal Kryptonite
• How to develop a strategic roadmap to achieve your personal and business goals
• How to make a lasting impact that only you can make

With compelling examples from her extensive executive coaching career, Lichaw brings her background in storytelling and filmmaking to bear in this entertaining and engaging guide. Whether you're a founder, senior leader, or still aspiring to senior leadership, The Leader's Journey is an essential resource for anyone looking to step into their power and make a difference in their business and the world.

Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, and years of real-world experience, We Need to Talk provides a practical framework for navigating difficult conversations with confidence and empathy. Whether you're dealing with workplace conflicts, team dynamics, or challenging personal discussions, this book equips you with the tools to transform confrontational situations into opportunities for growth and understanding. No scripts, no shortcuts—just proven strategies that work.

Who Should Read This Book

If you work with other humans, this book is for you. Whether you're a leader trying to build psychological safety on your team, an individual contributor navigating tricky workplace dynamics, or someone who wants to get better at having hard conversations, you'll find practical tools here. While the examples come primarily from technology and creative fields, the framework works across industries and various roles. You'll learn how to transform potentially confrontational situations into opportunities for growth and understanding, all while staying true to your authentic communication style. This isn't about becoming a conflict expert—it's about you feeling confident and capable when those inevitable tough conversations arise.

Takeaways

• Learn the core principles underlying difficult conversations. 
• Delve into how your brain processes conflict. 
• Study a multitude of techniques for maintaining psychological safety. 
• Learn to apply practical solutions to solving real-world problems.  
• Practice handling difficult conversations in your own authentic way. 
• Figure out specific techniques for staying centered, asking the right questions, and keeping your cool when caught off guard. 
• Learn how to navigate the tricky waters of conflict when you don’t agree with your boss. 
• Study de-escalation techniques for a tense situation in order to guide conversations back to productive territory.  
• Say no and mean it!

Today's radically complex problems require people to lead with design. 

Changemakers is an essential playbook for designers and nondesigners who want to drive change at work, at home, and in their communities. Groundbreaking designers Maria Giudice and Christopher Ireland—armed with insights from some of today's top minds in business, tech, and social justice—offer a pragmatic, people–centered approach to change.

Who Should Read This Book?

Takeaways

• A new approach to change is emerging, and design is at the forefront of responding and provoking change.
• Purpose and passion are essential changemaker qualities.
• Change involves choosing the right problem and finding an entity open to change.
• This book will be your guide for creating and maintaining change in your organization—for you, your team, and your stakeholders.
• Leaders can design change and affect the world—this book will show them how to become that kind of leader.
• Each chapter has critical takeaways at the end of the chapter, summarizing important points.
• Each chapter gives the reader a list of extra sources to gain further knowledge.

Distracted by traditional metrics and mounting access to data, leaders are blinded to what it actually takes to create greater value for their businesses: meaningful, long-term relationships with their customers.

In Blind Spot, you'll learn how exceptional organizations—from Disney to Instagram—innovate and sustain valuable, productive customer relationships. Blind Spot's lessons deliver a groundbreaking perspective shift and win-win approach for your customers, your business—and even your shareholders.

"Finally a book that doesn’t treat leadership styles as one–size–fits–all. The Leader’s Journey helped me think through how to tell my own story as a leader." —Melissa Perri, author of Escaping the Build Trap and Senior Lecturer, Harvard Business School 

A step–by–step leadership guide from executive coach, keynote speaker, and bestselling author Donna Lichaw to transform yourself, your team, and your business into a league of superheroes poised for success.

No one gives you a manual for how to be a great leader. Enter leadership expert Donna Lichaw. Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, design thinking, and her years of experience coaching business leaders from the likes of Amazon, Disney, Google, Mastercard, Lichaw’s tried-and-true leadership development methods will empower you to activate your superpowers, achieve your mission, and bring your team along for the ride. 

In this actionable four-part framework, you’ll learn: 

• How to own and leverage your core story as a leader
• How to activate your leadership superpowers–and manage your personal Kryptonite
• How to develop a strategic roadmap to achieve your personal and business goals
• How to make a lasting impact that only you can make

With compelling examples from her extensive executive coaching career, Lichaw brings her background in storytelling and filmmaking to bear in this entertaining and engaging guide. Whether you're a founder, senior leader, or still aspiring to senior leadership, The Leader's Journey is an essential resource for anyone looking to step into their power and make a difference in their business and the world.

"An easy-to-read introduction to service design, with great examples from one of the world's leading service design agencies. A 'must read' for anyone who wants to become familiar with service design in theory, methods, and practice!" —Prof. Birgit Mager, President, Service Design Network gGmbH

Service Design is an eminently practical guide to designing services that work for people. It offers powerful insights, methods, and case studies to help you design, implement, and measure multichannel service experiences with greater impact for customers, businesses, and society.

"Finally, digital teams have a reference book that covers everything they need to know about project management, from scoping and budgeting to managing teams and clients." —Karen McGrane, author, Going Responsive

"Jobs To Be Done is key to building successful products, and this book masterfully gives a step–by–step guide on how to put it into practice."

—Melissa Perri, author of Escaping the Build Trap

These days, consumers have real power: they can research companies, compare ratings, and find alternatives with a simple tap. Focusing on customer needs isn't a nice–to–have, it's a strategic imperative.

The Jobs To Be Done Playbook (JTBD) helps organizations turn market insight into action. This book shows you techniques to make offerings people want, as well as make people want your offering.

"Why do some people succeed at change while others fail? It's the way they think! Liminal thinking is a way to create change by understanding, shaping, and reframing beliefs. What beliefs are stopping you right now?

You have a choice. You can create the world you want to live in, or live in a world created by others. If you are ready to start making changes, read this book."

"Because time, attention, and resources are finite, wise prioritization lies at the heart of any flourishing organization or meaningful life. Yet there's surprisingly little actionable advice on how to do it well—and many seductive reasons to avoid it entirely. This approachable, psychologically astute, and deeply practical book has the potential to change all that. Reading it is well worth your time."
—Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Managing Priorities is your guide to prioritizing anything—anytime and anywhere. Harry Max digs into the best practices for prioritization at Apple, DreamWorks, NASA, Adobe, Google, Microsoft, and beyond, and brings them together in a single, practical method that you can apply step by step.

Who Should Read This Book?

Every business person who is even remotely interested in prioritization should read Managing Priorities. Whatever you need to prioritize—tasks, goals, OKRs, projects—this book is for you. Specific chapters are dedicated to what needs to happen and when for individuals, teams, and whole organizations.

Takeaways

• Learn what prioritization is.
• Gain insight into the costs of not prioritizing intentionally.
• Explore different methods of prioritization, including the Eisenhower Matrix, the Analytic Hierarchy Process, the Max Priorities Pyramid, Paired Comparison, Stack Ranking, and more (highlighted in the Appendix).
• Apply the author's DEGAP® method of prioritization with its five phases: Decide, Engage, Gather, Arrange, Prioritize.
• Identify, understand, and address your current state or lack of prioritization (the context of your problem, the people involved, and the issues surrounding timing).
• Use a scale to differentiate items to prioritize and arrange them appropriately.
• Select an approach to prioritization that works for your specific situation.

Design for Impact is a down–to–earth A/B testing guide. It features the Conversion Design process to operationalize effective experimentation in your company. In it, Erin Weigel gives you practical tips and tools to design better experiments at scale. She does this with self–deprecating humor that will leave you smiling—if not laughing aloud. As a bonus, The Good Experimental Design toolkit presents everything you learn into step–by–step process for you to use each day.

Who Should Read This Book?

If you're a curious person working in tech who wants to deliver impactful work, you should read this book. If you're a business leader looking to help your team make better decisions, you should read this book. If you want to level–up your approach to experimentation, you should read this book. In short, everyone—from CEOs to marketers, engineers, product people, through to designers and content folks—should read this book.

Takeaways

• Learn a fun, balanced approach to digital product experimentation to get your whole team testing customer–centric ideas.
• Stop making changes and start making improvements with the Conversion Design process.
• Follow the Good Experimental Design toolkit so that you and your entire team design for impact together.
• Clear up confusion around A/B testing with helpful tools and practical advice.
• Look for loads of actionable tips for effective product experimentation to give your team insight into the big picture.
• Make the complex math behind why experimentation works easy and understandable.

Service Design is an eminently practical guide to designing services that work for people. It offers powerful insights, methods, and case studies to help you design, implement, and measure multichannel service experiences with greater impact for customers, businesses, and society.

Few organizations realize a return on their digital investment. They’re distracted by political infighting and technology-first solutions. To reach the next level, organizations must realign their assets—people, content, and technology—by practicing the discipline of digital governance. Managing Chaos inspires new and necessary conversations about digital governance and its transformative power to support creativity, real collaboration, digital quality, and online growth.

Distracted by traditional metrics and mounting access to data, leaders are blinded to what it actually takes to create greater value for their businesses: meaningful, long-term relationships with their customers.

In Blind Spot, you'll learn how exceptional organizations—from Disney to Instagram—innovate and sustain valuable, productive customer relationships. Blind Spot's lessons deliver a groundbreaking perspective shift and win-win approach for your customers, your business—and even your shareholders.

Meetings don’t have to be painfully inefficient snoozefests—if you design them. Meeting Design will teach you the design principles and innovative approaches you’ll need to transform meetings from boring to creative, from wasteful to productive. Meetings can and should be indispensable to your organization; Kevin Hoffman will show you how to design them for success.

Today's radically complex problems require people to lead with design. 

Changemakers is an essential playbook for designers and nondesigners who want to drive change at work, at home, and in their communities. Groundbreaking designers Maria Giudice and Christopher Ireland—armed with insights from some of today's top minds in business, tech, and social justice—offer a pragmatic, people–centered approach to change.

Who Should Read This Book?

Takeaways

• A new approach to change is emerging, and design is at the forefront of responding and provoking change.
• Purpose and passion are essential changemaker qualities.
• Change involves choosing the right problem and finding an entity open to change.
• This book will be your guide for creating and maintaining change in your organization—for you, your team, and your stakeholders.
• Leaders can design change and affect the world—this book will show them how to become that kind of leader.
• Each chapter has critical takeaways at the end of the chapter, summarizing important points.
• Each chapter gives the reader a list of extra sources to gain further knowledge.

"Because time, attention, and resources are finite, wise prioritization lies at the heart of any flourishing organization or meaningful life. Yet there's surprisingly little actionable advice on how to do it well—and many seductive reasons to avoid it entirely. This approachable, psychologically astute, and deeply practical book has the potential to change all that. Reading it is well worth your time."
—Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals

Managing Priorities is your guide to prioritizing anything—anytime and anywhere. Harry Max digs into the best practices for prioritization at Apple, DreamWorks, NASA, Adobe, Google, Microsoft, and beyond, and brings them together in a single, practical method that you can apply step by step.

Who Should Read This Book?

Every business person who is even remotely interested in prioritization should read Managing Priorities. Whatever you need to prioritize—tasks, goals, OKRs, projects—this book is for you. Specific chapters are dedicated to what needs to happen and when for individuals, teams, and whole organizations.

Takeaways

• Learn what prioritization is.
• Gain insight into the costs of not prioritizing intentionally.
• Explore different methods of prioritization, including the Eisenhower Matrix, the Analytic Hierarchy Process, the Max Priorities Pyramid, Paired Comparison, Stack Ranking, and more (highlighted in the Appendix).
• Apply the author's DEGAP® method of prioritization with its five phases: Decide, Engage, Gather, Arrange, Prioritize.
• Identify, understand, and address your current state or lack of prioritization (the context of your problem, the people involved, and the issues surrounding timing).
• Use a scale to differentiate items to prioritize and arrange them appropriately.
• Select an approach to prioritization that works for your specific situation.

Want to know what your users are thinking? If you’re a product manager or developer, this book will help you learn the techniques for finding the answers to your most burning questions about your customers. With step-by-step guidance, Validating Product Ideas shows you how to tackle the research to build the best possible product.

Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, and years of real-world experience, We Need to Talk provides a practical framework for navigating difficult conversations with confidence and empathy. Whether you're dealing with workplace conflicts, team dynamics, or challenging personal discussions, this book equips you with the tools to transform confrontational situations into opportunities for growth and understanding. No scripts, no shortcuts—just proven strategies that work.

Who Should Read This Book

If you work with other humans, this book is for you. Whether you're a leader trying to build psychological safety on your team, an individual contributor navigating tricky workplace dynamics, or someone who wants to get better at having hard conversations, you'll find practical tools here. While the examples come primarily from technology and creative fields, the framework works across industries and various roles. You'll learn how to transform potentially confrontational situations into opportunities for growth and understanding, all while staying true to your authentic communication style. This isn't about becoming a conflict expert—it's about you feeling confident and capable when those inevitable tough conversations arise.

Takeaways

• Learn the core principles underlying difficult conversations. 
• Delve into how your brain processes conflict. 
• Study a multitude of techniques for maintaining psychological safety. 
• Learn to apply practical solutions to solving real-world problems.  
• Practice handling difficult conversations in your own authentic way. 
• Figure out specific techniques for staying centered, asking the right questions, and keeping your cool when caught off guard. 
• Learn how to navigate the tricky waters of conflict when you don’t agree with your boss. 
• Study de-escalation techniques for a tense situation in order to guide conversations back to productive territory.  
• Say no and mean it!

Remote studies allow you to recruit subjects quickly, cheaply, and immediately, and give you the opportunity to observe users as they behave naturally in their own environment. In Remote Research, Nate Bolt and Tony Tulathimutte teach you how to design and conduct remote research studies, top to bottom, with little more than a phone and a laptop.

Conventional product development focuses on the solution. Empathy is a mindset that focuses on people, helping you to understand their thinking patterns and perspectives. Practical Empathy will show you how to gather and compare these patterns to make better decisions, improve your strategy, and collaborate successfully.

User research war stories are personal accounts of the challenges researchers encounter out in the field, where mishaps are inevitable, yet incredibly instructive. Doorbells, Danger, and Dead Batteries is a diverse compilation of war stories that range from comically bizarre to astonishingly tragic, tied together with valuable lessons from expert user researcher Steve Portigal.

Design makes a tremendous impact on the produced world in terms of usability, resources, understanding, and priorities. What we produce, how we serve customers and other stakeholders, and even how we understand how the world works is all affected by the design of models and solutions. Designers have an unprecedented opportunity to use their skills to make meaningful, sustainable change in the world—if they know how to focus their skills, time, and agendas. In Design is the Problem: The Future of Design Must be Sustainable, Nathan Shedroff examines how the endemic culture of design often creates unsustainable solutions, and shows how designers can bake sustainability into their design processes in order to produce more sustainable solutions.

Never stop experimenting!
But what happens when ideas run dry?

Never Stop Experimenting introduces thirty-one creative, practical techniques—such as the Ventilation Box, the Teaming Wheel, and the Rocket Retrospective—that transform failure into a catalyst for growth. Blending personal storytelling with actionable insights, it equips professionals and teams with fresh approaches to spark innovation, overcome roadblocks, and move forward with confidence.

Agile practitioners—coaches, consultants, and Scrum Masters—will discover ready-to-use tools that breathe new life into their work. Team and business leaders, from product owners to project managers, will find practical methods to strengthen collaboration, foster agility, and unlock team potential. Early-career professionals seeking personal and professional growth will gain accessible techniques to build resilience, sharpen focus, and accelerate development. Continuous improvement enthusiasts of all kinds will uncover a wealth of options to fuel experimentation and innovation.

Each chapter provides illustrated examples, step-by-step guidance, and templates that make techniques immediately applicable. Richly supported by endorsements and insights from leading Agile pioneers, this quick-reference guide bridges inspiration with implementation, ensuring tailored solutions for diverse challenges.

With broad relevance across personal growth, team performance, organizational culture, and business transformation, Never Stop Experimenting offers a bold invitation to treat experimentation as the ultimate driver of progress.

For anyone committed to growth, agility, and innovation, Never Stop Experimenting opens the door to endless possibilities.

Bring data to life with this essential guide to storytelling with maps. 

From scraping patterns in sand to drawing intricate lines on vellum and paper, to charting every place on the planet, humans have used maps as a powerful storytelling medium. The advent of the digital age has revolutionized the creation, distribution, and consumption of maps. The web created enormous opportunities for storytelling, enabling maps to dance and weave, partnering with other multimedia elements—photos, video, audio, text—to tell countless tales about our world. 

Featuring a foreword by renowned travel writer and cofounder of Lonely Planet Tony Wheeler, Telling Stories with Maps: Lessons from a Lifetime of Creating Place-Based Narratives bridges both the analog and digital realms, showcasing how maps themselves tell stories and enrich narratives by providing context and insight. Richly illustrated with examples from traditional maps to the latest digital visualizations, this book is an essential guide for anyone interested in the powerful storytelling potential of maps. 

Topics covered include: 

• How storytelling is fundamental to our humanity  
• Comparing and contrasting the use of words, images, and maps in storytelling 
• How maps help us tackle the who, what, when, where, why, and how  
• Considerations for the deep connection between maps and memory 
• How cartography and location-based storytelling have changed during the digital age  
• How the author and his collaborators refined storytelling techniques to create printed wall maps and atlas plates 
• The roles that maps play in narrative context 

Readers will learn: 

•  15 approaches to storytelling and place-based topics 
• How exposure to maps and geography can change how we think 
• Storytelling approaches suited for digital media yet honoring the centuries-old conventions of cartography 
• How to develop multimedia stories with the ability to employ motion and interactivity for your audience 
• Practical features and functions of ArcGIS StoryMaps, Esri’s storytelling platform, with insight and inspiration you can apply to your stories. 

Author Allen Carroll brings his experience from both the National Geographic Society and Esri into his writing. Carroll spent more than a decade of his 27-year career at National Geographic Society as chief cartographer. In 2010, Caroll joined Esri and founded its ArcGIS StoryMaps team, which developed web tools that enabled hundreds of thousands of individuals and organizations to tell place-based stories combining interactive maps and multimedia content. 

Telling Stories with Maps is a winding journey, from thoughts on how our brains process spatial information to practical tips on creating stories, that will guide and inspire you to create place-based narratives that intrigue readers. 

One of the most pressing issues in development today is the employment challenge in low- and middle-income countries. As more young people enter the labor force—and as structural transformation unfolds amid deindustrialization, technological disruption, and global competition—the question of how to create sufficient decent jobs has become central to the economic future of the Global South. Although this is a shared challenge across developing regions, it is particularly acute in Africa, where rapid demographic change and urbanization are colliding with limited industrial expansion.

Bringing together leading international scholars, The Future of Work in Developing Countries examines the employment problem from multiple perspectives. Early chapters develop conceptual frameworks around corporations and the global hierarchy of production. Subsequent contributions investigate the dynamics of structural transformation, the role of firms in linking production and labor to surplus, and the design of industrial and technology policies. Later chapters turn to detailed case studies—especially from Africa—that illustrate the possibilities and limits of different growth paths, and comparative insights from Asia and Latin America provide further perspective.

By combining rigorous theoretical analysis with grounded empirical research, this book demonstrates that employment creation is not an automatic byproduct of growth but a political and institutional project. It offers fresh insights for scholars of development, political economy, and economic history, as well as for policy makers seeking strategies to promote inclusive transformation in Africa and beyond.

Lead with Strategy. Transform with Accountability.

Too many leaders pretend everything is fine, even when change is desperately needed. Ignition: The Art & Science of Strategy reveals how to break that cycle and create lasting transformation.

Drawing on over two decades of global experience, Dr. Kathryn Ritchie offers a practical roadmap to align teams, inspire innovation, and achieve results. This is not just theoretical. It’s a tested method used by leaders across industries and continents.

Readers will discover how to:

• Build a clear, compelling strategy that energizes teams
• Inspire collective buy-in and shared accountability
• Translate vision into measurable results
• Spark creativity and innovation at every level
• Lead transformation in organizations of any size

Whether you lead a startup or a multinational enterprise, Ignition equips you with the tools to stop pretending, start leading, and ignite change that lasts.

A New Blueprint for Success—Without the Burnout

In From Burnout to Bliss: Dissolve Your Ego, Fuel Your Success, and Find True Fulfillment, Dr. Shaoqing Sun offers a powerful new path for entrepreneurs, leaders, and anyone ready to break free from ego-driven striving.

This is a guide for people who have achieved—but still feel unfulfilled. People who push hard but wonder what it’s all for. People ready for a quieter, clearer kind of power.

You’ll learn how to:

• Release the mental habits that drive burnout
• Reconnect with your creativity, intelligence, and energy flow
• Build a thriving business without sacrificing your well-being
• Make decisions rooted in clarity and inner peace
• Embrace conscious leadership in work and life

If you feel depleted by constant striving, this book will help you recover your energy, reset your direction, and realign with your deeper self—without stepping away from your ambition.

Green Policies and Augmented Reality in InsurTech: Catalysts for Sustainability and Innovation offers a timely and in-depth exploration of the convergence between environmental sustainability and advanced technologies within the insurance sector. As the industry responds to the dual pressures of climate change and rapid digital transformation, this contributed work examines how green policies and augmented reality (AR) are reshaping insurance practices, unlocking new market opportunities, and driving innovation. Through detailed case studies and practical insights, it provides professionals, researchers, and policymakers with the knowledge needed to adapt and thrive in a changing landscape.

By addressing the intersection of sustainability and InsurTech—areas typically treated separately—this book fills a critical gap in current academic and professional literature. It offers a comprehensive overview of sustainable insurance products, implementation strategies for AR and VR technologies, and a forward-looking analysis of regulatory and market trends. With an interdisciplinary perspective that connects environmental science, financial services, and emerging technologies, the book presents a clear framework for developing future-ready, responsible insurance solutions that align with both business goals and global sustainability imperatives.

Internal Consultants: The Driving Force Behind Innovation and Success in Organizations spotlights a powerful yet often underrecognized force in modern business: the internal consultant. In an era of unprecedented change and disruption, internal consultants are emerging as key agents of transformation—driving innovation, generating value, and navigating complex challenges across industries. While external consultants have long dominated the spotlight, this volume reframes internal consultants as strategic leaders shaping the future of organizations from within.

Part of the Research in Management Consulting series, this book traces the evolution of internal consulting, offering a rich exploration of its origins, current practices, and growing impact. Chapters delve into the unique challenges internal consultants face, the distinct value they bring to their organizations, and the best practices that define effective internal consulting. From navigating internal politics to building trust and credibility, the insights shared here are both practical and research-driven.

Written by a diverse group of scholar-practitioners, this volume bridges theory and real-world application, making it an essential resource for academics, consultants, HR leaders, and executives alike. Whether you're building an internal consulting function or looking to elevate its strategic role, Internal Consultants offers the tools and perspectives needed to harness their full potential.

Internal Consultants: The Driving Force Behind Innovation and Success in Organizations spotlights a powerful yet often underrecognized force in modern business: the internal consultant. In an era of unprecedented change and disruption, internal consultants are emerging as key agents of transformation—driving innovation, generating value, and navigating complex challenges across industries. While external consultants have long dominated the spotlight, this volume reframes internal consultants as strategic leaders shaping the future of organizations from within.

Part of the Research in Management Consulting series, this book traces the evolution of internal consulting, offering a rich exploration of its origins, current practices, and growing impact. Chapters delve into the unique challenges internal consultants face, the distinct value they bring to their organizations, and the best practices that define effective internal consulting. From navigating internal politics to building trust and credibility, the insights shared here are both practical and research-driven.

Written by a diverse group of scholar-practitioners, this volume bridges theory and real-world application, making it an essential resource for academics, consultants, HR leaders, and executives alike. Whether you're building an internal consulting function or looking to elevate its strategic role, Internal Consultants offers the tools and perspectives needed to harness their full potential.

Multinational organizations are faced with ongoing shifts in socio-economic conditions and cultural demands in diverse market contexts. Adapting to these changing conditions will require a balance between hierarchical and networked structures that enable integration of autonomous and inclusive modes of local business activities. From this vantage point, we explore central aspects of empathy and mindfulness as the means to accommodate different assumptions between headquarter managers and employees dispersed across host countries with diverse cultural norms and values. Chapters are presented here from around the world exploring operational management, the global-local nexus, tacit knowledge in MNCs, corporate culture, employee mindfulness and setting out a future pathway for developing effective MNC structures. Emerald Studies in Global Strategic Responsiveness aspires to disseminate new inspiring research insights as a potential catalyst for the development of effective approaches to deal with the exposures imposed by dynamic complexities in the global business environment. The implied organizational and societal challenges require effective responses from both public and private organizations induced by supportive policy initiatives. The associated challenges are beyond the control of executive powers and exceed the capacity of single institutions thus underpinning a call for collaborative approaches and collective actions to foster viable solutions for a sustainable future.

Africa’s creative economy is capturing global attention, powered by bold storytelling, digital innovation, and deep cultural authenticity. From Nollywood’s cinematic rise to the worldwide influence of Afrobeats and the emergence of circular fashion, the continent’s creative industries are not only thriving—they are redefining Africa’s place on the world stage.

Africa’s Creative Frontiers brings together leading scholars and practitioners to examine how fashion, music, and film are transforming African economies. It explores intersections with tourism, sustainability, and entrepreneurship, highlighting perspectives from across Africa, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. This book offers critical perspectives on the challenges and opportunities shaping Africa’s creative industries, country-level and regional insights into key sectors and strategic guidance on innovation, intellectual property, and evolving business models.

An essential resource for academics, policymakers, and cultural entrepreneurs. This book reimagines Africa’s creative future and its growing influence on global cultural and economic landscapes.

Volume 38 of Advances in Management Accounting uses a variety of methods, from experiments and case studies to surveys, to build upon existing knowledge within the management accounting discipline. Containing a diverse range of authors from around the world, this publication focuses on theoretically sound and practical research which has a cutting-edge and wide-reaching appeal to academics and practitioners.

Showcasing methods of and analysis on varied statistical testing and performance measurement models, this edited collection will appeal to both management accounting academics and professionals. Topics analysed include the effects and significance of statistical testing, the limits and goals of such testing and modelling, compensation moderation, and how to handle ethical issues affecting management accounting.

Advances in Management Accounting (AIMA) publishes thought-provoking volumes that advance knowledge in the management accounting discipline and are of interest to both academics and practitioners. The series seeks thoughtful, well-developed articles on a variety of current topics in management accounting, broadly defined. AIMA seeks to publish commentaries on research methodology and new management accounting areas of interest as well as papers using research methods including survey research, field tests, case studies, experiments, meta-analyses, and modelling.

Achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal of Reduced Inequalities focuses on Sustainable Development Goal number ten (SDG#10), which aims to reduce inequality within and among countries by promoting social, economic and political inclusion for all, regardless of factors such as age, gender, disability, race, ethnicity, origin or religion. Recognizing that inequality can obstruct long-term development, SDG#10 aims to ensure equitable access to healthcare, opportunities, and overall well-being, fostering a more just and inclusive society. Examining family businesses from Mongolia, Spain, India, Australia, and Malaysia, each chapter presents a unique perspective from their respective country, analysing how SDG#10 translates into tackling inequalities. The case studies presented generate insights and key takeaways into how family businesses help to reduce inequalities in their respective countries.

The United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 Goals pledged by 193 nations in 2015 which would help engender an improved, fairer, and more sustainable world – one in which ‘no one is left behind’. The SDGs are a call to action, to develop innovative solutions to the most complex, societal, and environmental global challenges.

In Family Businesses on a Mission, series editor Naomi Birdthistle brings together international case studies to illustrate how family businesses can attain the UN 2030 SDGs. Accessible to those working in the field beyond academia – such as family business practitioners, family business owners, government and policymakers, members of NGOs, business associations and philanthropic centres – this book series equally appeals to those with a general interest in entrepreneurship and business.

It starts with you.

Ever noticed that it’s when you’re on the brink of next-level growth that the inner unrest surfaces? It shows up in different ways. Maybe you can’t seem to get out of the day-to-day work to focus on strategic activities. Or you doubt your ability to take your growing SME to the next level. Or maybe you realise you’re so addicted to working that you feel guilty when you invest in self-care.

But the truth is that this inner unrest costs you and your business dear: it creates hidden buckets of waste that can stop you – and your team – from achieving and enjoying next-level growth.

The good news is that it all starts with you. The 7-step ‘Lead Self First’ framework will support you to take control by leading yourself first, and gives your team a structure they can use too, so you can navigate the challenges of growth with confidence and get from where you are to where you want to be.

Caroline McKenna is an accredited executive coach and founder of Lead Self Coaching and Development, with 20 years’ experience working in growing SMEs, leading and developing teams. She coaches global business leaders, and supports scaling SME leaders to navigate the challenges of pursuing ambitious goals. Caroline runs her award-winning business from Northern Ireland. She developed the Lean Self First Model from her experience of working with Ireland's top entrepreneurs to unlock next-level growth.

Make Learning Stick Through Reflection Activities

Employees today crave development, growth, and skill building. They also want more meaning and connection at work. When they learn to reflect on training experiences intentionally, they get all that and more. Pausing to reflect makes it easier to retain and transfer the knowledge and skills we need on the job.

L&D expert Katrina Kennedy shares more than 45 reflective learning activities that instructional designers, facilitators, and trainers can use in face-to-face and online classrooms to create more meaningful learning experiences for a variety of contexts and participants. Each activity is designed to help participants develop critical thinking skills and improve future performance by analyzing what they’ve learned and how far they’ve come.

Built around eight essential outcomes, this book will show you how to strengthen motivation, social connection, memory, and critical thinking skills through targeted reflection activities—all of which are adaptable for in-person or remote training situations. Activities include mental inventories for boosting motivation, shared learning maps for building social connection, and after-action reviews for improving performance.

Start achieving your organization’s business goals and building people’s capacities with this comprehensive reflection toolkit.

Become an Expert AI User and Strategy Leader

Artificial intelligence (AI) and performance expert Josh Cavalier shares his in-depth knowledge and skills to help L&D professionals master learning experience design by using generative AI in their employee learning and development efforts. More than just a technical manual on generative AI or a collection of best prompt practices, this book explores how AI is reshaping jobs, skill development, and human performance. Cavalier provides his Learning and Development AI Ecosystem framework as a practical road map for integrating AI into your day-to-day work and your organization.

Discover how to seamlessly incorporate AI into your existing L&D processes and broader L&D ecosystem, optimizing workflows and driving measurable results. Explore how AI-enabled L&D platforms can facilitate personalized learning paths, automated performance support, and real-time skills gap analysis. Learn how to craft effective prompts for learning design and use chatbots and AI assistants for help in the moment of need. And importantly, dive deep into the ethical considerations, from maintaining data privacy and security to mitigating bias in AI-powered learning solutions.

No matter how advanced artificial intelligence becomes, L&D professionals must remain focused on performance—both of humans and now machines. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your AI journey, this book is your essential resource to unleash the power of AI in L&D.

Demand for creative thinking is currently outpacing supply. Despite that need, creative thinking is one of the skills most lacking in job candidates. The good news is that creative thinking is a trainable skill. In this issue of TD at Work, Gerard J. Puccio and Pamela A. Szalay will:

• Explain the nature of creativity.
• Identify the four stages of the creative process.
• Present, and provide the opportunity to practice, six strategies to enhance creative thinking.
• Describe ways to facilitate creativity at individual, team, and organizational levels.
• Provide opportunities to pair creative thinking with artificial intelligence.

The Tools & Resources in this issue include a Worksheet: Diverge First Strategy, Tool: POINt Evaluation, and Exercise: Stakeholder Analysis.

It starts with you.

Ever noticed that it’s when you’re on the brink of next-level growth that the inner unrest surfaces? It shows up in different ways. Maybe you can’t seem to get out of the day-to-day work to focus on strategic activities. Or you doubt your ability to take your growing SME to the next level. Or maybe you realise you’re so addicted to working that you feel guilty when you invest in self-care.

But the truth is that this inner unrest costs you and your business dear: it creates hidden buckets of waste that can stop you – and your team – from achieving and enjoying next-level growth.

The good news is that it all starts with you. The 7-step ‘Lead Self First’ framework will support you to take control by leading yourself first, and gives your team a structure they can use too, so you can navigate the challenges of growth with confidence and get from where you are to where you want to be.

Caroline McKenna is an accredited executive coach and founder of Lead Self Coaching and Development, with 20 years’ experience working in growing SMEs, leading and developing teams. She coaches global business leaders, and supports scaling SME leaders to navigate the challenges of pursuing ambitious goals. Caroline runs her award-winning business from Northern Ireland. She developed the Lean Self First Model from her experience of working with Ireland's top entrepreneurs to unlock next-level growth.

Turn Hospitality Into Your Business’s Superpower

In The Hospitality Advantage, Bruce Craul shows you how genuine hospitality is more than just a “nice to have”—it’s a game-changing business strategy. Drawing on over four decades of experience in the hospitality industry, Craul reveals how treating customers and employees like guests can skyrocket loyalty, improve employee satisfaction, and ultimately drive business growth.

This isn’t about customer service—it’s about creating a culture where people feel truly valued. Whether you lead a small startup or a multi-national brand, you’ll learn how to make every interaction count, from first impressions to long-term relationships. Craul provides real-world examples and proven strategies that anyone can implement, regardless of industry, to build a business that stands out.

You’ll discover how to:

• Build a culture of hospitality that drives customer retention
• Turn your team into passionate brand ambassadors
• Create unforgettable experiences that keep customers coming back
• Measure the ROI of hospitality to prove its impact on your bottom line

If you’re tired of blending in with the competition and ready to make a lasting impression, The Hospitality Advantage shows you exactly how to create a welcoming environment that delivers real results.

Lo que comenzó como una simple promesa se convirtió en un recorrido empresarial para cambiar una industria. En Una cultura de promesas: la historia real de una pequeña empresa que busca transformar la industria de residencias para adultos mayores, el autor Fee Stubblefield engloba las mejores ideas sobre cómo crear una organización desde cero y los desafíos y las oportunidades que la industria de los hogares para las personas de la tercera edad enfrenta en su totalidad. Incluso si no se encuentra en un hogar para las personas de la tercera edad, le interesará leer este libro, ya que todas las familias y los sectores de la economía y el gobierno se ven afectados e impactados por la creciente población que está envejeciendo de nuestro país.

La pasión de Fee por crear organizaciones, cultura y ser disruptivo se desarrolló en parte gracias a su crianza inusual en un lugar llamado Lehman Hot Springs, un complejo familiar pequeño en las montañas Blue Mountains de Oregón. Sus aguas sanadoras y el entorno natural ofrecen una gran metáfora de la cultura organizacional y los principios empresariales que le harán pensar en solucionar problemas de una manera nueva. La promesa de Fee de no colocar a su abuela en un asilo de ancianos desbloquea el poder de tener un propósito en la vida al atender a otras personas y formar parte de algo más grande que nosotros mismos.

Viaje con Fee a lo largo de una historia auténtica de 100 años para descubrir el significado y conectar los puntos de los fracasos y los triunfos de una familia. Conozca un nuevo tipo de promesa, la promesa ambiciosa paradójica, que está destinada a fracasar, pero que es necesaria para aquellos que quieren lograr grandes cosas. El tiempo que le dedique a leer este libro valdrá la pena, ya que obtendrá una visión privilegiada de lo que realmente se necesita para tener éxito y marcar una diferencia en su rincón del mundo.

Maniacal Fanaticism: Success Slightly Different is not a book about inspiration. It’s a sharp, unflinching look at how high achievers actually operate—and why talent, charm, and pedigree are wildly overrated.

Dr. Imamu Osei Tomlinson, award-winning healthcare CEO, draws from sports, psychology, and performance data to argue that greatness comes from a different place: uncomfortable traits like doubt, blame, and obsession. Through vivid examples—Michael Jordan’s ruthless execution, Jerry Rice’s overlooked draft, George Gervin’s improbable rise—he shows how elite performance often grows from pressure, not pedigree.

At its core is the Maniacal Fanaticism Flywheel: a four-part cycle of motivation, focus, execution, and reinforcement. It’s a framework not for feeling better—but for doing better.

For business leaders, athletes, students, and professionals tired of vague advice, this book offers a new lens. If you’re seeking true personal growth, elite performance, and honest insight into motivation strategy, this is your manual.

Forget what you were told about success. Here’s how it actually works.

A new perspective on the role of the market, and its future place in society.

Markets are apparently straightforward: they connect buyers to sellers. But their operation is complex, depending on places, things, networks and performances. Belief in markets is a cultural and political ideology. They are a means of governance in modern society, linked to individualistic self-responsibility.

But markets also have a darker side. Not everything should be for sale. Markets wield political power; they benefit those who already have resources; they impair collective action; they can be exploitative. As well as asking what markets are for, this book asks who they are for and what needs to change if they are to enable us to thrive in the 21st century.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is recurrently depicted as an enterprise that unites humanity in a common pursuit of a more just and sustainable world. But how is this enterprise pursued on a planet that is enormously unequal? Drawing on biopolitical theory and rich empirical data from different contexts around the world, this book explores how ESD is unpacked depending on whether people are rich or poor.

The book demonstrates how ESD is adapted to the lifestyles and living conditions of different populations. The implication of this depoliticized sensitivity to local ‘realities’, the book argues, is that inequality becomes accommodated and that different responsibilities are assigned to rich and poor. Ultimately, the book considers alternatives to this biopolitical divide.

How can diversity be practiced without reinforcing the very inequalities it aims to dismantle?

In this book, Maddy Janssens and Chris Steyaert address this pressing question by critically examining the assumptions behind current diversity initiatives and turning to critical practice theory and queer theory for novel insights. Through imaginative concepts, inspiring illustrations, and an integrative case study within the dance world, the authors articulate the ‘conditions of possibility’ for a fresh, impactful alternative. This book advocates for a shift from individual efforts to collective practices, proposing a politics of organizational worldmaking oriented at multiplicity – a practicing of diversity that aspires to transformative change into livable and just work lives.

Today drag has an unprecedented mass cultural appeal. Reaching far beyond traditional queer venues and audiences into the mainstream, it has evolved into a booming industry worth millions of dollars.

Drag is art, politics, lifestyle and entertainment all in one. Yet, studies examining its market value as a product, brand or consumption practice remain scarce. This interdisciplinary collection fills that void, exploring the intersection of drag and markets.

Written by an international group of scholars exploring cases from Europe, Asia and the US, this will be a key resource for anyone curious about drag’s social, political and economic impact.

It is impossible to view the news at present without hearing talk of crisis.

This timely book looks at how three major crises – the economy, pandemic and climate – are related to the crisis of work, making it more precarious, intense and unequal.

Providing an original and critical synthesis of recent trends in the field, expert scholars offer a programme for transcending the crisis of work.

Offering a timely contribution to understanding the important issues facing the world, this book presents an important new way of thinking about work in contemporary societies.

Pension policy in the UK and US is designed on the assumption that people make informed financial decisions, consistently invest in pensions and manage diverse portfolios. Deviating from this is often deemed irresponsible and irrational. However, this assumption overlooks uncontrollable factors like caring duties, employment breaks or income limitations. Even when individuals act as expected, unpredictable market shifts can hinder long-term planning.

This book redefines deviations to “rational behaviour” as logical responses to a dysfunctional system. Challenging existing theoretical discussions and policy approaches, it proposes a fresh perspective on rationality when it comes to financial practices and policy.

First book to focus on the future of hotels in a detailed, comprehensive and multidimensional way.

This book adopts a timeline approach to explore the future of hotels to 2050 through the lens of hospitality, design, education, workforce dynamics, disruption, innovation, technology and sustainability. It examines how these interconnected domains will shape guest experiences and operational models in the decades ahead.

Drawing on insights, led by the Professors of the Hotel Management School Leeuwarden, the research highlights the importance of strategic foresight and interdisciplinary collaboration in navigating emerging challenges. By integrating academic perspectives and industry trends, the work contributes to a deeper understanding of how hotels can evolve into adaptive, resilient and guest-centric environments.

First book to focus on the future of hotels in a detailed, comprehensive and multidimensional way.

This book adopts a timeline approach to explore the future of hotels to 2050 through the lens of hospitality, design, education, workforce dynamics, disruption, innovation, technology and sustainability. It examines how these interconnected domains will shape guest experiences and operational models in the decades ahead.

Drawing on insights, led by the Professors of the Hotel Management School Leeuwarden, the research highlights the importance of strategic foresight and interdisciplinary collaboration in navigating emerging challenges. By integrating academic perspectives and industry trends, the work contributes to a deeper understanding of how hotels can evolve into adaptive, resilient and guest-centric environments.

Takes scholarship on the Eurovision Song Contest beyond the political/international relations angle.

This book explores the Eurovision Song Contest and its significance within tourism, events and leisure studies. The volume considers three main themes: Eurovision tourism and event impacts; event personalities and fandom; and the power and politics of events.

Within these broader themes, the chapters focus on issues such as the relationship between tourism and identity, especially through mechanisms of destination branding and nation-building; the interplay of soft power, cultural diplomacy and critical geopolitics; and the central role of LGBTQI+ tourism, fan cultures and camp aesthetics in shaping the event’s meanings.

The book is an essential guide to Eurovision’s big questions such as its longevity in the face of ongoing conflicts and its vital role in tourism promotion.

Advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data and Cyber Physical Systems are not only reshaping business operations, but also redefining competition across industries.

This book provides insight into the characteristics and implications associated with Industry 4.0 and 5.0 technologies. It also offers frameworks for integrating these technologies into business operations to foster innovation, enhance efficiency, and gain a competitive edge. It investigates the paths of these technologies and their potential impact on various industries.

Perspectives from a range of experts in divergent fields makes this an invaluable resource suitable for various audiences: from business executives and entrepreneurs to scholars and students alike this publication serves as a reference material that equips them with knowledge and tools necessary for thriving in the era of intelligent technology.

While AI is driving advancements in business and society, it also introduces challenges like ethical dilemmas and e-pollution. Its impact on both economic and social fronts is undeniable, with the potential to drive innovation, increase efficiency, and reduce waste. However, this great potential comes with significant responsibility, as the ethical implications and risks of AI must be carefully managed to harness its benefits for addressing global issues.

In Artificial Intelligence in Business and Society: Global Insights, authors delve into the multifaceted impacts of AI on business economics and social structures. This edited volume is divided into two sections: the first examines AI’s influence on economic growth, financial inclusion, and technological innovation, with contributions from experts across various fields. The second section explores AI’s social implications, including its role in education, job markets, health outcomes, elections, and human rights. Through diverse international perspectives, this work provides a comprehensive understanding of AI’s potential to drive sustainable development and address global challenges.

This collected edition is essential for policymakers, educators, business leaders, and anyone interested in the transformative power of AI. It offers valuable insights into how AI can drive sustainable development, improve human well-being, and address global challenges, while also highlighting the ethical considerations and risks involved.

Quality 4.0, born from the digital transformation of Industry 4.0, bridges the gap between digital and physical realms by integrating technologies, human intelligence, and systems to enhance organizational performance and achieve excellence. Just as Industry 4.0 prioritizes digital integration for manufacturing efficiency, Quality 4.0 utilizes technology to improve product quality, elevate customer satisfaction, and optimize quality management systems.

In Quality 4.0: From Theory to Practice authors address the emerging concept of Quality 4.0. Despite its potential, organizations face challenges in understanding and implementing Quality 4.0 effectively. This comprehensive volume not only provides a theoretical framework but also offers a number of case studies from various industries, organization sizes, and locations. Through these case studies, readers gain valuable insights into real-world transitions towards Quality 4.0, equipping them with the knowledge and guidelines necessary to navigate this transformative journey within their own organizations. While Quality 4.0 presents opportunities for enhanced performance and growth, its implementation requires addressing challenges such as resource constraints, awareness gaps, and cultural transformation, underscoring the complexities inherent in adopting this paradigm shift in quality management.

This collected edition is essential reading for academics and professionals in quality management, digital transformation, and organizational development. Whether aiming to improve quality practices, adopt emerging technologies, or achieve organizational excellence, this work is a crucial resource for staying ahead in today’s dynamic business environment.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seek to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030. While in the past, the overarching purpose of the companies was to enhance shareholder value, the SDGs also provide an opportunity for companies to reinvent their purpose considering the needs of various stakeholders and contribute towards a more sustainable future.

The research presented here assimilates fresh insights into the implementation challenges companies face concerning the adoption of the SDGs and how they can effectively align business strategies in addressing the SDGs and brings together diverse perspectives and novel research investigating how the business sector is engaging and contributing toward achieving the SDGs.

Contributing to an evolving albeit nascent field of inquiry and providing new perspectives on the role of businesses in achieving the SDGs, The Sustainable Development Goals and the Business Sector is an important read for corporate practitioners, policymakers, consultants, supranational organizations’ experts, academics, students who seek to understand linkages between business sustainability and the SDGs discourse in developing, emerging, and developed economies.

Corporate Sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: Global Challenges and Opportunities book series examines the broad agenda of the SDGs, which requires the participation of multiple disciplines and sectors to be delivered.

In an era where gender equality remains elusive despite significant strides, women’s empowerment is more relevant than ever. This ongoing struggle for equal rights and opportunities spans sectors such as education, employment, and politics. It involves dismantling gender stereotypes, achieving work-life balance, and fostering entrepreneurship among women. Addressing these issues requires a holistic approach that integrates insights from sociology, economics, psychology, and business studies.

Empowering Women through Italy’s Recovery and Resilience Plan provides a comprehensive examination of women’s empowerment within the framework of Italy’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Part One establishes the general framework, exploring the Next Generation EU initiative and Italy’s PNRR, focusing on social cohesion, inclusion, and gender equality. This section delves into the concept of empowerment, breaking it down into components such as leadership, identity, and mentoring, and addresses the impact of gender stereotypes, the significance of work-life balance, and the challenges and opportunities in women’s entrepreneurship. Part Two analyses good practices, starting with the methodology and metrics for evaluating gender equality initiatives. It presents case studies of diversity management strategies in both the private and public sectors, discusses the role of Single Guarantee Committees in promoting gender equality in public organizations, and examines the certification process for gender equality by the Italian Department of Equal Opportunities.

Providing multidisciplinary analysis and practical solutions, this edited collection equips readers with the knowledge and tools to address the complex challenges women face across sectors. It is essential for policymakers, academics, industry leaders, and activists committed to advancing gender equality.

Businesses often face criticism for engaging in financial activities with no genuine business purpose other than to minimise taxes or enhance financial statements. Opponents of financial engineering highlight notorious cases like WorldCom, Enron, and Long-Term Capital Management, where accounting abuses and aggressive tax avoidance strategies created significant public backlash. For many critics, any financial structure that reduces taxes, bypasses regulations, or artificially inflates financial metrics is inherently suspect and deserving of condemnation. Rule Arbitrage challenges that view, arguing that a subset of these financial transactions, often criticised as rule arbitrage, can be legitimate, providing real benefits while staying within the bounds of both legal language and legislative intent.

Through clear explanations and 20 detailed case studies, Oussama A. Nasr defends these structures, showing they can achieve legitimate tax savings, regulatory relief, or other business advantages without violating the spirit of the rules they operate within. Written in accessible language, it covers a range of financial topics including senior/subordinated debt, prepaid forwards, collateralized loan obligations, and credit default swaps.

Designed to educate both casual readers and finance experts alike, Nasr provides insight into how these structures work, addressing objections, and demonstrating why many of these transactions are deserving of respect rather than condemnation. With an eye toward both practical application and regulatory context, this work offers a balanced perspective on the complex world of rule arbitrage.

Entrepreneurship and the Dynamics of Contexts: Contemporary Issues and Challenges aims to expand the discourse on entrepreneurship-context, with the goal of probing conventional knowledge. Recent efforts in contextualising entrepreneurship research have predominantly concentrated on the 'where.' While these studies have contributed significantly to scholarly discussions by sharing findings across geographical divides, it is evident that the 'when' and 'how' of contextualised entrepreneurship versions remain under-theorised and underexplored.

The book aims to make two central points. The first point involves distinguishing between current assumptions and new findings and determining whether existing assumptions can be sustained or if new knowledge needs to be established. The second point emphasises the necessity of sharpening insights by balancing theories and concepts about contexts. This collection aims to contribute to a significant widening of the field.

The International Studies in Small Business and Entrepreneurship Research Series opens a new chapter, as it seeks to advance discussions that consolidate conventional knowledge. The purpose of this initiative is to invite new reflections on the nature of entrepreneurship and small business across contexts. The collections in this series aim to improve the theoretical rigour and practical relevance of the field. The emphasis is to advance contemporary contributions that matter for small business and entrepreneurship, directing us to underexplored and under-theorised contexts.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern industry, staying ahead of the curve is not merely an advantage; it's a necessity. The transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 represents a quantum leap in the way businesses operate and interact with technology. Industry 4.0 was characterised by the integration of digital technologies, automation, data analytics, and the Internet of Things (IoT) into manufacturing processes. Industry 5.0, also known as "human-centred industry" or "symbiotic industry," represents a shift from pure automation to greater collaboration between humans and machines, emphasising human skills, creativity, and problem-solving alongside advanced technologies.

Industry 5.0: Pioneering Business and Management Transformations aims to provide a comprehensive guide to understanding, preparing for, and thriving in the era of Industry 5.0. Key topics covered include Advanced Automation and AI Integration; Human-machine collaboration; Customisation and Personalisation; Data security and Privacy; Regulatory and Policy changes; and Sustainability and Ethical considerations. The book will appeal to academic researchers; students of business at undergraduate and MBA level; as well as business practitioners.

Human 2.0: Reimagining HR in the Age of Transhumanism explores the transformative effects of transhumanist technologies, such as AI, biotechnology, and neuro-enhancements, on the field of human resources (HR). As technological advances blur the boundaries between human and machine, HR professionals find themselves at a pivotal juncture, where traditional workforce models must evolve to remain relevant. This edited collection provides a comprehensive analysis of how these emerging technologies will reshape HR practices, presenting a future-oriented view of a workplace enriched by innovations that amplify human capability and efficiency.

Addressing the imperative for ethical new HR paradigms, Human 2.0 bridges theory and practice through case studies and data-driven insights. Key topics include the integration of AI and machine learning into HR processes, the role of biotechnology in enhancing employee wellness and productivity, and the potential of neuro-enhancements to foster cognitive development. This forward-looking guide serves both as an academic resource and a practical toolkit, empowering HR professionals to navigate and harness technological advancements for a competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles are essential for organizations to embrace, but what impact does digital technology have on ESG and corporate social responsibility?

The research presented in the book examines how this intersection is transforming corporate governance practices and sustainability programs, with an in-depth exploration of the digital tools and technologies that are contributing to beneficial impacts on ESG performance, accountability, and stakeholder engagement. The chapters offer a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the latest developments, difficulties, and possibilities in digital ESG management. They provide practical and effective approaches for organizations to successfully navigate the intricate aspects of sustainability in the digital era. Readers acquire useful insights into the implementation of digital governance frameworks and the utilization of technology to improve ESG performance and stakeholder communication.

It offers readers useful insights and practical approaches to promote positive transformations in corporate governance and sustainability.

Digital Marketing Advanced in Tourism explores the dynamic intersection of digital marketing and the tourism industry, offering readers a comprehensive understanding of how digital strategies can elevate and transform tourism brands. Through real-world case studies, the book delves into how companies within the tourism sector have successfully leveraged digital marketing to enhance their visibility, increase engagement, and build a strong presence in an increasingly competitive market. From destinations promoting unique local experiences, to global tourism brands scaling their influence, this book highlights the pivotal role of digital tools in modern tourism.

As the tourism industry continues to grow and diversify, it faces the challenge of distinguishing itself in a crowded marketplace. Digital Marketing Advanced in Tourism outlines the evolving nature of tourist offerings, from traditional attractions like beaches and cultural heritage to niche experiences that appeal to today’s more sophisticated traveller. By integrating digital marketing concepts with real-world examples, this contributed work is an essential resource for anyone in the academic and professional space seeking to explore the digital tourism landscape.

Eco-HR: Integrating Sustainability into Workforce Management explores the critical intersection of environmental sustainability and human resource management. A diverse team of authors provides HR professionals with actionable solutions, practical examples, and proven strategies to embed sustainability into the workplace. By empowering organisations to adopt eco-friendly practices, it aims to drive meaningful change while addressing the growing demand for sustainable operations.

Blending theory with practice, this contributed work delves into how sustainability can be seamlessly integrated into core HR functions such as staffing, employee development, morale enhancement, and cultural transformation. Featuring best practices, step-by-step guidelines, and real-world examples, it equips HR managers, sustainability officers, academics and organisational leaders with the tools to foster an environmentally responsible workforce. Whether you're seeking to implement green policies or transform your organisational culture, this resource offers the insights and guidance to make sustainability a tangible reality.

As the world grapples with the impacts of climate change, emerging markets are approaching an inflection point. The heightened vulnerability of economic growth, social stability, and ecological integrity due to severe weather and environmental degradation may have far reaching consequences for developing economies. However, these challenges also present significant opportunities for innovation, resilience, and sustained development.

Climate Risk and Emerging Markets: Valuation, Volatility, and Portfolio Strategies delves into the unique challenges that emerging economies encounter, including the threats posed by rising sea levels and disruptions to agriculture. Authors provide a thorough analysis of how climate change impacts trade, investments, and overall GDP in these regions. They also explore a range of strategies to enhance adaptability and resilience, such as diversifying investments, utilizing risk management tools, and implementing policy adaptations. Additionally, the collections highlight the potential of green finance and sustainable investment opportunities, showcasing promising industries and successful climate-conscious initiatives. Emphasizing the need for robust policy frameworks and global collaboration, authors advocate for cooperative efforts and present exemplary methodologies to support emerging countries in their transition towards climate resilience.

With practical case studies and innovative perspectives, this work is a valuable resource for investors, CEOs, policymakers, academics, and forward-thinking individuals, providing insights into the challenges and opportunities of achieving sustainability in emerging markets.

Community lending programs play a pivotal role in promoting financial inclusion for marginalized populations, offering access to resources and opportunities that traditional financial systems often overlook. However, these initiatives frequently grapple with deep-seated conflicts driven by social inequities, power imbalances, and group dynamics. As marginalized individuals navigate the complexities of group membership, intersecting factors such as caste, gender, and economic status exacerbate tensions, sometimes leading to extreme measures like coercion and exclusion. Addressing these conflicts is critical for realizing the potential of community lending programs as tools for socio-economic development.

Development and Conflict in Community Lending Programs: A Socio-Cultural Perspective explores the intricate challenges and opportunities within community lending initiatives. This comprehensive study uses case studies and theoretical frameworks, including development conflict theory, mass communication theory, and transformational leadership theory, to examine the root causes of conflict and offer strategies for resolution. Author Nishi Malhotra highlights the roles of state intervention, financial leadership, and communication strategies in mitigating conflicts and building consensus. Drawing on examples from both developed and developing nations, this work provides a nuanced analysis of how institutional designs and leadership approaches shape the outcomes of community lending programs, ultimately advancing financial inclusion and development goals.

Offering theoretical insights and practical guidance, this study is an essential resource for policymakers, academics, practitioners, and entrepreneurs committed to fostering equitable and sustainable financial systems. Its case studies and actionable recommendations make it a valuable tool for understanding and addressing the socio-cultural dimensions of community lending.

In a world shaped by automation, disconnection, and relentless change, leadership is no longer just a matter of strategy and execution, it’s a matter of emotion. [Title] is a bold, research-backed guide to the new frontier of leadership: one where emotional intelligence isn’t just a soft skill, it’s the skill that matters most.

Written by organizational psychologists and leadership experts Dr. Ross Blankenship and Dr. Maggie Sass, this book redefines emotional intelligence for a transformed workplace. It offers an evolved framework helping readers - from emerging leaders to CEOs - navigate complexity with clarity, empathy, and purpose.

With real stories, actionable tools, and provocative insights, Friction helps leaders recognize the emotional resistance within themselves and others, understand the identities and instincts that surface under pressure, and engage with a depth that AI can’t replicate. This isn’t Emotional Intelligence 3.0, it’s an emotional agility playbook for what’s next.

Become Indispensable in Driving Business Growth

L&D leaders must know how to connect learning strategies with business strategies and communicate effectively with leaders to improve employee performance and drive revenue. In other words, L&D needs to run like a business. Enter learning operations expert Tracie Cantu and her innovative Learning Operations Blueprint, which puts critical business needs first and brings rigorous systems-based thinking to corporate learning.

This first-of-its-kind approach offers step-by-step guidance for updating L&D processes and structures to immediately improve results and increase the relevance of the L&D function. When learning teams and leadership become better partners, outcomes improve for organizations and employees.

You’ll learn how to build an L&D business model that works, how to manage a portfolio of learning products, and how to design employee learning experiences that improve outcomes without demanding more tech or human resources.

Cantu also provides questions for reflection, checklists, worksheets, and scorecards for practical application of her recommendations. Each chapter includes tips for taking action immediately and real-world stories that illustrate how to use the framework successfully and avoid common pitfalls.

With this book, you will learn to scale your impact, secure your influence, and reach L&D’s potential.