New Hybrid Book Takes a Novel Approach to Strategy Deployment

In order for companies to be competitive, leaders must engage people at all levels in order to focus their energy and enable them to apply lean principles to everything they do. Strategy deployment, called hoshin kanri by Toyota, has proven to be the most effective process for meeting this ongoing challenge. In his new book Getting the Right Things Done, Pascal Dennis outlines the nuts and bolts of strategy deployment, answering two tough questions that ultimately can make or break a company's lean transformation:

Fiction Is Hot This Holiday Season Accounting For Nearly 50% Of All Book Sales

In a holiday sales report released to the publishing industry this week, BookNet Canada data shows fiction sales are outstripping all other categories by a wide margin, accounting for about 46% of all book sales (combining juvenile and adult fiction), followed by cooking, which represents 6.45% of sales, based on the three weeks ending December 3. In the all-important holiday buying rush, BookNet Canada sales data shows Giller winner Vincent Lam's Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures topping sales across the country across all categories and formats, with Mitch Albom's For One More Day, a tale of one man's second chance to set his life right, as the bestselling hardcover fiction title. "This is an exceptional holiday season for fiction," said BookNet CEO Michael Tamblyn. "New authors like Vincent Lam and Kiran Desai, literary luminaries like Atwood and Munro, the mass market trinity of Ludlum, King and Crichton - it's a bonanza for fiction-lovers this year."

Federal Government To Safeguard The Publications Assistance Program

Magazines Canada welcomes the federal government's decision to safeguard the Publications Assistance Program by directing Canada Post to continue funding the program for the next two years. "We thank Minister Oda and Minister Cannon for their leadership in addressing the need to maintain Canada Post's partnership in the delivery of Canadian magazines until new solutions can be developed," says Mark Jamison, chief executive officer, Magazines Canada. "Canadian magazines lead Canada's cultural media industry with a market share of 41% of total magazine sales and the PAP program and Canada Post delivery of Canadian content magazines play a critical role in this success." As a cornerstone of Canada's magazine policy, the PAP is a market-driven program that ensures that Canadians have access to Canadian-content magazines at affordable rates no matter where they live in Canada. It also addresses the significant challenges of distributing subscription-based magazines to individual addresses across Canada's huge landmass at an affordable price.

This January Turn on Naughty Librarian Month

Naughty Librarian Month is returning to BookTelevision this January with a library full of sultry, smart, and stimulating programming that is sure to add some heat to those cold winter nights. The Naughty Librarian throws open the doors to the forbidden with a playful look at the life of a Swedish porn king, a tryst with 'the world's greatest lover,' and a romp with the creator of infamous playboy-spy 007. With sizzling movies, provocative documentaries, steamy biographies - it'll be the hottest month you ever spent at the library. Some of the episodes include:

The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward - A New Approach

On March 15, 2006, members from both parties in Congress supported the creation of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group to review the situation on the ground and propose strategies for the way forward. For more than eight months, the Study Group met with military officers, regional experts, academics, journalists, and high-level government officials from America and abroad. Participants included George W. Bush and members of his cabinet; Bill Clinton; Jalal Talabani; Nouri Kamal al-Maliki; Generals John Abizaid, George Casey, and Anthony Zinni; Colin Powell; Thomas Friedman; George Packer; and many others. This official edition contains the Group’s findings and proposals for improving security, strengthening the new government, rebuilding the economy and infrastructure, and maintaining stability in the region. It is a highly anticipated and essential step forward for Iraq, America, and the world.