Better Together

Everyone belongs somewhere.

The Holiday meets The Parent Trap in this clever comedic whirlwind brimming with romance, and just a touch of magic. Estranged sisters Jamie and Siri are quarter-life crisis-ing: hard. With adulthood breathing down their necks, suddenly their promising career aspirations feel way out of reach, and romance — completely implausible. After thirteen years apart, on opposite coasts, the sisters run into each other at a nature retreat. Desperate for a change of pace, they decide to go home in each other’s stead to see how the other half lives. It doesn't take long to realize: swapping lives might be more than they bargained for. Turns out, pretending to be a sister you hardly know can really complicate your previously non-existent love life. Navigating their new surroundings proves to be a precarious task, but turns out there’s no better way to learn about yourself than by trying to live as someone else.

From Good Morning America anchor Amy Robach and her husband, actor Andrew Shue comes a sweet tale about finding common ground and accepting and appreciating each others' differences. When a big thunderstorm shakes their woodland home, the Squirrelly family must flee their nest for a hollow in an oak tree. To their surprise, the McMunk family had the exact same idea. This family of squirrels and a family of chipmunks must find ways to live together--which isn't always easy since they come from different backgrounds. But after some important lessons in compromise, the Squirrellys and the McMunks realize that life is better together as the McSquirrelies.

An impassioned plea and workable solution for women and men to imagine a better world, embrace their differences, find ways to end oppression, and learn how to work better together. We are currently at a strategic cultural intersection with relationships between women and men eroding. And it seems no one knows what to do. While it is good for women to expose their pain, what often happens is that they immediately blame the person at the other end of it, which sets up a never-ending cycle of accusations, denial, avoidance, and ultimately devastation for everyone involved. This moment of discovery should not signal the end but instead become an opportunity to create a different world where men and women are better together. Better Together is a beacon of hope in a challenging storm. It’s where thoughts can be rechanneled and hope rekindled as author Danielle Strickland offers steps toward a real and workable solution. Her premise is that two things are needed for change: 1) imagine a better world, and 2) understand oppression. Understanding how oppression works is an important part of undoing it. Danielle says, “I refuse to believe that all men are bad. I also refuse to believe that all women are victims. I don’t want to be just hopeful, I want to be strategically hopeful. I want to work toward a better world with a shared view of the future that looks like equality, freedom, and flourishing.”

Thousands of Protestant churches are perplexed by plateaued or declining attendance, while other congregations nearby thrive. Is there a way for them to combine forces, drawing on both their strengths, in ways that also increase their missional impact? Church merger consultant Jim Tomberlin, with co-writer Warren Bird, makes the case that mergers today work best not with two struggling churches but with a vital, momentum-filled lead church partnering with a joining church. In this new book, they provide a complete, practical, hands-on guide for church leaders of both struggling and vibrant churches so that they can understand the issues, develop strategies, and execute a variety of forms of merger for church expansion and renewal to reinvigorate declining churches and give them a "second life."

It is the year 2017 and gender equality and women thriving in work place without fear of sexual harassment or discrimination is the #1 unsolved social issue of our time. Better Together: 8 Ways Working with Women Leads to Extraordinary Products and Profits offers a rare and startling look at the business world through the lens of an expert looking in and plots out how ALL types of businesses can gain a competitive advantage and excel past competitors by simply nurturing an equal blend of men and women on leadership teams and staff. It focuses on powerful and implementable solutions that any CEO, manager, or team leader can put to use to ensure that women thrive within the organization, leading to the business being more successful, customers happier, and employees more fulfilled. Author Jonathan Sposato knows the challenges facing women in startup tech and venture capital today because he specifically builds his companies with-out those obstacles. He credits the unprecedented success of his businesses on his brand of gender-balanced culture, and in this fully practical guidebook to his celebrated style of team building, he puts his eight secrets to profiting through diversity in your hands. These secrets are not just for tech companies, but for teams and companies in ANY industry. It is the culmination of extensive research on the many issues that affect gender equality (or lack thereof) in the workplace, exhaustive interviews with many powerful female CEO’s and executives who have been brave in sharing stories of their own personal struggles and triumphs, as well as Jonathan's own experiences as a male entrepreneur, CEO, and angel investor in supporting the advancement of women in business. The book also shows us why that’s not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do economically. With the same entertaining and informative delivery that makes him a sought-after speaker worldwide, Jonathan walks you through adjusting your own culture to open the FULL potential of your workforce. The data will amaze you and the real-world voices will inspire you, and with Better Together you can achieve more success with more women on your team. If you care about inclusivity and beating the forces that prevent it, you will want to read this book. About the Author; Jonathan Sposato is chairman and co-founder of Geekwire, PicMonkey, and WeCount.org, and in general, a serial startup founder. Since his early days as a high-performing player on the first Xbox and Xbox games business, he’s gone on to add numerous awards for innovation, voted “CEO of the Year” for Picnik.com, receiving the University of Washington’s “Man of Integrity” award, and becoming the only person to sell two companies to Google. He recently promised all his future investments to female-founded companies—another first in the technology industry.

Through vibrant illustrations and age-appropriate language, this 26-page storybook helps children learn that they, no matter how young, can make a difference in the world. We're Better Together instills in kids the value of compassion, teamwork and community, encouraging them to feel confident in their abilities and their voices. Showing that we're better together when we play, when we make music and when everyone pitches in, this beautifully illustrated kindness book celebrates people coming together to solve problems, support communities and honor differences. It's perfect for young children ages 2-5 who are learning about empathy and cooperation, and for sparking meaningful conversations at home or in the classroom. With durable cardstock pages and approachable, kid-friendly language, this book gives fun examples of teamwork with a read-aloud experience that kids will love. Designed with families and educators in mind, this book is crafted by childhood experts to promote strong social and emotional skills and build positive associations with reading. National Parenting Seal of Approval Winner, Mom's Choice Award, Gold

Simon Sinek sparked a movement with his bestsellers START WITH WHY and LEADERS EAT LAST. Now this beautifully illustrated book will inspire more readers to ask for help, help others, and discover their own courage through a charming story about change. Life is a series of choices. Do we go left or right? Jump forward or hold back? Sometimes our choices work out for the better…and sometimes they don’t. But there is one choice, regardless of every other decision, that profoundly affects how we feel about our journey: Do we go alone or do we go together? It is the courageous few who ask for help. It is the giving few willing to help others. We can all find the courage we need and know the joy of service – the minute we learn that together is better. Filled with inspiring quotes, this richly illustrated fable tells a delightful story of three kids who go on a journey to a new playground and take a stand for what they believe. The story is a metaphor for anyone looking to make a change or wondering how to pursue their dreams. And the message is simple: relationships – real, human relationships – really, really matter. The stronger our relationships, the stronger the bonds of trust and cooperation, the more we can accomplish and the more joy and fulfillment we get from our work and personal lives. The three heroes are archetypes who represent us all at various points in our lives. Their main challenge is the same one we face every day: How can we find the things we’re looking for? According to Sinek, if we each do our part to help advance a shared vision, we can build the world we imagine. In addition to the story itself, Sinek shares such profound lessons as: · A team is not a group of people that work together. A team is a group of people that trust each other. · Fight against something and we focus on the thing we hate. Fight for something and we focus on the thing we love. · Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion. · A star wants to see himself rise to the top. A leader wants to see those around him become stars. Together is Better was designed to be given as a gift to someone you want to inspire, or to say thank you to someone who inspires you. It's completely different from Sinek's previous work. It may look like a children's book, but it's definitely for adults. This book includes a special page featuring the Scent of Optimism.