Most Recent Articles
-
Blog / Editor's Choice
The Making of a Democratic Economy: How to Build Prosperity for the Many, Not the Few
Book Review by Dylan Schleicher
Marjorie Kelly and Ted Howard of the Democracy Collaborative offer seven principles for an "equitable, ecologically sustainable alternative" to the economy of, by, and for the one percent, and examples of them being put to work in the world.
Categories: editors-choice
-
Blog / Staff Picks
The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir
Book Review by Emily Porter
From the mesmerizing illustrations to the heartfelt writing, Thi Bui has created a hard to put down treasure.
Categories: staff-picks, narrative-biography, fiction
-
Blog / Excerpts
Kingdom of Lies: Unnerving Adventures in the World of Cybercrime
By 800-CEO-READ
In the tradition of Michael Lewis and Tom Wolfe, a fascinating and frightening behind-the-scenes look at the interconnected cultures of hackers, security specialists, and law enforcement.
Categories: Blog, editors-choice, staff-picks, news-opinion, excerpts, current-events-public-affairs
-
Blog / Book Giveaways
Amazing Decisions: The Illustrated Guide to Improving Business Deals and Family Meals
By Porchlight
A playful graphic novel guide to better decision-making, based on Dan Ariely’s groundbreaking research in behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology.
Categories: giveaways
-
Blog / ChangeThis
Nincompoopery: How to Find and Kill the Corporate Stupidity That Drives Customers Crazy
By John R. Brandt
"Nincompoopery—terrible customer service, idiotic business processes, and soul-crushing management practices—surrounds all of us. We lose time, patience, and profits as stuck-in-the-past organizations actively prevent us (and our customers) from getting the value we (and they) deserve. Can't anybody change this? Why should our customers have to rekey their data multiple times to make a single purchase? Why are there four levels of approval just to order basic supplies? Why can't we get qualified candidates for open positions, or provide new employees with decent training? In short: How did we become such nincompoops? And when will we stop?"
Categories: changethis
-
Blog / ChangeThis
How to Reverse the Dismal Failure Rate of Digital Transformations
By Tony Saldanha
"Most digital transformations fail for two reasons: 1) their transformation strategy lacks clarity and 2) they don't choose the right processes for disciplined execution. In short, they fail at the where of digital transformation and the how. The roots of the first part of the problem—the where—lie in the hyped-up, fuzzy interpretations of the term 'digital transformation. ' Every new IT tool, from new communications software to the next release of an SAP upgrade, is called digital transformation. Technology providers use "herd marketing" techniques to move executives to urgent action. Strong board members, CEOs and executives understandably jump at the opportunity to lead change. This necessary and decisive push by them ironically leads to a 'Ready-Fire-Fire' approach instead of 'Ready-Aim-Fire. ' The roots of the second part of the problem—the how—lie in fundamental misunderstandings of the appropriate methodology. Typically, IT projects rely on process improvement methodologies.
Categories: changethis
-
Blog / ChangeThis
It Is Your Right To Be Heard: Why Women's Voices Get Silenced and How to Set Them Free
By Veronica Rueckert
"The voice is an amazing gift, both a privilege and a responsibility. Using it takes courage, especially if you're a woman. We're given only a finite amount of time to figure out what it's for, to grow into ourselves enough that we can speak up when the time comes. Yet a woman's right to speak in public is a right that hasn't been fully granted. Modern research backs this up. In a study of deliberative groups designed to mirror Congress in their gender makeup, women used only 60 percent of the floor time used by the average man. Women are interrupted more often than men, both by men and by other women. Women of color may be disrespected at even greater rates when they speak. A revealing study of the US Supreme Court found that women justices were three times as likely to be interrupted as their male colleagues. Things were even worse for the only woman of color on the court. In 2012, a Yale University study found that when hypothetical women executives talked more often than their peers, study respondents rated their competency down by 14 percent.
Categories: changethis
-
Blog / ChangeThis
Redesigning Business for a Democratic Economy
By Marjorie Kelly
"We find ourselves in a moment of breakdown—but also a moment of unprecedented opportunity. Even as widespread faith in the workings of our economy is falling apart, unsung innovations are quietly arising. Entrepreneurs, business executives, investors, and community leaders are choosing to 'get in front of this problem,' showing how we can move beyond an economy that serves the few to one that serves the many. In scattered experiments—disconnected, often unaware of one another—unsung leaders are beginning to build what so many of us hunger for but can't imagine might be possible: an economy that could enable us all to live well, and do so within planetary boundaries. What's under construction in our time is a new economy that is more inclusive, more sustainable, more equitable, more community-centric—in a word, more democratic."
Categories: changethis
-
Blog / Book Giveaways
Buzz, Sting, Bite: Why We Need Insects
By Porchlight
An enthusiastic, witty, and informative introduction to the world of insects and why we—and the planet we inhabit—could not survive without them.
Categories: giveaways
-
Blog / Staff Picks
How to Make a Plant Love You: Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart
Book Review by Gabbi Cisneros
Gabbi reviews a book that teaches us how plants and people aren't so different.
Categories: staff-picks
