The Balanced Scorecard method is an analysis technique designed to translate an organization's mission and vision statement and overall business strategies into specific, quantifiable goals, and to monitor the organization's performance in achieving these goals. Much less technology driven then other analysis approaches, it analyzes an organization's overall performance in four regards: financial analysis, customer service, productivity and internal analysis, and employee growth and satisfaction. Balanced Scorecard Strategy For Dummies breaks down the basics of Balanced Scorecard in simple language with practical, Dummies-style guidance on getting it done. This book covers all the basics of Balanced Scorecard for busy executives and managers-and does it without the high price tag of most professional level Balanced Scorecard guides.

So you want to write a novel? Great! That’s a worthy goal, no matter what your reason. But don’t settle for just writing a novel. Aim high. Write a novel that you intend to sell to a publisher. Writing Fiction for Dummies is a complete guide designed to coach you every step along the path from beginning writer to royalty-earning author. Here are some things you’ll learn in Writing Fiction for Dummies:

• Strategic Planning: Pinpoint where you are on the roadmap to publication; discover what every reader desperately wants from a story; home in on a marketable category; choose from among the four most common creative styles; and learn the self-management methods of professional writers.
• Writing Powerful Fiction: Construct a story world that rings true; create believable, unpredictable characters; build a strong plot with all six layers of complexity of a modern novel; and infuse it all with a strong theme.
• Self-Editing Your Novel: Psychoanalyze your characters to bring them fully to life; edit your story structure from the top down; fix broken scenes; and polish your action and dialogue.
• Finding An Agent and Getting Published: Write a query letter, a synopsis, and a proposal; pitch your work to agents and editors without fear.

Writing Fiction For Dummies takes you from being a writer to being an author. It can happen—if you have the talent and persistence to do what you need to do.

Being a manager can be an intimidating and challenging task. Managing involves teaching new skills to employees, helping land a new customer, accomplishing an important assignment, increasing performance, and much more. The process of management can be very challenging at times, but it can also bring you a sense of fulfillment that you never imagined possible.

Managing For Dummies, 3rd Edition is perfect for all levels of managers. This clearly written, easy-to-understand guide gives you practical advice on the most important aspects of managing, such as delegating as opposed to ordering, improving employees' performances, getting your message across, understanding ethics and office policies, team building and collaboration, and much more.

• Tips and advice for new and experienced managers
• All-new chapters on employee encouragement and corporate social responsibility
• Guidance on managing employees by leveraging the power of the Internet

Managing in today's lightning-speed business world requires that you have the latest information and techniques for getting the job done. Managing For Dummies, 3rd Edition provides you with straightforward advice and up-to-the-minute strategies for dealing with anything that comes your way.

This fun, easy-to-access guide is full of useful information, tips, and checklists that will help you lead, manage, or participate in any business at a high level of competence. You’ll find out how to use databases to your advantage, recognize and reward your employees, analyze financial statements, and understand the challenges of strategic planning in a global business environment. You’ll also learn the basic principals of accounting, get a grip on the concepts behind stocks and bonds, and find out how technology has revolutionized everything from manufacturing to marketing. Discover how to:

• Know and respond to your customers’ needs
• Handle budgets and forecasts
• Recruit and retain top people
• Establish and run employee teams
• Use Sarbanes-Oxley to your company’s advantage
• Negotiate with the best of them
• Build long-term relationships with clients
• Avoid common managerial mistakes
• Improve cash flow
• Market your products and services
• Make the most of your advertising dollar

Once you know what an MBA knows, the sky’s the limit. Read The Complete MBA For Dummies, 2^nd Edition, and watch your career take off!

User story mapping is a valuable tool for software development, once you understand why and how to use it. This insightful book examines how this often misunderstood technique can help your team stay focused on users and their needs without getting lost in the enthusiasm for individual product features.

Author Jeff Patton shows you how changeable story maps enable your team to hold better conversations about the project throughout the development process. Your team will learn to come away with a shared understanding of what you’re attempting to build and why.

• Get a high-level view of story mapping, with an exercise to learn key concepts quickly
• Understand how stories really work, and how they come to life in Agile and Lean projects
• Dive into a story’s lifecycle, starting with opportunities and moving deeper into discovery
• Prepare your stories, pay attention while they’re built, and learn from those you convert to working software

You deserve a home that meets your specific needs and desires! 

If you find yourself dreaming of the perfect patio, the ideal kitchen, and inviting rooms where you love to spend time, it might just be time to start building! With Building Your Custom Home For Dummies, you won’t have to feel intimidated as you plan, finance, and oversee construction on your new oasis. You’ll learn what it takes to build a custom home, including which pros to call and when. This updated edition also covers the latest in real estate and home construction trends, including smart homes, green building, and banking options. 

It's more important than ever to live in a home that’s truly how you want it, truly your own. Now is the perfect time to get started—if you’re still in the dreaming stage, this book will help you identify your style and articulate your vision. If you’re further along in the process, you’ll benefit from checklists and pointers on reviewing architects’ plans, evaluating contractor bids, flipping the home you build, and more. 

• The latest guidance on building a beautiful home on any budget 
• New ideas for high-tech homes with low carbon footprints 
• Step-by-step instructions for securing financing, hiring architects, and finding reliable contractors 
• Advice on how to invest your home-building budget wisely and plan for the future 

Building Your Custom Home For Dummies takes you from finding the perfect homesite through laying the foundation to framing and finishing—in the friendly Dummies style you can trust. 

Ultimate "Tiger Mom" Abby Lee Miller—the passionate, unapologetically outspoken, tough-as-nails star of Lifetime’s phenomenal hit Dance Moms and Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition—offers inspirational, tough love guidance for parents who want to help their children succeed and for readers of all ages striving to become the best they can be.

If you want to help your kid reach the top, you can find no better coach than Abby Lee Miller. While some may criticize her methods, no one argues with her results. Her kids excel, her teams win, and her alumni go on to Broadway careers.

Organized by "Abbyisms," her unique and effective philosophies on hard work, competition, and life, this straight-talking guide provides clear and proven advice for achieving success, from figuring out your child's passion to laying the groundwork for an exciting future career. Abby answers tough questions from real moms, shares all the stories fans want to hear, and includes vignettes from shining alums who give their take on her unique approach and how it helped them make their dreams come true.

Your management mentor in book! This is the go-to guide on making good decisions, helping teams work together, dealing with people problems, and achieving goals when you're newly in charge or looking to brush up on your leadership skills.

Wait, I'm the Boss?!? is chock-full of useful information, tips, and checklists that can be used by anyone who aspires to become a skilled manager. While it’s written with the new manager in mind, it can also serve as a useful refresher for any manager, no matter how experienced he or she may be. With this book in their hands, new managers will always know where they are going—no matter where they are. This much-needed, helpful guide explores the fundamental skills that every new manager needs to understand, practice, and master. These fundamental skills include:

Building teams and teamwork
• Creating a fun and effective organizational culture
• Rewarding and motivating employees
• Leading organizational change
• Learning how to hire great employees
• Coaching and mentoring
• Delegation
• Communicating effectively
• Dealing with layoffs and terminations

Whether you’re in your first management position, are an experienced leader, or are hoping for a promotion, Wait, I'm the Boss?!? will be the mentor you need.

Whether you’re just starting your business and need a little seed capital to launch your first product, or you’re looking for a little help expanding an established business into a new market, this friendly guide helps you get the financing you need to realize your dreams. You’ll discover how to:

• Tap personal sources of financing, as well as family and friends
• Approach customers and vendors for financing
• Hook up with commercial lenders
• Find angel investors 
• Get an SBA loan
• Raise cash through private equity offerings
• Woo and win investment bankers and venture capitalists

Venture capital guru, Joseph Bartlett explains in plain English the capital-raising strategies and techniques used by some of today’s most successful businesses, including tried-and-true methods for:

• Assessing your financial needs and creating a solid financial plan
• Researching sources of financing and making first contact
• Finding, contacting, and convincing angels
• Getting your customers to finance your company
• Understanding and exploiting matching services
• Exploring commercial banks, savings institutions, credit unions, finance companies, and the SBA
• Qualifying for a loan
• Working with placement agents
• Raising cash through IPOs and mergers

From raising seed capital and funds for expansion to IPOs and acquisitions, Raising Capital For Dummies shows you how to get the money you need to survive and thrive in today’s winner-take-all marketplace.

Create the next very hungry caterpillar, big red dog, or cat in the hat with a hand from this trusted guide

In Writing Children’s Books For Dummies, you’ll learn what to write between “Once upon a time . . .” and “The End” as you dive into chapters about getting started writing, how to build great characters, and how to design a dramatic plot. On top of the technical writing advice, you’ll discover how talented illustrators work and how to find an agent. The newest edition of this popular For Dummies title even shows you how to choose a publisher—or self-publish—and how to use social media and other marketing and PR to get the word out about your new masterpiece.

In the book, you’ll learn about:

• The fundamentals of writing for children, including common book formats and genres, and the structure of the children’s book market
• Creating a spellbinding story with scene description, engaging dialogue, and a child-friendly tone
• Polishing your story to a radiant shine with careful editing and rewriting
• Making the choice between a traditional publisher, a hybrid publisher, or self-publishing
• Using the most-effective marketing and publicity techniques to get your book noticed

Perfect for anyone who’s ever dreamed of creating the next Ferdinand the Bull or Grinch, Writing Children’s Books For Dummies is an essential, easy-to-read guide for budding children’s authors everywhere.