Glenn Rifkin

Powerful lessons in forward-thinking leadership from the visionary business pioneer who turned IDG into a $3 billion technology media and venture capital empireLike Steve Jobs, Patrick McGovern built a worldwide multibillion-dollar industry by thinking differently, disrupting old business models, and embracing new technology trends. He drove the future forward and never looked back. With magazines such as Computerworld, PCWorld, and Macworld, his company, International Data Group (IDG), quickly became a global powerhouse with information technology publications in nearly 100 countries. The story of IDG’s astonishing success has been a source of inspiration for entrepreneurs all around the world. No matter what industry you work in—whether you’re heading up a small startup, expanding a mid-sized company, or running a major global corporation—McGovern’s people-first principles, insights, and integrity will help you lead the way. Learn how to:•Define a clear mission early in the game—for long-term success.•Identify new markets and stay ahead of the curve.•Expand your business globally but have it managed locally.•Listen to your customers and empower your people.•Hire the best and challenge them to do their best work.•Never stop learning and always remain curious.•Foster a let’s-try-it attitude throughout the company.•Lead with optimism and stay true to your values and vision. In addition to these timeless lessons, you’ll learn how this future-forward leader broke new ground in the 1980s by opening offices in China, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and other markets deemed off-limits. You’ll discover how his company thrived in spite of major industry shifts—from mainframe computers to minicomputers to personal computers, from print to digital to smartphones—that upended many rivals. Living at the intersection of these classic disruptions, McGovern never missed a beat. He understood well before most that a revolution in information technology was underway and not only was there money to be made but that this would soon become the world’s largest industry. Most important, he never forgot the human element that is so crucial to any company’s success. His leadership in the creation of one of the world’s leading brain research institutes at MIT only served to cement his legacy. Future Forward shows you how to apply McGovern’s principles to your own organization. These are the lessons of a true visionary. This is how successful leaders take risks, take charge, and take the future by storm.

It's one of the thorniest management problems around: dealing with unmotivated, low-performing employees. It's easy to point the finger of blame at them. But in most companies, it's the reward system, not the workforce, that's causing poor attitudes and performance: many reward systems actually discourage desired behaviors while rewarding the very actions that drive executives crazy. In Reward Systems: Does Yours Deliver? Steve Kerr describes the steps you must take to create an effective reward system: - Clarify what you mean by "performance" -- in ways that help employees understand how they can support what you're trying to accomplish - Devise an effective performance-measurement system that distinguishes between metrics used for control and those used for employees' development - Design a reward system that motivates people to do what you want them to do while also meeting their needs To get the most from employees, you don't need to add headcount, upgrade your IT capabilities, or hire consultants. You do need to develop the right reward system. This book shows you how. From our new Memo to the CEO series -- solutions-focused advice from today's leading practitioners.

In a business era in which executives are taken away in handcuffs and corporate malfeasance and scandal dominates the business headlines, there is tremendous value in the stories of ethical companies and spiritual business leaders. The CEO and the Monk is one such compelling story, the story of KeySpan, the nation?s fifth largest energy giant and a profitable, Fortune 500 company, and the two KeySpan executives?one a former monk?whose unique working relationship is based on something as simple and powerful as "doing the right thing." This isn?t yet another prescriptive business guide written by breathless consultants. It is a story about a real business and how two unusual and dedicated humanists can keep their eyes on profits and ethics at the same time.