A manifesto on what it takes to be a true professional in the modern world. By common definition, a professional is anyone who possesses the skills and knowledge necessary for a career-whether as a surgeon, a software engineer, or a plumber. But according to Subroto Bagchi, our increasingly global marketplace demands more. In a world where the foolish, selfish, and unethical decisions of a few have affected the lives of millions, The Professional urges readers to act responsibly and reexamine "business as usual". By exploring a variety of professional dilemmas across many industries, Bagchi defines the qualities of true professionals and the attributes that separate them from the merely competent. These include: *Suffer no false attractions: It's always tempting to take the path of least resistance, but true professionals can separate the genuine from the phony. *Know when to say no: True professionals are not afraid to say no to things that are not worth their time, their energy, or their creativity. *Take the long view: True professionals understand that every action, decision, and relationship, no matter how small, can have a lasting impact.

He makes the rules . . . Mafiya enforcer Aleksandr "The Siberian" Sevastyan's loyalty to his boss is unwavering, until he meets the boss's long-lost daughter, a curvy, tantalizing redhead who haunts his mind and heats his blood like no other. Ordered to protect her, Sevastyan will do anything to possess her as well-on his own wicked terms. Rules are made to be broken . . . PhD student Natalie Porter had barely recovered from her first sight of the breathtakingly gorgeous Sevastyan before the professional hit man whisks her away to Russia, thrusting her into a world of extreme wealth and wanton pleasures. With every day she spends under his protection, she falls deeper under his masterful spell. Are you ready to play? Yet all is not as it seems. To remove Natalie from an enemy's reach, Sevastyan spirits her into hiding. From an opulent palace in Russia to the decadent playgrounds of the mega-wealthy in Paris, the two lovers will discover that even their darkest-and most forbidden-fantasies can come true… Previously released as The Professional - Parts 1, 2 and 3 as eBook exclusives.

The best available introduction to the world of colorful and fascinating Japanese carp. Lavishly illustrated with over 150 full-color photographs and drawings, this volume touches all the bases of koi care and maintenance, not to mention detailed information on the garden pond.

The wives of Boston's wealthiest men have a mutual secret: they all had an affair with the same cad who's blackmailing them, and Spenser's been hired to stop him. But when the wives start dying one by one, Spenser's new case becomes murder.

This monograph by a professional thief—with the aid of Edwin H. Sutherland's expert comments and analyses—is a revealing sociological document that goes far to explain the genesis, development, and patterns of criminal behavior. "Chic Conwell," as the author was known in the underworld, gives a candid and forthright account of the highly organized society in which the professional thief lives. He tells how he learned to steal, survive, succeed, and ultimately to pay his debt to society and prepare himself for full and useful citizenship. The Professional Thief presents in amazing detail the hard, cold facts about the private lives and professional habits of pickpockets, shoplifters, and conmen, and brings into focus the essential psychological and sociological situations that beget and support professional crime.

Professional service firms differ from other business enterprises in two distinct ways: first they provide highly customised services thus cannot apply many of the management principles developed for product-based industries. Second, professional services are highly personalised, involving the skills of individuals. Such firms must therefore compete not only for clients but also for talented professionals. Drawing on more than ten years of research and consulting to these unique and creative companies, David Maister explores issues ranging from marketing and business development to multinational strategies, human resources policies to profit improvement, strategic planning to effective leadership. While these issues can be complex, Maister simplifies them by recognising that 'every professional service firm in the world, regardless of size, specific profession, or country of operation, has the same mission statement: outstanding service to clients, satisfying careers for its people and financial success for its owners.'

The Professional Product Owner’s Guide to Maximizing Value with Scrum “This book presents a method of communicating our desires, cogently, coherently, and with a minimum of fuss and bother.” —Ken Schwaber, Chairman & Founder, Scrum.org The role of the Product Owner is more crucial than ever. But it’s about much more than mechanics: it’s about taking accountability and refocusing on value as the primary objective of all you do. In The Professional Product Owner, two leading experts in successful Scrum product ownership show exactly how to do this. You’ll learn how to identify where value can be found, measure it, and maximize it throughout your entire product lifecycle. Drawing on their combined 40+ years of experience in using agile and Scrum in product management, Don McGreal and Ralph Jocham guide you through all facets of envisioning, emerging, and maturing a product using the Scrum framework. McGreal and Jocham discuss strategy, showing how to connect Vision, Value, and Validation in ROI-focused agile product management. They lay out Scrum best-practices for managing complexity and continuously delivering value, and they define the concrete practices and tools you can use to manage Product Backlogs and release plans, all with the goal of making you a more successful Product Owner. Throughout, the authors share revealing personal experiences that illuminate obstacles to success and show how they can be overcome. Define success from the “outside in,” using external customer-driven measurements to guide development and maximize value Bring empowerment and entrepreneurship to the Product Owner’s role, and align everyone behind a shared business model Use Evidence-Based Management (EBMgt) to invest in the right places, make smarter decisions, and reduce risk Effectively apply Scrum’s Product Owner role, artifacts, and events Populate and manage Product Backlogs, and use just-in-time specifications Plan and manage releases, improve transparency, and reduce technical debt Scale your product, not your Scrum Use Scrum to inject autonomy, mastery, and purpose into your product team’s work Whatever your role in product management or agile development, this guide will help you deliver products that offer more value, more rapidly, and more often. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.