- Table View
- List View
Fun Inc.: Why games are the 21st Century's most serious business
by Tom Chatfield'Tom Chatfield's Fun Inc. is the most elegant and comprehensive defence of the status of computer games in our culture I have read, as well as a helpful compendium of research ... The numbers surrounding the sector are certainly thudding. By the end of 2008, annual sales of video games - not including consoles or devices - was $40 billion, comfortably outstripping the movie business. In the same year, Nintendo's employees were more profitable per head than Google's. The sheer pervasiveness of game experience - 99 per cent of teenage boys and 94 per cent of teenage girls having played a video game - means that instant naffness falls upon those who express a musty disdain for the medium. In fact, as Fun Inc. elegantly explains, computer game-playing has a very strong claim to be one of the most vital test-beds for intellectual enquiry.'Independent
The Future of Money: Introduction by Vince Cable (World Class Thinking on Global Issues #1)
by Oliver Chittenden Vince CableThe state of the global economy affects every single one of us. With economic growth threatened by financial regulation and the East and West at competitive odds, the real solutions to global recession can only come through international co-operation. Featuring world leaders, Nobel Prize-winning economists, award-winning writers and opinion formers The Future of Money brings together the finest thinking to suggest solutions to this global predicament.
The Winner-Take-All Society: Why the Few at the Top Get So Much More Than the Rest of Us
by Philip J Cook Robert H FrankWhy does the top one per cent of the population capture such a disproportionate amount of the wealth? Why do top athletes win dozens of sponsorship deals, yet competitors who finish just moments behind struggle to attract a single deal? Why does one product become a runaway success, while others flounder and fail? The answer is the rise of 'winner-take-all' markets, in which small differences in performance lead to huge differences in reward. More relevant today than ever before, this fascinating book shows how in business, as in sport, thousands are competing for only a handful of top prizes. As Robert Frank and Philip J Cook reveal, this relentless emphasis on coming out on top has shaped our society and how we define success in troubling ways, creating growing income inequality and an enormous misallocation of talent, as more and more gifted people seek the big bucks and limelight of lucrative yet non-essential careers while vital professions scramble to attract staff. But there are measures we can take to create a more equitable and more prosperous future, and The Winner-Take-All Society shows the way.
Why Your World is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller: Oil and the End of Globalisation
by Jeff RubinSoaring oil prices caused four out of the last five recessions. They caused the current recession. And they will cause the next one. Expensive oil costs us more than just money. It costs jobs, homes and in the long run it is going to radically alter the way we live. For if cheap oil is the fuel that keeps the machinery of globalisation in motion, then expensive oil has the same effect as pouring diesel into an unleaded tank. Everything stalls; the engine fails. Oil prices will rise again in the coming years, as this utterly convincing insight into our collective future argues. And as oil prices fluctuate wildly, our society will change dramatically, and for good. From the homes we live in and the cars we drive to the food we eat and the places we work, our daily lives and global economy are going to be transformed. But while this new, smaller world will take some getting used to, it will also open our eyes to a more localised and ultimately more liveable way of life.
Dirty Tricks: British Airways' Secret War Against Virgin Atlantic
by Martyn GregoryRichard Branson's Virgin Atlantic was valued at over £1.2 billion when he sold a 49% stake to Singapore Airlines in 1999. This was an extraordinary achievement for an airline that began life in 1984 with one plane. Virgin Atlantic became one of the world's top airlines only after surviving an incredible dirty tricks campaign by British Airways. Award Winning investigative jounalist Martyn Gregory exposed BA's secret war, and he reveals the full story in Dirty Tricks.
The Economic Naturalist: Why Economics Explains Almost Everything
by Robert H FrankHave you ever wondered why there is a light in your fridge but not in your freezer? Or why 24-hour shops bother having locks on their doors? Or why soft drink cans are cylindrical, but milk cartons are square? The answer is simple: economics.For years, economist Robert Frank has been encouraging his students to ask questions about the conundrums and strange occurrences they encounter in everyday life and to try to explain them using economics. Now in this bestselling book, he shares the most intriguing - and bizarre - questions and the economic principles that answer them to reveal why many of the most puzzling parts of everyday life actually make perfect (economic) sense.
The Airbnb Story: How Three Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions of Dollars … and Plenty of Enemies
by Leigh Gallagher'An engrossing story of audacious entrepreneurism' -- Charles Duhigg'Captures the remarkable journey of Airbnb exceedingly well' -- Reid Hoffman'fast paced, fun dive into one of the seminal firms of our time' -- Rana Foroohar In 2008, two broke art school graduates and their coder-whiz friend set up a platform that – in less than a decade – became one of the largest provider of accommodations in the world. Now valued at $31 billion, Airbnb is in the very top tier of Silicon Valley’s ‘unicorn’ startups.Yet the company has not been without controversy – disrupting a $500 billion hotel industry makes you a few enemies. This is also a story of regulators who want to shut it down, hotel industry leaders who want it to disappear and neighbourhoods that struggle with private homes open for public rental. But beyond the headlines and the horror stories, Airbnb has changed the terms of travel for a whole generation – where a sense of belonging has built trust between hosts and guests seeking a more original travel experience that hotels have struggled to replicate.This is the first, definitive book to tell the remarkable story behind Airbnb in all its forms – cultural zeitgeist, hotel disruptor, enemy to regulators – and the first in-depth character study of its leader Brian Chesky, the company’s curious co-founder and CEO. It reveals what got Airbnb where it is today, why they are nothing like Uber, and where they are going next.
Give People Money: The simple idea to solve inequality and revolutionise our lives
by Annie LowreySelected as an Editor's Pick in the New York Times bestseller list!Surely just giving people money couldn't work. Or could it?Imagine if every month the government deposited £1000 in your bank account, with no strings attached and nothing expected in return. It sounds crazy, but Universal Basic Income (UBI) has become one of the most influential policy ideas of our time, backed by thinkers on both the left and the right. The founder of Facebook, Obama's chief economist, governments from Canada to Finland are all seriously debating some form of UBI.In this sparkling and provocative book, economics writer Annie Lowrey looks at the global UBI movement. She travels to Kenya to see how UBI is lifting the poorest people on earth out of destitution, and India to see how inefficient government programs are failing the poor. She visits South Korea to interrogate UBI’s intellectual pedigree, and Silicon Valley to meet the tech titans financing UBI pilots in the face of advanced artificial intelligence and little need for human labour. She also examines at the challenges the movement faces: contradictory aims, uncomfortable costs, and most powerfully, the entrenched belief that no one should get something for nothing.The UBI movement is not just an economic policy -- it also calls into question our deepest intuitions about what we owe each other and what activities we should reward and value as a society.
Streampunks: How YouTube and the New Creators are Transforming Our Lives
by Robert Kyncl Maany Peyvan***Axiom Business Book Award Winner!***Something massive is shifting in the world of entertainment.Across the planet, humans spend more of their free time watching video than doing anything else. But increasingly it’s not TV they're watching, but online video. In 2016, Swedish vlogger PewDiePie made a record $15 million from his YouTube videos, beating Hollywood A-listers like Harrison Ford, Julia Roberts and Amy Adams. Something massive is shifting in the world of entertainment. Since its founding in 2005, YouTube has become the first and only truly global media platform, with over a billion users worldwide. It has changed the media industry as profoundly as the development of radio, film and television. In Streampunks, YouTube’s Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl gets to the heart of this creative revolution through behind-the-scenes stories of its biggest stars – YouTubers like Tyler Oakley, Lilly Singh, and Casey Neistat—and the dealmakers brokering the future of media, like Scooter Braun, who scouted 12-year old Justin Bieber on YouTube, and Vice media mogul Shane Smith who used the platform to turn young people onto news and current affairs.By giving anyone with a smartphone their own TV channel, YouTube is fuelling a new creative boom. Not only is it generating the new faces of entertainment, but also changing how students are taught, how social issues are discussed and how small businesses advertise and develop.Streampunks is the definitive book on the modern pop-culture juggernaut Youtube, the platform remaking the face of entertainment.
Spon: A Guide to Spoon Carving and the New Wood Culture
by Barn The Spoon'No one in Britain knows more about crafting a spoon from greenwood than Barn The Spoon.' Guardian'London's most famous and charismatic spoon whittler ... King of the whittlers.' Sunday Telegraph Barn The Spoon, as he’s affectionately known is a rare master craftsman in the art of spoon carving. In this book he generously shares his extraordinary skill, gentle philosophy and his life’s work – designing and carving beautiful spoons that are both a joy to use and hold.The simple, ordinary spoon is part of our everyday lives, intimately entwined with the acts of eating and socialising, from stirring our first cup of coffee to scraping the last bit of pudding from the bowl. And who doesn't like to spoon in bed? Barn’s spoons will take you on a journey into the new wood culture, from understanding the relationship between wood, the raw material and its majestic origins in our trees and woodland, to the workshop and the axe block, and into your own kitchen. Barn will show you how to use the axe and knife, from how they should feel in your hand to honing the perfect edge when carving your own spoons. Featuring sixteen unique designs in the four main categories of spoon – eating, serving, cooking and measuring spoons, Barn takes you through the nuances of their making, how each design is informed by its function at the table or in the kitchen, and the key skills you will learn – such as creating octagonal handles, manipulating grain patterns and mastering bent branches. Beautiful photography will inspire and act as a blue-print to help perfect your technique.
Decoded
by Jay ZUpdated with 3 new songs, this is the intimate, first-person chronicle of the life and work of Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter in Brooklyn's notorious Marcy Projects, now known to many as the greatest rapper alive. Told through lyrics, images and personal narrative, Decoded shares the story of Jay-Z's life through the 10 codes that define him, giving an unparalleled insight into his background, influences and the artistic process that shapes his work. Each chapter features a highly personal narrative section followed by a visually captivating selection of his most famous and provocative lyrics underlining the chapter's themes, along with Jay-Z's own 'decoding' of each lyric, uncovering the wordplay and stories behind the song.This is a brilliant insight into the art and poetry of hip-hop, as well as the life of one of the genre's greatest artists.
Do It! or Ditch It: Turn Ideas Into Action And Make Decisions That Count
by Bev James"Every successful achievement in life begins with a positive thought and a conscious decision"Entrepreneur and businesswoman Bev James uses coaching and profiling principles to inspire people to be single-minded, learn how to plan, prioritise, delegate and take action to get things done and get them done well in work and in life.To be successful you must have a passion for action and belief in your idea. You must recognise the right opportunity and take appropriate action to ensure follow through and drive the project to completion. But how do you decide which idea to run with and which action should become your top priority?In eight simple steps, Bev's down-to-earth Do It or Ditch It approach teaches you how to make clear decisions from the outset so that at every step along the way, you will be more likely to succeed.
The Power of Nice: How To Conquer The World With Kindness
by Linda Kaplan Robin KovalLinda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval have moved to the top of the advertising industry by following a simple but powerful philosophy: it pays to be nice. Where so many companies encourage a dog-eat-dog mentality, The Kaplan Thaler Group has succeeded through chocolate and flowers. In The Power of Nice, through their own experiences and the stories of other people and businesses, they demonstrate why, contrary to conventional wisdom, nice people finish first.The Power of Nice shows that 'nice' companies have lower employee turnover, lower recruitment costs and higher productivity. Nice people live longer, are healthier and make more money. In today's interconnected word, companies and people with a reputation for cooperation and fair play forge the kind of relationships that lead to bigger and better opportunities, both in business and in life.But being nice doesn't mean being a push-over. In fact, nice may be the toughest four-letter word you'll ever encounter.Kaplan Thaler and Koval illustrate the surprising power of nice with an array of real-life examples from the business arena as well as from their personal lives. Most important, they present a plan of action covering everything from creating a positive impression to sweetening the pot to turning enemies to allies. Filled with inspiration and suggestions on how to supercharge your career and expand your reach in the workplace, The Power of Nice will transform how you live and work.
It's Not About Size: Bigger Brands for Smaller Businesses (Virgin Business Guides Ser.)
by Paul Dickinson Sir Richard BransonAs one of Britain's best-loved brands, Virgin is synonymous with enterprise and business know-how. This series of inspiring and practical business guides has been created with the help of Warwick Business School, one of the world's leading teaching and research instituions in the field of business and management. Warwick's Centre for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises has internationally acclaimed expertise in the subject of entrepreneurship, gained by working closely with start-up and growth-seeking companies, focusing on their practical needs.Branding is one of the most important aspects of marketing for any enterprise. In this straightforward and captivating guide, Paul Dickinson who has worked to define some of the biggest brands in the world, shows how an eye for detail and design can help to re-energise any company or organisation.In this book, you'll find out how simple brand identifiers like colour and 'feel' can make powerful statements about your company, no matter what its size. Paul Dickinson shows how to change the way you think about your company's identity, and how to take simple steps to increase your sales and profits through effective branding and enhanced customer satisfaction. Fascinating case studies demonstrate how the theory has been turned into practical steps - and checklists and action plans will enable you to do the same.
The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All The Difference
by Linda Kaplan Robin KovalThe authors of the national bestseller The Powe of Nice once again tackle conventional wisdom with a provocative and counterintuitive book about the importance of sweating the small stuff in our lives and in our careers. Our smallest actions and gestures often have outsized impact on our biggest goals, say Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval. Did you double-check that presentation one last time, or hold the elevator for a stranger? Going that extra inch - whether with a client, customer, family member, or friend - speaks volumes to others about our talent, personality, and motivations. After all, if we can't take care of the small details, how can we be counted on to deliver when it really matters? In today's challenging times, bigger isn't always better. In fact, it's often the baby steps that put us on the path to delivering a true competitive advantage. The real secret to getting ahead in life and in our careers is to refocus our attention on the small details that, if disregarded, can sabotage a multimillion-dollar ad campaign or undermine your most important relationships. Kaplan Thaler and Koval show how to get more of what you want with surprisingly less than you'd imagine. Written in the same entertaining, story-driven style that made The Power of Nice the go-to book for finishing first, The Power of Small demonstrates how all of us can harness the power of small to improve and reinvent our lives. It's the ultimate guide to shrinking your outlook to broaden your horizons. Get SMALL and get going!
Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life
by Sir Richard BransonThroughout my life I have achieved many remarkable things. In Screw It, Let's Do It, I will share with you my ideas and the secrets of my success, but not simply because I hope they'll help you achieve your individual goals. Today we are increasingly aware of the effects of our actions on the environment, and I strongly believe that we each have a responsibility, as individuals and organisations, to do no harm. I will draw on Gaia Capitalism to explain why we need to take stock of how we may be damaging the environment, and why it is up to big companies like Virgin to lead the way in a more holistic approach to business. In Screw It, Let's Do It I'll be looking forwards to the future. A lot has changed since I founded Virgin in 1968, and I'll explain how I intend to take my business and my ideas to the next level and the new and exciting areas - such as launching Virgin Fuels - into which Virgin is currently moving. But I have also brought together all the important lessons, good advice and inspirational adages that have helped me along the road to success. Ironically, I have never been one to do things by the book, but I have been inspired and influenced by many remarkable people. I hope that you too might find a little inspiration between these pages.
The Facebook Effect: The Real Inside Story of Mark Zuckerberg and the World's Fastest Growing Company
by David KirkpatrickToday - six years after it was created in a Harvard dorm room - over 500 million people use Facebook regularly, in just about every country on earth. That a company this powerful and influential was started as a lark by a couple of 19-year-olds makes it a fascinating and surprising tale. That one of them, the visionary Mark Zuckerberg, had the maturity, strategic smarts and luck to keep his company ahead of its rivals anchors the tale.With exclusive inside access to all the company's leaders David Kirkpatrick tells of the vision, the tenacity, the refusal to compromise, and the vision Zuckerberg has to remake the internet. A brilliant and fascinating cast of characters created Facebook and Kirkpatrick has interviewed all of them. Never before have Zuckerberg and his closest colleagues told what really happened as they built their dynamo while eating fast food, staying up all night, and thumbing their noses at how things are usually done.
Click: The Power of Instant Connections
by Rom BrafmanIn a book that combines psychology and sociology with an insightful understanding of human interactions, Ori and Rom Brafman have written a compelling narrative that helps us to understand the magic behind those moments when we form an incredible connection with other people, or which cause us to become fully engaged in whatever we are doing.Drawing from recent research in psychology and sociology, and told through the same kinds of engaging stories that made Sway a New York Times bestseller, Click takes us on a roller coaster journey of discovery into those moments in our lives when we are 'in the zone' - when the rest of the world drops away and everything seems to fall into place.
How to Become an Internet Billionaire: Lives Less Ordinary
by David KirkpatrickThe Lives Less Ordinary series brings you the most exciting, adventurous and entertaining true-life writing that is out there, for men who are time-poor but want the best. Lives Less Ordinary drops you into extreme first-hand accounts of human experience, whether that's the adrenaline-pumping heights of professional sport, the brutality of the modern battlefield, the casual violence of the criminal world, the mind-blowing frontiers of science, or the excesses of rock 'n' roll, high finance and Hollywood. Lives Less Ordinary also brings you some of the finest comic voices around, on every subject from toilet etiquette to Paul Gascoigne.Six years after it was created, over 500 million people use Facebook. But it was started as a lark in a Harvard dorm room by a couple of 19-year-olds. David Kirkpatrick brings you the definitive, first-hand inside story of how the visionary Mark Zuckerberg had the maturity, strategic smarts and luck to keep his company ahead of its rivals, as well as the self-assurance at just 20-years-old to turn down an offer of $10 million dollars for his fledgling, four-month-old website.This digital bite has been extracted from David Kirkpatrick's fascinating book The Facebook Effect.
How to Seduce Marilyn Monroe: Lives Less Ordinary
by Tony CurtisThe Lives Less Ordinary series brings you the most exciting, adventurous and entertaining true-life writing that is out there, for men who are time-poor but want the best. Lives Less Ordinary drops you into extreme first-hand accounts of human experience, whether that's the adrenaline-pumping heights of professional sport, the brutality of the modern battlefield, the casual violence of the criminal world, the mind-blowing frontiers of science, or the excesses of rock 'n' roll, high finance and Hollywood. Lives Less Ordinary also brings you some of the finest comic voices around, on every subject from toilet etiquette to Paul Gascoigne.'"I first saw her at Universal just walking down the street. She was breathtakingly voluptuous in a see-through blouse that revealed her bra ... I said to this beautiful girl, "My name is Tony." "My name is Marilyn," she said.' Tony Curtis, one of the great Hollywood heartthrobs, was friends with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant and James Dean. He romanced a string of screen sirens including Janet Leigh, Natalie Wood, and of course, Marilyn Monroe. Here, Curtis shares his stories of some of those legendary seductions.This digital bite has been extracted from Tony Curtis's autobiography American Prince.
Music (7th edition): Fully Revised and Updated, including the latest developments in music streaming
by Ann HarrisonThis essential and highly acclaimed guide, now updated and revised in its seventh edition, explains the business of the British music industry. Drawing on her extensive experience as a media lawyer, Ann Harrison offers a unique, expert opinion on the deals, the contracts and the business as a whole. She examines in detail the changing face of the music industry and provides absorbing and up-to-date case studies. Whether you’re a recording artist, songwriter, music business manager, industry executive, publisher, journalist, media student, accountant or lawyer, this practical and comprehensive guide is indispensable reading. Fully revised and updated. Includes: · The current types of record and publishing deals, and what you can expect to see in the contracts· A guide to making a record, manufacture, distribution, branding, marketing, merchandising, sponsorship, band arrangements and touring · The most up-to-date information on music streaming, digital downloads, online marketing and piracy· An in-depth look at copyright law and related rights· Case studies illustrating key developments and legal jargon explained.
Before Happiness: Five Actionable Strategies to Create a Positive Path to Success
by Shawn AchorDo you want to achieve success in your personal and professional endeavours? The first step is to see a reality where success is possible. Only when we choose to believe we live in a world in which challenges can be overcome, in which our behaviour matters, and in which change is possible can we summon all our drive, energy, and emotional and intellectual resources to make that change possible.In Before Happiness, Shawn Achor, former Harvard professor, and bestselling author of The Happiness Advantage introduces a groundbreaking new theory about success and human potential.Achor shows how a positive mindset is the best predictor of motivation, engagement and performance in the workplace and in your personal life and offers five practical, actionable strategies for creating this mindset that will make us more successful at work and at home:1)Add vantage points – how to select the most valuable reality2)Map to success – mapping success greatly increases the chance you will get there3)Finding the X Spot – proven techniques for harnessing your cognitive abilities4)Boost the signal by cancelling the noise – how to cancel negative noise5)Positive Inception – how to spread positive reality to othersBacked by science, great stories, and research-based strategies, by the time you finish this book, you will have a complete understanding of exactly how to create a better reality and magnify the volume of happiness and success in your life, and equally important, transfer that positive reality to others.
Let's Make Lots of Money: Secrets of a Rich, Fat, Gay, Lucky Bastard
by Tom WatkinsLONGLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC PRIZE 2017The coke-fuelled mania behind pop’s greatest successes Tom Watkins is the famously entertaining pop Svengali with killer commercial instincts and prodigious talent for design. He propelled the Pet Shop Boys, Bros and East 17, among others, to global stardom, all whilst maintaining a savage hedonistic lifestyle and a stellar art collection. His fingerprints are all over British pop, and he’s decided the time has come for a tell-all autobiography about the business behind the stars that shaped your life in the 80s and 90s. Follow Tom’s journey from his humble boyhood in post-war South-East London, to his teenage misdeeds and the birth of Rock and Roll; his days as a design student under the tutelage of Terence Conran and Rodney Fitch, to the excesses of the 80s and 90s where he became one of the original boy band innovators – the driving force behind the pop icons plastered on the walls of teenage girls’ bedrooms.Funny, unstoppable and outspoken, a razor-sharp and greatly respected businessman, marketing visionary, designer and art collector, Tom takes us through his extraordinary and colourful life into the inner-circle of 80s pop-culture. From hobnobbing with Bruce Sprinsteen to bust-ups with Bros, Tom has seen it all. Expect a gripping, gossipy, meticulously researched memoir of the drug-addled 80s and 90s, layered on top of an insightful and intelligent portrait of a recent but very different age, from the singular perspective of a man who played a huge role in defining the era and paved the way for industry moguls like Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh.
Zero to One: Notes on Start Ups, or How to Build the Future
by Blake Masters Peter ThielWHAT VALUABLE COMPANY IS NOBODY BUILDING?The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won’t make a search engine. If you are copying these guys, you aren’t learning from them. It’s easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to n, adding more of something familiar. Every new creation goes from 0 to 1. This book is about how to get there.‘Peter Thiel has built multiple breakthrough companies, and Zero to One shows how.’ELON MUSK, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla‘This book delivers completely new and refreshing ideas on how to create value in the world.’MARK ZUCKERBERG, CEO of Facebook‘When a risk taker writes a book, read it. In the case of Peter Thiel, read it twice. Or, to be safe, three times. This is a classic.’NASSIM NICHOLAS TALEB, author of The Black Swan
The Virgin Money Maker: Borrow It, Save It, Invest It... Better!
by Chris NewlandsWant to know your ISA from your elbow, get personal with your loans or become rate savvy? Now you can make your money work for you and take the stress out of organizing your finances.Whether choosing a mortgage, shopping around for the best credit card deal or just trying to save some of your hard-earned cash, The Virgin Money Maker cuts through the financial jargon to give you sensible information on the best way to manage your cash. With expert advice on credit cards, mortgages, current accounts, savings, ISAs, pensions, loans, internet banking, debt solving and much more, this indispensable book is full of practical ideas to help you get the most from your money.