About Featured Book: Uprooted: Family Trauma, Unknown Origins, and the Secretive History of Artificial Insemination by Peter J. Boni

Only $0.99 for a limited time! 5/23/22 thru 6/6/22.

How a journey of self-discovery unearthed the scandalous evolution of artificial insemination

By his forties, Peter J. Boni was an accomplished CEO, with a specialty in navigating high-tech companies out of hot water. Just before his fiftieth birthday, Peter’s seventy-five-year-old mother unveiled a bombshell: His deceased father was not his biological father. Peter was conceived in 1945 via an anonymous sperm donor. The emotional upheaval upon learning that he was “misattributed” rekindled traumas long past and fueled his relentless research to find his genealogy. Over two decades, he gained an encyclopedic knowledge of the scientific, legal, and sociological history of reproductive technology as well as its practices, advances, and consequences. Through twenty-first century DNA analysis, Peter finally quenched his thirst for his origin.

In Uprooted, Peter J. Boni intimately shares his personal odyssey and acquired expertise to spotlight the free market methods of gamete distribution that conceives dozens, sometimes hundreds, of unknowing half-siblings from a single donor. This thought-provoking book reveals the inner workings—and secrets—of the multibillion-dollar fertility industry, resulting in a richly detailed account of an ethical aspect of reproductive science that, until now, has not been so thoroughly explored.

This Non-Fiction book is available in these Formats: eBook, Print, Audiobook

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SMART Objective Setting for Managers by Irial O'Farrell

Looking to make sense of objective setting, strategic goals, employee development, team competency and SMART? Then SMART Objective Setting for Managers is the book for you.

Written by a manager for a manager, this book makes sense of the objective setting process and how it links to both job descriptions and business objectives. It also deconstructs the SMART framework and how to use it effectively with another person.

Along with all that, you’ll understand the different types of objectives, determining objective drivers, and get an insight into both the employee’s and the manager’s mindsets. To finish off, you’ll be guided through both the preparing for and conducting an objective setting meeting.

Targeted Age Group:: All audiences
Heat/Violence Level: Heat Level 1 – G Rated Clean Read

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Over a career spanning 25 years, I've worked with hundreds of managers that understand that they need to develop their teams and set objectives, but they grapple with how to approach it. In particular, they struggle with designing objectives that deal with soft competencies such as Communication, Problem Solving, Influencing etc.

I have run many SMART Objective Setting workshops, where managers left feeling a lot more confident both in designing the objective and having the conversation with the employee. I figured that there must be a lot more managers who would also benefit from understanding the workshop content so I decided to write this book.

Book Sample
CHAPTER 2: THE CATCH WITH SMART

Having looked at the relationship between Job Description and Objectives, as managers, how do we approach the process of setting objectives? Following on from Chapter 1, Jenny has identified three solid objectives for Ray to focus on for the coming period:

– Be responsible for various outputs for EMEA business units [role specific]
– Project manage SAP implementation project for the team [business-aligned]
– Enhance stakeholder management skills [behavioural development]

Jenny feels that succeeding in these three objectives will really boost both Ray’s and the team’s performance in the short-term while enhancing Ray’s career prospects in the longer-term. So, what does Jenny need to do now?

Having identified his objectives, Jenny could just leave it until she meets with Ray and discuss the objectives with him then. However, as we will see, Jenny’s understanding of what each of these objectives means and how they will be evaluated might be the same as Ray’s understanding or, much more likely, could be wildly different. Enter the SMART model, which, as we saw in the Introduction, stands for:

S Specific
M Measurable
A Attainable
R Relevant*
T Timeframe

*Some people use the word Realistic rather than Relevant. As Realistic is very closely aligned with Attainable, I prefer to use Relevant to allow for a link between the objective and why it matters.

Using SMART has long been accepted as the most effective way for setting out objectives. However, many managers dislike SMART, so much so that I usually expect a groan or two when I mention the acronym. What I have noticed is that many managers struggle to use SMART in any useful way, particularly when it comes to behavioural, how objectives. I find that once they’ve gone through my SMART Objective Setting workshop, they are much clearer on how to use it, both with the WHAT and the HOW objectives, and are much more positive about using SMART.

At the start of the workshop, having checked that participants know what SMART stands for, and regardless of my audience, I ask the group if the following objective is SMART:

“I’m going out, can you do the dishes?”

The conversation usually runs something like this:

Them: No, there’s no timeframe.
Me: Okay then, I’ll rephrase: I’m going out; I’ll be back in an hour. Can you have the dishes done?

Them: Yeah, that’s SMART.
Me: Is it?

Them: Eh, yeah, it’s SMART. You have the specific and the measurable and the timeframe. The relevant and attainable are both fine.
Me: So, is it SMART?

Them: Yes.
Me: You’re sure?

Them: Yep, we’re sure.
Me: Okay, so hands up; whose idea of doing the dishes is “washing the dishes and letting them drip-dry on the counter”?

The bigger the group, the more likely you are to get a couple of people putting their hands up.

Me: So, whose idea of doing the dishes is “washing the dishes and drying them”?

Usually, a few hands go up.

Me: Whose idea of doing the dishes is “washing and drying them and putting them away”?

The majority of hands go up for this one, often along with one or two hands from the previous group with “Oh, that’s what I meant” or “Oh, that’s what I thought you meant” type comments.

Me: Whose idea is “washing, drying and putting away the dishes and wiping down the counters”?

Usually, the rest of the hands go up on this one, with everyone else in the room feeling like they’ve been shamed by their lack of cleaning prowess. This one is often accompanied by some knowing laughs, as they now understand why they constantly end up in arguments at home about the dishes being “done”.

In one session, one person didn’t put up their hand so I asked them why, to which they replied, “Oh, my idea of doing the dishes is all of the above and sweeping the floors.” Upon recovering from my chastisement, I added this option into workshops and, yes, occasionally it does get selected.

One of my all-time favourite responses to this exercise was an exclamation of, “Oh, you want the kitchen cleaned.” We all fell around the place laughing at the implied nuanced difference between the phrases “doing the dishes” and “cleaning the kitchen”. To this person, there was clearly a difference. To the rest of us, they were two ways of saying the same thing.

Once the laughing has settled down, I highlight that SMART can be very effective in setting out and framing an objective. However, a natural constraint exists when using SMART between two people. So, care needs to be taken in clearly constructing an objective and ensuring a common understanding between both parties. Otherwise, issues will arise due to differences in expectations. If someone initially selected the second dishes option and then changed it to the third option, I highlight the point that, if the manager isn’t clear on what is expected, how can the employee be clear?

I use this example because, regardless of level, everyone can understand and relate to it and it beautifully highlights that, for such a simple task, there are five or six different ways it can be interpreted while looking like a SMART objective.

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She can pay with her life … or she can pay with her crimes.

Alison Tanner thought she was living her best life. Her husband’s seven-figure consulting business earned them entry into the country club crowd and paid for her gifted daughter’s tuition at the best private school in the area. She lives in a gorgeous house, drives an expensive car, and she could afford designer clothes, if she cared about fashion at all.

But when her husband, Tom, is killed in a gang-related shooting, it all comes crashing down. Tom’s consulting agency was just a front for his real business: keeping their wealthy neighbors supplied with cocaine, oxycontin, and every other illegal drug money can buy. Tom died owing the local drug lord a lot of money — and now Alison’s on the hook.

Worse, unscrupulous DEA Agent Banks wants her to be his informant in a sting operation and doesn’t care if she survives, as long as he gets his man.

Desperate to protect her daughter from both a vengeful mother-in-law who wants custody and a drug lord who wants her daughter to work off Tom’s debts in the streets, Alison agrees to go undercover, wearing a wire as she sells drugs to her snobby neighbors and learns more about the drug lord’s operation.

If she ever gets out of this, she vows she’ll take her daughter and disappear forever — but her chances of surviving are getting worse by the minute. Does she have a shot at ever living a normal life again, or is everything blown?

Blown is an intense new stand-alone crime thriller from Nolon King, author of Pretty Killer, 12, and the No Justice series. Fans of Ozark and Weeds will love Blown. Get your copy today.

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About the Author
Nolon King writes smart psychological thrillers designed to leave you on the edge of your seat. His stories are dark, twisty, and often decidedly close to home.

He’s not afraid to explore the darker side of human nature through stories featuring families torn apart by secrets and lies. If you enjoy reading authors like Darcey Bell and Harlan Coban, movies like A Simple Favor and The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, or shows like Ozark and Dead to Me, you’ll love Nolon King.

When not writing you will find Nolon drinking black coffee and observing humans in their natural habitats.

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The adventure story of a geologist, Roger Hunt, who bemoans and lives with the loss of his family, which resulted from a fatefully lengthy battle with his devils, and of a chance reunion with an old acquaintance and alter ego that eventually leads him back to the Alaskan wilderness, ten years ago during his excursion, is told in “The Seven Magnificent Mind-Sets of Success: Adventures With The Magnificent Mind-Man.” by Russ Hamblin. One of several things that makes this book valuable and a must-read is Mr. Hamblin’s superb and comprehensive storytelling. It offers a fresh perspective on motivating literature.

It takes readers on a journey from inspirational messages to thrilling experiences, replete with all the elements people would expect to find in a book. He leads the audience on perilous and exhilarating journeys of soul-searching in quest of achievement. The tale follows a deep journey of human fragility, self-discovery, confrontation, truth, redemption, forgiveness, and betterment – as well as techniques for achieving and surpassing all of these goals, in the form of the Seven Magnificent Mind-Sets of Success.

The message is more than a fictional story about motivational and success principles. Rather, the message is all about second chances in life; that it is never too late to make changes. One of the most important ideas discussed is that the roads that lead to the greatest successes in life are often paved with the foundational stones of many setbacks, disappointments, and failures that one must experience in order to gain the perspective needed to grow and attain sustainable joy and happiness.

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About the Author
Russell D. Hamblin was born in 1957 in Preston, Idaho, and grew up in Visalia, California. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Oregon State (Geology, 1983) and a Master’s Degree from Brigham Young University (Geology 1985). He is a highly successful professional scientist and businessman with over 37 years of professional experience in the industry of environmental management and consulting. He has managed thousands of environmental projects throughout the globe and has worked and traveled in all 50 US states, seven Canadian provinces, and in over 45 countries on six continents.

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