Showing results by narrator "Fleet Cooper" in All Categories

Scholars are deeply gratified when their ideas catch on. And they are even more gratified when their ideas make a difference - improving motivation, innovation, or productivity, for example. But popularity has a price: people sometimes distort ideas, and therefore fail to reap their benefits. This has started to happen with my research on “growth” versus “fixed” mindsets among individuals and within organizations.

Sure to become a favorite of readers who love Chicken Soup for its stories of overcoming life’s obstacles, challenges, heartbreaks, and pain, this book emphasizes triumph in the face of overwhelming odds. A timeless testament to the indomitable human spirit, this collection is sure to encourage, support, comfort, and, most of all, inspire all readers for years to come.

The last few weeks have brought news of turmoil in China, including currency devaluations, an economic slowdown, and a stock market plunge. Most economists, including those at the IMF, think it is premature to talk about an economic crisis.

Profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Iranian-born scholar Vali Nasr has become one of America's leading commentators on current events in the Middle East, admired and welcomed by both media and government for his "concise and coherent" analysis (Wall Street Journal). In this "smart, clear and timely" book (Washington Post), Nasr brilliantly dissects the political and theological antagonisms within Islam. He provides a unique and objective understanding of the 1,400-year bitter struggle between Shias and Sunnis, and sheds crucial light on its modern-day consequences—from the nuclear posturing of Iran's President Ahmadinejad to the recent U.S.-enabled shift toward Shia power in Iraq and Hezbollah's continued dominance in Lebanon.

In an era of high-stakes innovation, there is no clearer illustration of how to develop new products the right way (and the wrong way) than a tale of two car companies. The first company is Porsche, which in the early 2000s launched the Cayenne sports utility vehicle - a vehicle very different from the high-performance sports cars for which it was famous. The second company is Fiat Chrysler, which introduced the Dodge Dart compact in 2012 with great fanfare, and even greater expectations.

It can be tough enough to manage your own stress. But how can you, as a manager, help the members of your team handle their feelings of stress, burnout, or disengagement? Because work is getting more demanding and complex, and because many of us now work in 24/7 environments, anxiety and burnout are not uncommon. In our high-pressure workplaces, staying productive and engaged can be challenging.

Stress exists in every workplace, and all of us have probably tried a few trendy stress-management approaches. But rather than trying the latest fad, it may be more effective to understand how stress works and where it comes from, so that you can create your own methods for dealing with it.

For those who believe in the promise of open innovation, the 2009 startup Quirky was an exceptionally exciting company. Founded by entrepreneur Ben Kaufman, Quirky developed a platform that connected the company with outside inventors and project contributors. Within a few years, the company built a community of over a million members, commercialized over 100 products, and raised over $180 million in venture capital funding. Yet, in September 2015, Quirky went bankrupt.

"Sorry, You Can’t Speed Read" is from the April 16, 2016 Science section of The New York Times. It was written by Jeffrey M. Zacks and Rebecca Treiman and narrated by Fleet Cooper.

Learning how to plan — especially if you’re new to organizing your time — can be a frustrating experience. And for some individuals, the reason could be their brains.

We’ve all been there: the fluorescent light flickering above, your stomach in knots, voices at the table becoming raised, including your own. Nearly everyone experiences difficult conversations at work, whether with peers, managers, clients, or direct reports. We know they are difficult conversations for one of the following reasons: we have differences of opinion, something meaningful is at stake, and most tellingly — they bring up strong emotions for the people involved.

In an ongoing global survey of senior executives, more than half of the respondents said they didn’t think their company had a winning strategy, and two-thirds said they didn’t think their organization had the right capabilities to execute its strategy.

"A Young Prostitute, Police Scandals and a Rocky Renaissance in Oakland" is from the June 27, 2016, World section of The New York Times. It was written by Thomas Fuller and narrated by Fleet Cooper.

"China Launches Quantum Satellite in Bid to Pioneer Secure Communications" is from the August 16, 2016 World section of The New York Times. It was written by Edward Wong and narrated by Fleet Cooper.

"Dating With a Disability" is from the December 10, 2016 Lifestyle section of The New York Times. It was written by Wendy Lu and narrated by Fleet Cooper.

Welcome to Magnolia Lane. It’s not exactly a little slice of heaven, but in the backwater town of Creekside, Kansas, it’s the best a jobless supermarket clerk like Andrew Morrison can do. After sacrificing a normal childhood, a decent education, and true love to look after his alcoholic mother, he’s finally breaking free and living his own life — but in the squalid house he’s sharing with a former childhood friend, the living isn’t exactly easy. Plus, there’s something about the chipper, all-American couple next door that’s just downright creepy. However, that doesn’t keep Drew from accepting a job as their handyman — or surrendering to the wiles of perfect housewife Harlow Ward, a woman who always gets what she wants. Drew, like a string of hapless young men before him, doesn’t realize he’s dancing with a devil — one dressed to the nines in high heels and pearls.

Reading is time-consuming. I was already over-busy before I started reading several books a week. And I am a slow reader. I tried the traditional shortcuts, but none of them worked. Reading the PR materials is insufficient for understanding a book, and executive summaries are awful. I have never read an executive summary that came close to conveying what’s interesting and useful about an author’s work.

An entrepreneurial society is one in which innovation and new business creation are, as Peter Drucker put it, “an integral, life-sustaining activity” across organizations and the economy. There’s no question we live in such a society today, and the impact has been mostly positive.

Admen, Mad Men, and How Advertising Really Works is written to be easily digestible by interns, CEOS, or anyone who has ever watched a television commercial or clicked on a banner ad. Irreverent, packed with useful information, and unflinchingly honest, it is a serious business book by a seriously funny man and a must for anyone who lives, works, or plays in today's commercial culture.

"Life Insurance Customers Push Back Over Surprise Cost Increases" is from the September 01, 2016 Markets section of The Wall Street Journal. It was written by Leslie Scism and narrated by Fleet Cooper.