The Pragmatic Optimist

The Pragmatic Optimist
Author: Dr. Daniel Monehin
Publisher: Seventy9 West Books
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2022-08-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1738652904

About the Book Based on extensive multi-year empirical research, The Pragmatic Optimist addresses what it takes to be a leading light in the darkest hours of a business or economic crisis. Using real-world case studies, you will discover how to avoid the common cognitive and behavioral traps to which all leaders are most susceptible in the heat of a crisis. Finally, you will acquire the necessary insights to develop pragmatic optimism—a winning hybrid mindset—and practice its six results-oriented strategies for success even under extreme conditions. Praises for The Pragmatic Optimist “Dr. Daniel Monehin has produced a remarkably timely masterpiece. I have studied crisis leadership for over thirty years, yet Dr. Monehin’s The Pragmatic Optimist took my understanding of leading in a crisis to a new level—I am a huge fan of this book.” - Dr. Thomas A. Kolditz, Ph.D., Brigadier General, US Army (ret), Professor Emeritus at the US Military Academy, West Point, and author, In Extremis Leadership: Leading as if Your Life Depended on It “The Pragmatic Optimist brings together factual information and the process to develop your own leadership style. I love when I find a good easy-to-apply book that I could use in my work.” - Dr. Wendy Borlabi, Psy. D., Director of Performance & Mental Health, Chicago Bulls “Dr. Daniel Monehin’s breadth of experience and depth as a global leader combined with his ability to lead through transformational change has catapulted this book to my shortlist of recommended reading to any leader.” - Ron Garrow, Executive Partner, Chief Human Resources Officer Advisory Practice at Gartner Inc. “There are many books on leadership, but few that actually give specific and actionable insights on what leaders must do in a crisis. Dr. Monehin's The Pragmatic Optimist stands tall above others—If you read only one book on leadership, it should be this one.” - Efosa Ojomo, Director of Global Prosperity at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation “Dr. Monehin draws on decades within multinationals, rigorous academic study, and importantly, his own life experience to produce this important work at this crucial time.” - Christine Elliott, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Moody’s Corporation “Having worked with Dr. Daniel Monehin for many years, I have seen him lead businesses successfully through turbulent environments. Who better than Daniel to lead us through the best of crisis management.” - Ann Cairns, Executive Vice Chair, Mastercard Inc. “Dr. Monehin, clearly and concisely, develops an essential framework for leaders to successfully overcome perilous situations. This book is an excellent manual for leaders from all spheres of influence and should be read before the next crisis!” - Femi Cadmus, Law Librarian and Professor of Law, Yale University “Between a global pandemic, social injustice and a racial reckoning, and a challenging economic climate, leaders have been tested in unprecedented ways. The Pragmatic Optimist provides an excellent roadmap for executives to successfully navigate times of adversity by keeping their vision and values in focus.” - Marisa Grimes Galiber, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, U.S. Tennis Association (USTA)

The Pragmatic Optimist: Six Proven Strategies for Leading During a Crisis

The Pragmatic Optimist: Six Proven Strategies for Leading During a Crisis
Author: Daniel Monehin
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-08-31
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781738652921

With more than four hundred references, The Pragmatic Optimist is one of the most researched leadership and self-development books on the market. Over thirty executives and scholars worldwide have endorsed this book.

Believing Cassandra

Believing Cassandra
Author: Alan AtKisson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2012-07-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 113654061X

A bestseller on Amazon.com within months of its first release, Alan AtKisson's debut book quickly became a modern classic of sustainability literature. Global companies, grassroots groups, university courses, government agencies, and even the US Army ordered it by the box. Now fully revised and updated, Believing Cassandra: How to be an Optimist in a Pessimist's World is even more relevant, fresh, and motivating than when it first appeared in 1999. In a style that's refreshingly candid and vivid, with unforgettable personal anecdotes, AtKisson provides us with a bridge over the sea of despair, and shows us how to catch the wave to an enticing, sustainable future. He empowers the reader to join the pioneers who created the ideas, techniques and practices of sustainable living - the people who prove Cassandra's warnings wrong, by believing in them, and taking strategic action.

The Optimism Bias

The Optimism Bias
Author: Tali Sharot
Publisher: Vintage
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2011-06-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0307379833

Psychologists have long been aware that most people maintain an irrationally positive outlook on life—but why? Turns out, we might be hardwired that way. In this absorbing exploration, Tali Sharot—one of the most innovative neuroscientists at work today—demonstrates that optimism may be crucial to human existence. The Optimism Bias explores how the brain generates hope and what happens when it fails; how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ; why we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy; how emotions strengthen our ability to recollect; how anticipation and dread affect us; how our optimistic illusions affect our financial, professional, and emotional decisions; and more. Drawing on cutting-edge science, The Optimism Bias provides us with startling new insight into the workings of the brain and the major role that optimism plays in determining how we live our lives.

Leadership During a Crisis

Leadership During a Crisis
Author: Christian Harrison
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2024-02-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1003855431

We live in uncertain times propelled by complex systems, climate change and the use of technology which possess various threats. At times of crisis, leadership that permits quick reactions to the changing organisational environment becomes necessary. However, there has been limited studies that provide a road map of leading during a crisis. What is required of leaders during a crisis? How can you develop the required leadership expertise during such turbulent periods? What are the challenges leaders will have to combat? Through this book, these questions are answered. It is no exaggeration therefore to claim that this book opens a new chapter as it seeks to advance discussions about how to lead during crisis. Drawing on empirical and conceptual evidence from the perspective of renowned authors in leadership research, it offers a robust and engaging overview of the field of leadership and leadership development in turbulent and dynamic environments. The chapters in the book support the personal and professional development of aspiring and experienced leaders and managers. The readers will be able to display critical awareness of current developments in both the theory and practice of leadership and leadership development and its importance in modern organisations.

Electrify

Electrify
Author: Saul Griffith
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2021-10-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262046237

An optimistic--but realistic and feasible--action plan for fighting climate change while creating new jobs and a healthier environment: electrify everything. Climate change is a planetary emergency. We have to do something now—but what? Saul Griffith has a plan. In Electrify, Griffith lays out a detailed blueprint—optimistic but feasible—for fighting climate change while creating millions of new jobs and a healthier environment. Griffith’s plan can be summed up simply: electrify everything. He explains exactly what it would take to transform our infrastructure, update our grid, and adapt our households to make this possible. Billionaires may contemplate escaping our worn-out planet on a private rocket ship to Mars, but the rest of us, Griffith says, will stay and fight for the future. Griffith, an engineer and inventor, calls for grid neutrality, ensuring that households, businesses, and utilities operate as equals; we will have to rewrite regulations that were created for a fossil-fueled world, mobilize industry as we did in World War II, and offer low-interest “climate loans.” Griffith’s plan doesn’t rely on big, not-yet-invented innovations, but on thousands of little inventions and cost reductions. We can still have our cars and our houses—but the cars will be electric and solar panels will cover our roofs. For a world trying to bounce back from a pandemic and economic crisis, there is no other project that would create as many jobs—up to twenty-five million, according to one economic analysis. Is this politically possible? We can change politics along with everything else.

The Optimist

The Optimist
Author: Tamir Sorek
Publisher: Stanford Studies in Middle Eas
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2020-06-16
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780804797474

Tawfiq Zayyad (1929-1994) was a renowned Palestinian poet and a committed communist activist. For four decades, he was a dominant figure in political life in Israel, as a local council member, mayor of Nazareth, and member of the Israeli parliament. Zayyad personified the collective struggle of the Palestinian citizens of Israel, challenging the military government following the creation of the state of Israel, leading the 1976 nationwide strike against land confiscation, and tirelessly protesting Israeli military occupation after 1967. With this book, Tamir Sorek offers the first biography of this charismatic figure. Zayyad's life was one of balance and contradiction--between his revolutionary writings as Palestinian patriotic poet and his pragmatic political work in the Israeli public sphere. He was uncompromising in his protest of injustices against the Palestinian people, but always committed to a universalist vision of Arab-Jewish brotherhood. It was this combination of traits that made Zayyad an exceptional leader--and makes his biography larger than the man himself to offer a compelling story about Palestinians and the state of Israel.

The Rational Optimist

The Rational Optimist
Author: Matt Ridley
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 482
Release: 2011-06-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0061452068

For two hundred years the pessimists have dominated public discourse, insisting that things will soon be getting much worse. But in fact, life is getting better—and at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down all across the globe. Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching people's lives as never before. In his bold and bracing exploration into how human culture evolves positively through exchange and specialization, bestselling author Matt Ridley does more than describe how things are getting better. He explains why. An astute, refreshing, and revelatory work that covers the entire sweep of human history—from the Stone Age to the Internet—The Rational Optimist will change your way of thinking about the world for the better.

It's Better Than It Looks

It's Better Than It Looks
Author: Gregg Easterbrook
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2018-02-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1610397428

Is civilization teetering on the edge of a cliff? Or are we just climbing higher than ever? Most people who read the news would tell you that 2017 is one of the worst years in recent memory. We're facing a series of deeply troubling, even existential problems: fascism, terrorism, environmental collapse, racial and economic inequality, and more. Yet this narrative misses something important: by almost every meaningful measure, the modern world is better than it ever has been. In the United States, disease, crime, discrimination, and most forms of pollution are in long-term decline, while longevity and education keep rising and economic indicators are better than in any past generation. Worldwide, malnutrition and extreme poverty are at historic lows, and the risk of dying by war or violence is the lowest in human history. It's not a coincidence that we're confused -- our perspectives on the world are blurred by the rise of social media, the machinations of politicians, and our own biases. Meanwhile, political reforms like the Clean Air Act and technological innovations like the hybridization of wheat have saved huge numbers of lives. In that optimistic spirit, Easterbrook offers specific policy reforms to address climate change, inequality, and other problems, and reminds us that there is real hope in conquering such challenges. In an age of discord and fear-mongering, It's Better Than It Looks will profoundly change your perspective on who we are, where we're headed, and what we're capable of.

Woody Allen and Philosophy

Woody Allen and Philosophy
Author: Mark T. Conard
Publisher: Open Court
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2011-04-15
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0812697464

Fifteen philosophers representuing different schools of thought answer the question what is Woody Allen trying to say in his films? And why should anyone care? Focusing on different works and varied aspects of Allen's multifaceted output, these essays explore the philosophical undertones of Anne Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Manhattan, A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy and reminds us that just because the universe is meaningless and life is pointless is no reason to commit suicide.