About this product: In this funny, poignant debut, a plus-size heroine becomes a reality TV show contestant and discovers she's already beautiful enough to be the next big thing.
Kat Larson figured she had nothing to lose by becoming a contestant on the new reality show From Fat to Fabulous-except maybe a few dozen pounds. Then she'd finally be able to arrange a face-to-face meeting with Nick, the British hunk she met online, who still thinks she's a size four. She'd finally be confident and graceful and thin-and there's that big cash prize, too, to pay for all those slinky new clothes she'd need. She'd finally have the perfect life.
About this product: Describes how Jobs invented Apple in his garage in the late 1970s and how, after his colleagues ousted him, he founded NeXT in a work that discusses Bill Gates, George Lucas, and other figures.
Understanding and predicting trends can put organizations in control, boosting profits and placing them ahead of their competitors. The Next Big Thing reveals how consumer trends work, how to spot them, and how to use that knowledge to gain financial and competitive advantage. Full of examples of trends and comments from industry insiders, it also includes case studies of companies that benefited from spotting trends and those who lost out by not spotting them. Find out about new market trends spotted by the author, including the “Come Together” trend, the “Gender Blending” trend, and more.
About this product: What do the iPod, MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube all have in common? They're fresh, they're hot, and most importantly--they're cool. But while many companies embark on the eternal quest for the next big thing, very few know how to actually find it. Coolhunting will take you into the very heart of the search and show you how to find trendsetters, spot innovations, and turn brilliant ideas into hot new trends. Major companies like Starbucks and Procter & Gamble have already discovered the power of coolhunting. Now, you can learn how to:
* Tap into the principles of cool and identify the trends that are truly cutting-edge * cultivate the skills and techniques of highly effective coolhunters * pinpoint developing trends using smartbadges
An invaluable tool for businesses of all sizes, Coolhunting will show you how to stay ahead of the curve and on the cutting edge of where your customers want to be taken.
About this product: The Mom Inventors Handbook. gives practical step-by- step advice for putting inspiration into action. The book takes inventors from idea development to marketing and sales covering everything from market research to prototype development, manufacturing and licensing and debunks some common myths. It simplifies the invention process; even providing stories from real mom inventors sharing their 'aha' moments and lessons learned.
About this product: nanotechnology \na-no--tek-'nä-l -je-\ n (1987): the science of manipulating material at the atomic level
Although nanotechnology deals with the very small—a nanometer is 1/80,000th the diameter of a human hair—it is going to be huge. From the food we eat, the clothes we wear, and the products we manufacture to the composition of our bodies, everything is made of atoms. And if we can manipulate the atom, then that changes the rules of the game for almost every product.
Coal and diamonds, for example, are both constructed from carbon atoms. It’s merely the arrangement of the atoms that differentiates an inexpensive fuel source from a pricey engagement jewel. While the science of nanotech cannot yet transform coal into diamonds, it is advancing rapidly and will begin to radically alter the business world during the next few years—and will continue to do so for the forseeable future.
The buzz surrounding nanotech is comparable to that at the dawn of the digital revolution, which changed the face of how business operates. Unlike the Internet, however, which applied new technology to many old processes and businesses, nanotech is about creating entirely new materials, products, and systems (and therefore markets), as well as making existing products faster, stronger, and better.
You may be tempted to wait until the buzz dies down before deciding how to integrate nanotech into your business, but don’t make the mistake of thinking of it as being light-years away. Even though it may sound far-off at times, within ten years nanotech will have huge effects on many industries, including manufacturing, health care, energy, agriculture, communications, transportation, and electronics. Within a decade, nanotechnology is expected to be the basis of $1 trillion worth of products in the United States alone and will create anywhere from 800,000 to 2 million new jobs.
Nanotechnology will require you to radically re-think what your core business is, who your competitors are, what skills your workforce needs, how to train your employees, and how to think strategically about the future. Jack Uldrich and Deb Newberry explain exactly how you should prepare for nanotech’s imminent arrival. They identify today’s nanotech innovators, chronicle and project the rapid rise of nanotech developments, and show how to think strategically about the field’s opportunities and investments.
The Next Big Thing Is Really Small provides a sneak peek at the technology that will transform the next ten years, giving investors and executives a road map for using small wonders to generate big profits.
About this product: Times change. People move on. Plunging a hand into a pot of boiling oil is no longer considered an accurate way of determining the guilt of an adulterous woman. We tend not to casually vomit at the dinner table, do the Macarena, or fly around in airships inflated with highly flammable gas. We live our lives amid a complex web of rapidly changing ideas, desires and ethics; we pick the ones that seem like a good idea, and jettison the ones that don't. "The Next Big Thing" points, laughs and winces at all those things that were suddenly deemed not that great after all. The guide is a tribute to the fad, the dead-end trend, the ephemeral nature of our beliefs, needs and aspirations. Choose your fad by era - Prehistory, Ancient Civilizations, The Middle Ages, Renaissance & Elizabethan, Georgian and Victorian, World Wars, The Post-War Years, The 1960s and 70s, The 1980s and 90s right through to today. Think about it: In the 1930s, men who played the clarinet were considered incredibly sexually attractive by young women. This is no longer the case. "The Next Big Thing" will tell you why.
About this product: Someone is killing the entrepreneurial spirit of American businesses. Perpetually searching for The Next Big Thing, workers have overlooked "the Value Effect", a phenomenon which can provide the alignment and energy needed to create and sustain change. John Guaspari ingeniously lays out the problem as a murder mystery in which we see the ailing Lodestar, Inc. and its executives who meet to plan new change strategies. When the consultant who worked with lodestar's executive team to drive the company's latest Next Big Thing suddenly turns up dead, detective Lenny Gatling arrives on the scene. We're alongside Gatling throughout his investigation. We're walked through his masterfully deduced solution. We read an interoffice memo about the Value Effect that seems innocent but turns out to be the crucial piece of evidence used by Gatling to crack the case. The mystery is solved when everyone finally understands the true power of the Value Effect: that it's not really a Next Big Thing at all but is instead a surprisingly simple, straightforward solution to a widespread, persistent problem.
About this product: 'Herz wondered if the people he passed on the street ruminated on lost causes, as he did. Try as he might to divert himself, he could never escape the suspicion that he should be elsewhere.' Herz is seventy-three and facing the difficult question: what is he going to do with the rest of his life? How is it all going to end? He could propose marriage to an old friend he hasn't seen for thirty years; he could travel, he could make a trip to Paris to see a favourite painting; he could sell his flat, move, start afresh. He must do something with the time left - but what? Anita Brookner's masterpiece - the ultimate comedy about what it really means to be old.
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