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Utilizing case studies as diverse as speed dating, pop music, and the shooting of Amadou Diallo, Gladwell reveals that what we think of as decisions made in the blink of an eye are much more complicated than assumed. Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience and psychology, he shows how the difference between good decision-making and bad has nothing to do with how much information we can process quickly, but on the few particular details on which we focus.

In "David and Goliath," Malcolm Gladwell challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks. Gladwell begins with the "real" story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy those many years ago. From there, "David and Goliath" examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms---all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity.

Chip Heath and Dan Heath tackle the thorny problem of how to overcome natural biases and irrational thinking to make better decisions about work, lives, companies, and careers. When it comes to decision making, brains are flawed instruments. But being aware of a bias doesn't correct it. In Decisive, the Heath brothers, drawing on extensive studies, stories, and research, offer specific, practical tools that can help listeners to think more clearly about their options. Chip Heath is a professor at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. Dan Heath is a senior fellow at Duke University's Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE).

We all have difficult conversations, no matter how confident or competent we are. And too often, no matter what we try, things don't go well. Should you say what you're thinking and risk starting a fight? Swallow your views and feel like a doormat? Or should you let them have it? But--what if you're wrong? Difficult Conversations shows you a way out of this dilemma; it teaches you how to handle even the toughest conversations more effectively and with less anxiety. Based on 15 years of work at Harvard Negotiation Project and consultations with 1000s of people, the book answers the question: When people confront the conversations they dread the most, what works? A proven, concrete, step-by-step approach for understanding and conducting tough conversations, it shows you how to get ready, how to start the conversations in ways that reduce defensiveness, and how to keep the conversation on a constructive track.

Pink argues that the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.

Includes:
First Amendment and corporate speech
First Amendment and hate speech
Freedom of the press
Freedom of association

After her first two weeks observing the problems at DecisionTech, Kathryn Petersen, its new CEO, had more than a few moments when she wondered if she should have taken the job. But Kathryn knew there was little chance she would have turned it down. After all, retirement made her antsy, and nothing excited her more than a challenge. What she could not have known when she accepted the job, however, was just how dysfunctional her team was, and how team members would challenge her in ways no one ever had before. The book outlines a powerful model and actionable steps to overcome common hurdles and build a cohesive, effective team.

The author of the international bestseller Emotional Intelligence returns with a groundbreaking look at today's scarcest resource and the secret to high performance and fulfillment: attention. Attention works much like a muscle: use it poorly and it can wither; work it well and it grows. In an era of unstoppable distractions, Goleman persuasively argues that now more than ever we must learn to sharpen focus if we are to contend with, let alone thrive, in a complex world.

Which is more dangerous: a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? How much do parents really matter? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He studies the riddles of everyday life-from cheating and crime to parenting and sports-and reaches conclusions that turn conventional wisdom on its head. Freakonomics is a groundbreaking collaboration between Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, an award-winning author and journalist. They set out to explore the inner workings of a crack gang, the truth about real estate agents, the secrets of the Ku Klux Klan, and much more. Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, they show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives-how people get what they want or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing.

Based on the premise that productivity is directly proportional to one's ability to handle tasks in a relaxed manner, the author offers strategies for self-management that minimize stress and enhance one's focus and efficiency.

LEARN THE SECRET TO SUCCESSFUL NEGOTIATION One of the key business texts of the modern era, Getting to Yes has helped millions of people learn a better way to negotiate. Based on the work of the Harvard Negotiation Project, a group that deals with all levels of negotiation and conflict resolution, it offers listeners a straightforward, universally applicable method for negotiating personal and professional disputes at home, in business, and with the people in any situation.

For over 60 years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this audiobook has carried thousands of now-famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives. Learn: The six ways to make people like you; The twelve ways to win people to your way of thinking; The nine ways to change people without arousing resentment.

Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say "yes" and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His thirty-five years of rigorous, evidence-based research along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior has resulted in this highly acclaimed book. You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader and how to defend yourself against them. Perfect for people in all walks of life, the principles of Influence will move you toward profound personal change and act as a driving force for your success.

In JUST LISTEN, veteran psychiatrist and business coach Mark Goulston reveals the secret to how to get through to anyone, even when productive communication seems impossible, and presents remarkably effective tools and techniques you can use whenever a job, a sale, or a relationship hangs in the balance.

"leaders who are willing to eat last are rewarded with deeply loyal colleagues who will stop at nothing to advance their leader s vision and their organization s interests. It s amazing how well it works."

Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO has become one of America's most galvanizing leaders. In Lean In, she urges women to take risks and seek new challenges, to find work that they love, and to remain passionately engaged with it at the highest levels throughout their lives.

In this terrifically insightful and engaging audiobook, renowned social psychologists Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson take a compelling look at how the brain is wired for self-justification. When we make mistakes, we must calm the cognitive dissonance that jars our feelings of self-worth. And so we create fictions that absolve us of responsibility, restoring our belief that we are smart, moral, and right -- a belief that often keeps us on a course that is dumb, immoral, and wrong. Backed by years of research, Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me) offers a fascinating explanation of self-deception -- how it works, the harm it can cause, and how we can overcome it. Be advised: You will never be able to shun blame quite so casually again.

There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition. Gladwell argues that the true story of success is very different, and that if we want to understand how some people thrive, we should spend more time looking "around" them-at such things as their family, their birthplace, or even their birth date. And in revealing that hidden logic, Gladwell presents a fascinating and provocative blueprint for making the most of human potential. In "The Tipping Point" Gladwell changed the way we understand the world. In "Blink" he changed the way we think about thinking. In OUTLIERS he transforms the way we understand success.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY "The Wall Street Journal - Financial Times" At its core, "The Power of Habit" contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work. Habits aren't destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

Why do our headaches persist after taking a 1-cent aspirin but disappear when we take a 50-cent aspirin? Why does recalling the Ten Commandments reduce our tendency to lie, even when we couldn't possibly be caught? Why do we splurge on a lavish meal but cut coupons to save 25 cents on a can of soup? And how did we ever start spending $4.15 on a cup of coffee when, just a few years ago, we used to pay less than a dollar? When it comes to making decisions in our lives, we think we're in control. We think we're making smart, rational choices. But are we? In a series of illuminating, often surprising experiments, MIT behavioral economist Ariely refutes the common assumption that we behave in fundamentally rational ways. Ariely explains how expectations, emotions, social norms, and other invisible, seemingly illogical forces skew our reasoning abilities. Not only do we make astonishingly simple mistakes every day, but we make the same types of mistakes. We consistently overpay, underestimate, and procrastinate. We fail to understand the profound effects of our emotions on what we want, and we overvalue what we already own. Yet these misguided behaviors are neither random nor senseless. They're systematic and predictable-making us predictably irrational. Ariely explains how to break through these systematic patterns of thought to make better decisions.

Draws on groundbreaking research in computational linguistics to explain what language choices reveal about feelings, self-concept, and social intelligence, in a lighthearted treatise that also explores the language personalities of famous individuals.

All of us are involved in selling every day. Whenever we present a product or a principle, inform a client, or instruct a child, we are engaging in the art of effective persuasion. This book provides vital strategies for specific closes, hundreds of sales questions, and dozens of persuasion procedures to help everyone sell their ideas, or themselves.

Explores the health effects of stress on the human body, why some individuals cope with stress better than others, what socioeconomic status has to do with stress and health, and various methods for managing stress.

The New York Times bestselling Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling over 4 million copies in 35 languages and changing the way we look at the world. Levitt and Dubner return with Superfreakonomics, and fans and newcomers alike will find that the freakquel is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first. SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything with such questions as: How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa? What do hurricanes, heart attacks, and highway deaths have in common? Can eating kangaroo save the planet? Levitt and Dubner mix smart thinking and great storytelling like no one else. By examining how people respond to incentives, they show the world for what it really is-good, bad, ugly, and, in the final analysis, super freaky.

In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counter-intuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.

Gallo provides a step-by-step method that makes it possible for anyone to create, design, and deliver a TED-style presentation that is engaging, persuasive, and memorable.

It will change the way you think about thinking. Two systems drive the way we think and make choices, Kahneman explains: System One is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System Two is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Examining how both systems function within the mind, Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities as well as the biases of fast thinking and the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and our choices. Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, he shows where we can trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking, contrasting the two-system view of the mind with the standard model of the rational economic agent. Kahneman's singularly influential work has transformed cognitive psychology and launched the new fields of behavioral economics and happiness studies. In this path-breaking book, Kahneman shows how the mind works, and offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and personal lives--and how we can guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble.

"takes listeners further inside a special thought process, revealing a new way of approaching the decisions people make, the plans they create, and the morals they choose."

"The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life," writes Malcolm Gladwell, "is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do." Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject. --Ron Hogan

Offers a concise history of globalization, discussing a wide range of topics, from the September 11 terrorist attacks to the growth of the middle class in both China and India.

Small changes can make a big difference in your powers of persuasion What one word can you start using today to increase your persuasiveness by more than fifty percent? Which item of stationery can dramatically increase people's responses to your requests? How can you win over your rivals by inconveniencing them? Why does knowing that so many dentists are named Dennis improve your persuasive prowess? Every day we face the challenge of persuading others to do what we want. But what makes people say yes to our requests? Persuasion is not only an art, it is also a science, and researchers who study it have uncovered a series of hidden rules for moving people in your direction. Based on more than sixty years of research into the psychology of persuasion, "Yes " reveals fifty simple but remarkably effective strategies that will make you much more persuasive at work and in your personal life, too.