Bill Fischer

The ancient wizard Xanderghul—the most powerful of all the runelords—has returned and seeks revenge upon the world. But before he can be stopped, the cult he created must be confronted in a mysterious dungeon known as the Crypt of Runes. Can the heroes find this place quickly enough to stop the Risen of the Trinity Star from bringing a host of apocalypses to the Saga Lands? “Crypt of Runes” is a Pathfinder adventure for four 15th-level mythic characters. This adventure continues the Revenge of the Runelords Adventure Path, a three-part monthly campaign in which a group of adventurers fight against the evil plans of Runelord Xanderghul—the most powerful of all runelords. This adventure also includes articles about ancient cults and the terrors of the nightmare realm of Leng, powerful new magic items to aid heroes against their foes, and several sinister new monsters."

A compelling profile of an emerging Chinese competitor Chinese firms are reinventing their business models, their corporate cultures, and themselves, becoming global competitors who increasingly offer knowledge rather than cheap labour in their quest to join the ranks of the "world's best" companies. This book offers a compelling profile of the most ambitious of these emerging Chinese competitors, the Haier Corporation (the world's largest manufacturer of home appliances), and shares insights on how one organization has repeatedly reinvented its business model and corporate culture in an effort to sustain its success. Reinventing Giants provides an exclusive look within the Haier Corporation and shows how managerial accountability and responsibility have been repositioned at every level of the organization, with the core value of market-centricity, while aligning strategy on each level of management. It includes actual work reports that show this process in detail from the ground up. The authors emphasize how a belief in the liberation of employee talent has consistently been the driving force underlying Haier's success. Includes the remarkable story of Haier's turnaround and how these lessons can be applied to other organizationsContains information for any company grappling with competition in the global marketplaceShows how to liberate employees' talent to drive business successWritten by Bill Fischer, Professor of Innovation Management at IMD in Switzerland, Umberto Lago, Professor of Management at Bologna University, Italy, and Fang Liu, Research Associate of IMD Reinventing Giants helps global managers rethink their own business models and accompanying corporate cultures in order to be able to apply Haier's lessons directly to their own organizations.

A different way of discovering and developing the best business ideas Jack Welch once said, "Someone, somewhere has a better idea." In this myth-busting book, the authors reveal that great business ideas do not spring from innate creativity, or necessarily from the brilliant minds of people. Rather, great ideas come to those who are in the habit of looking for great ideas all around them, all the time. Too often, people fall into the trap of thinking that the only worthwhile idea is a thoroughly original one. Idea Hunters know better. They understand that valuable ideas are already out there, waiting to be found - and not just in the usual places. Shows how to expand your capacity to find and develop winning business ideasExplains why ideas are a critical asset for every manager and professional, not just for those who do "creative"Reveals how to seek out and select the ideas that best serve your purposes and goals and define who you are, as a professionalOffers practical tips on how to master the everyday habits of an Idea Hunter, which include cultivating great conversations The book is filled with illustrative accounts of successful Idea Hunters and stories from thriving "idea" companies. Warren Buffet, Walt Disney, Thomas Edison, Mary Kay Ash, Twitter, and Pixar Animation Studios are among the many profiled.

"A fascinating study of creative teamwork. The final chapter on how to "turbo-charge" less-than-exceptional teams is worth the cover price of the book." Director "What a pleasure to read... the case studies are excellent." -The Financial Times, July 2005 Lead a very special kind of team. The virtuoso team. At the heart of a great change or creative breakthrough you will often find a dynamic team of inspired individuals who work together to break out of the common place and make something remarkable happen. A team that generates more creativity, more energy and the very best performance. This is a book about those revolutionary teams that are catalysts for big change and breakthrough performances. Unlimited by the conventional approach to teamwork Virtuoso Teams are frequently contentious and always less comfortable, but if you can pull together the right people and manage them in the right way, the results can be extraordinary. Virtuoso teams don’t last forever, but their members almost always go on to become leaders in their field’s next generation. The rules of the game are different for virtuoso teams and their leaders. This book will show you how to play to the standards of some of the greatest uncompromising, creative and catalytic teams of our times. Andy Boynton & Bill Fisher introduce you to some of the most compelling and wide-ranging stories of remarkable team leadership ever assembled, from Miles Davis, a serial innovator who surrounded himself with virtuoso talent at least three times, to change the face of jazz, to Thomas Edison, The Manhattan Project to West Side Story. Find out how these teams set out to revolutionize their worlds, and how you can build and manage a Virtuoso Team of your own. Whether you’re launching an innovative new product or service; entering into challenging new markets or simply trying to transform the way you operate, virtuoso teams can make the difference between achieving a high-impact success and just another modest outcome. "I never thought I would be extolling the virtues of a book on Virtuoso Teams unless it specifically pertained to baseball. Nevertheless here I am praising a book on the advisability of developing Virtuoso Teams--regardless of the type of organization in which you belong. If you aspire to develop an organization of high-performers or take an organization of high-performers to an even higher "next level"-- Andy Boynton and Bill Fischer's Virtuoso Teams is a definite must read!” George Steinbrenner, Managing General Partner, New YorkYankees Baseball Club

Virtuose team tar for seg sju team, hvordan disse ble rekruttert, utviklet og ledet - og dermed evnet å sette dype og varige spor etter seg. Eksemplene fra vidt forskjellige samfunnsområder, hvorav to omhandler Roald Amundsen og Norsk Hydro, gjør dette til en spennende og original fagbok bok for alle som er opptatt av ledelse og hvordan nå tilsynelatende umulige mål. Med sin uortodokse innfallsvinkel gir forfatterne her et leseverdig bidrag både til å forstå betydningen av organisasjonskultur og viktige historiske hendelser i vår nære fortid. Andy Boynton og Bill Fischer, som både har praktisk og akademisk bakgrunn i ledelse og organisasjonslære, bruker sju eksempler fra de siste 150 års historie for å dokumentere sitt hovedpoeng: Hvis du kan trekke med deg de mest kvalifiserte og dedikerte medarbeidere, og lede disse på riktig måte, kan du gjennomføre tilsynelatende uovervinnelige oppgaver.