Featured New Business & Management Titles
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The Future Begins with Z
"A definitive guide to engaging with members of Gen Z in the workplace." --Publishers Weekly
What if your greatest challenge could become your greatest solution
Generation Z has entered the workforce and are challenging leaders in ways they have never experienced before. Gen Zers often bring little work experience following college graduation, with parents encouraging them to focus on academics. Plus, having grown up on screens, they frequently bring lower levels of emotional intelligence than previous youth generations.
Today, 4 in 5 hiring managers say Generation Z is the most difficult population to manage. Almost one in three avoid hiring them altogether. We cannot walk away from this challenge as these young teammates represent the future. While the boss has visibility on the past, they have visibility on the future. This resource, The Future Begins with Z, offers nine strategies to inspire and connect with the next generation of workers as they transform the workforce. Some of those strategies involve:
- How to attract and onboard them so they'll want to stay.
- How to offer firm feedback to a fragile young employee.
- How to uniquely motivate and incentivize them.
- How to cultivate full engagement in Gen Z teammates.
- How to equip them to manage their mental health challenges.
If we lead them well, we'll find young professionals often enter their careers with a greater insight into social media and how to monetize it; they seem to understand what young consumers want, and they possess deeper intuition on where culture is going. They are not tied to expectations for how work is done and are more open to new ideas. To succeed, today's leaders will need to listen more and to coach more than we once did. The future is in our hands. Let's make the very most of it.
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Authentic
A bold call to rethink authenticity at work
Workplace dynamics in recent years have been a dizzying storm of broken promises. Companies that once encouraged employees to “come as you are” and bring your full, authentic self to work are now shutting down initiatives, part of an ongoing cycle of trading on our identities when it’s convenient and profitable.
Jodi-Ann Burey, writer and critic known for her TED talk “The Myth of Bringing Your Full, Authentic Self to Work,” delves into the dangers of disclosure in environments that aren’t built for our well-being. With insights from pop culture, academic research, and interviews with other professionals of color, Burey argues that we deserve better than shallow ploys for representation.
Our physical and emotional health are at risk, and too much is sacrificed—for ourselves and for collective progress—when our full potential is blocked by racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and ableism. Authentic is a powerful reckoning—and now is the time to reclaim our agency. Even at work. -
A CEO for All Seasons
New York Times Bestseller
From leading global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and the minds behind the New York Times bestseller CEO Excellence comes a compact, insight-packed guide to navigating the distinct phases of leadership that every CEO must pass through on their way to mastery.
In the high-stakes world of corporate leadership, becoming a Fortune 500 CEO is an Everest-like ascent—with only the savviest managing to avoid falling off the mountain. In A CEO for All Seasons, you’ll find an essential climbing route that will take you through every stage. Featured in this tip-dense guide is wisdom from some of the world’s most iconic leaders, including Dell Technologies’ Michael Dell, Merck’s Ken Frazier, Nasdaq’s Adena Friedman, Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman, Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman, ASML’s Peter Wennink, and Chevron’s Mike Wirth.
Unique in applying a number of sophisticated metrics to isolate the world’s top 200 CEOs, reduce them to a representative sample, and then reap their wisdom, the McKinsey team, in A CEO for All Seasons, spotlights the specific stage-based hurdles that CEOs face. From preparing for the role to starting strong to sustaining momentum to ensuring a lasting legacy, the book leaves no segment of the journey unmapped. Along the way, it offers proven strategies for maintaining forward progress and, crucially, alerts readers to common blind spots that can sabotage success, as revealed by a detailed survey of thousands of executives.
Whether you’re an aspiring leader or a new-to-the-job CEO—or even a board member wanting to better steward your company’s performance—this is the compact, hands-on guide you’ve needed. Its compendium of pressure-tested tips is a must-have game changer for leaders at all levels. -
The Equity Edge
From a well-known consultant and speaker, a "must-read" (Kevin Grossman) guide to identifying the pain points along the hiring and talent-development process, where bias keeps managers and recruiters from making better decisions
More than ever, companies are scrambling to diversify their workplaces. But hiring managers, HR departments, and recruiters remain largely in the dark about how to do this.
The Equity Edge lays out the hurdles that face diverse groups of job seekers and employees. At each stage of the hiring and retaining process--finding, attracting, engaging, selecting, and developing talent--managers need to challenge their idea of who is qualified for a job, and potential employees need to know how to navigate the pitfalls of bias.
Readers will learn about:- The concept of "underexplored biases" we can have, from pedigree bias to competitor bias and professionalism bias
- The importance of having an employment brand that is separate from your corporate brand
- How to take into account a person's Lived Experience Intelligence (LEI), the diverse knowledge, skills, and abilities that they've gained throughout their lifetime
- How to shift from an unrealistic bias-free ideal to a bias-aware model that promotes proactive acknowledgment and constructive action
This book helps experts, leaders, recruiters, and job seekers make better decisions as they navigate the employment cycle.
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The Ten Toughest Leadership Problems
A renowned leadership consultant offers "a powerful and timely resource for leaders at every level" (Marshal Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There), drawing on decades of her in-the-field research and consulting
As an executive coach, Dr. Katie Best has helped countless leaders achieve powerful results. But getting the right coaching isn't always possible, whether because the problem is too urgent or because the resources aren't there. That's when leaders can turn to this book.
The Ten Toughest Leadership Problems and How to Solve Them is an essential self-coaching handbook for leaders at any level. Best helps leaders struggling to avoid burnout, make good decisions, increase influence within their organization, align with or shift a company's culture, improve employee performance, engage staff, manage teams, implement strategy, lead change, and navigate the hybrid workplace. Her SOLVE framework breaks problem-solving into five manageable steps: state the problem, to untangle complex, interrelated issues; open the box, to gather information;lay out the solution, to make a plan to fix the problem;venture forth, to put that plan into action; and elevate your learning, to further develop relevant skills.
The product of two decades of coaching and executive education work, this practical book equips leaders with the tools they need to solve these ten common problems and any other tough challenges they may face.
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The Five Talents That Really Matter
A former Gallup Global Leadership Research and Development leader and the New York Times bestselling coauthor of Strengths-Based Leadership demystifies the aura and complexity surrounding high performing leaders through original research and interviews with high-performing global leaders.
The leadership space is rife with myths, such as the belief that anyone can be a leader with enough effort or that a leader's strengths can be their greatest weaknesses. According to Barry Conchie and his business partner Sarah Dalton, these statements are complete BS. The Five Talents That Really Matter dispels the fluff in leadership literature, unveiling the traits and characteristics that truly determine high-performance leadership.
This book serves as a guide, stripping away misconceptions and providing a template against which career-driven managers and leaders can assess and develop their capabilities. The five evidence-based talent dimensions are:- Setting Direction: High-performing leaders guide their organizations through complex situations and articulate the value that so many employees find motivational and engaging.
- Building Energy: Driven by a burning work ethic, Talented leaders set an exacting example. They measure progress, and recognize that the most Talented employees beneath them demand their greatest attention and support.
- Exerting Pressure: Talented leaders assert a clear point of view and persuasively drive change and improvement, never settling for average outcomes.
- Increasing Connectivity: Outstanding leaders prioritize people, establishing effective followership through purposeful and ethical behavior, and demonstrating care and concern for those they lead.
- Controlling Traffic: High performing leaders understand their organizations, driving superior performance by establishing protocols and guardrails while showing agility and flexibility when circumstances change.
Through meticulous research, assessment, and testing, Conchie and Dalton have built a database that predicts the talents and behaviors of the most successful leaders. In this book they present for the first the first time a scientific model that demystifies the aura and complexity surrounding high performing leaders. -
The Sweaty Startup
Filled with common sense and practical, actionable, advice, Nick Huber's book reveals that you don't have to be a genius with a world-changing idea to build a business empire and become a multi-millionaire.
Business media, television and movies, and top college courses all tell entrepreneurs the same thing: To succeed in business, you need to have a revolutionary idea. To them, success is about changing the world through constant innovation. But the truth is, 99.999 percent of businesses that pursue this strategy will fail.
In The Sweaty Startup, Nick Huber shows us that you don't need a ton of money, a brilliant new idea, complex technology, or extreme scale to succeed. There is another way to do business and find success by keeping things simple. Nick encourages readers to pursue opportunities with good odds, low risk, and moderate rewards that will set you up for a successful life, not just a successful business. Forget about mastering your craft, Huber advises. Focus on mastering sales, hiring, and delegation instead. It's not about doing what you love or pursuing your passion. It's about following the path of least resistance and executing on a proven idea in a proven market to win.
Bringing together the stories of dozens of successful businesses, including his own, Huber reveals an accessible but often-overlooked path to wealth and a life well-lived. To Nick, entrepreneurship isn't about trying to reinvent the wheel. It's not about new ideas, raising venture capital funding, or going on Shark Tank. Instead, it's about doing common things uncommonly well. The Sweaty Startup is a refreshing and straightforward road map outlining his philosophy for a new generation of entrepreneurs.
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Distancing
What if there was a way to instantly see your reality with the clarity of a coach – unencumbered by the baggage of you being you?
In Distancing, bestselling author and former submarine captain David Marquet (Turn the Ship Around!) and psychology professor Michael Gillespie introduce a powerful solution: distancing. This simple but underused superpower lets us step outside ourselves to see with clarity and decide with wisdom.
Through three practices—Be Someone Else, Be Somewhere Else, Be Sometime Else—we adopt the perspective of a coach, view our situation from afar, or become our wiser future self. Each unlocks instant insight, reduces anxiety, and improves judgment.
Blending science, stories, and practical tools, Distancing equips us to rise above ego and emotion, cut through bias, and make choices we’ll be proud of—in leadership, in life, and for the long term. -
Conquering Crisis
A New York Times Bestseller
#1 New York Times bestselling author Admiral McRaven tells stories from his life and career that illustrate the principles of effective leadership during times of crisis.
Throughout his 40-year career, Admiral McRaven has experienced every manner of calamity imaginable. From managing failed hostage rescues to responding to student unrest, McRaven has learned how to successfully navigate crises--those moments that push the limits of your experience and challenge your confidence, when leadership skills alone may not be enough.
Conquering Crisis provides a new set of tools for facing these stressful moments with poise. It breaks crises down into five phases assess, report, contain, shape, and manage--and provides concrete steps to come out the other side stronger. With incredible personal stories, thought-provoking parables, and memorable lessons, Admiral McRaven sheds light on the ways we can rise to the occasion in times of crisis and act as leaders, no matter the situation.
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Building Analytics Teams
Master the skills necessary to hire and manage a team of highly skilled individuals to design, build, and implement applications and systems based on advanced analytics and AI
Key Features
- Learn to create an operationally effective advanced analytics team in a corporate environment
- Select and undertake projects that have a high probability of success and deliver the improved top and bottom-line results
- Understand how to create relationships with executives, senior managers, peers, and subject matter experts that lead to team collaboration, increased funding, and long-term success for you and your team
Book Description
In Building Analytics Teams, John K. Thompson, with his 30+ years of experience and expertise, illustrates the fundamental concepts of building and managing a high-performance analytics team, including what to do, who to hire, projects to undertake, and what to avoid in the journey of building an analytically sound team. The core processes in creating an effective analytics team and the importance of the business decision-making life cycle are explored to help achieve initial and sustainable success.
The book demonstrates the various traits of a successful and high-performing analytics team and then delineates the path to achieve this with insights on the mindset, advanced analytics models, and predictions based on data analytics. It also emphasizes the significance of the macro and micro processes required to evolve in response to rapidly changing business needs.
The book dives into the methods and practices of managing, developing, and leading an analytics team. Once you've brought the team up to speed, the book explains how to govern executive expectations and select winning projects.
By the end of this book, you will have acquired the knowledge to create an effective business analytics team and develop a production environment that delivers ongoing operational improvements for your organization.
What you will learn
- Avoid organizational and technological pitfalls of moving from a defined project to a production environment
- Enable team members to focus on higher-value work and tasks
- Build Advanced Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AA&AI) functions in an organization
- Outsource certain projects to competent and capable third parties
- Support the operational areas that intend to invest in business intelligence, descriptive statistics, and small-scale predictive analytics
- Analyze the operational area, the processes, the data, and the organizational resistance
Who this book is for
This book is for senior executives, senior and junior managers, and those who are working as part of a team that is accountable for designing, building, delivering and ensuring business success through advanced analytics and artificial intelligence systems and applications. At least 5 to 10 years of experience in driving your organization to a higher level of efficiency will be helpful.
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Writing AI Prompts For Dummies
Learn the art of writing effective AI prompts and break into an exciting new career field
Unlock the full power of generative AI with Writing AI Prompts For Dummies, a comprehensive guide that will teach you how to confidently write effective AI prompts. Whether it's text, images, or even videos and music you're aiming to create, this book provides the foundational knowledge and practical strategies needed to produce impressive results.
Embark on a journey of discovery with Writing AI Prompts For Dummies and learn how to:
- Craft AI prompts that produce the most powerful results.
- Navigate the complexities of different AI platforms with ease.
- Generate a diverse range of content, from compelling narratives to stunning visuals.
- Refine AI-generated output to perfection and integrate that output effectively into your business or project.
This resource is brimming with expert guidance and will help you write AI prompts that achieve your objectives. Whether you're a marketer, educator, artist, or entrepreneur, Writing AI Prompts For Dummies is your indispensable guide for leveraging AI to its fullest potential. Get ready to harness the power of artificial intelligence and spark a revolution in your creative and professional efforts.
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The Disruptors
Fearless, innovative, driven and daring. These are the qualities of a disruptor: a business that is willing to take risks to achieve incredible success.
In The Disruptors, leading business journalist Sally Percy investigates the stories behind some of the world's most innovative businesses, who took unconventional and trailblazing approaches to overcome the competition and achieve success.
Spotify, Nintendo, TikTok and A24. These are all businesses that have taken disruptive pathways to success and have redefined their industries. The Disruptors dives into the strategies behind these stories, offering valuable insights into innovative and daring entrepreneurship. -
Your First Million
Build lasting wealth and impact with lessons from the "bold and relentless disruptor" changing the face of entrepreneurship in America (Black Enterprise).
Having lived nearly her entire life below the poverty line before going on to attain wealth and success as an entrepreneur and investor, Arlan Hamilton knows that entrepreneurship is the quickest path to money and power--particularly for those who haven't had much of it in the past. In Your First Million, she shows how anyone--no matter what they look like or how much money they have--can tap into all the new tools they have at their disposal to get their million-dollar idea off the ground.
Readers will learn how to: identify unmet needs, raise money, choose the right collaborators, create multiple income streams, and turn their unique knowledge and experience into a profitable business--while reinvesting in their communities and empowering others to do the same.
If we can change who gets to decide what new ideas are worthy, and who gets to turn those ideas into reality, not only can we change our own circumstances--we can change the world.
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Business Writing with AI For Dummies
Learn how to generate high quality, business documents with AI
This essential guide helps business writers and other professionals learn the strengths and weaknesses of AI as a writing assistant. You'll discover how AI can help you by chopping through writer's block, drafting an outline, generating headlines and titles, producing meaningful text, maintaining consistency, proofreading and editing, and optimizing content for search engines. Employees in all industries spend enormous amounts of energy writing, editing, and proofreading documents of all kinds. Now, you can improve your efficiency and boost the quality of your work, thanks to AI writing tools like ChatGPT, Jaspar, Grammarly, and beyond. With clear instructions and simple tips, Business Writing with AI For Dummies guides you through the process of using AI for common business writing tasks.
- Produce high quality, specialized writing quicker and at a lower cost
- Use AI to draft business-related content like emails, articles, business plans, grant proposals, bios, websites, and many others
- Incorporate AI into your writing process to make your workday more efficient
- Take advantage of AI so you can focus your human creativity on going beyond the basics
For business professionals facing tight deadlines or large volumes of writing tasks, this easy-to-use Dummies guide will be a game changer.
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The AI-Driven Leader
The difference between growing your business and going out of business is your ability to think strategically. The problem: Leaders are stuck in the operational weeds, while their competition gains an edge with AI. The time to act is now.
In The AI-Driven Leader, you'll learn how to:
The AI-Driven Leader gives you a simple path to harness AI as your Thought Partner. Grow your business, outpace the competition, and get more done in less time.
Business Library Card
Do you have a business or non-profit based in Wilmette or Kenilworth? Access our powerful business databases, books on the latest business and management trends, and much more.
To qualify for a Wilmette library business card, you need:
- Identification of the owner or manager, who will be responsible for all materials associated with the account
- A current tax bill, lease agreement, or utility bill with the business’ or non-profit’s name and address within the Wilmette/Kenilworth Public Library District
To apply, simply bring the above items to the Circulation Desk during business hours. Wilmette Public Library business cards are good for one year and are renewable.
Questions? Call the Circulation Desk at 847.256.5025.
SCORE Mentorship Counseling
SCORE One-on-One Counseling for Small Businesses
Schedule a free, one-hour session with a SCORE mentor. Sessions will be held in the library's Small Meeting Room or a study room.
SCORE is a resource partner for the Small Business Administration. Its regional mentors work with Wilmette Public Library to connect entrepreneurs with seasoned mentors. Founded in 1964 as the Service Corps of Retired Executives, it is the nation’s largest network of volunteer business mentors, with 10,000 volunteers serving all 50 U.S. states and territories.
To schedule a mentorship appointment, please contact business librarian John Amundsen at jamundsen@wilmettelibrary.info.
Private Meeting Rooms & Meeting/Event Spaces
Private Study Rooms
Need a private meeting space? The library offers study rooms that can accommodate four people - Wilmette Public Library cardholders can reserve up to two hours a day and up to one week in advance. View Availability & Reserve >>
Larger Meeting and Event Spaces
Need something larger? Wilmette Public Library cardholders can reserve our Small Meeting Room (15 max capacity) or Auditorium (90 max capacity) for a nominal fee. Contact Marti Bellefontaine for more information.
Business Reference Appointments
Have a business reference question, need help with our resources, or don't know where to begin?
Contact business librarian John Amundsen via email or call 847.256.6954 to set up a reference appointment over the phone, via virtual meeting, or in person at the library.
Strictly Business Voices Blog
Strictly Business Voices is the library's business services blog. Follow us for contributions from community leaders and discussions on business trends, as well as information on our business programs and services.
Print Investment Newsletters
- Bob Carlson's Retirement Watch*
- DRIP Investor*
- Kiplinger Tax Letter
- Kiplinger Letter : Forecasts for Management Decision making
- Moneyletter
- Kiplinger's Investing for Income
- Kiplinger's Personal Finance
- Kiplinger’s Retirement Report
- No Load Fund Investor
- Richard E. Band’s Profitable Investing
* Available to browse online in-library; please ask a librarian for assistance.
Print Business & Investment Newspapers and Magazines
- Advertising Age
- Barron’s
- Business Week
- Crain’s Chicago Business
- Entrepreneur
- Financial Times
- Forbes
- Fortune
- Harvard Business Review*
- Inc.
- Investor’s Business Daily
- Small Business Opportunities
- Small Business Tax News
- Wall Street Journal
*Available to browse online in-library; please ask a librarian for assistance.
Business & Investment Databases
Barron's
Barron's is a leading source of financial news, providing in-depth analysis and commentary on stocks, investments and markets.
Crain's Chicago Business
Gale Business: Insights
Gale Business: Insights delivers international company and industry intelligence including detailed profiles, news, case studies, scholarly articles, and more.
Gale Business: Plan Builder
Leads prospective entrepreneurs of all experience levels through a step-by-step process to build business plans and other documents essential for gaining access to capital and growing enterprises.
Gale Directory Library
The Gale Directory Library collects directories on companies, publishers, and associations, with search and export tools useful to generating mailing lists, analyzing trends, and more.
Legal Information Source
Navigate legal matters of all kinds with reliable “how-to” information and thousands of federal, multi-state and state-specific legal forms.
LexisNexis (Nexis Uni)
Nexis Uni (LexisNexis) features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources, including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning offers video tutorials on business, creative, and technology topics.
Mergent Intellect
Mergent Intellect features information on both public and private companies worldwide, including business data, industry news, executive contact information, the ability to access industry profiles, a job search database, and more.
Morningstar
Morningstar offers real-time access to comprehensive data and independent analysis on thousands of investments, spanning mutual funds, stocks, exchange-traded funds, and closed-end funds.
NetAdvantage
NetAdvantage, by Standard and Poor's, provides information on companies, industries, the stock market, the economy, and long- and short-term prospects for equities, bonds, funds and industries.
Record Information Services
Record Information Services provides Illinois public record data and marketing lists in a searchable database.
Reference Solutions (Reference USA)
Data Axle Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA) offers access to comprehensive, verified business and consumer listings.
Small Business Source
Access the top consumer small business reference books, hundreds of full-text magazines and “how-to” instructions to independently address a wide range of small business topics.
Statista
A database that encompasses statistical data for 170+ industries including market and consumer data and reports.
Udemy
An online learning platform offering self-directed courses on topics including data science, development, IT, leadership and management, marketing, personal development, project management, and more, with most offering a certificate of completion.
Value Line
Value Line is a comprehensive investment tool that enables both new and experienced investors to make timely, better-informed decisions.
Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is considered a preeminent publication for business news and information on financial markets worldwide. Complete issues are available from 1984 through the most recent issue.
Weiss Ratings
Rates safety and financial stability for banks, credit unions, insurers, stocks and mutual funds. Includes a Medigap Plan selection tool.