J-B Short Format

Many people hesitate to ask for money because they are searching for the perfect words to use. From Laura Fredricks (the author of bestselling book The ASK) comes Winning Words for Raising Money, a new resource for anyone who is tasked with the nerve-wracking job of asking for money for themselves, their nonprofit or business. Winning Words focuses like a laser on the one crucial element that can make or break a carefully planned approach—finding the right words and saying them at the right time. Winning Words will help you feel positive, charged up, enthusiastic, and empowered to find your individual asking words and know the right time to deliver them. As Fredricks explains, finding the right words takes concentration, presence, and focus because you have to take into consideration the words you are comfortable with as well as the words that will resonate with the person or people you are engaging. Rather than offering a cookie-cutter method, this piece is designed to help you tailor a persuasive approach that will get results. Winning Words is filled with more than 60 winning phrases from which to choose and 10 exercises that can help you define your individual style. Once you complete the exercises you will have your own hand-tailored asking play book that can be put into action immediately. Winning Words' five-step process includes everything you need to know in order to let the words and your own personality lead you to fundraising success. Sprinkled throughout are illustrative examples that clearly show how to put money in your hands if you follow and apply each of the five steps. About the Jossey-Bass Short Format Series Written by thought leaders and experts in their fields, pieces in the Jossey-Bass Short Format Series provide busy, on-the-go professionals, managers and leaders around the world with must-have, just-in-time information in a concise and actionable format.

In-depth agility evaluation for a more efficient response to change Assessing Organization Agility provides a clear, concise roadmap to improved implementation of change. Written by two organizational researchers at USC's Center for Effective Organizations and a management consultant with Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company), this book provides the means for assessing an organization's agility and formulating an improvement plan. Beginning with a discussion about the meaning of "agility," the authors enumerate the various contributing factors that affect how quickly an organization responds to change, and the efficiency of the response. An agility survey shows readers how their own organization compares in terms of both perception and implementation, allowing the formulation of an "Agility Profile" that can point out strengths while highlighting areas in need of improvement. Case studies demonstrate the real-world impact of effective agility strategy, and example scenarios illustrate improved responses by each agility "type." Eighty percent of large-scale organizations fail to meet their objectives, and poor agility is often to blame. Organizations respond to changes in the marketplace, economy, and society by implementing changes in their processes and procedures, but planning and implementing change takes time. During that time, the context of the initial decision frequently evolves, leaving the organization one step behind. Agility is the ability to quickly implement change without sacrificing strategy, and Assessing Organization Agility helps readers to: • Discover the organizational/operational factors that contribute to agility • Assess current agility from all perspectives, highlighting areas for improvement • Implement processes and procedures that streamline change events • Maintain forward trajectory with adjustments to strategy and implementation The current pace of technical, competitive, and environmental change is faster than ever before, and response requirements are far more complex and sophisticated. In this turbulent environment, agility can mean the difference between success and stagnation. Assessing Organization Agility asks the questions and provides the answers that lead to better organizational reflex and more effective response.

From branding guru David Aaker comes Three Threats to Brand Relevance, a provocative new offering in the Jossey-Bass Short Format series. In Three Threats Aaker reveals that the key to an organization's sustained growth is to learn what it takes to bring "big" innovation to market and create barriers to competitors. Aaker also shows how well-established companies can avoid becoming irrelevant in the face of the continuing parade of marketing dynamics led by others. Building on his full-length book Brand Relevance, Aaker offers a guide for confronting the three threats if they emerge and shows how to put in place the strategies that will keep the threats at bay. Threat #1: A decline in category or subcategory relevance. Customers simply no longer want to buy what you are making, despite the fact you are offering a quality product and some customers love it. Threat #2: The loss of energy relevance. Without energy the brand simply does not come to mind as other more visible brands and a decline in energy can create a perception that it is locked in the past, suitable for an older generation. Threat #3: The emergence of a "reason-not-to-buy." The brand may have a perceived quality problem or be associated with a firm policy that is not acceptable. Whether your brand is just breaking into the marketplace or has a long held place in the hearts of its consumers, any forward-thinking company can implement Aaker's proven methods and strategies as part of their organization's ongoing review of brand strategy with the help of this succinct and to-the-point resource. Written by thought leaders and experts in their fields, pieces in the Jossey-Bass Short Format Series provide busy, on-the-go professionals, managers and leaders around the world with must-have, just-in-time information in a concise and actionable format.

Innovation requires teaming. (Put another way, teaming is to innovation what assembly lines are to car production.) This book brings together key insights on teaming, as they pertain to innovation. How do you build a culture of innovation? What does that culture look like? How does it evolve and grow? How are teams most effectively created and then nurtured in this context? What is a leader's role in this culture? This little book is a roadmap for teaming to innovate. We describe five necessary steps along that road: Aim High, Team Up, Fail Well, Learn Fast, and Repeat. This path is not smooth. To illustrate each critical step, we look at real-life scenarios that show how teaming to innovate provides the spark that can fertilize creativity, clarify goals, and redefine the meaning of leadership.