Translated by Ciaran Cronin. In the midst of the current crisis that is threatening to derail the historical project of European unification, Jürgen Habermas has been one of the most perceptive critics of the ineffectual and evasive responses to the global financial crisis, especially by the German political class. This extended essay on the constitution for Europe represents Habermas’s constructive engagement with the European project at a time when the crisis of the eurozone is threatening the very existence of the European Union. There is a growing realization that the European treaty needs to be revised in order to deal with the structural defects of monetary union, but a clear perspective for the future is missing. Drawing on his analysis of European unification as a process in which international treaties have progressively taken on features of a democratic constitution, Habermas explains why the current proposals to transform the system of European governance into one of executive federalism is a mistake. His central argument is that the European project must realize its democratic potential by evolving from an international into a cosmopolitan community. The opening essay on the role played by the concept of human dignity in the genealogy of human rights in the modern era throws further important light on the philosophical foundations of Habermas’s theory of how democratic political institutions can be extended beyond the level of nation-states. Now that the question of Europe and its future is once again at the centre of public debate, this important intervention by one of the greatest thinkers of our time will be of interest to a wide readership.
Meet the twelve people that can accelerate your success – in business and in life It's Who You Know is the long-awaited handbook to effective, productive and influential networking. Having the right relationships is more important than ever before, but digital connectivity and social media has changed the landscape. Social media has made networking easy, but has it made it better? In an age of digital disconnect, having the right relationships is more important than ever before with more and more of us reporting we feel disconnected from social media. Networking is no longer about collecting business cards and meeting thousands of people online or offline; it's about knowing the right people, and nurturing those relationships. You only need 12 – or even just four. Approached strategically, this comparatively small network will provide the strength, diversity and opportunities to help you achieve your personal and professional goals. This book shows you who you need to know, how to get to know them and how to make value a two-way street. Action plans, checklists and an online diagnostic tool help you start taking steps right away, and the emphasis on «doing» over endless planning gives you the motivation you need to get up and go. The old adage «It's not what you know; it's who you know» has never been more applicable than it is today. The problem is that many of us «know» thousands of people across social networks, but how many of those people truly know you and how many of them are truly connected to you? It's time to clear out the network clutter and identify those who actually add value to your professional and personal development. Master the art of real and influential strategic networking in a noisy and disconnected online world Learn who you need in your circle, and how to find them Nurture and maintain your professional relationships Leverage your power network to accelerate your career Today, jobs are filled before they're advertised and previously unthought-of collaborations appear out of nowhere. Networking has become a critical factor for success. It's Who You Know brings networking into the modern era, and shows you a strategic approach to making it work for you.
Inspire performance and prove your leadership impact Prove It! is the executive guide to improving organisational performance through the practice of evidence-based leadership. More than ever before, the world is demanding transparency and accountability from organisational leaders, and there is a growing push to hold leaders responsible for the performance of their organisation. Many executives panic at the thought of what transparency might reveal and how they might be held accountable, but others relish the opportunity to showcase their organisation's performance. The difference is in the leadership methodology. The best leaders already know how their organisation is performing, and that it has improved during their tenure – and they can prove it because they practise evidence-based leadership. This book offers a clear blueprint for building on your existing skills and performance management systems to build a truly high performance organisation. Just three personal leadership habits and three organisation-wide habits can transform your organisation into the powerhouse you know it can be. With a simple methodology and a focus on practical results, this book can help you: Set a strategic direction that really does inspire organisational excellence Gain a true picture of your organisation's performance Master the habits that help you lead a high-performance culture Improve your organisation objectively, measurably and quickly If an organisation can only be as good as its leadership, it's reasonable to place the burden of performance responsibility on those who make the decisions. A leader's job is to inspire, motivate and guide, and those who do it well are already raising the bar. Prove It! gives you a practical model for measurable, real-world results, starting today.
Cut the organisational and operational dead weight to climb higher, faster The Light and Fast Organisation presents a blueprint for organisations looking to thrive in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. VUCA – Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity – has become the dominant mode of modern business, and leaders are overwhelmed. Competition and instability has increased while barriers to entry have fallen, chronic employee disengagement is on the rise and the global economic recovery is incredibly fragile; business leaders are uncomfortable, with threats to their business looming on all sides. This book proposes an alternative to the VUCA paradigm, one in which we learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, and a model for helping your organisation climb above the fray. Case studies from both business and mountaineering illustrate the benefits and practicalities of becoming light, fast, and agile and underscore the importance of self-awareness and self-reliance in minimising your exposure to risk. Business and mountaineering share many parallels, including frequent operation outside of the comfort zone. This book shows you the strong skills and effective strategies you need to reach the summit. Get comfortable with discomfort Adopt an 'Alpine Style' approach to business Operate outside of the VUCA paradigm Stretch outside your comfort zone to achieve more, faster Leaders must accept the current VUCA state and assess their preparedness, but it's possible to move beyond it by ingraining a 'light and fast' approach at the core of their organisations' values and operations. It's only through reaching beyond the 'safe' zone that we learn what we're made of, and build the foundations for successful leadership and teamwork. The Light and Fast Organisation is your practical coach for climbing the mountain, and your guide to the quickest route to the summit.
Connect, focus, align, and activate your team to increase performance fast The Four Mindsets: How to Influence, Motivate, and Lead High Performance Teams holds the key to significantly increasing productivity, performance, and revenue in your organisation. Developed as a guide proven to help all levels of managers to connect, focus, align and activate their teams to elevate results, this book also serves as a low-cost, first step, alternative to expensive training, coaching and mentoring programs by providing a range of resources and tools to use and become a 'best in class' leader today. Management, motivations and mindsets have changed considerably in the last 25 years and leaders are being challenged with the task of keeping their teams engaged while meeting goals that are more stringent than ever before. The High Performance Mindset Model will equip you with the skills you need to take your teams performance to the next level and considers hot topics in today's business environment, such as emotional intelligence, whole brain thinking, and what makes professionals tick, in a format that is applicable at all levels of management and leadership. The Four Mindsets updates you on what matters most today and the most common strategies and techniques used by high performing companies, leaders and managers–globally. Explore the simplest, fastest ways to increase productivity, performance, and revenue. Understand what you must do to be within the top five percent of today's managers. Discuss what makes people tick at work and how this understanding is the number one key to influencing accountability, focus and results. Consider current best practices in team management, and understand how to practically apply these concepts. The Four Mindsets: How to Influence, Motivate, and Lead High Performance Teams is the ultimate handbook for every manager —from team leader to CEO—HR professionals, management consultants, trainers, coaches, and mentors charged with the responsibility of developing today's modern leaders.
Unlock progress through doubt and uncertainty The biggest threat facing modern business is the sheer complexity of an uncertain future. That, and the fact that everyone is busy. Too busy for progress. Workplace cultures have become cursed with efficiency. And so when it comes to developing strategy, we default to our defaults.We favour quick fixes, easy templates and familiar approaches, developing ‘robust plans' that do little to mitigate strategic risk or generate new value. The result? The future comes, and businesses die. But no longer! *cue trumpets* How to Lead a Quest is a book for pioneering leaders – folks who know that enterprise strategy is far too important to condemn to ‘smart goals', 'a clear vision for the future' and other such rubbish. Within this book, you'll discover how to: liberate enterprise leadership and workplace cultures from the curse of efficiency, default thinking and the delusion of progress explore complex and uncertain futures to find profound insights that mitigate strategic risks and ensure your business model remains viable create new value and enduring relevance by pioneering into unchartered and unprecedented territory embed new structures and rituals into your enterprise to build for the future, while still delivering operational excellence today. Not for the faint of heart or short-of-wit, this uniquely refreshing book bravely tackles the paradox that is pioneering leadership. You'll discover how to lead meaningful progress – even if you don't know what the goal or destination looks like.
Super-charge your brain to gain a huge competitive edge in business and in life Future Brain is the busy professional's secret weapon for boosting mastery, efficiency, and productivity to gain that coveted competitive edge – in business and in life. Designed to be implemented at the individual, team, or organisational level, this in-depth, step-by-step framework leverages neuro-scientific principles to help you develop a solid, habit-changing plan for building and maintaining brain fitness and healthy behaviours. Author Dr. Jenny Brockis will help you develop your thought processes and your regular routine to get more done with less effort and time. Based on the idea of neuroplasticity, these daily practices improve focus, creativity, and effectiveness to help you stay relevant, competitive, and way ahead of the pack. You already have a magnificent brain, but you probably take it for granted; we often develop «survival techniques» that force our brain to work with an incompatible «operating system» in an effort to keep up with the ever-increasing velocity of change and information overload. This book helps you beef up your brain awareness so you can take advantage of the built-in features and native capabilities that make the human brain a truly awesome machine. Reduce stress and avoid stress-related illnesses Foster healthy thinking habits to boost efficiency Build your expertise with renewed focus and stamina Drive innovation through productive collaboration A brain that can change, adapt, lead, and collaborate to operate with a high level of flexibility, agility, and creativity is a brain that will serve you well now and into the future. Future Brain turns neuroscience into actionable steps, helping you to train your brain to achieve high-performance in all areas of life.
The fast and easy way to perfect your project management skills Whatever your profession, effective project management skills are crucial to developing a successful business career. In Project Management Essentials For Dummies, you'll find all the information and guidance you need to plan your projects with confidence and deliver them on time. This comprehensive resource will help you unlock the keys to project management success, gain the know-how to assess your strengths and weaknesses to maximise your project management potential, find proven ways to motivate your project team, and so much more. In today's challenging business environment, professionals are increasingly working within tight timeframes and constricted budgets, and striving to deliver projects under a range of high-pressure scenarios. Thankfully, Project Management Essentials For Dummies shows you how to put out the fires igniting your workspace and explains how easy it is to organise, estimate and schedule projects more efficiently. In no time, you'll be managing deliverables, assessing risks, maintaining communications, making the most of your resources and utilising time-saving technologies like a project management ninja! Understand how to develop your plans around a sturdy structure – from start to finish Discover how to select the right people and get the very best from your team Recognise ways to take control and steer your projects to success Get up to speed on mastering the basics of project management If you're a business professional looking to take your project management skills to new heights – but don't want to get bogged down with forehead-scratching jargon and complex methodologies – Project Management Essentials For Dummies has everything you need to get up and running fast.
The research-driven guide to the leadership behaviours which create more engaged workplaces and higher performance, Extraordinary Leadership in Australia and New Zealand is a guidebook for what it takes, at any level of an organisation, to bring out the best in people. And full of insights not just from people who are making a difference, but also evidence from their direct reports, colleagues and managers about the impact that The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® has on them and their performance. Drawing upon empirical data from more than 75,000 people in the Australian and New Zealand workforce, the authors document how The Five Practices are being applied here, and also compares this region with data from 28 other countries. Interviews with more than 100 leaders and their teams provide real examples and practical applications within the grasp of every reader who aspires to make a difference. Case studies are balanced across gender, function, and industry providing a broad perspective, identifying why leadership matters, and offering keen insights into how you lead others to greatness. Study examples of extraordinary leadership in Australia and New Zealand Discover the behaviours that make great leaders, and why they're so important Examine the research that shows how leadership affects engagement and organisational performance Learn why people need great leadership, and why it motivates them to perform at their best Leadership must be nurtured. While all leaders are born, great leaders are made! With expectations higher than ever, and resources unprecedentedly scarce, today's leaders face some of the most difficult, complex organisational challenges yet. Extraordinary Leadership in Australia and New Zealand presents a data-driven framework for being an effective leader, with expert guidance toward the actions that you can take to improve the performance of your team and organisation.
New banking and investment business models to navigate the post-financial crisis environment The financial crisis of 2007-2008 has discredited business models in the banking and fund management industries. In The Future of Finance, Moorad Choudhry and Gino Landuyt argue that banks must realign their business models, implying a lower return-on-equity; diversifying their funding sources; and increasing liquidity reserves. On the investment side, the authors discuss how diversification did not reduce risk, but rather amplified it, and failed to stabilize returns. The authors conclude that the clear lesson from the crisis is to know one's risk. A lesson that is best served by concentrating on assets and sectors that you understand. Examines the weaknesses in the business models of many institutions, as well as the theoretical foundation for professionals in the field of finance Identifies the shortcomings of Modern Portfolio Theory Addresses how investment managers can find new strategies for creating «alpha» and why they need to re-vamp their fee structures Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, The Future of Finance will provide bankers and investment managers with a guide to realigning their businesses in order to prosper in the post-crisis financial markets.