Just Ask Us

Based on over 1000 nationwide student surveys, these 10 deep engagement strategies help you implement achievement-based cooperative learning. Includes video and a survey sample.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor and award-winning artist Rafael Lopez create a kind and caring book about the differences that make each of us unique. A #1 New York Times bestseller! Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award! Feeling different, especially as a kid, can be tough. But in the same way that different types of plants and flowers make a garden more beautiful and enjoyable, different types of people make our world more vibrant and wonderful. In Just Ask, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor celebrates the different abilities kids (and people of all ages) have. Using her own experience as a child who was diagnosed with diabetes, Justice Sotomayor writes about children with all sorts of challenges--and looks at the special powers those kids have as well. As the kids work together to build a community garden, asking questions of each other along the way, this book encourages readers to do the same: When we come across someone who is different from us but we're not sure why, all we have to do is Just Ask. Praise for Just Ask: * "Addressing topics too often ignored, this picture book presents information in a direct and wonderfully child-friendly way." --Booklist, *STARRED REVIEW* "An affirmative, delightfully diverse overview of disabilities." --Kirkus Reviews "A hopeful and sunny exploration of the many things that make us unique [with] dynamic and vibrant illustrations [that] emphasize each character’s unique abilities. . . . A thoughtful and empathetic story of inclusion." --SLJ

Challenges show we need to allow others to support us, personally and professionally, yet it isn't easy or natural for many. Sharing vulnerability with the right people, in the right way, allows us to enhance not just our sense of wellbeing but also our creativity, productivity, mental resilience and the likelihood of achieving our goals.

‘A trusted referral is the holy grail of advertising' – Mark Zuckerberg The fastest, easiest, most sustainable way to bring in new clients and grow sales is to ask for referrals from your network; clients, intermediaries, family, friends, and existing and former colleagues. And yet most sales professionals don’t ask, or if they do, they end up making themselves and their client feel awkward. Graham Eisner has spent 30 years understanding the mindset and methods behind asking for referrals. His 7-step plan helps salespeople understand their own reluctance, change their mindset, and apply practical techniques so they can ask in a way that’s both natural and effective. From preparation before the meeting and identifying the ‘bridge line’ to qualifying the referral and managing the response, each step is supported by worksheets and summaries to help you put the principles into action today, so that you can start growing your sales and your business immediately. Graham became one of Goldman Sachs’s most successful sales professionals by developing a powerful referrals methodology, and he now teaches his system to clients worldwide, including Barclays, Julius Baer, and Deutsche Bank, as well as smaller businesses. Foreword by Brett Lankester Former Chief Executive Officer, London, Union Bancaire Privée

Once I got pregnant we thought we were going to have the perfect family. But after we had the baby we soon realized things would never be the same. Now we are separated and we both still think about how great life was before, when it was just the two of us. We think about how much fun and love we had. I wish we had waited and been able to have that fun for a while longer, that young love I'm not sure I'll ever have again. In many First Nations communities, teen pregnancy is common. In some Coast Salish communities on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, estimates are that as many as 70 percent of new families are started by teen parents. What's going on? Sylvia Olsen takes us behind the Indian girl with baby stereotype to try to answer that question. We enter a conversation with Coast Salish teen mothers and hear first-hand their thoughts on sex, relationships, birth control, abortion, pornography, sex education, self-image, life on the reserve, and much more. Sometimes challenging, sometimes appalling, and always compelling, their stories are essential reading for people in any community who are dealing with teen pregnancy or seeking to better understand why it happens.

An enlightening blueprint of the secrets of reaching female consumers from the expert Just Ask a Woman is a powerful book about how to tap into female consumers' needs. Mary Quinlan, the founder of the premiere consultancy dedicated to marketing to women, has personally interviewed 3,000 women in the course of her research for Just Ask a Woman. Women are the decision-makers in an estimated eighty-five percent of household buying decisions, and yet far too often, products marketed specifically to them fail to connect with their needs. Here, Quinlan explores topics such as how women judge brands and advertising, how they make decisions, the effects of stress on their consumer behavior, and their increasing demands for service and communication. Quinlan rejects the traditional focus group approach in favor of highly energized and intimate talk sessions where women reveal their deeper feelings about products and services. In Just Ask a Woman marketers, brand managers, and advertisers will find a revelatory resource filled with ideas and action steps for building your brand with women-from a woman who has walked in a marketer's shoes. Mary Lou Quinlan (New York, NY) is the founder and CEO of Just Ask a Woman, a marketing consultancy dedicated to building business with women. Just Ask a Woman is a division of bcom3, a $15 billion global communications firm whose clients include Citigroup/Women & Co., Lifetime, Saks, Hearst Magazines, Toys "R" Us, and Time Inc. Known as a brand-turnaround expert, she has helped to remake brands like Avon and Continental Airlines. Quinlan has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Fast Company and Advertising Age and appeared on ABC, CNN, CNBC, Lifetime LIVE, Fox and nationally syndicated news shows. Her articles have been published in Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and More, among others.

Just Ask the Universe is not a book of New Age gobbledygook filled with empty promises. Angels won't fly from above and touch you while you're reading. You will not be asked to practice unusual or tedious rituals. There will be no preaching or sage advice and there will most certainly be no channeling of your inner chakras or dressing like Friar Tuck. Just Ask the Universe is a realistic guide to personal development. By creating a blueprint for self-growth and commanding your subconscious mind, the Universe will manifest all your dreams. For over two decades, Michael Samuels has studied and methodically tested hundreds of books on self-improvement, spirituality, and the metaphysical. Just Ask the Universe accumulates the wisdom from "thought teachers" like: Wallace Wattles, Anthony Robbins, Rhonda Byrne, Joseph Murphy, Robert Collier, and Napoleon Hill, and compiles it under one unified lesson: if your thoughts are clear and in harmony with your mind and the truth of your surroundings, your life can be filled with all the richness the Universe has to offer. As a culmination from these teachings, Michael will show you how to use simple and fun techniques to create a more desirable future. This approach, coupled with real-life stories, will teach you how to achieve personal power to overcome any barrier. Regardless of what your present circumstances might be, by following the principles in this book, you will be able to gain power over your destiny. The Universe is listening. All you have to do is just ask.

From the creator of the popular website Ask a Manager and New York’s work-advice columnist comes a witty, practical guide to 200 difficult professional conversations—featuring all-new advice! There’s a reason Alison Green has been called “the Dear Abby of the work world.” Ten years as a workplace-advice columnist have taught her that people avoid awkward conversations in the office because they simply don’t know what to say. Thankfully, Green does—and in this incredibly helpful book, she tackles the tough discussions you may need to have during your career. You’ll learn what to say when • coworkers push their work on you—then take credit for it • you accidentally trash-talk someone in an email then hit “reply all” • you’re being micromanaged—or not being managed at all • you catch a colleague in a lie • your boss seems unhappy with your work • your cubemate’s loud speakerphone is making you homicidal • you got drunk at the holiday party Praise for Ask a Manager “A must-read for anyone who works . . . [Alison Green’s] advice boils down to the idea that you should be professional (even when others are not) and that communicating in a straightforward manner with candor and kindness will get you far, no matter where you work.”—Booklist (starred review) “The author’s friendly, warm, no-nonsense writing is a pleasure to read, and her advice can be widely applied to relationships in all areas of readers’ lives. Ideal for anyone new to the job market or new to management, or anyone hoping to improve their work experience.”—Library Journal (starred review) “I am a huge fan of Alison Green’s Ask a Manager column. This book is even better. It teaches us how to deal with many of the most vexing big and little problems in our workplaces—and to do so with grace, confidence, and a sense of humor.”—Robert Sutton, Stanford professor and author of The No Asshole Rule and The Asshole Survival Guide “Ask a Manager is the ultimate playbook for navigating the traditional workforce in a diplomatic but firm way.”—Erin Lowry, author of Broke Millennial: Stop Scraping By and Get Your Financial Life Together