Wall Street Journal Bestseller "The pick of 2014's management books." –Andrew Hill, Financial Times "One of the top business books of the year." –Harvey Schacter, The Globe and Mail Bestselling author, Robert Sutton and Stanford colleague, Huggy Rao tackle a challenge that determines every organization’s success: how to scale up farther, faster, and more effectively as an organization grows. Sutton and Rao have devoted much of the last decade to uncovering what it takes to build and uncover pockets of exemplary performance, to help spread them, and to keep recharging organizations with ever better work practices. Drawing on inside accounts and case studies and academic research from a wealth of industries-- including start-ups, pharmaceuticals, airlines, retail, financial services, high-tech, education, non-profits, government, and healthcare-- Sutton and Rao identify the key scaling challenges that confront every organization. They tackle the difficult trade-offs that organizations must make between whether to encourage individualized approaches tailored to local needs or to replicate the same practices and customs as an organization or program expands. They reveal how the best leaders and teams develop, spread, and instill the right mindsets in their people-- rather than ruining or watering down the very things that have fueled successful growth in the past. They unpack the principles that help to cascade excellence throughout an organization, as well as show how to eliminate destructive beliefs and behaviors that will hold them back. Scaling Up Excellence is the first major business book devoted to this universal and vexing challenge and it is destined to become the standard bearer in the field.

Guide your school through its cultural proficiency transformation Despite the best efforts of equity leaders, our schools suffer from persistent inequities. Guiding the Journey to Excellence with Equity is a must-read for anyone who supports professional learning in our schools. It defines a process of “inside-out” growth that helps develop culturally proficient educators with the facilitation skills needed to navigate the obstacles that arise during equity transformations. Written with an equity lens, this book: Includes a powerful vignette that illustrates common challenges and solutions Focuses on mental models for managing group energy Is grounded in a systems model for personal and organizational transformation Provides tools for planning culturally proficient learning experiences

You imagine a "new and improved" version of yourself—one who has achieved your goals and reached your definition of success. But you stop at wanting to be better because you don't feel you have the tools to achieve it. You do have the power to make yourself into a winner. Success isn't a matter of chance—it's a matter of choice. It all comes down to your attitude and a mindset to pursue excellence. When you make the conscious choice to develop an attitude of excellence, you will achieve more, enjoy more, have better relationships, take better care of yourself physically and mentally, and vastly improve the quality of your day-to-day life. Armed with a positive attitude and the determination to pursue excellence, plus a coach to help you stay focused, you will become the best version of yourself. Dr. Willie Jolley is a world-renowned speaker and motivational coach. He is the expert Ford Motor Company turned to while on the brink of bankruptcy, and he helped the company go on to reject a government bailout and to reach billion-dollar profits. In this powerful new book, An Attitude of Excellence: Get the Best from Yourself, Your Team, and Your Organization, he teaches readers how to achieve more in their lives—both professionally and personally. Dr. Jolley's work has inspired millions with a simple message: The best way to grow your future is to grow yourself, and the best way to grow an organization is to grow the people in that organization. Why? Because great people will give great service, while negative people will kill your future. This eye-opening book features T.I.P.S. (Tips, Ideas, Principles & Strategies) everyone can use to enhance the quality of our relationships and our lives, both at work and at home, using the power of an attitude of excellence.

This timely volume reveals in great detail how educators closed the “performance gap” for low-income students by linking expectations and results. Drawing heavily on the words and experiences of students, teachers, and parents, this book describes how students who traditionally had not succeeded academically in school began to do so. Effort and Excellence in Urban Classrooms demonstrates just how this was done by including: In-depth descriptions of classrooms and schools where students began succeeding when educators assumed the responsibility for their successData-based discussion of teachers’ views on parental involvement in schools and parents’ views of teachers’ and schools’ actions on behalf of studentsIdentification of the kinds of support that schools and districts must provide if educators are to be successfulAn unrelenting emphasis on how educators enabled students to be motivated and to produce high-quality work “At last, a book that helps us see and feel what a ‘no excuses’ approach to teaching is like in urban classrooms! This close look at teachers and students in high-poverty settings gives new meaning to ‘all children can learn.’ A must read for those who are serious about closing the achievement gap.” —Michael S. Knapp, Center for the Study of Teaching & Policy, University of Washington