Kimberly Wiefling

Silicon Valley is recognized globally as a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. It's the birthplace of world-famous companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook and home to a few legends such as NASA at the Ames Research Center. Our 16 authors have created 16 high-impact chapters that can give you and your business the Silicon Valley advantage. Why is Silicon Valley such an entrepreneurial place? A major contributor to the phenomenon is our diversity--half of us don't speak English at home. But our diversity goes far beyond ethnicity. A wide variety of perspectives, thinking styles, and work approaches also contributes to the magic of Silicon Valley, creating breakthroughs that have disrupted business models (Airbnb and Lyft) and even shifted our perception of the future of meat (the "Impossible Burger"). We're also one of the most educated regions in the US--nearly half of us graduated college, and about a fifth have earned graduate degrees. Businesses here are filled with smart, well-educated, experienced people. But like all organizations made up of human beings, we are subject to the same pitfalls that threaten companies everywhere. Many businesses that were successful 100 years ago no longer exist. Trapped by their own success, they gradually learned to reduce risk and avoid failure at all costs and consequently squelched or killed innovation and creativity. This made them vulnerable to competition from new or more aggressive companies with less to lose. Are your greatest contributions and successes behind you or ahead of you? Even brilliant people can underperform--or fail--for entirely predictable (and avoidable ) reasons. Similar hazards face successful executives, professionals, and leaders of every kind. One danger of success is the increased difficulty of recognizing and adjusting to shifts in the business environment. No one knows this better than the former leaders of Nokia and Kodak, two once-great brands that ignored the timeless wisdom that a peak always conceals a treacherous valley. It can be hard to see new possibilities that will allow future success, especially when it requires letting go of previously effective strategies that served you well. This is where the outside perspective of a consultant can be particularly useful. Our 16 authors offer you a competitive advantage in the business world and an alternative to that treacherous valley. Dive into the Silicon Valley magic by reading one of our chapters. As a result, you'll understand why in this amazing center of innovation, failures are called "prototypes," the "impossible" is merely difficult, and dreams become reality.

Silicon Valley is recognized globally as a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. It's the birthplace of world-famous companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook and home to a few legends such as NASA at the Ames Research Center. Our 16 authors have created 16 high-impact chapters that can give you and your business the Silicon Valley advantage. Why is Silicon Valley such an entrepreneurial place? A major contributor to the phenomenon is our diversity--half of us don't speak English at home. But our diversity goes far beyond ethnicity. A wide variety of perspectives, thinking styles, and work approaches also contributes to the magic of Silicon Valley, creating breakthroughs that have disrupted business models (Airbnb and Lyft) and even shifted our perception of the future of meat (the "Impossible Burger"). We're also one of the most educated regions in the US--nearly half of us graduated college, and about a fifth have earned graduate degrees. Businesses here are filled with smart, well-educated, experienced people. But like all organizations made up of human beings, we are subject to the same pitfalls that threaten companies everywhere. Many businesses that were successful 100 years ago no longer exist. Trapped by their own success, they gradually learned to reduce risk and avoid failure at all costs and consequently squelched or killed innovation and creativity. This made them vulnerable to competition from new or more aggressive companies with less to lose. Are your greatest contributions and successes behind you or ahead of you? Even brilliant people can underperform--or fail--for entirely predictable (and avoidable ) reasons. Similar hazards face successful executives, professionals, and leaders of every kind. One danger of success is the increased difficulty of recognizing and adjusting to shifts in the business environment. No one knows this better than the former leaders of Nokia and Kodak, two once-great brands that ignored the timeless wisdom that a peak always conceals a treacherous valley. It can be hard to see new possibilities that will allow future success, especially when it requires letting go of previously effective strategies that served you well. This is where the outside perspective of a consultant can be particularly useful. Our 16 authors offer you a competitive advantage in the business world and an alternative to that treacherous valley. Dive into the Silicon Valley magic by reading one of our chapters. As a result, you'll understand why in this amazing center of innovation, failures are called "prototypes," the "impossible" is merely difficult, and dreams become reality.

Inspired Organizational Cultures with a foreword by Dr. Edgar Schein (https: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Schein), shares how inspired, and inspiring, organizations flourish. Making the sometimes invisible concept of culture tangible and visible, its 140 bite-sized quotes take you on a journey to the roots of your history, define behaviors and practices that will engage your people, and reveal how to design a future together that fulfills your highest purpose. Discover the treasures of your organization's DNA without being trapped by your past. Explore what matters most: that priceless yet intangible essence called "organizational culture," the invisible water in which you and your colleagues swim. You will emerge as a "DNA & Cultural Ambassador," with a deeper understanding of your culture, your people, and your distinct identity as an organization. Author Kimberly Wiefling wrote Inspired Organizational Cultures to demystify the elusive concept of organizational culture. Kimberly continues to do the work that she does best: enabling individuals, teams, and organizations to achieve what seems impossible but is merely difficult. Her deep experience working with globalizing Japanese companies worldwide makes this book highly relevant to anyone who is determined to build effective teams across borders and boundaries of every kind. A physicist by education, Kimberly realized long ago the limits of technology devoid of human skills--the so-called "touchy feely" aspects of working in teams, so vital to success and so frequently overlooked. Her unique perspective, background as a technologist, and decades of real-world business leadership and project management experience keep the often intangible issue of culture relevant amidst the demands of products, services, technology, and business results. A co-founder of Silicon Valley Alliances, Kimberly has worked globally with people from every corporate function and from over fifty different countries, and her guidance on building and strengthening an organization's culture includes that global awareness. Her commitment to seeing beyond country culture to the common ground that we all share as human beings is evident in the wisdom she shares in this book. She's passionate about making a meaningful difference by working with organizations, individuals, and teams committed to solving the problems of Our World--profitably and thus sustainably--and this latest book serves that greater purpose. Learn more about her work at Wiefling.com. Inspired Organizational Cultures is part of the THiNKaha series, whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out AHA messages. Increase your online influence by picking up AHAthat, and easily share quotes from this book on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ via this link: http: //aha.pub/InspiredOrgCultures

Inspired Organizational Cultures with a foreword by Dr. Edgar Schein (https: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Schein), shares how inspired, and inspiring, organizations flourish. Making the sometimes invisible concept of culture tangible and visible, its 140 bite-sized quotes take you on a journey to the roots of your history, define behaviors and practices that will engage your people, and reveal how to design a future together that fulfills your highest purpose. Discover the treasures of your organization's DNA without being trapped by your past. Explore what matters most: that priceless yet intangible essence called "organizational culture," the invisible water in which you and your colleagues swim. You will emerge as a "DNA & Cultural Ambassador," with a deeper understanding of your culture, your people, and your distinct identity as an organization. Author Kimberly Wiefling wrote Inspired Organizational Cultures to demystify the elusive concept of organizational culture. Kimberly continues to do the work that she does best: enabling individuals, teams, and organizations to achieve what seems impossible but is merely difficult. Her deep experience working with globalizing Japanese companies worldwide makes this book highly relevant to anyone who is determined to build effective teams across borders and boundaries of every kind. A physicist by education, Kimberly realized long ago the limits of technology devoid of human skills--the so-called "touchy feely" aspects of working in teams, so vital to success and so frequently overlooked. Her unique perspective, background as a technologist, and decades of real-world business leadership and project management experience keep the often intangible issue of culture relevant amidst the demands of products, services, technology, and business results. A co-founder of Silicon Valley Alliances, Kimberly has worked globally with people from every corporate function and from over fifty different countries, and her guidance on building and strengthening an organization's culture includes that global awareness. Her commitment to seeing beyond country culture to the common ground that we all share as human beings is evident in the wisdom she shares in this book. She's passionate about making a meaningful difference by working with organizations, individuals, and teams committed to solving the problems of Our World--profitably and thus sustainably--and this latest book serves that greater purpose. Learn more about her work at Wiefling.com. Inspired Organizational Cultures is part of the THiNKaha series, whose slim and handy books contain 140 well-thought-out AHA messages. Increase your online influence by picking up AHAthat, and easily share quotes from this book on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ via this link: http: //aha.pub/InspiredOrgCultures

Projects are MESSY From the minute the project begins, all manner of changes, surprises and disasters befall them. Unfortunately most of these are PREDICTABLE and AVOIDABLE. Tact and diplomacy can only get you so far in the wild and wacky world of project work. A combination of outrageous creativity, sheer bravado and nerves of steel will serve you far better than any fancy-schmancy Microsoft Project Gantt chart 'Scrappy Project Management' is about what REALLY happens in the project environment, how to survive it, and how to make sure that your team avoids the predictable and avoidable pitfalls that every project faces.