Reviews (17)

Classic leadership text
Heifetz' definition of leadership revolves around the concept of influence rather than subordination or coercion.Using contrast to sharpen his own definition of leadership, he wrote that there is an important difference between imagining that a leader influences a community to follow her vision and influencing a community to face its problems.
Thought provoking
I thought the book was good when I read it first. It took me a second read to realize how exceptional it is. The book's reviews on Amazon site range from 5 star to 1 star, from people who were amazed by its brilliance to those who could not despise it enough. I think this is the best accolade that a leadership book can ever get - it takes a stance, it provides direction, and it chooses to be for a great cause irrespective of whether it is loved or hated. This book cannot and must not be ignored.

Best Leadership book I have read
I have been studing leadership for over 15 years both by reading and experience.I consider this book to be the best book I have read because it describes leadership as a learned activity.It also says that leadership is in motivating people to do their own work in solving difficult problems. I found that as President of my congregation I was continually going back to the concepts in the book to lead it through a very difficult situation involving placement of the flags in the sanctuary.It was very difficult to get people to do their own work and not try to step in to solve everything. (That would have been impossible anyway) I found that he described President Lyndon Johnson as a successful leader (civil rights) and unsuccessful leader ( Vietnam).His discussion on leading without authority is new ground for me.If you want to discuss the book with others there is an on-line book study at the Work and Worship Institute website. I found it was a good way for me to get more from the book. This is a great book with great stories of a variety of leaders in our society. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Entrepreneurship    5. Leadership    6. Leadership In Business    7. Political Process - Leadership    8. Business & Economics / Economics / General    9. Communication Studies    10. Management & management techniques    11. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (7)

Excellent book for someone seeking new jobs
Thanks to this book I got more than 99% on my Professional Writing class. This book isn't just for college students; it is good for anyone who is in the market for new job. It talked about business communication (it's on the title) but that includes oral, written, how to do research paper, how to write proposals, what to expect and dress during an interview, how to write a follow up letter (thank you note), types of cover letters and how to tap into the hidden job market, types of resumes and online job search, e-mailing, types of letters (like fundraising) etc. (the list goes on and on). This is an excellent book for anyone learning about the current job market or what to expect. Ms. Locker is an excellent career coach and the book proves it. I applied to few job postings online (as a test on this book), and got replies from all of them and was called for interviews. I don't know about others but I'm very impressed with this book.

Communication for Dummies
This book breaks down every area of communication. It let's you know step by step what is needed. This is a book you will keep referring to for years to come.

Boring!
I needed to have this book for class and it is so boring. I can only read a page before I just have to stop because it's just that dull. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Communication - General    4. Business communication    5. Business/Economics    6. Communication in management    7. Management - General    8. Business & Economics / Business Communication    9. Business communication & presentation   

Reviews (4)

An Excellent Consumer Resource
This book does a great job of covering several areas of debt that all consumers will find helpful.It is written in an easy to understand language, yet rich with detail and a variety areas covered.The chapter on debt collections touched on the topic of statute of limitations, which is very important to many consumers, including me.I found that two other books that I read on consumer debt did not deal at all with this important topic.I thank Garrett Sutton (and contributor Gerri Detweiler) for a very valuable book.

Good book with lots of different information.
I read this book to get a little more famaliar with budgets, and was very impressed with how many things this book touched on.
Great Consumer Credit/Debt Resource!
The ABC's of Getting Out of Debt:Trade Your Bad Debt for Good Debt and Your Bad Credit for Good Credit really stands out among the many credit and debt related books available to consumers for many reasons. For starters, the book covers the topic of credit and debt in a very thorough and objective manner. Such critical, but often overlooked, topics as the health effects of debt are addressed. In addition, the book provides very simple and practical steps to help consumers that are struggling with credit and/or debt problems.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Consumer Finance    3. Consumer credit    4. Credit    5. Debt    6. Finance, Personal    7. Personal Finance    8. Personal Finance - Money Management    9. Personal Finance - Retirement Planning    10. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / General    11. Business ethics   

Reviews (14)

Smart instructions for curing social blunders
Through illustrative stories and lots of useful acronyms, author Karl Albrecht offers essential skill-building techniques to enhance your "social intelligence." Improve your strategic insight into patterns of social interaction, political acumen and connections with others by developing your people skills. We highly recommend this book to leaders who want to learn how to build a climate of cooperation rather than of conflict.

A workable approach for improvingsocial competence
This book offers a fresh, workable, approach to improving social competence.I liked the way the topics were organized so they were easy to understand and how the author illustrated his points with real-life examples.Even though I am somewhat familiar with some of the topics and examples in the book, my view of them is different now looking at it through a social intelligence perspective.
A review from a book critic for the rest of us, who was as skeptical as you may be now...
As a book critic for the rest of us, I'd like to offer my two cents, after reading Dr. Albrecht's book and thoroughly enjoying the experience of reading it, and the insight it offers.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Communication - General    4. Business/Economics    5. General    6. Business & Economics / Business Communication    7. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (3)

A road map fortalent development ...
From strategic visioning through measuring success, this practical workbook provides tools, guidelines and even a dozen templates in the enclosed CD. Mr. Wheeler shares best practices, from years of experience and research. With the lead from product advances shrinking, human talent will become a major competitive differentiator. I highly recommend for anyone challenged to support your organization's success through talent development.

A must have workbook.
If you are involved in setting up or work for a corporate university, run, don't walk to your nearest book seller and purchase this workbook. Long overdue, The Corporate University Workbook, written in plan, easy to understand English, walks the reader through eleven chapters packed with business oriented explanations, strategies, checklists, exercises, case studies and rationales for designing, building and maintaining a world class corporate university. Destined to become a classic in the field, The Corporate University Workbook should be required reading and within arms reach of anyone responsible for establishing or fine tuning their organization's corporate university.
A Must Read if You Want to Build a Corporate University
Kevin Wheeler makes it clear early on in his book that successful corporate universities must go beyond traditional training. Learning goes far beyond training, incorporating a wide range of informal learning processes and activities. This differentiates this book from much of what has been written in the past about corporate universities--focusing on mostly course-oriented training. Wheeler takes the reality of broad-based learning in organizations into account and provides a very detailed and practical guide for building a successful and flexbible corporate university. The book contains lots of templates and practical lists with questions and issues that must be addressed by someone building a corporate university. Each chapter begins with a review of an unsuccessful and a successful example of corporate universities, making it clear that success is by no means guaranteed. But the probability of success will no doubt be much higher for those who do their homework and not only read this book but complete the numerous exercises that Wheeler has carefully prepared to assist those ready to build a corporate university meant to transform an organization into a 21st century learning organization. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Employees    5. Employer-supported education    6. Handbooks, manuals, etc    7. Human Resources & Personnel Management    8. Organizational learning    9. Training of    10. Business & Economics / Human Resources & Personnel Management    11. Personnel & human resources management   

Reviews (12)

Valuable? - Perhaps for somebody who has never had a real eye for other cultures
Hofstede's work was and is not really helpful; perhaps fascinating for those who deal with the issues from the comfortable space of their warm home of office in a western country.
Very valueable, if taken as Hofstede has meant it
Although many comments have already been accumulated let me add something, since some of the reviews tend to get out of focus. Hofstede never claimed to have studied cultures in general, he studied effects of culture on work-related values. For this topic his work is still the standard. The starting point is like this: a large company like IBM tries to establish a strong corporate identity shared among all of its worldwide employees ("We are IBM" kind of thing). However, if you ask them a couple of questions about their work-related values, they answer differently. Turns out, the differences can be explained to some degree by the employee's country-of-origin, that is his or her culture. Hofstede then goes on and tries to find dimensions in order to describe the differences between cultures, - and it has to be said again and again - dimensions for "work-related values" and not for culture in general! This observation was and is tremendously important for multinational companies. It means that we are still influenced even when we work at a multinational firm by our cultural traditions and that this cannot easily be exchanged by the company's culture. Of course if you are more interested in other aspects of culture, than Hofstede's books might not the prime choice for you to study.
A Train Wreck
Reading the previous reviews, several things are evident. The West Palm Beach review is nothing more than an ad hominen attack on a previous review.Furthermore, the Palm Beach reviewer mistakes sticking to the subject with "we're the only game in town" argument/counterargument assertion.It is very easy to ignore Hofstede's work completely, start from zero and perform a real cross cultural analysis, 2-3 three countries at a time, starting IN the native language and then making a comparison that speaks in its own voice.This is NOT the same as Hofstede's doing the surveys in English and then translating them twice.The Palm Beach reviewer also falls into the argumentum ad ignorantium fallacy (must be true because it hasn't been proven false) by saying "I mean that no reputable research on cultural values will fail to include Hofstede's work because it has been so influential" as well as appeal to celebrity.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Ethnic Studies - General    3. Organizational Behavior    4. Psychology    5. Social Psychology    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Psychology & Psychiatry / General    9. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (1)

Fast delivery
The book arrives in time and is in good quality. However, the price is considered too high. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. General    5. Government & Business    6. Industrial Management    7. Industrial policy    8. Industries    9. Leadership    10. Social aspects    11. United States    12. Business & Economics / General    13. Business ethics   

Reviews (19)

Excellent Resource on Tablet PC
I really like the author's approach, since he actually gives both relevant technical information and provides the practical business practice.
Tablet PC book not for learning the Tablet
This book is not for someone learning to really use the Tablet PC.It is about his system of organization and how to use the Tablet PC as a key device in organizing your life, as the title indicates.I was disappointed in the book overall as I was looking for a book that would educate the physicians I support in better use of the Tablet itself.

Good Reminder for Professionals
As I read the book it reminded me of all the things I should be doing to keep my work organized.The tablet PC is a great tool which I encorporated into my daily routine prior to reading.This book gave me helpful hints on how to do things effectively and efficently on my tablet.The book is written using the beta and initial version of the tablet PC tools.If you purchase you must download the updates of Chapters 3 & 4.This update gives a better understanding of the current tools of the tablet PC.It is worth the money in time saved. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business    2. Business & Economics    3. Business & Economics / Time Management    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computer programs    6. Computers    7. Computers - General Information    8. Computers / Personal Computers & Microcomputers / IBM-Compatible    9. General    10. Hardware - Handheld Computing    11. Hardware - Personal Computers - General    12. Hardware - Personal Computers - PCs    13. Pen-based computers    14. Personal Computers & Microcomputers - IBM Compatible    15. Scheduling    16. Time Management    17. Computers / General   

Reviews (3)

The Text is Excellent.
I have taught with several of the major readers on the market: Samovar and Porter's, Nakayama and Martin, and others. This text has the most well written readings and contains articles on many seminal issues, context (Hall), time (Hall), etc. This text has the LEAST blatantly fluff filled articles intended only to titillate and pander to students. Additionally, if you review some of the other texts, you will see that they often have poorly referenced articles and the work is less than scholarly. It is possible to write a chapter for a reader such as this and support your content with support and references. The articles here are interesting, well written, well referenced, and more-grounded in theory and research than a lot of the competition. I recommend it highly. MLK

Great Book!! Very Informative
I was lucky enough to take a class from Professor Samovar.This was a great book and a good introduction to intercultural communication.

Order: Intercultural Communication : A Reader
Intercultural Communication : A Readerby Larry A. Samovar (Editor), Richard E. PorterPaperback 9th edition (July 1999)Wadsworth Pub Co; ... Read more

Subjects:  1. General    2. Intercultural communication    3. Performing Arts    4. Performing Arts/Dance    5. Speech    6. Theater - General    7. Communication Studies    8. Language Arts & Disciplines / Speech   

Reviews (14)

Most valuable read of my MBA
Gareth Morgan's book provides an antidote to the finance, marketing and HR texts that are required reading for an MBA student. The clever use of metaphor allows the reader to absorb the huge anount of information contained within the book (check out the bibliography!) - you don't even realise how much you are learning until you start relating concepts to others around you. My fellow students, colleagues and even my parents had to listen ... This book can profoundly change your thinking about orgs
This is not a "three steps to understanding organizations" type book.The people posting negative reviews for this were looking for something simple and digestable - this book is not that.However, if you take the time, you will find it profoundly alters your thinking about understanding organizations. Too esoteric...hard to follow.
I am a graduate student in organizational development.Although this book has some good underlying concepts, I found most of the book hard to follow and not very engaging.It was often difficult to see how many of the concepts actually apply to organizations.There may be good ideas, but they often get lost in the rambling chapters. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Leadership    5. Management - General    6. Organization    7. Organizational Behavior    8. Structural Adjustment    9. Business & Economics / Business Ethics    10. Organizational theory & behaviour    11. Ownership & organization of enterprises   

Editorial Review

The fact that there are few women occupying top-level positions in corporate America has, for a long time, been blamed on a ubiquitous "glass ceiling." But according to Gail Evans, this is a tired myth implying a woman is a "person-who's-done-to instead of a person-who's-doing." In Read more

Reviews (77)

Women's Guidebook
Gail Evans really hits it on the head with this book. Having been a woman in business for almost 20 years, I wish I had read this when I was 20.A must read for any woman working in the business world, even if only to "understand" the mindset of men which will help you to make better decisions and choices.Just understanding how a man is thinking about you in "business" can help you be more successful and empowered.
FABULOUS!
Gail Evans is amazing.She really knows what she is talking about!I refer to this book often in my career.Really helps me to feel good about decisions and not second guess myself.I tell everyone about it and have even given it as gifts to those that are starting out in their careers and those I see struggling in the workplace.Highly recommended!

Women's rules of business engagement
One of the most helpful books for women in corporate world.Unwritten rules of business engagement every woman should know if she wants to be successful in business.This book outlines differences in perception of men and women in today's working environment.Main take for all women is: do not dress sexy - you will loose credibility, or scare away devoted family men, know your place at the meetings (do not hide, find a visible place to sit, be seen and be heard), have manners (men can get away without it, women cannot), avoid having love affairs, or participating in any type of sexual inuendo while at work - it will hurt your career, know the meaning of "yes" (move on) and "no" (try again, later) in business world, do not let your frugality get in the way of presenting yourself to the staff you manage, vendors you collaborate with and peers who opt for posh office furniture and carpeting, your office space does matter do not settle for less.List goes on and on.The most interesting part of the book is classification of women labor prototype: Daughter, Mother, Wife and Mistress role.If you know your (male) boss' perception of you, you should definitely know what your next career step needs to be.As you move on professionally, do not attempt to assume the same role - you will end up typecasting yourself.Must read for every person in the workplace. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Life - Inspirational    4. Career/Job    5. Careers - General    6. Personal Growth - Success    7. Women & Business    8. Business & Economics / Careers   

Reviews (3)

Great for someone in business or already in business
Found that this book covered all the bases of writting a great business plan.As some one who has taken a couple of business courses, this was one of the best sources of information on writting a business plan.
Spectacular book
Wonderfully helpful book. I love this series and can't wait to read them all. While writing my business plan, this book as been by my side, every second, for reference. I don't know what I would have done without it!

A must read!
This is a must-read book for anyone thinking about starting or expanding a business. Rather than simply another book about writing a business plan, Sutton makes the case early and often about why such a plan is needed - and it isn't always to raise money.
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Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Communication - General    4. Business Writing    5. Business planning    6. Business/Economics    7. Communication In Business    8. Forecasting    9. Investments & Securities - General    10. Management    11. Personal Finance - General    12. Strategic Planning    13. Business & Economics / Personal Finance / General    14. Business strategy   

Reviews (82)

Thought provoking reading... but not convincing
I toally aggree that pattern recognizers and somebody who can see the big picture will lead the world. Right-brain activity adds color and mystry to our lives while left-brain activity let us understand why things they are. But fundamentally one has to have strong L-Directed skills to excel on anything at all. The L-Directed skills can be aquired later at life but R-Directed skills are more of natural. The book make us feel like if we all go persuit those R-Directed skills, we will all better off. To me, in the real world, it is only for thos ones who already master R-brain skills and happend to have some L-Brain potentials which has not been exploired.

Thought-provoking but...
A Whole New Mind is the kind of book that many life coaches will love. Pink presents ideas that will reassure us we can have fun while reaching success. Creativity wins. Meaning matters more than money. Your job (and even your industry) could be automated or exported out of existence.
Worth reading
In this book, the author says that just like how we moved from the industrial age to the information age (computerization), now we are moving from the information age to a new era called "conceptual age". With the effects of globalization and abundant wealth in the western world (especially in US), there will be an increased demand for the right brain skills like creativity and empathy. Though it "feels" to be little exaggerated, it is quite interesting and worth reading. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business / Economics / Finance    2. Business Life - General    3. Cognitive Psychology    4. Creative thinking    5. General    6. Psychological aspects    7. Science    8. Science/Mathematics    9. Success    10. Psychology & Psychiatry / Creative Ability   

Reviews (10)

Not clear that product was"low cost edition"
I received the book I ordered; however, I received the "low cost" edition which basically means the paper is thinner making it more difficult to read because the print from the other side shows through. This was not clear in the description.

It's a Classic
I'm a little disappointed at those who were horrified at its age--the French and Bell book is a classic and it was updated in 1999.Anyone who is interested in learning OD should read the book and you will get a great foundation.Go from there to learn more about individual OD interventions or theories.Yes, Kotter's book is great, too, but Kotter speaks about leading change (only one topic in OD) or about leadership (another goodie but only one topic).If you don't know anything about OD, read this book.Because it was originally written in the 70s doesn't invalidate it; in fact, it shows how good it is.

how about some double loop learning ?
This is a flawed edition of a classic book.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Entrepreneurship    5. Management - General    6. Organization Development    7. Organizational change    8. Structural Adjustment    9. Business & Economics / Systems & Planning    10. Organizational theory & behaviour   

Reviews (7)

Excellent book for anyone in business or professional field
This book was part of my Professional Ethics class. I have to say I was very skeptical (as the textbooks are never fun and one guy gave it a poor review) at first. However, after reading the book I have learned a lot. Ethics is not a matter of conservative or liberal (if that's true than god himself has to be a liberal not to mention bible talked about ethical behavior too). This book focused on why we need ethics in business and how proper ethics enforcement can save a business from corruption and other questionable behavior which eventually may bring down a business (think Enron). It talked about both sides and didn't force someone's opinion on us rather helped us make our own decision which will be ethical and benefiting to the business. Although it was my text book I'd recommend this book to anyone as part of business strategy making.

Excellent book for anyone in business or professional field
This book was part of my Professional Ethics class. I have to say I was very skeptical (as the textbooks are never fun and one guy gave it a poor review) at first. However, after reading the book I have learned a lot. Ethics is not a matter of conservative or liberal (if that's true than god himself has to be a liberal not to mention bible talked about ethical behavior too). This book focused on why we need ethics in business and how proper ethics enforcement can save a business from corruption and other questionable behavior which eventually may bring down a business (think Enron). It talked about both sides and didn't force someone's opinion on us rather helped us make our own decision which will be ethical and benefiting to the business. Although it was my text book I'd recommend this book to anyone as part of business strategy making.

A great book
I like the book, it gives very clear meaning so it is easy to understand.The price for the book is just right for a college student. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business Ethics    4. Business/Economics    5. Case studies   

Reviews (8)

Interesting Model
The model presented is an interesting and for the most part effective one.For an alternative model see O'Reilly, Chatman and Caldwell's OCP Method and in particular the commercially available web tools from ThinkShed (www.thinkshed.com) that leverage the method. Great book, plus...
This is a great book. In addition, I recommend "Strategic Organizational Change" by Michael Beitler.

The most helpful book...
This is the most helpful book available on organizational culture. Their OCAI instrument (for diagnosing organizational culture) alone is worth more than the price of the book. I use Cameron & Quinn's material with every one of my clients.Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Corporate culture    5. Development - Business Development    6. Management - General    7. Management Science    8. Organization Development    9. Organizational change    10. Structural Adjustment    11. Business & Economics / Leadership    12. Business & Economics / Systems & Planning    13. Organizational theory & behaviour   

Reviews (6)

Convert your accounting methods
Best book on how to get your accoutning function to look at, use and make use of lean costing which really makes your lean projects work.

Great Tool for the Lean Enterprise
This book is right on target for the emerging practice of Lean accounting.It gets into the brass tacks of what you really need to do to report results that really mean something to the folks that can take action to improve the business.The entire concept of Value Stream Costing makes so much sense it's a wonder we haven't been using it for decades. Getting the "Dough" to Flow
Based on the tenets of lean thinking, Mr. Maskell & Mr Baggaley present a powerful & practicalimplementation methodology that is applicable to lean accounting and alllean business practices. By integrating lean accounting with the transition to lean systems thinking, organizations now have the measurement andanalysis tools to make robust business decisions at any level. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Accounting    2. Business & Economics    3. Business enterprises    4. Business/Economics    5. Engineering - Industrial    6. Finance    7. Industrial Management    8. Manufacturing    9. Office Automation    10. Production & Operations Management    11. Technology & Industrial Arts    12. Office & workplace   

Reviews (3)

Pocket Wisdom
Simple, yet powerful.A fun way to learn and very effective for group discussion.

An excellent resource!
I really enjoyed this book! The author's clever sense of humor and the great illustrations make a difficult subject--mental models--fun and easy to learn about. I think the book would help any company, family, or evencouple get better at exploring why they think the way they do, and how tocommunicate better with colleagues and loved ones. The discussion guide atthe end of the book makes it easy to start using the ideas in yourday-to-day life.

Should be required reading if responsible for company growth
David Hutchens brings new insight and twists to an age old metaphor.This book begins with a humorous tale whose analogy, to the world in which we live and the mental models which we hold, will hit you between the eyes.The writer quickly points out problems every organization battles with toimprove performance and grow.While the business culture has become sooverwhelmed with change, many leaders have embraced their current state ofaffairs.Holding tight to what we have, we spend much of our energy tryingnot to lose market share.This book gives insight into why and when thishappens and how to move from there. "In a world of chaoticinformation, the mind instantly locks onto that which it already knows--andsimply filters out other data."(from Shadows of the Neanderthal) I'mglad I bought it. Thom Hazelip,Arthur Andersen LLP ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Business & Economics    2. Business & Economics / Business Communication    3. Business & Economics / Management    4. Business / Economics / Finance    5. Business Communication - General    6. Business communication    7. Business/Economics    8. Creative ability in business    9. Leadership    10. Organizational learning    11. Management    12. Models    13. Organizational change    14. System theory   

Editorial Review

For over a dozen years, Carnegie Mellon University instructor and corporate consultant Robert Kelley has studied the difference between superior workplace performers and their average peers. After determining that such stars are made, not born, he identified the game plan many use to secure better jobs, higher pay, and top career opportunities. Read more

Reviews (52)

Re-Strategize for Glowing Success Potential At Work
OK, with all of the efforts of Human Resources these days to hire the right people, still about one out of every ten recruits run circles around the others.These recruits are solid gold.Were they born that way?Can they be made?Can they be recognized?The author attempts to answer this question from insights derived from a study conducted at Bell Labs.Everyone was interviewed and surveyed.The top producers were found by survey of both management and staff.The discoveries are very interesting.The statement is made that to become a star performer you don't need super IQ, great self-confidence, or silky smooth social skills.You just need to change your strategies.We have all seen people succeed without these characteristics - here's why.
It boils down to this- take initiative, network and broaden your perspective
Robert E. Kelley has outlined several strategies for turning yourself into a recognized asset for your company, improving your productivity and building a stellar career.