The Deadline

From prolific and influential consultant and author Tom DeMarco comes a project management novel that vividly illustrates the principles--and the outright absurdities--that affect the productivity of a software development team. With his trademark wit set free in the novel format, DeMarco centers the plot around the development of six software products. Mr. Tompkins, a manager downsized from a giant telecommunications company, divides the huge staff of developers at his disposal into eighteen teams--three for each of the software products. The teams are different sizes and use different methods, and they compete against each other and against an impossible deadline. With these teams--and with the help of numerous "fictionalized" consultants who come to his aid--Tompkins tests the project management principles he has gathered over a lifetime. Each chapter closes with journal entries that form the core of the eye-opening approaches to management illustrated in this entertaining novel.

In the tradition of Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit, a wise and fascinating book that shows us how “we can make deadlines work for us instead of the other way around” (The Wall Street Journal). Perfectionists and procrastinators alike agree—it’s natural to dread a deadline. Whether you are completing a masterpiece or just checking off an overwhelming to-do list, the ticking clock signals despair. Christopher Cox knows the panic of the looming deadline all too well—as a magazine editor, he has spent years overseeing writers and journalists who couldn’t meet a deadline to save their lives. After putting in a few too many late nights in the newsroom, he became determined to learn the secret of managing deadlines. He set off to observe nine different organizations as they approached a high-pressure deadline. Along the way, Cox made an even greater discovery: these experts didn’t just meet their big deadlines—they became more focused, productive, and creative in the process. An entertaining blend of “behavioral science, psychological theory, and academic studies with compelling storytelling and descriptive case studies” (Financial Times), The Deadline Effect reveals the time-management strategies these teams used to guarantee success while staying on schedule: a restaurant opening for the first time, a ski resort covering an entire mountain in snow, a farm growing enough lilies in time for Easter, and more. Cox explains how to use deadlines to our advantage, the dynamics of teams and customers, and techniques for using deadlines to make better, more effective decisions.

#1 New York Times-Bestselling Author: A novel of Hollywood intrigue starring an “engaging version of the Golden Girls” (Booklist). No sooner have Toots Loudenberry and her three best friends--Sophie, Ida, and Mavis--returned from Sacramento, where Sophie provided some much-needed psychic advice to the First Lady of California, than another situation demands their attention. . . Laura Leigh, a Hollywood starlet whose main talent seems to be landing in trouble, is missing. Toots' daughter, Abby, has both a personal and professional stake in the story. Not only is she editor-in-chief at gossip magazine The Informer, but entertainment attorney Chris Clay, Abby's would-be beau, was the last person seen with Laura. And now he's missing, too. With the help of friends in high--and low--places, the Godmothers will navigate Hollywood's glittering inner circles and seedy underbelly to discover the truth. Along the way, they'll uncover unexpected secrets that not even one of Sophie's séances could have predicted. . . Praise for Fern Michaels and The Godmothers Series "Pure recession-proof fun." --Publishers Weekly "Delightful. . .witty, charming, and complicated, these four childhood chums prove that life is a gift no matter what age you are." --RT Reviews

This electrifying sequel from the New York Times bestselling author of Feed reenters a world of zombies, geeks, politics, social media, and the virus that runs through them all. Shaun Mason is a man without a mission. Not even running the news organization he built with his sister has the same urgency as it used to. Playing with dead things just doesn't seem as fun when you've lost as much as he has. But when a CDC researcher fakes her own death and appears on his doorstep with a ravenous pack of zombies in tow, Shaun has a newfound interest in life. Because she brings news—he may have put down the monster who attacked them, but the conspiracy is far from dead. Now, Shaun hits the road to find what truth can be found at the end of a shotgun. More from Mira Grant: Newsflesh Feed Deadline Blackout Feedback Rise Praise for Feed: "I can't wait for the next book."―N.K. Jemisin "It's a novel with as much brains as heart, and both are filling and delicious."―The A. V. Club "Gripping, thrilling, and brutal... McGuire has crafted a masterpiece of suspense with engaging, appealing characters who conduct a soul-shredding examination of what's true and what's reported."―Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) “Feed is a proper thriller with zombies.” —SFX "Deft cultural touches, intriguing science, and amped-up action will delight Grant's numerous fans." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The first book in the Ollie Chandler series, this rerelease of the Randy Alcorn bestseller is a heart-pounding murder mystery When tragedy strikes those closest to him, Jake Woods must draw upon all his resources to uncover the truth about the suspicious accident. Soon he finds himself swept up in a murder investigation that is both complex and dangerous. Unaware of the threat to his own life, Jake is drawn in deeper and deeper as he desperately searches for the answers to the immediate mystery at hand and—ultimately—the deeper meaning of his own existence. Deadline is a dramatic and vivid novel of substance, filled with hope and perspective for every reader who longs to feel purpose in life.