One of America’s most accomplished landscaping professionals reveals his methods for cultivating greatness. Nowadays, greatness tends to be measured by shortest or longest times, highest heights, medals won, honors given. But as Aristotle taught us, greatness is what we can do every day, without recognition or reward, for the satisfaction that comes from meeting the challenge, creating a team, and overcoming the odds. Under Jeff McManus’s leadership as Director of Landscape Services, the Ole Miss campus has won professional awards—and been cited by Newsweek and Princeton Review as America’s “most beautiful campus.” In Growing Weeders into Leaders, he relates the principles behind his team’s success. It is an entertaining and thoughtful look into the hearts and the workday lives of ordinary people who tapped into their inner greatness in pursuit of a vision. Creating one of America’s most beautiful college campuses at the University of Mississippi did not happen overnight and, inside these pages, McManus describes the joys, the defeats, the brilliant problem-solving and the best laid plans that are proven worthless . . . until the bigger picture appears. This is the bigger picture as viewed from the ground level—taking you through the practical applications of empowering people to experience not only what it means to grow outstanding landscapes, but also to grow greatness in themselves and encourage it in others. “A straightforward approach to problem-solving and methods to grow individuals into a team.” —Susanne Woodell, CGM Historic Gardens Manager, Biltmore

In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.

The smart way to increase your production and reduce costly delays is to invest in the people you hire. Great leaders know that they cannot carry the burden of doing the work, growing the organization, and exceeding the customers' expectations. It takes great people working together if you want to continue to reach the next level.Leadership expert Jeff McManus presents 31 short engaging stories of the personal characteristics necessary for becoming an effective team player. McManus detailed portrayals are easy to understand and are applicable for the landscape and grounds professionals. McManus shares fictional stories based on real life situations. McManus makes these stories a part of the workforce experience that focuses on team and personal development. Adaptable - focus on being flexible and a problem solver. Big Picture - seeing the long-range situation, how the little details affect the overall situation. Coachable - ready to listen, accept and embrace to improve. This book is a tool to invest in yourself and your team. As you gather to discuss priorities for the day or huddle after lunch or maybe even at the end of the day, take two minutes to CULTIVATE your team.

For those with children who suffer from chronic health conditions like sensory conditions, ADD or ADHD, depression, anxiety, asthma, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, arthritis, respiratory conditions, poor digestion, food allergies, obesity, or developmental learning disorders, The Clean-Eating Kid reveals how all of those conditions may share the same root: inflammatory eating. Jenny Carr, health coach and international best-selling author of Peace of Cake: The Secret To An Anti-Inflammatory Diet shows parents, grandparents, and pediatricians how replacing inflammatory foods with alternatives that kids (or kids at heart) love is the single most effective way to begin reversing chronic symptoms. Jenny has designed a streamlined approach to anti-inflammatory eating for children by focusing on one simple food group: processed sugar. In The Clean-Eating Kid, Jenny outlines the steps to allow children to experience natural, health-based fat loss, stop cravings in their tracks, help children find their own motivation for eating an anti-inflammatory diet, and navigate events like holidays and birthday parties. The Clean-Eating Kid also includes over 30 grocery store food swaps for cake mixes, cookies, breads, pizza, and more and guides readers to making anti-inflammatory eating a movement for the whole family.

Two management and technology experts show that AI is not a job destroyer, exploring worker-AI collaboration in real-world work settings. This book breaks through both the hype and the doom-and-gloom surrounding automation and the deployment of artificial intelligence-enabled—“smart”—systems at work. Management and technology experts Thomas Davenport and Steven Miller show that, contrary to widespread predictions, prescriptions, and denunciations, AI is not primarily a job destroyer. Rather, AI changes the way we work—by taking over some tasks but not entire jobs, freeing people to do other, more important and more challenging work. By offering detailed, real-world case studies of AI-augmented jobs in settings that range from finance to the factory floor, Davenport and Miller also show that AI in the workplace is not the stuff of futuristic speculation. It is happening now to many companies and workers. These cases include a digital system for life insurance underwriting that analyzes applications and third-party data in real time, allowing human underwriters to focus on more complex cases; an intelligent telemedicine platform with a chat-based interface; a machine learning-system that identifies impending train maintenance issues by analyzing diesel fuel samples; and Flippy, a robotic assistant for fast food preparation. For each one, Davenport and Miller describe in detail the work context for the system, interviewing job incumbents, managers, and technology vendors. Short “insight” chapters draw out common themes and consider the implications of human collaboration with smart systems.

The purpose of this book is to present a comprehensive picture of the role of rice in the food and agricultural sectors of Asian nations.