NEW EDITION, REVISED AND UPDATED

affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.

We tried to warn you! The 2008 economic collapse proved how resilient and dangerous affluenza can be. Now in its third edition, this book can safely be called prophetic in showing how problems ranging from loneliness, endless working hours, and family conflict to rising debt, environmental pollution, and rampant commercialism are all symptoms of this global plague.

The new edition traces the role overconsumption played in the Great Recession, discusses new ways to measure social health and success (such as the Gross Domestic Happiness index), and offers policy recommendations to make our society more simplicity-friendly. The underlying message isn't to stop buying—it's to remember, always, that the best things in life aren't things.

affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, virally transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.

This volume offers practical guidance on writing and preparing a description of government requirements, whether the document used is a statement of work (SOW), a performance work statement (PWS), or a statement of objectives (SOO). This description specifies exactly what good and services are being purchased, including their quality, requirements, quantity, and schedule for delivery, and also defines the relationship between the government and the contractor. From an overview of the elements that make a good SOW, to the methods for changing an SOW to meet new conditions, this is a hands-on resource for every government manager who is involved with contracts.

Shows that the key to effectively leading difficult meetings lies not in acquiring more tools and techniques but in your state of mind Offers dozens of stories, exercises and practices to help readers cultivate a grounded, compassionate, purposeful presence Draws on Dressler’s interviews with 35 distinguished experts in facilitation, negotiation, organizational development and leadership High heat meetings seem to be happening in more and more organizations these days. Situations where participants are polarized, angry, fearful, confused. If you facilitate meetings for a living, all your well-learned techniques won’t help you in volatile and unpredictable situations like this. If you lead meetings as simply one part of your job, you probably feel even less able to cope. The answer is not another technique—not something you do to people. Veteran facilitator Larry Dressler has learned the hard way that when stakes are high, outcomes uncertain, and emotions running wild what makes the crucial difference is the leader’s presence. To work with people in high-heat meetings you have to work on yourself. Standing in the Fire shares not just Dressler’s experiences but also the insights of 35 iconic facilitators, leaders, conveners, and change agents, all with an eye to helping you stay grounded and focused enough to make the kind of inventive, split-second decisions these pressure-cooker situations demand. He outlines the mindsets, the emotional and physical ways of being that will enable you to master yourself so you can remain firmly in service to the group, and offers dozens of practices for cultivating these capabilities before, during and after any meeting. In meetings as in the natural world fire can be creative rather than destructive—but only if handled skillfully. Standing in the Fire gives you everything you need to keep from being draw into the inferno yourself and instead become a masterful fire tender.

“Meetings are a waste of time” is a sentiment many of us share, which is tragic because meetings bring us together as human beings. To achieve the kind of meaning or breakthrough results most of us really yearn for when we gather, the key quality needed is authentic engagement: a genuine expression of what is true for us, and an attentive listening to what is true for others. Why it so often eludes us can be a matter of habit, distrust, lack of attention, or fear. As cofounders of Heartland Inc., Craig and Patricia Neal have led over 170 of their acclaimed Thought Leader Gatherings with leaders from over 800 diverse organizations. Their new book shares for the first time the unique and powerful Art of Convening model—developed in these gatherings and refined over six years of intensive trainings—which brings authentic engagement and meaning to any group that comes together for any purpose. Convening goes beyond facilitating. Convening creates an environment in which all voices are heard, profound exchanges take place, and transformative action results. The heart of this book is the Convening Wheel—a series of nine steps, or aspects, that bring the practices and principles needed for authentic engagement together as a whole. The book provides exercises, stories, and questions to help you master both the inner and outer dimensions of this work—because in convening, the state of the convener is equally as important as the physical preparations. Convening works in any setting and can be adapted to virtually any group process. With this book you have all the tools you need to develop this essential life and leadership skill, one that will lead to improved outcomes in your organization, community, family, and relationships.

The path to successful source selection begins with Source Selection Step by Step: A Working Guide for Every Member of the Acquisition Team. Whether you are new to the acquisition team or an experienced practitioner looking to sharpen your skills, this comprehensive, highly readable handbook will guide you through the entire acquisition process, from designing an effective source selection plan, to preparing the solicitation, evaluating proposals, establishing a competitive range, and documenting the source selection decision. With clarity and frankness, Charles Solloway presents government source selection in a step-by-step guide that offers readers quick access to needed information. In addition to guidance about the process, the book includes: • Techniques to streamline the process and reduce time and expense
• Ways to avoid common pitfalls
• Alternatives to common procedures that yield better results
• Methods to involve contractors more effectively
• Definitions of the key terms associated with government source selection.

Make this book your first stop for quick and easy guidance on all aspects of government source selection.

America does not need an “upgrade.” For years the Right has been tampering with one of the best political operating systems ever designed. The result has been economic and environmental disaster. In this hard-hitting new book, nationally syndicated radio and television host and bestselling author Thom Hartmann outlines eleven common-sense proposals, deeply rooted in America’s history, that will once again make America strong and Americans—not corporations and billionaires—prosperous. Some of these ideas will be controversial to both the Left and the Right, but the litmus test for each is not political correctness but whether or not it serves to revitalize this country we all love and make life better for its citizens.

 

• By Americas #1 progressive radio talk show host

• Draws on American history to offer proven solutions to America's current problems

• Controversial, impassioned, insightful, iconoclastic -- typical Thom Hartmann

 

If something is wrong with your computer you reboot -- start over. That is what Thom Hartmann is advocating to restore an America beset by problems like joblessness, declining wages, huge disparities in wealth, corruption, environmental degradation, and corporate domination. The answers can be found by going back to the operating system designed by our Founding Fathers and refined by both Democrats and Republicans -- until a virus called Reaganomics began to damage it, and subsequent attacks under both Bushes and even Clinton weakened it even further.

Almost every initiative Hartmann is advocating here is rooted in America's past -- ideas that worked, and worked well, for decades. Hartmann demolishes the specious arguments so-called conservatives have used to undermine these ideas and details the disastrous results of their "reforms."

For example, until the 1980s America had a tariff-based trade policy, and American industry was healthy and American wages strong - what has been the result since we replaced this policy with "free trade"? America curbed corporate power since the earliest days of the republic -- why are we now refusing to enforce the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and allowing corporations unfettered access to the political process, something Theodore Roosevelt fought against? Medicare is popular and efficient - why not make it available to everybody, particularly since, as Hartmann reveals, it was designed to be easily scaled up? Not only do tax cuts like those championed by Reagan and Bush help only the wealthy, but the record proves higher tax rates actually drive wages up -- so why not roll back those tax breaks for billionaires and lose our knee-jerk aversion to tax increase?

On issue after issue Hartmann argues that the way forward is to look back, to tap into the wisdom residing in two and a half centuries of American history. Some of his conclusions will be controversial, such as his calls to crack down on illegal immigration and to reinstate the draft. But the litmus test for each is not political correctness but whether or not it serves to strengthen this country we all love and make life better for her citizens.