Firing Back

Sonnenfeld and Ward show how to rise Phoenix-like from the ashes. Their account of the psychological and behavioral foundations of that important qualityresilienceis important reading for everyone who will ever face a reversal of fortune.Jeffrey Pfeffer, Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior, Graduate School of Business, Stanford University Is it possible to rescue your career and restore your reputation after a major professional setback? In an age rife with press accounts of disgraced CEOs, politicians, and celebritiesas well as courageous but beleaguered whistleblowers and victims of rivals or envious colleagues and bossesthis question has grown more important than ever. In Firing Back, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Andrew Ward answer the question with a resounding Yes. They go on to lay out a practical and an important five-step process for actually recovering from setbacks. Following these steps will help guide you through the difficult circumstances, rebuild your reputation, and chart a new future. The authors also explore strategies for surmounting common barriers to career recovery, including tricky corporate cultures and psychological stresses. Anchored in decades of research and scholarly studies across multiple fields, this book is packed with engrossing stories and first-hand accounts from humbled but restored CEOs and executives from firms as diverse as General Electric, The Home Depot, Morgan Stanley, Apple, Staples, and Hewlett-Packard. Firing Back offers a clear plan for anyone who needs to recover from a career setback and reclaim lost prestige and reputationwhether the setback stemmed from his own actions or forces outside her control.

In this series of trenchant essays, Pierre Bourdieu continues the urgent project begun in Acts of Resistance. Dissecting the claims of neoliberalism, Bordieu calls for an international social movement capable of forming a counterforce to the project of capitalist globalisation.

In Firing Back, six-term Congressman Todd Akin describes in eye-opening detail what it is like to be an unapologetic conservative in a town dominated by media bullies, back-room bosses, and liberals of either party. Although he tried to be a loyal Republican, Akin's first allegiance was always to the Constitution and his conservative principles. When the Bush administration lobbied him to approve its progressive legislative initiatives, No Child Left Behind and the Medicare prescription drug benefit, Akin refused. In the process, he made some serious enemies. Those enemies got their revenge after Akin made an awkward comment about rape. Although he had just won a hard-fought Republican primary in Missouri for US Senate, party bosses tried to coerce him to yield the nomination to their preferred candidate. When Akin refused, the bosses turned their back on him and let Democrat Claire McCaskill win. In Firing Back, Akin tells the story of how the Republican leadership not only threw him under the bus but also ran over him a few times for good measure. Not one of them explained what it was about Akin's remarks that so deeply offended them. Akin names names and takes numbers in Firing Back, but this book is much more than a tell-all. It is a battle-tested guide to Republicans and conservatives to help them find their courage, reclaim their integrity, and, by doing so, help preserve America's faith and freedom.

Downsizing is a fact of business life in the 1990s, and Galos and McIntosh have focused upon the actual moment of termination. This is a handbook for preparation in an employment crisis, written by a human resources attorney and a freelance writer. Part 1 covers advice for those who suspect or may know that their job is in jeopardy. Parts 2 and 3 address those who have already been terminated but haven't met with their employer to work out a separation package. The fourth part is for those who already have worked out a separation package and are in the process of moving on. Another way to read this book is to begin with the last chapter, entitled 'Taking Control of Your Future.' The authors offer important advice and insight for anyone in an unsettled corporate environment. Although much of their advice is not new, most individuals involved in the uncertain world of corporate America need to consider these topics. - Mary Whaley; 256p-

Here's the only ammunition to refute the gun-control advocates. Find information to support the "other side" of the story. Learn to write letters to editors, legislators and debate Second Amendment rights.

As the advertising director of Nutty Nathan's, Nick Stefanos knows all the tricks of the electronics business. Blow-out sales and shady deals were his life. When one of the stockboys disappears, it's not news: just another metalhead who went off chasing some dream of big money and easy living. But the kid reminded Nick of himself twelve years ago: an angry punk hooked on speed metal and the fast life. So when the boy's grandfather begs Nick to find the kid, Nick says he'll try. A Firing Offense, Nick Stefanos' debut, shows why, as Barry Gifford puts it, "To miss out on Pelecanos would be criminal."

Firing at Will shows managers and employers how to do the most difficult part of their jobs: firing employees. Written by a leading employment lawyer in a refreshingly unlawyerly style, this guide takes the reader through the always-risky process of letting an employee go. Many employers and managers are afraid to pull the trigger when the employment relationship has broken down, and will postpone the decision by using progressive discipline and performance-improvement plans. However, an employer must be able to unload employees who threaten to undermine the company and its prospects, regardless of the risks involved in a termination. This book explains how to do it, how not to do it, and how to minimize the danger of an expensive employee lawsuit. No one said being an employer or a manager was easy. Fortunately, knowing how to fire employees will make your job much, much easier in the long run and save you heartache. Firing at Will teaches you what you need to know, without any legalese or boring recitations of statutes and case law. This book is filled with plain-English common sense, based on Jay Shepherd's 17 years of protecting employers in court. The style is conversational and often irreverent, but the lessons and tips are battle-tested. If you want to be a successful manager or employer—and sleep easier—you need to know how to fire at will. Gives employers and managers real-world advice on how to fire employees Teaches how to keep your company—and yourself—out of expensive employee lawsuits Guides you toward building a workplace where you'll need to fire fewer employees

This book covers techniques of firing and finishing at low temperature without using glazes. Many ancient cultures and contemporary potters use methods of low firing, adding slips and burnishing pieces to create a more natural finish. The advantages are that it can be done without a kiln using old dustbins, pits dug out of the earth, or bonfires, meaning that providing you have outdoor space, it can be done on a low budget. This book is a step-by-step practical approach and beginner's guide, which focuses on how to do low firing and natural finishes, with many illustrations of beautiful work by contemporary makers. Chapters include burnishing, terra sigillata, smoke-firing, pit-firing, saggar firing and raku techniques.

"A majestic book."--Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of The Body Keeps the Score A unique joint memoir by a U.S. Marine and a conflict photographer whose unlikely friendship helped both heal their war-wounded bodies and souls "The dueling-piano spirit of SHOOTING GHOSTS works because its authors are so committed to transparency, admitting readers into the dark crevices of their isolation."--Wall St Journal Through the unpredictability of war and its aftermath, a decorated Marine sergeant and a world-trotting war photographer became friends, their bond forged as they patrolled together through the dusty alleyways of Helmand province and camped side by side in the desert. But when Sergeant T. J. Brennan was injured during a Taliban ambush, he and conflict photographer Finbarr O’Reilly returned home, each to face the fallout of war in their own way. Their friendship offered them both a shot at redemption. Shooting Ghosts looks at the horrors of war directly, but then turns to a journey that draws on our growing understanding of what recovery takes, charting the ways two survivors have found to calm the ghosts and reclaim a measure of peace.

Cheryl Abram was at the end of her rope: her life was falling apart on every level and she had “succeeded” in making herself unworthy, incomplete and separate. Then, one day this practicing Christian took a “leap of doubt” and fired God, or at least the God she had created. Cheryl’s outward circumstances did not miraculously improve—this is not a fairy-tale story of allowing abundance into her life. Rather, as she puts it: I’m no longer afraid, anxious or expectant. It’s still about me, but the “me” is not the “me” that I thought it was. It’s not a little limited human being that was born and will die. I am not that. As a human being, I can see that I am connected to everything around me. I am a whole part of the tapestry of this world. We are all here for and as each other. To read how that came about and what it means in an everyday life for Cheryl and the implications for you and me, dive into the pages of this book. A last word from Cheryl: “I’ve just added a little sexy, brown-sugary southern Louisiana sweetness to the enlightenment pool.”