Top Strategic Planning eBooks

Decision Support Systems eBook by Power, Daniel J

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

Decision Support Systems: Frequently Asked Questions is the authoritative reference guide to computerized Decision Support Systems.

Author Dan Power has spent almost 30 years building, studying and teaching others about computerized Decision Support Systems. Dr. Power is first and foremost a Decision Support evangelist and generalist. From his vantage point as editor of DSSResources.COM, he tracks a broad range of contemporary DSS topics.

In this DSS FAQ, Dr. Power answers 83 frequently asked questions about computerized decision support systems. The FAQ covers a broad range of contemporary topics and the questions are organized into 8 chapters.

DSS FAQ helps readers understand questions like:

What is a DSS?

What kind of DSS does Mr. X need?

Does data modeling differ for a Data-Driven DSS?

Is a Data Warehouse a DSS?

Is tax preparation software an example of a DSS?

What do I need to know about Data Warehousing/OLAP?

What is a cost estimation DSS?

What is a Spreadsheet-based DSS?

Decision Support Systems: Frequently Asked Questions is a useful resource for IT specialists, students, professors and managers. It organizes important Ask Dan! questions (with answers) published in DSS News from 2000 through 2004.

Business Intelligence Competency Centers: A Team Approach to Maximizing Competitive Advantage eBook by Miller, Gloria J. / Brautigam, Dagmar / Gerlach, Stefanie V.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

"Transform data into action for competitive advantage

""The knowledge assets of an organization are becoming increasingly important for competitive advantage, and therefore, the way in which knowledge is created, renewed, and communicated is critical. This book provides practical insights into how this may be achieved through the establishment of a Business Intelligence Competency Centre and is a valuable read for 'information professionals.'""
—Bill Sturman, Information Architecture Project Manager The Open University, United Kingdom

""BI is more than technology and projects. BI must live in the organization—as a BICC. This book helps to make BI tangible and understandable, bringing it to life.""
—Miriam Eisenmann, Project Manager (PMP) CSC Ploenzke AG, Germany

""This book is a must-read for planning and implementing your BICC. It is a pragmatic guide that addresses a lot, if not all, of the questions you'll be asking yourself. Don't miss out on getting a head start from the people who thought this through from start to finish . . . Pray your competitors don't get hold of this book!""
—Claudia Imhoff, President Intelligent Solutions, Inc., USA

""Creating a BICC forces the organization to focus on the importance of centralizing the gathering, interpreting, and analyzing of information to create business insight.""
—Anne Ulyate, Group Manager Business Intelligence Mutual & Federal, South Africa

""BI is a highly visible element in the 'business value' trend for IT investments. Initiatives, such as competency centers, should empower user organizations to drive even more value out of their BI investments.""
—Marianne Kolding, Director, European ServicesIDC, United Kingdom"

Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth, and Humanity eBook by Hart, Stuart, L.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

New Foreword by Al Gore

 

Brand-New Second Edition, Completely Revised with...

Up-to-the-minute trends and lessons learned

New and updated case studies

The latest corporate responses to climate change, energy, and terrorism

Global capitalism stands at a crossroads–facing terrorism, environmental destruction, and anti-globalization backlash. Today’s global companies are at a crossroads, too–searching desperately for new sources of profitable growth. Stuart L. Hart’s Capitalism at the Crossroads, Second Edition is about solving both of those problems at the same time.

It’s about igniting new growth by creating sustainable products that solve urgent societal problems. It’s about using new technology to deliver profitable solutions that reduce poverty and protect the environment. It’s about becoming truly indigenous to all your markets, and avoiding the pitfalls of first-generation “greening” and “sustainability” strategies.

Hart has thoroughly revised this seminal book with new case studies, trends, and lessons learned–including the latest experiences of leaders like GE and Wal-Mart. You’ll find new insights from the pioneering BoP Protocol initiative, in which multinationals are incubating new businesses in income-poor communities. You’ll also discover creative new ways in which corporations are responding to global warming and terrorism. More than ever, this book points the way toward a capitalism that’s more inclusive, more welcome, and far more successful–for both companies and communities,

worldwide.

Paths to profitable sustainability: Lessons from GE and Wal-Mart

Shattering the “trade-off” myth

New commercial strategies for serving the “base of the pyramid”

What enterprises have learned about doing business in income-poor regions

Becoming indigenous–for real, for good

Codiscovering new opportunities, cocreating new businesses with the poor

Learning from leaders: 20+ new and updated case studies

Best practices from DuPont, HP, Unilever, SC Johnson, Tata, P&G, Cemex, and more

Business Plans Kit For Dummies eBook by Peterson, Steven D. / Jaret, Peter E. / Schenck, Barbara Findlay

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

A new edition of the practical, proactive business plans toolkit While Business Plans For Dummies (0-7645-7652-6) covers the strategy of putting a business plan together, Business Plans Kit For Dummies helps entrepreneurs put their business plan to work. This handy guide is perfect for any kind of business. Now, the Second Edition includes a world of new information, including updates on assessing company goals, planning, mission statements, and updated sample plans. Steven D. Peterson, PhD (Petaluma, CA), is Senior Partner and founder of Home Planet Technologies, a management tool development company. Peter E. Jaret (Petaluma, CA) is a frequent contributor to the magazines Health, Newsweek, Reader's Digest, and Vogue.

Business Agility: Strategies for Gaining Competitive Advantage through Mobile Business Solutions eBook by Evans, Nicholas D.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

m-Business technology enables you to achieve extraordinary organizational agility -- and deliver unprecedented value to customers wherever they are. In Business Agility, Internet Week columnist Nicholas D. Evans draws upon real case studies to illuminate

Creativity at Work: Developing the Right Practices to Make Innovation Happen eBook by DeGraff, Jeff / Lawrence, Katherine

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

Creativity at Work: Developing the Right Practices to Make Innovation Happen

Advanced Facilitation Strategies: Tools & Techniques to Master Difficult Situations eBook by Bens, Ingrid

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

From Ingrid Bens, the author of the best-selling book Facilitating with Ease!, comes the next-step resource for project leaders, managers, community leaders, teachers, and other facilitators who want to hone their skills in order to deal with complex situations. Advanced Facilitation Strategies is a field guide that offers practical strategies and techniques for working with challenging everyday situations. These proven strategies and techniques are based on experience gleaned from hundreds of facilitated activities in organizations of all sizes and in all sectors. Both novice and seasoned facilitators who have had firsthand experience designing and leading meetings will benefit from this reality-based playbook. Advanced Facilitation Strategies is filled with the information facilitators need to Become better at diagnosing facilitation assignments and creating effective process designs Broaden their repertoire of tools to make impromptu design changes whenever they are needed Learn to be more resilient and confident when dealing with dysfunctional situations and difficult people.

Blown to Bits: How the New Economics of Information Transforms Strategy eBook by Evans, Philip

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

The new economics of information is blowing apart the foundations of traditional business strategy. According to Blown to Bits, your business definition, industry definition, and competitive advantage are simultaneously up for grabs. Evans and Wurster argue that with the spread of connectivity and common standards, your customers will increasingly have rich access to a universe of alternatives, your suppliers will exploit direct access to your customers, and focused competitors will pick off the most profitable parts of your value chain. With an uncompromising clarity and vivid examples, Blown to Bits is targeted squarely at today's practicing business and corporate leaders. This groundbreaking book shows how to build new strategies that reflect the new economics of information, and explains how to take advantage of the forces shaping today's competitive advantage.

Artful Making: What Managers Need to Know About How Artists Work eBook by Austin, Robert / Devin, Lee

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version.

Artful Making offers the first proven, research-based framework for engineering ingenuity and innovation. This book is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Harvard Business School professor Robert Austin and leading theatre director and playwright Lee Devin. Together, they demonstrate striking structural similarities between theatre artistry and production and today's business projects--and show how collaborative artists have mastered the art of delivering innovation "on cue," on immovable deadlines and budgets. These methods are neither mysterious nor flaky: they are rigorous, precise, and--with this book's help--absolutely learnable and reproducible. They rely on cheap and rapid iteration rather than on intensive up-front planning, and with the help of today's enabling technologies, they can be applied in virtually any environment with knowledge-based outputs. Moreover, they provide an overarching framework for leveraging the full benefits of today's leading techniques for promoting flexibility and innovation, from agile development to real options.

Business Plans That Work eBook by Timmons, Jeffry, A., Zacharakis, Andrew, Spinelli Jr., Stephen

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

"Today's top experts in entrepreneurship deliver a streamlined, step-by-step guide for crafting effective business plans ""Timmons is one of the two most powerful minds in entrepreneurship in the nation."" --Success Business Plans That Work arms entrepreneurs and small business owners with an easy-to-follow template for writing persuasive business plans, along with proven models that can be used to analyze potential business opportunities from initial idea to viable venture. This value-packed book will show both entrepreneurs and current business owners how to: Determine what to include in each plan, why, and for whom Recognize and avoid common pitfalls in the process Use the renowned ""Timmons Model"" to analyze potential business opportunities "

Defending the Digital Frontier: A Security Agenda eBook by Doll, Mark W.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

Defending the Digital Frontier: A Security Agenda

Aligned Yellow Bricks eBook by Woodward, Bob

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

Aligned Yellow Bricks demonstrates the critical need for strategic vision when creating and maintaining balanced organizational structures and aligned workplace activities. Author Bob Woodward illustrates the effectiveness of this approach by citing descriptive examples from the mythical Professor Marvel Manufacturing Corporation to better-known business giants including Hewlett-Packard, Ford Motor Company, and General Electric.

The framework for establishing goal-based structural alignment and building a strategic roadmap can be found in the following questions:

What are the primary goals of the organization?
Has the organizational structure been aligned to effectively execute the actions necessary to achieve those goals?
Have balanced metrics been defined to measure and integrate the aligned actions necessary to achieve those goals?
Does the reward system create the incentives necessary to spur those appropriate actions?

Aligned Yellow Bricks presents a logical and progressive methodology for success, while preventing unproductive

10 Steps to Success eBook by Fowler, Daniel S

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

Advanced praise for 10 Steps to Success-

'.outstanding, insightful and very timely for the newer agent. It also serves as a reminder to the veteran agent as well. Your ideas are easily understood and should be accepted by those who read the book. This should help many!"
-David Carter, sales director, Midland East American Family Insurance Group

Learn how to be a successful insurance agent with the simple techniques in 10 Steps to Success. Author Daniel S. Fowler utilizes his thirty years of experience in the insurance business to illustrate how to work smarter rather than harder toward building a successful insurance agency. Fowler's unique information applies to almost any business and will give you the tips you need to achieve your goals, including:

Building relationships
Marketing and business plans
Listening to yourself and your clients
The importance of good employees

With 10 Steps to Success, Fowler shows you how to provide not only the service people expect, but also the service people don't expect.

Corporate Responses to HIV/AIDS: Case Studies from India eBook by

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

How should the corporate sector engage in fighting the global burden of the AIDS epidemic? India's relatively low HIV prevalence rate often raises the question of whether it is in corporate sector interest to allocate resources to combat HIV and AIDS. The five case studies in this report feature a selection of Indian companies that felt compelled to engage in this fight and id allocate resources in order to do so. The challenges these companies encountered and innovative methods they used to surmount these challenges serve as useful lessons for those interested in launching similar intiatives.

Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New and Classic Methods eBook by Fleisher, Craig, S., Bensoussan, Babette E.

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 47:11:30 GMT

The Definitive How-To Guide for Business and Competitive Analysis

Transform raw data into compelling, actionable business recommendations
Answer the questions executives ask–“What?” “So What?” and “Now What?”
Today’s 24 most valuable techniques: how to choose them, how to use them
For everyone who performs analysis: managers, consultants, functional specialists, and strategists
A completely new book by the authors of the popular Strategic and Competitive Analysis

Business success begins with deep clarity about your competition and your business environment. But, even as data gathering has improved dramatically, few business professionals know the state-of-the-art techniques for analyzing their data. Now there’s a comprehensive, immensely practical guide to today’s best tools and techniques for answering tough questions and making actionable recommendations.

Business and Competitive Analysis begins with end-to-end guidance on the analysis process, including defining problems, avoiding analytical pitfalls, choosing tools, and communicating results. Next, the authors offer detailed guides on 24 of today’s most valuable analysis models: techniques that have never been brought together in one book before.They offer in-depth, step-by-step guidance for using every technique–along with realistic assessments of strengths, weaknesses, feasibility, and business value.

You are flooded with data. This book will help you transform that data into actionable insights and recommendations that enterprise decision makers cannot and will not ignore. Craig S. Fleisher and Babette E. Bensoussan begin with a practical primer on the process and context of business and competitive analysis: how it works, how to avoid pitfalls, and how to communicate results. Next, they introduce their unique FAROUT method for choosing the right tools for each assignment. The authors then present 24 of today’s most valuable analysis methods.They cover “classic” techniques, such as McKinsey 7S and industry analysis, as well as emerging techniques from multiple disciplines:economics,corporate finance, sociology, anthropology, and the intelligence and futurist communities. For each, they present clear descriptions, background context, strategic rationales, strengths, weaknesses, step-by-step instructions, and references. The result is a book you can rely on to meet any analysis challenge, no matter how complex or novel.

The fundamentals of business and competitive analysis
Goals, processes, pitfalls, deliverables, and benefits
Competitive analysis techniques
Nine Forces, Competitive Positioning, Business Model, SERVO, and Supply Chain Analyses
Enterprise analysis techniques
Benchmarking, McKinsey 7S, Shadowing, Product Line, and Win/Loss Analyses
Environmental analysis techniques
Strategic Relationships, Corporate Reputation, Critical Success Factors, Driving Forces, and Country Risk Analyses
Evolutionary analysis techniques
Technology Forecasting,War Gaming, Event/Timeline, Indications and Warning Analyses, and more
Financial, probabilistic, and statistical techniques
Basic Statistics, Competitor Cash Flow, Analysis of Competing Hypothesis (ACH), and Linchpin Analyses