{"product_id":"low-hanging-fruit-isbn-9781118857922","title":"Low-Hanging Fruit","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA straightforward, valuable guide to reduce effort and raise profits \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStep inside any organization, even a very successful one, and you’ll probably find a lot of waste if you know where to look. From providing a feature that consumers don’t care about to exhausting efforts on tasks that only require adequate attention, there are countless areas where resources go down the drain. In \u003ci\u003eLow-Hanging Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e, Jeremy Eden and Terri Long provide seventy-seven of their most effective techniques for improvement, each drawn from their success working with major companies.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFor more than twenty years, Jeremy Eden and Terri Long have helped companies of all sizes make millions by harvesting their low-hanging fruit. In this practical guide, Eden and Long share valuable, refreshing insights in entertaining chapters that get straight to the point. This book shows you how to smoothly shift your approach, your priorities, and your mindset to reveal the hidden potential in your organization. Whether you are a member of a small team or a global executive, you will learn how to identify and solve hidden problems, improve productivity, and increase profits.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMany people don’t realize that there are dozens of quick, easy, and affordable ways to make things better. Don’t buy into the myth that only some people have creative ideas. Typically, the people closest to the work (from the factory floor to the C-Suite) and the people closest to the customer know the best ways to improve business. We can pluck this “low-hanging fruit” every day to save time and money right away.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNeed to grow your company’s earnings but don’t know where to find the low-hanging fruit? The answer is right in front of you, but harvesting it takes skill. Eden and Long show you seventy-seven clever ways to discover possibilities and make meaningful changes. \u003ci\u003eLow-Hanging Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e shows you how to easily improve your job satisfaction, your team’s performance, and your company’s earnings. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments xiii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction Why Is Low-Hanging Fruit So Hard to Spot? xvii\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 1 How To Uncover Low-Hanging Fruit: Seeing the Problem is Harder than Solving the Problem 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 1 Put a Price Tag on Everything to Stop the Waste 5\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 2 “Value Engineer” Your Products to Eliminate What Your Customers Won’t Pay For 7\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 3 Ask “Why?” Five Times to See the Real Problem 9\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 4 Ask, “How Do We Know That Is True?” 12\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 5 You Need to Tag It to Bag It: Name a Problem to Help Everyone See It! 17\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 6 Don’t Be Fooled by Misleading Metrics: Zero in on the Ugly and Rattle the Status Quo by Turning Metrics Upside Down 19\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 7 The 80\/20 Rule: Everyone Knows It, but Few Use It! 22\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 8 Find Quick-and-Dirty Data to Get Refined Insights 24\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 9 Benchmarking Is a Mistake 26\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 10 Use Brainstorming in a New Way: To Find Problems, Not Solutions 28\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 2 Now that you see it, Solve it! 29\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 11 Ask the People Closest to the Work for Their Ideas 33\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 12 Get Out of Your Offi ce and Go See for Yourself 36\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 13 Stop Ignoring Your Introverts 38\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 14 Turn Complaints into Collaboration: The Interdepartmental Job Swap 41\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 15 Other People Have Great Ideas—Just Ask Your New Hires and Your Vendors! 43\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 16 Does Your Customers’ Journey Take Them on a Road Full of Potholes? 47\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 17 The Unintentional Squelch 50\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 18 Stop Brainstorming to Find New Ideas That Move the Profi t Needle 52\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 19 Making Problems Harder Can Make Finding Solutions Easier 54\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 20 Use a Checklist—It Works for Fighter Pilots and Brain Surgeons, and It Will Work for You! 56\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 21 Actually . . . Just Don’t Do It! 58\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 22 Give People What They Need, Not What They Want 60\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 23 Simplify 62\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 24 Push Work Down to the Lowest-Paid Person Capable of Doing It 64\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 25 Save a Bundle: Take Simple and Low Tech over Sexy and High Tech 66\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 26 Save More than a Bundle: Go No Tech over Low Tech! 68\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 27 Borrow Good Ideas 70\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 28 Force People to Get Help 72\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 3 Motivate your team to harvest low-hanging fruit 73\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 29 Create an Idea-Based Budget 75\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 30 The Five Surprising Words That Keep a Good Executive from Being Great: “I Want Everyone on Board” 77\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 31 If You Want the Money, Spend the Time 79\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 32 Executive Motivators That Demotivate Everyone Else 81\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 33 The Corporate Imposter Syndrome: “The Better I Do, the Worse You’ll Think of Me” 82\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 34 Improving the Company Should Be Everyone’s “Job One” 84\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 35 Sweat the Small Stuff 86\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 36 Rally the Troops 89\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 37 Catch the Vision or Catch the Bus 94\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 38 Eliminate Corporate Whac-A-Mole 96\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 39 Beat the Competition by First Beating Your Teammates 98\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 40 “Blame the Other Guy” Syndrome 100\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 41 How Dimming the Lights Increases Productivity, and Why Paying Attention Pays Staggering Dividends 102\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 42 Firings Can Boost Motivation 104\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 4 One Company—It’s Not An Impossible Dream 107\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 43 Form a Steering Committee to Make Sure the Left Hand Knows What the Right Hand Is Doing! 109\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 44 “Pocket Fisherman,” Yes; “Pocket Veto,” No! 112\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 45 Hold Collaboration Workshops 114\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 46 The One Monthly Meeting You Must Hold 116\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 47 Celebrate Good Times, Come On 117\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 5 Decide and Deliver 119\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 48 The Three Essential Parts of a GOOD Idea 123\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 49 The Miracle of Deadlines 125\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 50 For Big Results, Focus on Small Ideas 127\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 51 Fight the War with the Army You Have, Not the One You Want 129\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 52 Add to Your Army Only When Necessary 131\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 53 Create an “Idea” Flight Plan That Coordinates Implementation 132\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 54 The People Who Implement the Idea Should Help to Develop the Idea: Make Sure the Buy-In Is Built In 134\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 6 Accountability: The Holy Grail! 137\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 55 The Devil’s in the Details: Track Every Idea, Every Dollar, Every Month 139\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 56 The Golden Rule: Withdraw and Replace 141\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 57 Follow the Money All the Way to the Budget 142\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 58 Don’t Let Someone Else Dictate the Value of the Ideas You Implement 144\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 59 Want to Actually See the Earnings? Lock the Vault 146\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 60 Track Your Position Plan 148\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 61 It’s Not What You Start, It’s What You Finish 149\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 62 ROI: Making the Investment Is Easy, Now Make Sure You Get the Return 151\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 63 Learn from Your Mistakes: The After-Action Report 153\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 7 Need more time? It’s easier to find than you think! 155\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 64 “Everyone Is Entitled to Their Own Opinion, but Not Their Own Facts” 159\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 65 Replace Agendas with Game Plans 161\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 66 Ban Meeting Tourists 163\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 67 Don’t Have a 60-Minute Meeting to Do 22 Minutes of Work 164\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 68 Watch the Clock! 165\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 69 Use Hard Starts, Not Just Hard Stops, for Your Meetings 166\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 70 The Obligation to Dissent 167\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 71 Talk More, E-Mail Less 170\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 72 PowerPoint Kills 171\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 73 Schedule a Little “Me” Time 173\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 74 If You Feel Busy, Take on Even More Important Work 175\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 75 Increase Your Return on Time 176\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 76 In Order to Shine, Have Other People Do Your Work! 177\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChapter 77 Mom Should Have Said, “Don’t Always Do Your Best!” 178\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eYou Can Find the Time—Now Use It Wisely! 180\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 8 Win Over The Skeptics, Cynics, And Faint Of Heart! 183\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePart 9 P.S. For our c-suite readers (and those aspiring to get there)! 191\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAnd a Few More Thoughts for Everyone . . .: Fight Decision Fatigue 196\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Conclusion 199\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“One of the top ten business books of 2014!”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—The Globe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Their lively book distills what has worked for their Fortune 100 clients over the past 20 years. They knock over a few sacred cows along the way.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFortune.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Here’s why you might need to forget what you know about teamwork, excelling, and tradition.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eFast Company\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e “In ‘Low-Hanging Fruit: 77 Eye-Opening Ways to Improve Productivity and Profits,’ authors Terri Long and Jeremy Eden show how incremental but meaningful change boosts productivity and profit.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eInvestor’s Business Daily\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“CEOs are often far removed from the thousands of processes carried out every day across the complex organizations they lead, resulting in easy growth opportunities missed.” \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChiefexecutive.net\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“The 28 best business books of 2014.  Here is my list of books that will help you as an employee, as a manager and as a human.” \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDiane Berard, Les Affaires\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Eden and Long wisely present both the problems and solutions concisely and cleverly. Their eye-openers are definitely worth a second look—and they’ll help you find and harvest that low-hanging fruit to increase your company’s productivity and profits.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSuccess Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e “This is one of the most practical and immediately actionable guides for business leaders that I have ever seen.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eSkip Prichard, \u003ci\u003eLeadership Insights\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Amazing new book” \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eOlivia Paar-Rud, \u003ci\u003eQuantum Business Insights\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Each chapter is written in a very entertaining way, so you can grasp it and put it right into practice.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Spectrum Radio with Bill Kearney\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Does it work? PNC Financial’s initial program generated more than 2,400 ideas worth $400 million annually. When it merged with National City, it applied the same process and found $2 billion in operating efficiencies.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e—\u003cb\u003eDallas Morning News\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“You are not going to get bogged down in gobbledygook and confusion.  This book moves along and is highly educational, informational and entertaining.” \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMoney Matters radio with Stu Taylor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJEREMY EDEN\u003c\/b\u003e and\u003cb\u003e TERRI LONG\u003c\/b\u003e have worked with the CEOs of a wide range of companies in both size and industry to guide their teams through a galvanizing earnings growth process. They have worked with companies such as PNC Financial, H.J. Heinz, Manpower, The Schwan Food Company, Energy East, Webster Financial, and Standard Register, among many others. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJeremy attended Yale College and Yale School of Management where he is on the Advisory Board. As a McKinsey \u0026amp; Co. consultant, Jeremy served clients such as Goldman Sachs, Hilton Hotels and Travelers Insurance. Jeremy then left to develop what is now the Harvest Earnings innovative Idea Harvest™ process. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTerri received her degree in Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was in the corporate banking world for nearly two decades in a number of customer-facing senior roles, including at U.S. Bancorp, one of the most efficient banks in the country. Terri was a client of Jeremy's and was so impressed with the principles of his approach that she joined him over a decade ago. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThey are the Co-CEOs of Harvest Earnings Group headquartered in Chicago.   \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn just about every area of life, we tend to think there are only two possibilities: accept things the way they are, or put in a lot of effort, time, and money to make things better. \u003ci\u003eLow-Hanging Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e is about a \u003ci\u003ethird\u003c\/i\u003e possibility. What most people don’t realize is that there are dozens of easy, affordable, and quick ways to make things better. We can pluck this “low-hanging fruit” every day to save time and money right away.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStep inside any organization, even a very successful one, and chances are good that you’ll find a lot of waste if you know where to look. From providing a feature that consumers don’t care about to doing an outstanding job on daily tasks that only require “good enough” performance, there are countless areas where resources simply go down the drain. In this book, Jeremy Eden and Terri Long have distilled 77 of their most effective techniques for generating real performance improvements drawn from their success working with major companies.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eToo many business books are written in a dry tone and offer little practical advice. \u003ci\u003eLow-Hanging Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e is a breath of fresh air, thanks to the entertaining chapters that get right to the point.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIf you think you don’t have the resources to be faster, better, and more profitable, think again. Whether you are a member of a small team or an executive of a multinational company, you will learn from \u003ci\u003eLow-Hanging Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e how to identify and solve hidden problems.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eTake the easy road to higher earnings \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn just about every area of life, we tend to think there are only two possibilities: accept things the way they are, or put in a lot of effort, time, and money to make things better. \u003ci\u003eLow-Hanging Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e is about a \u003ci\u003ethird\u003c\/i\u003e possibility. What most people don't realize is that there are dozens of easy, affordable, and quick ways to make things better. We can pluck this \"low-hanging fruit\" every day to save time and money right away. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStep inside any organization, even a very successful one, and chances are good that you'll find a lot of waste if you know where to look. From providing a feature that consumers don't care about to doing an outstanding job on daily tasks that only require \"good enough\" performance, there are countless areas where resources simply go down the drain. In this book, Jeremy Eden and Terri Long have distilled 77 of their most effective techniques for generating real performance improvements drawn from their success working with major companies. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToo many business books are written in a dry tone and offer little practical advice. \u003ci\u003eLow-Hanging\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eFruit\u003c\/i\u003e is a breath of fresh air, thanks to the entertaining chapters that get right to the point. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you think you don't have the resources to be faster, better, and more profitable, think again. Whether you are a member of a small team or an executive of a multinational company, you will learn from \u003ci\u003eLow-Hanging Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e how to identify and solve hidden problems.    \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Their lively book distills what has worked for their Fortune 100 clients over the past 20 years. They knock over a few sacred cows along the way.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFortune.com\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Here’s why you might need to forget what you know about teamwork, excelling, and tradition.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003ci\u003eFast Company\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e “Eden and Long wisely present both the problems and solutions concisely and cleverly. Their eye-openers are definitely worth a second look—and they’ll help you find and harvest that low-hanging fruit to increase your company’s productivity and profits.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSuccess Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cp\u003e“In ‘Low-Hanging Fruit: 77 Eye-Opening Ways to Improve Productivity and Profits,’ authors Terri Long and Jeremy Eden show how incremental but meaningful change boosts productivity and profit.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eInvestor’s Business Daily\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“CEOs are often far removed from the thousands of processes carried out every day across the complex organizations they lead, resulting in easy growth opportunities missed.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChiefexecutive.net\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e “This is one of the most practical and immediately actionable guides for business leaders that I have ever seen.” —\u003cb\u003eSkip Prichard, \u003ci\u003eLeadership Insights\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e  \u003cp\u003e“Amazing new book”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003eOlivia Paar-Rud, \u003ci\u003eQuantum Business Insights\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Each chapter is written in a very entertaining way, so you can grasp it and put it right into practice.”\u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Spectrum Radio with Bill Kearney\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Does it work? PNC Financial’s initial program generated more than 2,400 ideas worth $400 million annually. When it merged with National City, it applied the same process and found $2 billion in operating efficiencies.”\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e—\u003cb\u003eDallas Morning News\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“You are not going to get bogged down in gobbledygook and confusion.  This book moves along and is highly educational, informational and entertaining.” \u003cbr\u003e —\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMoney Matters radio with Stu Taylor\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47989544157413,"sku":"NP9781118857922","price":22.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781118857922.jpg?v=1761784533","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/low-hanging-fruit-isbn-9781118857922","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}