Books about Ensuring from Amazon.com

"A large part of virtue consists in good habits," said William Paley.

In his new book, The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards, Jerold Panas would rephrase that a tad: A large part of an organization's success depends on its board's willingness to cultivate certain behaviors.

Over the course of a storied career, Panas has worked with literally thousands of boards, from those governing the toniest of prep schools to those spearheading the local Y. He has counseled floundering groups; he has been the wind beneath the wings of boards whose organizations have soared.

In fact, it's a safe bet that Panas has observed more boards at work than perhaps anyone in America, all the while helping them to surpass their campaign goals of $100,000 to $100 million.

Funnel every ounce of that experience and wisdom into a single book and what you have is The Fundraising Habits of Supremely Successful Boards, the brilliant culmination of what Panas has learned firsthand about boards who excel at the task of resource development.

Anyone who has read Asking or any of Panas' other books knows his style - a breezy and irresistible mix of storytelling, exhortation, and inspiration.

Habits follows the same engaging mold, offering a panoply of habits any board would be wise to cultivate. Some are specific, with measurable outcomes. Others are more intangible, with Panas seeking to impart an attitude of success.

Here's just a sampling:

• You don't allow a mission deficit. • You never lose sight that your organization is in the business of changing lives or saving lives. • You're willing to leave the comfort zone. • You understand that not all gifts are worth accepting.

In all, there are 25 habits and each is explored in two- and three-page chapters … and all of them animated by real-life stories only this grandmaster of philanthropy can tell.

In a mere 117 pages, about an hour's read, Jerold Panas has accomplished two feats. He has produced a book that boards will find simultaneously ennobling and instructive. And he has relegated to the recycling bin dozens upon dozens of ponderous and inauthentic treatises on the subject of nonprofit boards and fundraising..
Price: $15.51 [Notify me when price goes down.]

If you're looking for a quick, easy, and fun guide to constantly cultivating from within your organization the talent to move up and fill positions left behind by others, don't look here. Written by a human resources expert who teaches at Penn State, Effective Succession Planning must surely be one of the driest books ever written on this topic, from its aggressively unsexy title and jacket to its college-textbook format and arsenal of supplementary checklists, flowcharts, and exercises.

Having said that, it's also probably one of the most thorough books on the topic (and a fine complement to The Leadership Pipeline), incorporating methodical and meticulous guidelines to preparing for and quickly filling crucial vacancies at all levels of the organization, from top management to sales, administrative, technical, and production positions. Not only does it lay out a plan for instituting a long-term succession planning program that includes everything from early action steps to ongoing evaluation and revision, it also shows how to develop, monitor, and evaluate talent and skills in individual employees in order to promote effectively from within (although it acknowledges that sometimes the best choices come from outside, and offers key steps for optimizing the outside-search process as well).

Everything is covered here, from the legal implications of hiring and firing and online and high-tech resources to major trends that will affect succession planning in the years ahead. And, thank god, the author has incorporated some case studies--both fictional/composite and those of several large real-life companies--to add some names and faces to a volume that's about as dry as the Sahara, and (for human-resource professionals, at least) potentially as welcome as a fresh supply of water if you happened to be stuck in such a place. --Timothy Murphy.
Price: $37.28 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Here's the powerful idea behind The Writing Menu: Tailor a results-based writing program to fit your students' unique learning styles, cultures, interests, and attention spans, and you integrate writing with science, social studies and math into a writing workshop.

A cafeteria-style menu of expository and narrative prompts allows students to pick and choose among a wide variety of writing choices. Grade-appropriate target-skill lists for K - 8th grades ensure accountability with state standards..
Price: $12.54 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Unparalleled advice for parents of young athletes, from father and beloved future Hall of Famer, Cal Ripken.

Few athletes embody sportsmanship and class as perfectly as Cal Ripken, Jr. Since he retired from baseball in 2001, Ripken has devoted his time to coaching kids, including his own two children. His daughter, Rachel, plays basketball; his son, Ryan, plays baseball. The Babe Ruth League even changed the name of its largest division (more than 700,000 five-to-twelveyear-olds) from Bambino Baseball to Cal Ripken Baseball in 1991. But Ripken is troubled by what he sees in youth sports: a competitive intensity that removes the element of fun from playing. Drawing from his experiences as a father, a player, and a coach to his charges at Ripken Baseball, the legend offers his insights and advice in Parenting Young Baseball Players the Ripken Way, including:
• How an overemphasis on winning can harm your child’s game
• Why it’s counterproductive to correct your child’s technique during a game
• Mistakes well-meaning parents can make
• A complete guide to the structure of youth baseball leagues
• How Ripken’s techniques can be applied to other sports
• And much more

Showcasing his proven philosophy (keep it simple, explain the “why,” celebrate the individual, and make it fun!), Cal Ripken has created a plan that will delight baseball lovers for generations to come..
Price: $5.06 [Notify me when price goes down.]

As co-founder of the Excellerated Learning Institute, Robert Kiyosaki has had ample opportunity to observe our public education system. Like many concerned educators, he finds it woefully inadequate for the job of preparing young people to cope with the demands of modern life. In this new edition he dissects the reasons why schools fail and describes solutions that can put every child in touch with the innate joy of learning. At a time when more children are failing in school-and more schools are failing children-Kiyosaki introduces a note of sanity and hope for improvement..
Price: $3.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This new series of fifteen books - The Food Service Professional Guide TO Series from the editors of the Food Service Professional are the best and most comprehensive books for serious food service operators available today.

These step-by-step guides on a specific management subject range from finding a great site for your new restaurant to how to train your wait staff and literally everything in between. They are easy and fast -to-read, easy to understand and will take the mystery out of the subject. The information is "boiled down" to the essence. They are filled to the brim with up to date and pertinent information.

The books cover all the bases, providing clear explanations and helpful, specific information. All titles in the series include the phone numbers and web sites of all companies discussed. What you won't find are wordy explanations, tales of how someone did it better, or a scholarly lecture on the "theory". Think of them as "Cliff Notes TM" on the subject matter.

Every paragraph in each of the books are comprehensive, well researched, engrossing, and just plain fun-to-read, yet are packed with interesting ideas. You'll be using your highlighter a lot! The best part aside from the content is they are very moderately price. You can also purchase the whole 15 book series the isbn number is 0-910627-26-6. You are bound to get a great new idea to try on every page if not out of every paragraph. Do not be put off by the low price, these books really do deliver the critical information and eye opening ideas you need you to succeed without the fluff so commonly found in more expensive books on the subject. Highly recommended!.
Price: $11.88 [Notify me when price goes down.]

A generational shift is occurring at historic house museums as board members and volunteers retire while few young people step forward to take their place. These landmarks are also plagued by serious deferred maintenance, and many have no endowment funds. What will happen to these sites in the next ten years, and what can be done to assure their continued preservation for generations to come? In New Solutions for House Museums, Harris examines possible options and provides a decision-making methodology as well as a dozen case studies of house museums that have made a successful transition to a new owner or user..
Price: $23.96 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Peak Performance for Smart Kids provides success strategies, activities, tools, real-life examples, and checklists for parents to employ to help their kids achieve to their highest potential. Even the most talented child will not succeed if he or she has not developed the mental, psychological, and emotional skills to face the heavy demands of high performance. Maureen Neihart, a psychologist and leading authority on talent development in children, examines seven mental habits of successful kids, providing practical approaches for developing them in talented children of all ages in this easy-to-read guide for parents and teachers.

By working with parents to complete the activities included in this book, high-ability kids will learn to manage stress and anxiety, set and achieve goals, use mental rehearsal to improve performance, manage their moods and emotions, practice optimistic thinking, and resolve their frustrations of needing to belong while needing to achieve. With its research-based strategies and unique approach to maximizing potential, this is a book from which every parent of smart kids can benefit!.
Price: $10.43 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Inside the Minds: The Insurance Business is an authoritative, insider's perspective on the ins and outs of this dynamic industry and the future of the business, on a global scale. Featuring Chairmen, Presidents, and CEOs, representing some of the top insurance companies across the nation, this book provides a broad, yet comprehensive overview of the current state and future shape of the industry. Discussing the inner workings of the business and the key factors that differentiate insurance companies from each other, as well as identifying the biggest risks companies face and ways to hedge these risks, these authors offer practical and adaptable strategies for generating revenues and profiting year after year. From the processes involved in determining a premium for a new customer, processing a claim, and investing the cash from policies, hitting on the essentiality of building a strong brand identity and achieving credibility, to overall tactics around marketing! and customer relations, these authorities articulate the finer points around the business now, and what will hold true into the future. The different niches represented and the breadth of perspectives presented enable readers to get inside some of the great innovative minds of today, as experts explore in detail what it takes to secure long-term success in this ever-evolving industry.

This book is by:

Martin D. Feinstein, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer, Farmers Group, Inc. - "The Business of Managing Risks"; Constantine "Dinos" Iordanou, President & Chief Executive Officer, Arch Capital Group Ltd. - "Property/Casualty Insurance: A Business of Risk & Reward"; William G. Star, Chairman, President, & Chief Executive Officer, Kingsway Financial Services Inc. - "The Road to Success in the Insurance Industry"; Mark E. Watson, President & Chief Executive Officer, Argonaut Group, Inc. - "The Business of Insuring Business"; James J. Maguire, Chairman & Founder, Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp. - "A Glimpse Behind the Scenes"; John W. Hayden, Chairman, President, & Chief Executive Officer, American Modern Insurance Group - "Master the Basics"; Robert V. James, President & COO, Balboa Insurance Group - "A People Business.".
Price: $27.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Explains how software reliability can be applied to software programs of all sizes, functions and languages, and businesses. This text provides real-life examples from industries such as defence engineering, and finance. It is aimed at software and quality assurance engineers and graduate students..
Price: $108.63 [Notify me when price goes down.]