Introducing Story Strategic Methods

The purpose of Introducing Story-Strategic Methods is to awaken us in the cross-cultural context. Our natural tendency is to be asleep to our own cultural values and core worldview assumptions. This tendency applies as well to our expectations in the cross-cultural context. For example, in what ways would a "justice" pattern of culture orient our speech and behavior? To what degree is a "justice" pattern of culture different from an "honor" pattern of culture? The book asserts that culture matters in effective communication. Going further, to what degree does a story told from the Bible nullify the power of culture? Often we assume that the biblical story trumps culture. It does not. The book affirms rigorously that culture is much more powerful than we first suppose. If in fact, culture trumps the biblical story. Therefore, understanding and skills are required for effective engagement across cultures. Strategic storytelling is a twelve-step methodology that addresses the problems of miscommunication and syncretism that plague the cross-cultural context. It offers a step-by-step solution that promises success. Insights are firmly rooted in Scripture and equally grounded in empirical research from the social sciences. The stories told throughout the book are true. The answers are compelling.

Good Strategy/Bad Strategy clarifies the muddled thinking underlying too many strategies and provides a clear way to create and implement a powerful action-oriented strategy for the real world. Developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader. A good strategy is a specific and coherent response to—and approach for—overcoming the obstacles to progress. A good strategy works by harnessing and applying power where it will have the greatest effect. Yet, Rumelt shows that there has been a growing and unfortunate tendency to equate Mom-and-apple-pie values, fluffy packages of buzzwords, motivational slogans, and financial goals with “strategy.” In Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, he debunks these elements of “bad strategy” and awakens an understanding of the power of a “good strategy.” He introduces nine sources of power—ranging from using leverage to effectively focusing on growth—that are eye-opening yet pragmatic tools that can easily be put to work on Monday morning, and uses fascinating examples from business, nonprofit, and military affairs to bring its original and pragmatic ideas to life. The detailed examples range from Apple to General Motors, from the two Iraq wars to Afghanistan, from a small local market to Wal-Mart, from Nvidia to Silicon Graphics, from the Getty Trust to the Los Angeles Unified School District, from Cisco Systems to Paccar, and from Global Crossing to the 2007–08 financial crisis. Reflecting an astonishing grasp and integration of economics, finance, technology, history, and the brilliance and foibles of the human character, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy stems from Rumelt’s decades of digging beyond the superficial to address hard questions with honesty and integrity.

Practical in approach, this text focuses on how both pre-service and experienced teachers can demonstrate the attributes, acquire the competencies, and meet the standards essential to effective teaching. The framework for the text is the Teacher Competency Profile. Chapter by chapter, the essential knowledge and skills for effective teaching are presented. Each chapter contains recent research and best practice information with respect to the theme discussed. This is followed within each chapter with guidelines for teaching, practical approaches to information, extensive examples, cases, and activities. The sequential framework guides the pre-service student s professional development from basic teaching approaches to sophisticated strategies, methods, and skills. By identifying the essential competencies of teaching and providing guidelines for meeting professional standards, this text is also of value for use in seminars, workshops, and professional reading by practicing teachers."

This timely book explores the sustainable development goals, how well universities have been able to integrate them into their curriculum, and how universities can institutionalize the goals and sustainable development into their strategic plans and institutional culture

Re:Imagining Change provides resources, theory, hands-on tools, and illuminating case studies for the next generation of innovative change-makers. This unique book explores how culture, media, memes, and narrative intertwine with social change strategies, and offers practical methods to amplify progressive causes in the popular culture. Re:Imagining Change is an inspirational inside look at the trailblazing methodology developed by the Center for Story-based Strategy over fifteen years of their movement building partnerships. This practitioner’s guide is an impassioned call to innovate our strategies for confronting the escalating social and ecological crises of the twenty-first century. This new, expanded second edition includes updated examples from the frontlines of social movements and provides the reader with easy-to-use tools to change the stories they care about most.

Introduction to the Music Industry: An Entrepreneurial Approach is an introductory textbook that offers a fresh look at one of the fastest-changing businesses in the world today. Emphasizing the importance of entrepreneurial thinking for the music industry, this textbook engages college-level students in learning the fundamentals of the music business while discovering ways to shape the industry’s future. Every chapter explores the inner workings of the music industry, using creative problem-solving exercises, discussion questions, collaborative projects, case studies, hands-on activities, and inspiring stories of actual music entrepreneurs. The textbook’s companion website provides multi-media content, study guides, and an instructor’s manual with lesson plans and suggestions for assessing students’ work. This book will be beneficial to students who want to learn the basics of the music industry and be involved in some way, whether a professional working in support of artists, or an artist trying to launch his or her performing career.

This book provides assistance to teachers who struggle with the question of how to appropriately present complex subject matter to students who are just learning to speak English.