An inspirational book about how to run a great business, by the successful entrepreneur, Julian Richer, founder and managing director of Richer Sounds
In 1978 Julian Richer, then aged just nineteen, opened his first shop near London Bridge. For over twenty years this shop has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as having the highest sales per square foot of any retail outlet in the world, and the company as a whole, with its fifty-three stores nationwide and huge online presence, has become Britain's favourite retailer of TV and hi-fi equipment. What lies behind this extraordinary success?
For Julian, the answer is simple: throughout his career he has focussed relentlessly on putting people - both staff and customers - right at the centre of his business. And in The Richer Way, he offers a supremely practical guide to how others can follow suit. He explains how to motivate employees and measure their progress. He establishes how to balance company discipline with individual autonomy. He explores what 'customer service' should really involve. Above all, he points the way to creating an open, friendly and flexible culture that will not only attract the best people but also offer the greatest chance of business success.
Packed with straightforward, common-sense advice, The Richer Way will prove essential reading for all organisations, whatever their nature and size.
An inspirational book about how to run a great business, by the successful entrepreneur, Julian Richer, founder and managing director of Richer Sounds
In 1978 Julian Richer, then…
How do Olympic medal-winning athletes turbo-charge their motivation?
How do multi-millionaire founders develop the habits of champions?
And how do Premier League football coaches lead their teams to victory?
High Performance reveals the methods the world's most remarkable athletes, coaches and entrepreneurs use to excel.
From taking responsibility for your situation to finding your 'trademark behaviours', thinking flexibly to crafting a high performance culture, Jake Humphrey and Professor Damian Hughes identify the eight crucial steps to becoming the best 'you' possible.
Along the way, they draw on cutting-edge research to explain why these methods work - and how we can all use them. Anyone can learn the secrets of high performance.
Drawing on conversations with... Dina Asher-Smith | Steven Bartlett | Tom Daley | Steven Gerrard | Evelyn Glennie | Kelly Holmes | Chris Hoy | Eddie Jones | Siya Kolisi | Frank Lampard | Jo Malone | Matthew McConaughey | Ant Middleton | Tracey Neville | Robin Van Persie | Mauricio Pochettino | Gareth Southgate | Holly Tucker | Jonny Wilkinson | Clive Woodward | Toto Wolff and many more...
How do Olympic medal-winning athletes turbo-charge their motivation?
How do multi-millionaire founders develop the habits of champions?
And how do Premier League football coaches…
From the creative genius behind Nike's most audacious campaigns comes this revelatory guide to creativity in business
A revelatory guide to creativity in business, from the genius behind Nike's greatest campaigns
Just do it. Find your greatness. Believe in something. For decades, Nike's campaigns have been so radically creative that they make an indelible mark on the public imagination - and, just sometimes, change how the world thinks.
It's an art form that Greg Hoffman understands better than anyone. Over 30 years at Nike, he crafted some of the most iconic campaigns in history: from Colin Kaepernick's 'Dream Crazy' ad, to the instantly recognisable logos used by Roger Federer and Serena Williams. By the end of his career, he was Chief Marketing Officer - responsible for maintaining the brand recognition of the Nike swoosh everywhere on Earth.
Now, Hoffman reveals the simple principle that Nike use to power their creativity: emotion by design. Combining scientific analysis and artistic daring, emotion by design helps Nike forge deep, personal bonds with their customers - crafting campaigns that chime with people's most audacious dreams.
But this method needn't be limited to Nike. In Emotion by Design, Hoffman reveals how you too can drive your creativity the Nike way: by drawing on the talents of a diverse team, by forging a culture where everyone is hypercreative, and by spotting which ideas have the potential to capture imaginations around the world.
The result is a masterclass in creativity, gleaned from a lifetime with one of the world's most innovative brands. We can all harness the power of emotion by design.
From the creative genius behind Nike's most audacious campaigns comes this revelatory guide to creativity in business
A revelatory guide to creativity in business, from the…
A ground-breaking method for giving effective feedback to peers and employees that will boost performance and motivation.
'Brilliant . . . empowers you to create real behaviour change and lasting trust.' - Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked
Critical feedback, delivered frequently and expertly, can game changing - it can turn average performers into overachievers and stars into superstars. But fear of hurt feelings and awkward conversations often lead managers to hold back from offering crucial insights.
In Let's Talk, Dr Therese Huston shows how to deliver feedback effectively and with confidence. Starting with the best ways to approach the performance review process, Huston explains the importance of siding with the other person, stating your good intentions and working out what kind of critique your employees want most - do they want to be appreciated, coached or evaluated? Huston then delves into the six practical tools you need to deliver impactful feedback, including how to take steps to ensure unconscious bias doesn't leak into your appraisal.
Above all, Dr Huston offers a step-by-step plan to help anyone, from executives to teachers to coaches, to improve performance and morale and make a once-dreaded task feel natural.
'Research, relevant stories, and actionable frameworks that we can all apply to turn feedback into a personal superpower.' - Julie Zhuo, bestselling author of The Making of a Manager
A ground-breaking method for giving effective feedback to peers and employees that will boost performance and motivation.
'Brilliant . . . empowers you to create real behaviour…
How your business can get ahead in the age of big tech
From the million-copy-bestselling author of Execution
'Ingenious . . . An insightful and practical guide for leaders and practitioners at every level.' Forbes
Welcome to the age of big tech. The old rules no longer apply.
How do companies build a competitive advantage in the digital age? In this lively, accessible guide, Ram Charan - million-copy-bestselling author and advisor to some of the world's top CEOs - reveals that the tech giants have radically rewritten the rules of business. If you want to win, you need to learn to play a new game.
Delving into the inner workings of the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Alibaba, Charan uncovers the six rules that the digital giants use to stay ahead: from their emphasis on creating corporate 'ecosystems', to the way they approach team organisation and moneymaking. And he outlines how to use these rules to transform your business, starting today.
'One of the world's preeminent counselors to CEOs.' Harvard Business Review
How your business can get ahead in the age of big tech
From the million-copy-bestselling author of Execution
'Ingenious . . . An insightful and practical guide for leaders and…
The everything-you-need-to-know WIRED guide to the future of genomics
Genome sequencing is one of the most exciting scientific breakthroughs of the past thirty years. But what precisely does it involve and how is it developing?
In this brilliantly wide-ranging, one-stop guide WIRED journalist Rachael Pells explains the science behind genomics. She analyses its practical applications in medical diagnosis and the treatment of conditions that range from cancer to severe allergic reactions to cystic fibrosis. She considers its potential to help with advances in agriculture and environmental science. She explores the ethics of genetic modification and the dangers involved when humans 'play God'. And she addresses the fundamental question: to what extent will future advances transform human longevity and the quality of life.
The everything-you-need-to-know WIRED guide to the future of genomics
Genome sequencing is one of the most exciting scientific breakthroughs of the past thirty years. But what…
An accessible guide to how economics defines all of our lives - the first ever book from the Bank of England.
What is economics?
How can it help explain the world?
And why should we care?
Our world is shaped by economics. Whether you're buying a loaf of bread, looking for a job, or applying for a mortgage, the thing we call 'the economy' is going to set the terms. A shame, then, that most of us have no idea what the economy actually is.
That's where this book comes in. The Bank of England is Britain's most venerable financial institution, responsible for printing money, setting the rate of interest and regulating the economy. Now, the team at the Bank take you inside their hallowed halls to outline precisely what economics can - and can't - tell us about the world.
Organised around the ten key questions any budding economist should be able to answer, this primer takes you from the basics - what economics actually is, and the laws of supply and demand - before moving onto how economics defines all of our lives: through growth and inflation, trade and recessions, taxes and spending. Along the way, it offers vivid examples of econ in action: not only in the City of London, but also in office canteens, on factory floors, even on Love Island . . .
Witty, absorbing and eminently accessible, this book is your one-stop guide to the economic universe we all inhabit.
An accessible guide to how economics defines all of our lives - the first ever book from the Bank of England.
What is economics?
How can it help explain the world?
And why should…
The everything-you-need-to-know WIRED guide to food technology and food production in the future
With a global population estimated to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050 we face a huge challenge in feeding everyone on the planet. How is that to be achieved?
In this brilliantly insightful, one stop guide WIRED journalist Matt Reynolds assesses the limits and drawbacks of current food production and looks at the ways in which they can be tackled. He considers the potential for lab-grown meat to replace inefficient livestock farming. He talks to the scientists hoping to perfect more productive and disease-resistant crops. He explores initiatives to make agriculture less environmentally damaging and to reduce food waste. And he addresses the fundamental question: how do we feed more people while using fewer of the Earth's resources?
The everything-you-need-to-know WIRED guide to food technology and food production in the future
With a global population estimated to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050 we face a…
The everything-you-need-to-know WIRED guide to cryptocurrency
The past decade has seen the relentless rise of cryptocurrency as an alternative form of digital currency. But what precisely is it and what potential does it have to change the world of money?
In this brilliantly clear, one-stop guide WIRED Senior Editor Gian Vopicelli explains everything you need to know about cryptocurrency. He outlines its development and describes precisely how it operates. He demystifies the jargon it has spawned, from blockchain, Bitcoin and stablecoins to mining, smart contracts and forking. He looks at the political and economic ideologies that drive it. And he addresses the central question: will cryptocurrency have the transformative economic and social impact that its champions claim for it?
The everything-you-need-to-know WIRED guide to cryptocurrency
The past decade has seen the relentless rise of cryptocurrency as an alternative form of digital currency. But what…
This has Happened Before.
The current financial crisis has only one parallel: the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression of the 1930s, which crippled the future of an entire generation and set the stage for the horrors of the Second World War. Yet the economic meltdown could have been avoided, had it not been for the decisions taken by a small number of central bankers.
In Lords of Finance, we meet these men, the four bankers who truly broke the world: the enigmatic Norman Montaguof the bank of England, Benjamin Strong of the NY Federal Reserve, the arrogant yet brilliant Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbanlk and the xenophobic Emile Moreau of the Banque de France. Their names were lost to history, their lives and actions forgotten, until now. Liaquat Ahamed tells their story in vivid and gripping detail, in a timely and arresting reminder that individuals - their ambitions, limitations and human nature - lie at the very heart of global catastrophe.
This has Happened Before.
The current financial crisis has only one parallel: the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and subsequent Great Depression of the 1930s, which crippled the future…
A new wave of anthropological research is transforming how the world does business. This book reveals how.
To understand business, you need to think like an anthropologist.
In a career spanning three decades, Gillian Tett has established a reputation as one of Britain's most astute financial journalists. But before joining the Financial Times, Tett completed a PhD in anthropology at Cambridge - and it is her anthropological training that gives her such a razor-sharp insight into global business.
Anthropologists have a unique view of the world. Instead of building their arguments on data or written sources, they undertake ethnographies - meaning they go inside groups of people and seek to understand, from within, how they think. This once involved besuited Victorians going to live alongside Amazonian tribespeople for years on end. But these days anthropologists are just as likely to undertake ethnographies in the boardrooms of law firms, or on the trading floors of investment banks.
In her new book, Tett will reveal what anthropology can teach all of us about business. She will recount the most fascinating findings from a recent wave of 'business anthropology', telling stories from inside the likes of the London Stock Exchange, JPMorgan and Adidas. She will explore the hidden rituals that underpin how businesses work: from the invisible norm that explains why we are all so happy to sign away our data, to the unspoken laws that govern the behaviour of the world's best coders.
Above all, Tett will reveal how you too can learn to think like an anthropologist. Once you understand the power of business anthropology, it will revolutionise how you buy, work and think - starting today.
A new wave of anthropological research is transforming how the world does business. This book reveals how.
To understand business, you need to think like an anthropologist.
In a…
Why do some products take off? And what can we learn from them?
The hardest part of launching a product is getting started. When you have just an idea and a handful of customers, growth can feel impossible. This is the cold start problem.
Andrew Chen has a solution. As a partner at the pre-eminent VC firm Andreesen Horowitz, he has invested in some of the world's fastest-growing companies. Along the way, he's become one of the most renowned bloggers in tech - hailed by Wired as a 'true Silicon Valley insider'.
Now, Chen reveals how any organisation can surmount the cold start problem. His solution lies in the network effect: the way a service improves as more people sign up. It means that today's leading products - from Wikipedia to to WhatsApp - get more powerful with every additional user.
Drawing on interviews with the founders of LinkedIn, Zoom, Uber, Dropbox, Tinder, Airbnb and more, Chen unpicks how to start and scale these network effects. He reveals how to build an 'atomic network' that is just big enough to sustain itself. He uncovers how to spot the tipping point after which growth takes care of itself. And he explores why some big companies manage to sustain viral network effects for years (while others quickly stop growing).
The result is a one-stop guide to scaling a product, road-tested at some of the world's most valuable companies.
Why do some products take off? And what can we learn from them?
The hardest part of launching a product is getting started. When you have just an idea and a handful of customers,…
Why most economic assumptions made by governments are wrong
Economic theories and models shape our everyday lives. They are relied on by politicians when tax rises or cuts are being considered. They inform debates about everything from bonuses for CEOs to minimum wage rates to the level of job protection enshrined in law. They determine what levels of tobacco or petrol duty are charged, and influence government approaches to issues as diverse as obesity and climate change.
The question is: are policy makers right to be so slavishly reliant on them? Tom Bergin is sceptical, and in Free Lunch Thinking he subjects eight of the most prevalent economic mantras to close scrutiny, assessing how they play out in practice. Again and again, he shows how individuals, companies and markets fail to respond to policy changes as theory predicts. He exposes the missed opportunities and wasted resources that result. And by tracing the development of key economic tenets, he demonstrates how their champions' tendency to believe in phenomena for which they have little hard evidence leaves accepted economic wisdom frequently being more about faith than facts.
His book both exposes and challenges lazy thinking. It also sets out a path for more considered future.
Why most economic assumptions made by governments are wrong
Economic theories and models shape our everyday lives. They are relied on by politicians when tax rises or cuts are…
Have you ever noticed that the best CEOs seem to have a special kind of intelligence, an ability to sense where the opportunities in their industries are and how to take advantage of them? The best have a knack for simplifying the most complex business practices down to the fundamentals - the same fundamentals of the small family business.
In What the CEO Wants You To Know, Ram Charan explains in clear, simple language how to do what great CEOs do instinctively and persistently - understand the basic building blocks of a company and use them to figure out how to make it work as a total business. Being able to decide what to do when, despite the clutter of day-to-day to-do lists and the complexity of the real world, takes the mystery out of business and offers a clear road map of organisational success.
First published in 2001 (with over 300,000 copies sold worldwide) but never before published in the UK, this business classic has been completely rewritten and updated with new stories from today's market leaders and companies, and the latest insights from the cutting edge of management research.
Have you ever noticed that the best CEOs seem to have a special kind of intelligence, an ability to sense where the opportunities in their industries are and how to take advantage…
In his global bestseller Influence, Professor Robert Cialdini transformed the way we think about the craft of persuasion. Now he offers revelatory new insights into the art of winning people over: it isn't just what we say or how we say it that counts, but also what goes on in the moments before we speak.
This is the world of 'pre-suasion', where subtle turns of phrase, seemingly insignificant visual cues, and apparently unimportant details of location can prime people to say 'yes' even before they are asked. And as Cialdini reveals, it's a world you can master. If you understand the tools of pre-suasion, you will better placed to win a debate, get support for an idea or cause, promote a campaign - even persuade yourself to do something you find difficult.
Drawing on the latest research, and packed with fascinating case studies, Pre-Suasion is a masterclass in enhancing your powers of influence.
In his global bestseller Influence, Professor Robert Cialdini transformed the way we think about the craft of persuasion. Now he offers revelatory new insights into the art of…
Scrum is the revolutionary approach to project management and team building that has helped to transform everything from software companies to the US military to healthcare in major American hospitals. In this major new book its originator, Jeff Sutherland, explains precisely and step by step how it operates - and how it can be made to work for anyone, anywhere. Take the FBI attempt to digitize its records, for example. As with so many software projects the first attempt failed, having taken four years and cost over $400 million.Then the FBI turned to Scrum, and just over a year later unveiled a functioning system that cost less than a tenth of the first project and employed a tenth of the staff. And it's not just grand projects that Scrum can help with.
Every organisation, whatever its size, constantly has to come to grips with delivering a product or service on time and on budget. Scrum shows you how. It explains how to define precisely what it is that you are seeking to achieve, how to set up the team to achieve it, and how to monitor progress until the project is successfully completed. Filled with practical examples drawn from all types and organisation it will make you rethink the fundamentals of successful management - and show you how to get things done however everyday or ambitious, however small or large your organisation.
Scrum is the revolutionary approach to project management and team building that has helped to transform everything from software companies to the US military to healthcare in…
Should we cooperate, compete, or both?
Is it in our best interest to compete or to cooperate?
Some have argued that humans are fundamentally competitive and that pursuing our self-interest is the best way to get ahead. Others believe that we are hard-wired to cooperate and are most successful when we collaborate with others.
In Friend and Foe, leading psychologists Adam Galinsky and Maurice Schweitzer draw on original, cutting-edge research to explain why this debate misses the mark. They argue that it is only by learning how to strike the right balance between competition and cooperation that we can improve long-term relationships and maximise success in work and life.
Galinsky and Schweitzer show how holding these two forces in the right balance can enable us to turn weaknesses into strengths, to recognise deception and build trust, and to improve our powers of negotiation without alienating our counterparts. Along the way, they also offer answers to a number of perplexing puzzles, from how too much talent can undermine a team’s success, to why ending an auction at 2am can get you the best outcome, to when acting less competently can help you gain status.
This book is a guide for better navigating your social world by learning when to cooperate as a friend and when to compete as a foe – and how to be better at both.
Should we cooperate, compete, or both?
Is it in our best interest to compete or to cooperate?
Some have argued that humans are fundamentally competitive and that pursuing our…
The new economics of culture and commerce
What happens when there is almost unlimited choice? When everything becomes available to everyone? And when the combined value of the millions of items that only sell in small quantities equals or even exceeds the value of a handful of best-sellers?
In this ground-breaking book, Chris Anderson shows that the future of business does not lie in hits - the high-volume end of a traditional demand curve - but in what used to be regarded as misses - the endlessly long tail of that same curve. As our world is transformed by the Internet and the near infinite choice it offers consumers, so traditional business models are being overturned and new truths revealed about what consumers want and how they want to get it.
Chris Anderson first explored the Long Tail in an article in Wired magazine that has become one of the most influential business essays of our time. Now, in this eagerly anticipated book, he takes a closer look at the new economics of the Internet age, showing where business is going and exploring the huge opportunities that exist: for new producers, new e-tailers, and new tastemakers. He demonstrates how long tail economics apply to industries ranging from the toy business to advertising to kitchen appliances. He sets down the rules for operating in a long tail economy. And he provides a glimpse of a future that's already here.
The new economics of culture and commerce
What happens when there is almost unlimited choice? When everything becomes available to everyone? And when the combined value of the…
In just ten years, Instagram has gone from being a simple photo app to a $100-billion company. The journey has involved ground-breaking innovations, a billion-dollar takeover, and clashes between some of the biggest names in tech. But it’s a story that has never been told – until now.
In No Filter, Bloomberg’s Sarah Frier reveals how Instagram became the hottest app in a generation, reshaping our culture and economy in the process. With astonishing access to all the key players – from Instagram’s co-founders to super-influencers like Kris Jenner – Frier offers behind-the-scenes glimpses of every moment in the company’s life: from its launch, to its unlikely acquisition by Facebook, to its founders’ dramatic disputes with their new boss, Mark Zuckerberg.
But this is not just a Silicon Valley story. No Filter explores how Instagram has reshaped global business, creating a new economy of ‘influencers’ and pioneering a business model that sells an aspirational lifestyle to all of us. And it delves into Instagram’s effects on popular culture, rewiring our understanding of celebrity and placing mounting pressure on all of us to perform online – to the point of warping our perception of reality.
The resulting book connects one company’s rise to a global revolution in technology, culture and business. Facebook’s decision to buy Instagram was the best investment it ever made. But we’re still learning about what it has cost the rest of us.
In just ten years, Instagram has gone from being a simple photo app to a $100-billion company. The journey has involved ground-breaking innovations, a billion-dollar takeover, and…
Since its creation in 2010, Instagram’s fun and simple interface has captured our collective imagination, swiftly becoming a way of life. In No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, technology reporter Sarah Frier explains how Instagram’s founders married art and technology to overcome skeptics and to hook the public on visual storytelling. At first, Instagram initially attracted artisans, but then the platform exploded in popularity among the masses, creating an entire industry of digital influencers that’s now worth tens of billions of dollars.
Eighteen months after Instagram’s launch and explosive growth, the founders made the gut-wrenching decision to sell the company to Facebook. For most companies, that would be the end of the story; but for Instagram, it was only the beginning. Instagram borrowed some lessons from Facebook and rejected others, until eventually its success stirred tension with Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg, just as Facebook became embroiled in a string of public crises. Frier unearths the details that led to the cofounders’—Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger—departure, bringing to light dramatic moments unknown to the public until now.
At its heart, No Filter draws on unprecedented exclusive access—from the founders of Instagram, as well as employees, executives, and competitors; hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio; Anna Wintour of Vogue; Kris Jenner of the Kardashian-Jenner empire; and a plethora of influencers, from fashionistas with millions of followers to owners of famous dogs worldwide—to show how Instagram has fundamentally changed the way we communicate, shop, eat, and travel. The book brings readers inside users’ strategies to craft their personal image and fame, explaining how the company’s product decisions have affected the structure of our society. From teenagers to the pope, No Filter tells the captivating story of how Instagram not only created a new industry but also changed our lives.
Since its creation in 2010, Instagram’s fun and simple interface has captured our collective imagination, swiftly becoming a way of life. In No Filter: The Inside Story of…
