Collection: Adult

How to Resolve the Really Hard Problems

Every manager makes tough calls--it comes with the job. And the hardest decisions are the "gray areas"--situations where you and your team have worked hard to find an answer, you've done the best analysis you can, and you still don't know what to do. But you have to make a decision. You have to choose, commit, act, and live with the consequences and persuade others to follow your lead. Gray areas test your skills as a manager, your judgment, and even your humanity. How do you get these decisions right?

In Managing in the Gray, Joseph Badaracco offers a powerful, practical, and even radical way to resolve these problems. Picking up where conventional tools of analysis leave off, this book provides tools for judgment in the form of five revealing questions. Asking yourself these five questions provides a simple yet profound way to broaden your thinking, sharpen your judgment, and develop a fresh perspective. What makes these questions so valuable is that they have truly stood the test of time--they've guided countless men and women, across many centuries and cultures, to resolve the hardest questions of work, responsibility, and life.

You can use the five-question framework on your own or with others on your team to help you cut through complexities, understand critical trade-offs, and develop workable solutions for even the grayest issues.

Baseball is a strange sport: it consists of long periods in which little seems to be happening, punctuated by high-energy outbursts of rapid fire activity. Because of this, despite ever greater profits, Major League Baseball is bent on finding ways to shorten games, and to tailor baseball to today's shorter attention spans. But for the true fan, baseball is always compelling to watch -and intellectually fascinating. It's superficially slow-pace is an opportunity to participate in the distinctive thinking practice that defines the game. If baseball is boring, it's boring the way philosophy is boring: not because there isn't a lot going on, but because the challenge baseball poses is making sense of it all.

In this deeply entertaining book, philosopher and baseball fan Alva Noë explores the many unexpected ways in which baseball is truly a philosophical kind of game. For example, he ponders how observers of baseball are less interested in what happens, than in who is responsible for what happens; every action receives praise or blame. To put it another way, in baseball - as in the law - we decide what happened based on who is responsible for what happened. Noe also explains the curious activity of keeping score: a score card is not merely a record of the game, like a video recording; it is an account of the game. Baseball requires that true fans try to tell the story of the game, in real time, as it unfolds, and thus actively participate in its creation.

Some argue that baseball is fundamentally a game about numbers. Noe's wide-ranging, thoughtful observations show that, to the contrary, baseball is not only a window on language, culture, and the nature of human action, but is intertwined with deep and fundamental human truths. The book ranges from the nature of umpiring and the role of instant replay, to the nature of the strike zone, from the rampant use of surgery to controversy surrounding performance enhancing drugs. Throughout, Noe's observations are surprising and provocative.

Infinite Baseball is a book for the true baseball fan.

Learn to understand and implement the latest machine learning innovations to improve your investment performance

Machine learning (ML) is changing virtually every aspect of our lives. Today, ML algorithms accomplish tasks that - until recently - only expert humans could perform. And finance is ripe for disruptive innovations that will transform how the following generations understand money and invest.

In the book, readers will learn how to:

• Structure big data in a way that is amenable to ML algorithms
• Conduct research with ML algorithms on big data
• Use supercomputing methods and back test their discoveries while avoiding false positives

Advances in Financial Machine Learning addresses real life problems faced by practitioners every day, and explains scientifically sound solutions using math, supported by code and examples. Readers become active users who can test the proposed solutions in their individual setting.

Written by a recognized expert and portfolio manager, this book will equip investment professionals with the groundbreaking tools needed to succeed in modern finance.

There are few one-size-fits-all solutions in sales. Context matters. Complex sales are different from one-call closes. B2B is different than B2C. Prospects, territories, products, industries, companies, and sales processes are all different. There is little black and white in the sales profession.

Except for objections. There is democracy in objections. Every salesperson must endure many NOs in order to get to YES.

Objections don't care or consider:

• Who you are
• What you sell
• How you sell
• If you are new to sales or a veteran
• If your sales cycle is long or short - complex or transactional

For as long as salespeople have been asking buyers to make commitments, buyers have been throwing out objections. And, for as long as buyers have been saying no, salespeople have yearned for the secrets to getting past those NOs.

Following in the footsteps of his blockbuster bestsellers Fanatical Prospecting and Sales EQ, Jeb Blount's Objections is a comprehensive and contemporary guide that engages your heart and mind.

In his signature right-to-the-point style, Jeb pulls no punches and slaps you in the face with the cold, hard truth about what's really holding you back from closing sales and reaching your income goals. Then he pulls you in with examples, stories, and lessons that teach powerful human-influence frameworks for getting past NO - even with the most challenging objections.

What you won't find, though, is old school techniques straight out of the last century. No bait and switch schemes, no sycophantic tie-downs, no cheesy scripts, and none of the contrived closing techniques that leave you feeling like a phony, destroy relationships, and only serve to increase your buyers' resistance.

Instead, you'll learn a new psychology for turning-around objections and proven techniques that work with today's more informed, in control, and skeptical buyers. Inside the pages of Objections, you'll gain deep insight into:

• How to get past the natural human fear of NO and become rejection proof
• The science of resistance and why buyers throw out objections
• Human influence frameworks that turn you into a master persuader
• The key to avoiding embarrassing red herrings that derail sales calls
• How to leverage the "Magical Quarter of a Second" to instantly gain control of your emotions when you get hit with difficult objections
• Proven objection turn-around frameworks that give you confidence and control in virtually every sales situation
• How to easily skip past reflex responses on cold calls and when prospecting
• How to move past brush-offs to get to the next step, increase pipeline velocity, and shorten the sales cycle
• The 5 Step Process for Turning Around Buying Commitment Objections and closing the sale
• Rapid Negotiation techniques that deliver better terms and higher prices

As you dive into these powerful insights, and with each new chapter, you'll gain greater and greater confidence in your ability to face and effectively handle objections in any selling situation. And, with this new-found confidence, your success and income will soar.

Considered Oscar Wilde's most widely published work, El fantasma de Canterville is an elegant social satire. It tells the tale of an American family who move into the British castle, Canterville Chase, much to the aggravation of its tired ghost.

Steel your team against the unexpected by planning for uncertainty

Extraordinary Outcomes presents an innovative approach to thinking and planning, giving leaders a playbook for dealing with uncertainty. Written by internationally recognized authorities on problem solving and creativity in organizations, this book provides an alternative outlook on business strategy and people management for leaders navigating uncertain waters, where the future is anything but guaranteed. The framework is the result of research in multiple fields and the authors' experiences with individuals, teams, and organizations, with examples from real-world situations that illustrate the concepts and dynamics at work to give readers deeper insight. The focus is on conquering uncertainty - eliminating it where possible, reducing it where it can be reduced, and embracing it when it's inevitable.

Traditional ways of thinking and planning do not work in the face of an uncertain future. Frequently there are just no guarantees, nothing written in stone, and even a fortune-teller couldn't accurately predict the outcome. Extraordinary Outcomes helps leaders prepare for that, with strategies geared toward preparedness and embracing uncertainty.

• Learn why skills and talent are only two pieces of a bigger puzzle
• Discover how to better galvanize the team, and keep them motivated long-term
• Connect to a purpose that inspires enthusiastic engagement
• Conquer uncertainty, and develop a strategy for dealing with mistakes

No one likes to be caught off guard, and the consequences can be severe at the organizational level. Leaders can't be psychic, but they can plan for possible outcomes and always have a solution at the ready. For those who like to have an answer for everything, Extraordinary Outcomes provides a roadmap toward an uncertainty-proof strategy for doing business.

Unlock the full potential of your horse's health and performance with this comprehensive guide to equine physical therapy.In Physical Therapy for Horses, expert Helle Katrine Kleven offers horse owners, trainers, and professionals a detailed visual course that combines cutting-edge physical therapy techniques with an understanding of equine anatomy and biomechanics. Whether your goal is to maintain your horse's peak condition or rehabilitate after an injury, this essential reference empowers you with practical tools to improve their well-being.

Through over 300 images, Kleven guides readers through the core modalities of horse care, from traditional methods like massage and stretching to advanced therapies such as laser treatments, kinesiotaping, and fascia work. Aimed at all levels of equestrian enthusiasts, the book provides a thorough exploration of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems of horses, offering insights into how to prevent, identify, and treat common injuries.

Key Features:
- Easy-to-follow instruction on massage, stretching, and strengthening exercises
- Coverage of cutting-edge therapies like laser and matrix-rhythm therapy
- Step-by-step guidance for therapeutic techniques supported through illustrations
- Expert advice on rehabilitation, injury prevention, and performance optimization
- Practical solutions for addressing common problems like back and neck issues, muscular tension, and lameness


Perfect for riders, owners, and professionals, this book is a must-have resource for anyone dedicated to keeping their horse healthy and sound, no matter the discipline

Daddy and Me celebrates the love between fathers and their children, with stunning illustrations from Sydney Hanson and sweet, rhyming text by Tiya Hall. Join baby bear as she plays, explores, and learns with her Daddy, and share lots of hugs along the way! This cuddly, rhyming picture book is perfect for all young children - and their parents!

An updated edition of the acclaimed monograph, celebrating one of the most iconic and revolutionary artists of our time.

"Yayoi Kusama transcended the art world to become a fixture of popular culture, in a league with Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and Keith Haring." --The New York Times

Kusama is internationally renowned for her groundbreaking work on themes such as infinity, self-image, sexuality, and compulsive repetition. A well-known name in the Manhattan scene of the 1960s, Kusama's subsequent work combined Psychedelia and Pop culture with patterning, often resulting in participatory installations and series of paintings. This revised and expanded edition of the 2000 monograph, which is arguably still one of the most comprehensive studies on her work to date, has been augmented by an essay by Catherine Taft and a collection of new poems by the artist.

The newest illustrated poetry collection in beloved author Judith Viorst's "decade" series (from It's Hard to Be Hip Over Thirty to Unexpectedly Eighty), exploring, with her signature savvy and humor, what it means to be an impending nonagenarian.

In Nearing Ninety, bestselling author Judith Viorst candidly shares the complicated joys and everyday tribulations that await us at the age of ninety, all with a large dose of humor and an understanding that nothing--well, almost nothing--in life should be taken too seriously. While she struggles to make it to midnight on New Year's Eve, while she's starting to hear more eulogies than symphonies, while she'll forever be disheartened by what she weighs (and forever unable to stop weighing herself), there is plenty to cherish at ninety: hanging out with the people she loves. Playing a relentless game of Scrabble. And still sleeping tush-to-tush with the same man to whom she's been married for sixty years.

Accompanied by Laura Gibson's whimsical illustrations, Nearing Ninety's amusing and touching reflections make this collection relatable to readers of all ages. With the wisdom and spunk of someone who's seen it all, Viorst gently reminds us that everybody gets old, and that the best medicine at any age is laughter.

This is an outstanding treatise on one of America's most widely hunted and most important big-game animals. Although thousands of sportsmen take to the field each year in quest of trophies, the perpetuation of elk hunting in America depends entirely upon proper management of the herds. Whether management succeeds or fails in future years will depend upon how well the public understands the problems of the game administrators and of the animals themselves.
Everything the sportsman or naturalist would wish to know about the elk in included in this new volume. Habits, food preferences, seasonal movements, anatomy, antler development, and management problems are interestingly and thoroughly discussed. Written by one of America's greatest field naturalists, this new book has behind it a lifetime spent in intimate study of the subject.
Dr. Murie is recognized as the world's foremost authority on the American elk and his comprehensive research on elk in the Jackson Hole National Monument forms the basis for this book. Everyone interested in America's wildlife will want this volume in his library. The book is copiously illustrated with half-tone and original line drawings by the author.

An unprecedented book showcasing the California coast via the Pacific Coast Highway and beyond.
As America stands to the rest of the world, so stands California to America--a shining promise of endless possibility. California is both dream and reality. Coastal California is for anyone who has felt the lure of a Pacific sunset. From the physical beauty of Monterey to the grandeur of Southern California, photographer Jake Rajs displays his skillful command of capturing the coastline and Pacific Ocean in every season and the land that is affected by it. Including such locations as Redwood National Park, Point Reyes National Seashore, Sausalito, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, and Pacific Palisades, Coastal California is sure to be the gift book of the year for those who feel the rush of the Pacific Coast Highway and those who just dream of it.

The Art of Coco presents the story behind the making of Pixar's Academy Award-winning film Coco. Filled with concept art and insights from the creative team who worked on the film, this book overflows with insights into the process behind Pixar's unique and engaging vision.

The Art of Coco explores the behind-the-scenes details about the making of the film and production art that brings the mesmerizing story to life in a brand new way.

- A must-have companion book to the feature film
- See the world of Coco in detail through intriguing storyboards and spellbinding colorscripts
- Filled with exclusive interviews with the production team

Packed with colorful artwork and energetic character sketches, this comprehensive volume showcases the stunning artwork from the film's creation.

The Art of Coco is part of the fan-favorite, collectible Art of series--books that explore production art and exclusive making-of details.

- A perfect gift for fans of Coco and Pixar, animators, animation and filmmaking students, film buffs, and more
- Reveals exclusive details and facts that you can't read anywhere else
- Add it to the shelf with books like The Art of Zootopia by Jessica Julius, The Art of Moana by Jessica Julius and Maggie Malone, and The Art of Pixar: The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation by Amid Amidi

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