Knowledge products from Chaco Canyon Consulting, especially designed for busy people…

Too Busy to Read?
No Time to Learn What You Need
To Stay Ahead?

Are you an executive, manager, project manager, team lead, or team member who's so overloaded by work that you have no time left to learn anything new? If reading business books is completely out of the question, our ebooks are just the thing.

Do your days consist of an endless chain of near-useless meetings? Do you find yourself coming in early or staying late just to finally get some work done? Are you coming up short in workplace politics? Would you like to know what you could have done that would have saved the day when the airline lost your baggage?

Two businessmenWould you like to know what to do when one subordinate comes to you to complain about another? Do you know what you could be doing today to make your organization resistant to pandemic flu? Do you know how the names you choose for sites in a dispersed team affect its decision-making process?

You can find the answers to these and hundreds more questions in the ebooks by Rick Brenner from Chaco Canyon Consulting. They're written especially for people like you — people so busy that they have no time to read ordinary business books. More

They cover topics you need to know more about:

  • Managing workplace conflict
  • Managing emergencies
  • Writing and managing email
  • Leading project-oriented organizations
  • Thriving in workplace politics
  • Preparing for pandemic flu
  • Motivating yourself to dow what you need to do to succeed
  • Managing change
  • Preparing and conducting meetings
  • Managing global teams
  • Managing projects
  • Making powerful presentations
  • …and much more

All this is available in a series of topic-focussed ebooks. Some are in Acrobat format, and some are stand-alone Web sites. All you need to be able to read them is the Acrobat reader or a Web browser.

Some sample tips

Be clever about airline seat selection
Before you reserve your seat, or before you change your seat, visit SeatGuru.com for seat information. If you want a quiet seat, if you need some extra legroom, or if you want to be sure that your seat reclines, this site is a great reference. You'll need to know the type of equipment you're flying. Incomplete coverage of US domestic airlines, and only a few international.
Identify performance issues
Bullying behavior is a performance issue that might call for discipline. Tolerating bullying behavior by a subordinate is a performance issue for the supervisor, and it, too, might call for discipline. Tolerating the toleration of bullying behavior on the part of a sub-subordinate is also a performance issue that might call for discipline. And so on.
Avoid the Fundamental Attribution Error
As humans, we repeatedly make the Fundamental Attribution Error — we attribute behavior to character or disposition rather than to situation or context. Consciously try to understand others in terms of the situations they face, rather than their track records, origins, alliances, professions or affiliations.

Available ebooks

How to Spot a Troubled Project Before the Trouble StartsHow to Spot a Troubled Project Before the Trouble Starts, by Richard Brenner
Projects never go quite as planned. We expect that, but we don't expect disaster. How can we get better at spotting disaster when there's still time to prevent it? Project failures — even project disasters — are much more common than most of us realize, because most failures are concealed by the fact that the project was completed and accomplished more or less what we thought it would. The projects that fail utterly, and end in cancellation, are the obvious disasters. But most disasters are hidden. Finding disasters in time, and then preventing them or turning them around, can make a big difference in organizational performance. (PDF, USD 19.95) More · Order now
101 Tips for Communication in Emergencies101 Tips for Communication in Emergencies, by Richard Brenner
In a single day, you can witness the final hours of a brand that took ten years to build. Or you can see it re-emerge stronger than ever. From Tylenol to JetBlue — no brand is exempt. And the outcome depends not only on what you say to the public, but on how well you communicate internally — with each other. The better your people are at communicating with each other under pressure, the better the outcome will be. This tip book tells you how to prepare your emergency management teams to work together, and how to keep things working when disaster strikes. (PDF, USD 19.95) More · Order now
101 Tips for Preparing for Pandemic Flu101 Tips for Preparing for Pandemic Flu, by Richard Brenner
Do you have new products scheduled for release in the next eighteen months? Have you considered what a pandemic event might do to your plans? Does your organization operate one or more centralized data centers? Do you know what will happen if one of those data centers is ordered closed by local health authorities? These are just some of the issues you might have to face if pandemic influenza develops, or if a pandemic emergency is declared. Read 101 Tips for Preparing for Pandemic Flu for tips for planning for, managing and recovering from pandemic flu events. (PDF, USD 29.95) More · Order now
303 Tips for Virtual and Global Teams303 Tips for Virtual and Global Teams, by Richard Brenner
Global teams are now officially the way of things. Spanning the boundaries of countries, languages, business units and whole businesses, we now find ourselves working with and managing people we've never even met — and in many cases, we never will. Everything about such projects or operations is more difficult than face-to-face teams. Read 303 Tips for Virtual and Global Teams for a comprehensive set of ideas for making your global team sing! (PDF, USD 19.99) More · Order now
101 Tips for Writing and Managing Email101 Tips for Writing and Managing Email, by Richard Brenner
Have you ever clicked Send and instantly regretted it? Are you drowning in a flood of email or struggling with a bloated inbox? This practical handbook is packed with tips for writing more professional email, and managing more effectively the email you receive. There are ideas for managing your inbox, staying out of feuds, deciding how to delete messages, how to write subject lines, and much more. (PDF, USD 4.77) More · Order now
101 Tips for Managing Conflict101 Tips for Managing Conflict, by Richard Brenner
Are you fed up with tense, explosive meetings? Are you or a colleague targets of a bully? Is your team's performance threatened by rivalries and destructive conflicts? Are your projects needlessly complicated because they had to include superfluous features just to keep the peace in your organization?
This tip book is both like and unlike many other collections of ideas for dealing with conflict. Like others, it's packed with ideas and suggestions that will help you deal with destructive conflict once it erupts. Unlike others, this tip book also provides suggestions for changing the way you experience conflict, ideas organizational leaders can use to adjust the organizational culture, and insights that help you understand the systemic sources of conflict. (PDF, USD 7.77) More · Order now
101 Tips for Effective Meetings101 Tips for Effective Meetings, by Richard Brenner
Do You Spend Your Days Scurrying from Meeting To Meeting? Do you ever wonder why you're sitting in this particular meeting? Do you ever wonder if all these meetings are really necessary? (They aren't) Or whether there isn't some better way to get this work done? (There is) This tip book is both like and unlike many other collections of ideas for effective meetings. Like others, it's packed with ideas and suggestions that will reduce the time you spend in meetings, and make the time you do spend in meetings much more productive and less stressful. Unlike others, this tip book also provides suggestions for organizational leaders — ideas for adjusting the organizational culture to support meeting effectiveness, while at the same time reducing the need for meetings. (PDF, USD 7.77) More · Order now
101 Tips for Managing Change101 Tips for Managing Change, by Richard Brenner
Are you managing a change effort that has run into passive resistance or active sabotage? Or are you afraid that might happen? Maybe you're beginning to wonder if your career is on the line…
Here's a new look at approaches the best change leaders use to inspire and lead the people of their organizations to a new way of working. This tip book is a great way to learn from the experience of others without having to attend a four-day seminar or read a 200-page book full of theory and evidence. (PDF, USD 7.77) More · Order now
404 Tips for Business Travel404 Tips for Business Travel, by Richard Brenner
Getting from here to there can be wearing, stressful and an out-and-out waste of time — if you keep doing what you've been doing. Or, you can follow the trails already blazed by others, and avoid the traps that trapped them…
Read 404 Tips for Business Travel to learn the secrets the travel pros already know. (PDF, USD 19.99) More · Order now
303 Secrets of Workplace Politics303 Secrets of Workplace Politics, by Richard Brenner
Are you having your butt handed to you in workplace politics? Is every other day a tense, anxious, angry misery as you watch people around you, who couldn't think their way through a game of Jacks, win at workplace politics and steal the credit and glory for just about everyone's best work including yours?
This tip book lays out the common ploys of workplace politics, shows you what to watch for and tells you how to deal with it. (PDF, USD 19.99) More · Order now
52 Tips for Resuming Paused Projects52 Tips for Resuming Paused Projects, by Richard Brenner
Resuming a project that was previously cancelled or put "on hold" is a risky activity — cancelled or paused projects are often troubled. By addressing the issues of politics, finance, technology, team-building, and infrastructure, this tips book gives the leaders of resuming projects a substantial edge. (PDF, USD 7.77) More · Order now
52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented Organizations52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented Organizations, by Richard Brenner
Your organization does its work as projects — unique or first-of-a-kind activities that your organization has never done before. Projects, as distinguished from operations, present special problems. That's why I wrote 52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented Organizations. It's for people who don't even have time to read the directions on their prescriptions. (PDF, USD 7.77) More · Order now
Geese Don't Land on TwigsGeese Don't Land on Twigs (and other observations about life at work), by Richard Brenner
is a collection of the 2001 and 2002 issues of Point Lookout, a free weekly email newsletter of tips, insights and perspectives that help people in dynamic problem-solving organizations find better ways to work with each other. It gives concrete, nuts-and-bolts methods for dealing with real-life situations. (PDF, USD 11.95) More · Order now
Why Dogs Wag Their TailsWhy Dogs Wag Their Tails (and other observations about life at work), by Richard Brenner
is a collection of the 2003 and 2004 issues of Point Lookout, a free weekly email newsletter of tips, insights and perspectives that help people in dynamic problem-solving organizations find better ways to work with each other. It gives concrete, nuts-and-bolts methods for dealing with real-life situations. (PDF, USD 11.95) More · Order now
Loopy Things We DoLoopy Things We Do (and other observations about life at work), by Richard Brenner
is a collection of the 2005 and 2006 issues of Point Lookout, a free weekly email newsletter of tips, insights and perspectives that help people in dynamic problem-solving organizations find better ways to work with each other. It gives concrete, nuts-and-bolts methods for dealing with real-life situations. (PDF, USD 11.95) More · Order now
Ten Years of Point LookoutTen Years of Point Lookout, by Richard Brenner
is a collection of the 2001 through 2010 issues of Point Lookout, a free weekly email newsletter of tips, insights and perspectives that help people in dynamic problem-solving organizations find better ways to work with each other. It gives concrete, nuts-and-bolts methods for dealing with real-life situations. This ebook contains every essay found in Geese Don't Land on Twigs, Why Dogs Wag, and Loopy Things We Do, plus four more years from 2007 through 2010. (PDF, USD 28.95) More · Order now
Chaco Canyon for Project Managers, by Richard Brenner
Chaco Canyon for Project ManagersIf you work in an organization that executes much of its work as projects, your life probably feels like a slow-moving emergency — at least some of the time. When we've been through a long stretch of such chaos, we sometimes feel responsible for it. That is, we feel that we've done something wrong, or failed to anticipate something obvious, or that we lack certain skills or capabilities. Usually, the facts simply do not support these feelings. This e-book gives you a different perspective. (PDF, USD 11.95) More · Order now
Go For It! Sometimes It's Easier If You Run, by Richard Brenner
Go For It: Sometimes It's Easier If You RunSometimes we love the work, but not the job. Go For It! is an ebook that explores daily life at work, when the job can be a burden, but the work is a love. We don't want to leave, because the essence of the work, and its potential for the future, are exactly what we want. But there's trouble — bad boss, bad company, trouble with peers, long commute, unfair compensation, whatever. Thirty essays, each one a quick read, each one thought-provoking. Great for changing how you look at things, and getting you moving again. (PDF, USD 9.77) More · Order now
Where There's Smoke There's Email, by Richard Brenner
Where There's Smoke There's EmailHave you ever received a "Tweaking CC?" A tweaking CC is a message sent to you, to bring pressure to bear on a colleague or subordinate. It's usually counterproductive, but it's one of the myriads of ways that email has become the bane of the modern workplace. Would you like to know how to get them to stop? Read Where There's Smoke There's Email. You'll also learn about "flame wars," internal spam, and typing while angry. Sixteen essays, each one a quick read, each one insightful. (PDF, USD 9.77) More · Order now
Terrific Technical Presentations, by Richard Brenner
Terrific Technical Presentations!Are your organization's technical presentations dull, overly complex and off target? Organizations today use presentations both to deliver their messages to customers, conferences and trade shows, and to carry out internal development of both product and strategy. Although technical professionals bring technical mastery to these challenges, their presentation skills frequently limit their performance. This hyperbook is packed with tips that show how to create terrific technical presentations. (Stand-alone Web site, ) More · Order now
Comprehensive Package of All Ebooks and Tips Books
Comprehensive collection of all e-books and e-bookletsThis comprehensive package, including all the items above, combines convenience and value. Download a single file, unzip it, and you have them all! (ZIPped PDFs, USD 161.95, a savings of almost 59% compared to the price of all items purchased separately) More · Order now

What readers say

Here's a sample of reader's comments:

  • You're stuff is brilliant! And — Thank you for sharing these ideas.
  • You and Scott Adams both secretly work here, right?
  • The articles are great, I enjoy getting them, and you always have something very interesting to say, or good points to raise.
  • I really enjoy my weekly newsletters. I appreciate that the newsletter is a quick read and is much more intellectually stimulating than, say, reading a Dilbert cartoon.
  • You fill a need that went unmet — a sort of Dr. Phil for Management!
  • I have found your articles extremely accurate, inspiring and applicable to day-to-day. You have a great writing style and the lessons that you have shared with us are invaluable.
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Designed for busy people

Most of us have way too much to do to find much time to read. And the time we do have is broken up into small chunks. We need the knowledge, but too often, we don't have time to get it, and we can't wade through 15-page chapters that lay out lengthy discussions.

Knowledge products from Chaco Canyon Consulting are designed with busy people in mind. Here are some features that make reading our e-books fast and convenient.

They're available on line
It's fun to go to a bookstore, but you have to find the time to go to the store, find what you want, wait in line to pay for it, and get back from the store. For some of us, all that time is a challenge.
With our knowledge products, you browse for your selection on line, and pay for it quickly and easily through ClickBank. You can do it anywhere that has an Internet connection.
Instant downloads
With some on-line stores, you have to wait for an email message with download instructions. The wait can be brief, but sometimes it's a day or so.
With our knowledge products, receive download instructions instantly. After you select an item, you can have it in your possession in minutes.
Universal data formats
To use some on-line knowledge products, even those you download, you need a computer or mobile device, or worse—a computer with a specific operating system.
Our knowledge products are available in near-universal formats—either hypertext (like this document you're reading right now), or Acrobat (PDF), or MP3. You can use them with any computer or device that supports the format of that product (either hypertext, PDF or MP3).
Written for busy people
Most business books are about 200-250 pages, with about 10 chapters. I don't know about you, but I don't have time to read a 225-page book cover-to-cover. There are lots of folks like us—that's why there's such a booming market in book condensations.
Our ebooks cut out that middle step. They're designed to be read by people who don't have time for the typical business book. Our tip books consist of short paragraphs, two- to four sentences per tip. Each tip has a headline in bold. You can easily scan the book for tips that seem relevant to you and read only those. Read in any order, and read them in short sittings.
We use hyperlinks
Most books, even e-books, are meant to be read off-line. Because they stand alone, they contain material that you might not want to see.
Our ebooks assume that you have the Internet nearby. If you want background material on a point we've made, just click. And some of our hyperlinks link to other places in the e-book itself, to help you tie things together is you read.
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Details and how to order

After your purchase is approved, ClickBank will present a page that contains a link to a page where you can download your item immediately. You can load print it, or load it onto your computer or mobile devices. Most products require Acrobat Reader. Your satisfaction is guaranteed by ClickBank's return policy.

ItemPriceMoreLink
How to Spot a Troubled Project Before the Trouble Starts More
101 Tips for Communication in Emergencies More
101 Tips for Preparing for Pandemic Flu More
303 Tips for Virtual and Global Teams More
101 Tips for Writing and Managing Email More
101 Tips for Managing Conflict More
101 Tips for Effective Meetings More
101 Tips for Managing Change More
404 Tips for Business Travel More
303 Secrets of Workplace Politics More
52 Tips for Resuming Paused Projects More
52 Tips for Leaders of Project-Oriented Organizations More
Geese Don't Land on Twigs (and other observations about life at work) More
Why Dogs Wag Their Tails (and other observations about life at work) More
Loopy Things We Do (and other observations about life at work) More
Ten Years of Point Lookout More
Chaco Canyon for Project Managers More
Go For It! Sometimes It's Easier If You Run More
Where There's Smoke There's Email More
Terrific Technical Presentations More
Comprehensive Package of All Ebooks and Tips Books More