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      • February 2018

        Empathy

        I know how you feel

        by Monika Hein

        When we speak of “empathy”, the meaning is vague. Is it friendliness? Being nice? Being sensitive? Being spiritual, sentimental, amicable? Empathy is much more than this. It gives us the courage to take risks, open our hearts and make ourselves vulnerable. The ability to empathise has been lost by many, drowned under the worries and needs of twenty-fi rst century life. But empathy, used wisely, has the power to instantly change any human relationship for the better. In this book, Monika Hein describes how we can learn empathy and practise it easily in our everyday lives. She provides clarity regarding what empathy actually is and, just as importantly, what it is not.

      • Business, Economics & Law

        Hey, Not So Fast!

        Using slow thinking to make good decisions in complex times

        by Frank Habermann, Karen Schmidt

        Don’t believe everything you think!A toolbox for better decisions in complex situations As humans, we make decisions based on information delivered by our perception. Our perception, in turn, is shaped by our values, principles and assumptions. As such, it is also error-prone: it acts as a filter, which means we only perceive those elements of informationthat slot neatly into our existing mental models. Fast thinking is our natural mode of thinking. Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman has shown how fast thinking reliably produces good results on familiar terrain – but that that is where its usefulness ends. In situations that are ‘non-routine’ for their respective participants –  such as those we experience every day in the corporate environment – fast thinking frequently leads to perceptual distortions. In a complex environment, experiential knowledge cannot be relied upon alone. Instead, the fast-paced VUKA world demands ‘slow thinking’: an opposite mode of thinking that, if used correctly, can enable more effective use of time more through the systematic, deliberate analysis of information. In this workbook for practitioners, Frank Habermann and Karen Schmidt guide readers to sharpen their perception in complex decision-making situations and follow an effective process. They equip readers with a range of tools and techniques, focusing on genuinely viable solutions and approaches that flourish under the pressure of everyday business. By applying the authors’ fundamental concepts, decision-makers in organisations are empowered to blaze a trail with good decisions. We are all faced with big decisions. This book shows how they are better made together.

      • Health & Personal Development

        On the Trail of Unconscious Affirmations

        How you can regain control and free yourself from the constructs in your head

        by Nicole Truchseß

        Freeing yourself of harmful unconscious affirmations: 22 exercises that work “I don’t have a talent for that”; “I could never do that”; "Trust is good, control is better”. Do these statements sound familiar? If so, you’re likely one of the many individuals who is lugging around a suitcase of unconscious affirmations. Like ghosts, these learned beliefs haunt our heads and trick us into believing that we always know what, when and why a thing is happening. They are constructs in our head. Every one of us has these rules for life, and we use them to navigate our day-to-day existence. Most unconscious affirmations turn out to be anything but helpful, because they cause us to feel comfortable in our comfort zone and, in the worst case scenario, can block us from evolving and developing. In this book, Nicole Truchseß explains in a clear, humorous style with a focus on practical implementation, how to expose the various types of false construct, to recognise why they’re so hard to shift and to tame them effectively. The book begins by addressing the great realm of false constructs and some of its most notable inhabitants, from the wallflower to the headteacher, the hard taskmaster to the helpless, “defenceless” victim. The first chapter of the book will allow you to recognise the constructs in your own head, while subsequent sections will help you get to the root of your unconscious affirmations and replace them with kinder beliefs. Where once you might have been agitated, you’ll now respond calmly; where once you might have been silent, you’ll now stand up for your interests. Where once a stupid joke might have unsettled you, you’ll simply be able to smile. It’s often the small pieces of the puzzle that can bring about the biggest changes What are unconscious affirmations; where do they come from; how do they affect us? The book is rounded out by 22 exercises to help us banish our harmful learned beliefs.

      • Business, Economics & Law

        Vitality Unleashed

        8 principles for a new way of working in business, education and society

        by Silke Luinstra

        How quiet heroes can (calmly) achieve great things A clever business book about the future of work and organisational development: one that throws contradictions into sharp relief and facilitates genuine transformation. Today, new work, agility and digitalisation are the words on everyone’s lips. But rampant rules and regulations, inflexible processes and outmoded systems of incentives do not foster an environment of inspiration, creativity or collaboration. Instead, they programme us for rigid conformity, which blocks a spirit of vitality in the development of organisations. It is vitality that lays the groundwork for self-organisation, both in companies and in broader society. Where space is created for self-organisation, this also gives rise to development and progress – in the truly evolutionary sense of the word. With this in mind, Luinstra makes the case a new ‘New Work’: a way of working that makes space for freedom, autonomy and responsibility as well as for societal participation, solidarity and an awareness of social and ecological consequences. People want to feel that their contribution is relevant – both at work and in society as a whole.  Luinstra has observed first-hand how infrequently vitality is felt in modern organisations - yet she also knows, from her work, that vitality often lies waiting to be unlocked. She presents numerous case studies from corporate practice, exploring how to find meaning, establish a culture of self-management, think and act autonomously and rethink the process of development. As she writes, Luinstra makes no bones about the fact that vitality also challenges us. It requires us to question our thoughts and actions and dare to initiate change. Thus, vitality is (also) always something of an imposition. 8 principles for injecting vitality back into organisations: finding meaning, establishing a culture of self-management, thinking and acting autonomously and rethinking development A range of case studies from everyday business An up-to-the-minute publication about the future of work and organisational development

      • Health & Personal Development

        The Mental Revolution

        Change your thinking to secure your success

        by Steffen Kirchner

        Are you an avoider of failure or a seeker of success? Those who fall into the latter group are distinguished by a ‘winner’ mentality: they embrace self-change and adapt rapidly to new circumstances such as globalisation, digitalisation, technological progression and climate change. This, in turn, is essential for their success, since these megatrends are set to radically and permanently transform our shared existence. In this new book, Kirchner shows how to master the changes and kick-start your own mental revolution. As security, reliability and experience have become obsolete, the laws of success have changed. We are hindered and paralysed from all angles: by our once-effective strategies for tackling social and individual challenges and by the systems and patterns in which we are stuck. This book sets out the need for individual and collective action.  New ideas, structures and beliefs are also revolutionising the world of work. Value creation has taken the place of profit maximisation. The social and ecological benefits of goods – and their sustainable production – are becoming more important than short-term profit goals. Basic information can be googled by anyone; specialists are sought after to complete the picture. Tomorrow’s leaders are sense-makers and leaders who focus on people, not profit. This book teaches you to transform your mental attitude in such a way that you are able to influence seemingly unchangeable circumstances. By doing so, you are empowered to rethink and successfully shape your future.

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