Peter Economy

Peter Economy is an American author, editor, and ghostwriter.^[1] Although his most-recent books tend to reside in the technology genre—particularly software product development and AWS/cloud—he has written books in a variety of other genres, including leadership, management, memoir, biography, consulting, how-to, entrepreneurship, marketing, sales, and a children’s book. Economy is The Leadership Guy on Inc.com where he has published more than 1,500 articles on a variety of topics related to leadership, management, and other business topics.^[2]

Peter Economy
Alma mater	Stanford University Edinburgh Business School
Occupation(s)	Author, editor, ghostwriter, publishing consultant
Website	petereconomy.com

Before that, he served as Associate Editor of Leader to Leader magazine for 18 years,^[3] working closely with Frances Hesselbein, Editor-in-Chief—at first under the auspices of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, and finally, the Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum at Pitt University.^[4]

Early life and education

The son of a U.S. Air Force officer, Economy was born at Hamilton Air Force Base in Novato, California.^[5] With family moves every four or five years, he spent his early life in Pennsylvania, California, Virginia, and Georgia, graduating from Warner Robins High School in Warner Robins, Georgia, and then Stanford University in Palo Alto, California with majors in Human Biology and Economics. During this time, he played French horn in school bands and the Macon (Georgia) Symphony Band before switching to electric guitar in local garage and rock bands.

Writing

Economy is the author, editor, and ghostwriter of more than 125 books with sales of more than 3 million copies, including a Wall Street Journal bestseller. He has written about leadership and management for Leader to Leader, Gallup Business Journal,^[6] Inc.com, and Time (magazine).^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

He wrote his first book when, in 1989, he was asked by Dr. Bob Nelson, creator of Employee Appreciation Day, to write a book on the topic of negotiation for the publisher Scott Foresman. At the time, Economy was working as Administrative Manager for Horizons Technology, a San Diego-based software development firm. This first book, Negotiating to Win, was published in 1991, and its success eventually led Economy to abandon his management career to focus full time on writing business books and articles.

During his 18 years at Leader to Leader magazine, he worked closely with Frances Hesselbein, Editor-in-Chief, and with numerous business and academic leaders globally, providing editorial support to their articles. These leaders included Kiran Mazumar-Shaw, John Hope Bryant, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Peter Senge, Juana Bordas, Jean Lipman-Blumen, Marshall Goldsmith, Inés Temple, Jeffrey L. Bowman, Lolly Daskal, Clifton Taulbert, Ron Wallace, and others.^[13]

Economy has also written for 1099, the magazine for independent professionals,^[14] and workWELL, a publication of Unum Group.^[15]

Media

Economy has been featured in national newspapers as an expert in business.

• Huffington Post^[16]

• The Globe and Mail^[17]

• U-T San Diego^[18][19]

• Mundo Ejecutivo^[20]

• Alto Nivel^[21]

• Business Matters (magazine)^[22]

• Nursing Management (journal)^[23]

• The Virginian-Pilot^[24]

• CareerBuilder^[25]

• Post-Tribune^[26]

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch^[27]

• IndustryWeek^[28]

• InfoWorld by International Data Group^[29]

• Network World by International Data Group^[30]

• San Jose Mercury News^[31]

• Alerus Financial^[32]

Community initiatives and teaching

Economy is on the National Advisory Council of The Art of Science Learning, a National Science Foundation funded project that uses the arts to spark creativity in science education.^[33][34] He is also a founding member of the board of Sports for Exceptional Athletes, a nonprofit athletic organization that provides enhanced opportunities for people with and without disabilities.^[35]

Economy taught the upper-division course, Creativity and Innovation, at San Diego State University.^[36]

Books

• Joel Tosi and Dion Stewart with Peter Economy (2023). Coaching for Learning: The Art and Practice. Dojo & Co. ISBN 979-8218120481.
• Lisa Rojany and Peter Economy (2022). Writing Children's Books For Dummies, 3rd Edition. For Dummies. 10 May 2022. ISBN 978-1119870012.
• Peter Economy, Eric Tyson, et. al. (2022). Starting a Business All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition. For Dummies. 12 April 2022. ISBN 978-1119868569.
• Kevin Daum, Janice Brewster, Peter Economy, and Anne Mary Ciminelli (2021). Building Your Custom Home For Dummies. For Dummies. 31 August 2021. ISBN 978-1119796794.
• Peter Economy (2021). Wait, I'm Working With Who?!? The Essential Guide to Dealing with Difficult Coworkers, Annoying Managers, and Other Toxic Personalities. Career Press. 2021. ISBN 978-1632651853.
• Peter Economy (2020). Wait, I'm the Boss?!? The Essential Guide for Managers to Succeed from Day One. Career Press. March 2020. ISBN 978-1632651648.
• Peter Economy, Eric Tyson, et. al. (2019). Starting a Business All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition. For Dummies. 29 May 2019. ISBN 978-1119565215.
• Abby Lee Miller with Peter Economy (2014). Everything I Learned about Life I Learned in Dance Class. (HarperCollins and William Morrow and Company). ISBN 9780062304889.
• Jeff Patton with Peter Economy (2014). User Story Mapping. (O'Reilly Media). ISBN 978-1-4919-0490-9.
• Dr. J. Robert Beyster with Peter Economy (2014). The SAIC Solution: Built by Employee Owners. (FED Productions). ISBN 978-1494930417. ^[37]
• Raymond P. Davis with Peter Economy (2013). Leading Through Uncertainty: How Umpqua Bank Emerged from the Great Recession Better and Stronger than Ever. (Jossey-Bass and John Wiley & Sons). ISBN 978-1494930417.
• Peter Economy and Kathleen Allen (2013). Aging Parents: Helping Your Parents through Life's Transitions. (Common Sense Publishing). ASIN B00F785OMY.
• Kathleen Allen and Peter Economy (2013). Taking Charge: Design the Life You've Always Wanted. (Common Sense Publishing). ASIN B00F7KLP6G.
• Kathleen Allen and Peter Economy (2013). CEO Your Career: Design a Career with Options. (Common Sense Publishing). ASIN B00F7KD7B2.
• Peter Economy and Kathleen Allen (2013). More Money: How to Generate All the Income You'll Ever Need. (Common Sense Publishing). ASIN B00F7CHFHC.
• Lisa Rojany and Peter Economy (2012). Writing Children's Books For Dummies, 2nd Edition. (Wiley John Wiley & Sons). ISBN 978-1-118-35646-3.
• LTC Terry Hawn and Peter Economy (2012). Military Flight Aptitude Tests For Dummies. (Wiley John Wiley & Sons). ISBN 9780470600320.
• Patricia Ortlieb and Peter Economy (2011). Creating an Orange Utopia: Eliza Lovell Tibbets and the Birth of California's Citrus Industry. (Swedenborg Foundation Press). ISBN 978-0877853374..^[38][39]

References

1. Kinsman, Michael (August 17, 2005). "Hoping to avoid brushoff by fans". Union-Tribune Publishing Co. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 23 November 2014. Peter Economy of La Jolla, author of the book "Customer Service Secrets" and co-author of "The Management Bible," said the Padres are driving home the importance of retaining their most loyal customers by having Alderson involved in the process.
2. "Peter Economy: books, biography, latest update". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
3. "Peter Economy Virtual Issue: Leader to Leader". December 1, 2018. doi:10.1002/(ISSN)1531-5355.
4. "In Memory of Frances Hesselbein | Frances Hesselbein Leadership Forum". www.hesselbeinforum.pitt.edu. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
5. Hawn, Terry J.; Economy, Peter (2013-06-04). Military Flight Aptitude Tests For Dummies. Wiley. p. v. ISBN 9781118220627. Economy has had a lifelong fascination with military aviation - particularly reconnaissance aircraft such as the U-2 and SR-71, for which his father, colonel Peter Economy, served as Air Force project manager for many years.
6. Inc, Gallup (2001-09-15). "Buddy System". Gallup.com. Retrieved 2023-03-07. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
7. "Peter Economy". inc.com. While Peter Economy has spent the better part of two decades of his life slugging it out mano a mano in the management trenches, he is also the bestselling author of Managing For Dummies, The Management Bible, Leading Through Uncertainty, and more than 75 other books with total sales in excess of 2 million copies. He has also served as Associate Editor for Leader to Leader for more than 10 years, where he has worked on projects with the likes of Jim Collins, Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, and many other top management and leadership thinkers.
8. Smith, Janie (July 17, 2014). "Square peg in a round hole: Are you in the wrong job?". 2014 Key Media Pty Ltd. HC Online. Waking up and feeling excited about work might seem like a bit of a stretch for some, but if you love your job, the excitement for it will come naturally, according to management expert and author Peter Economy. And once you're at work, getting through your tasks and coming up with new ones for the next day should be enjoyable. "People who love their jobs accept and embrace the day-to-day routine of what they do, knowing that the little things have to be done first to get to the big things," Economy wrote in a piece for Inc.com.
9. Stillman, Jessica (Nov 5, 2014). "5 Things Successful People Do To End Their Days Right". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 November 2014. My Inc.com colleague Peter Economy even suggests setting a workday limit for the next day the night before. In different periods, different end times and levels of connectivity will be right for you. Just choose thoughtfully. Don't drift.
10. Costa, Jose (November 22, 2013). "Investing in Leadership". Huffington Post. Retrieved 20 November 2014. The simplest way to promote this power is through sharing knowledge. Communicate with your team about the company's goals, vision and performance. You want them to be your brand ambassadors. It may have been best said by Peter Economy: "For communicative employees, the organizational environment must also be one that supports them by rewarding their efforts and successes and encouraging them to take risks, speak up and be opinionated."
11. Economy, Peter (December 6, 2013). "7 Things Every Great Boss Should Do". Time: This post is in partnership with Inc., which offers useful advice, resources, and insights to entrepreneurs and business owners. The article below was originally published at Inc.com.
12. Economy, Peter (July 13, 2015). "Steve Jobs on the Power of Asking for Help". Time.
13. "Peter Economy Virtual Issue: Leader to Leader". doi:10.1002/(ISSN)1531-5355.
14. "1099: Doing Work". 1099.com. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
15. "Peter Economy, Author at WorkWell". WorkWell. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
16. Costa, Jose (November 22, 2013). "Investing in Leadership". Huffington Post. The simplest way to promote this power is through sharing knowledge. Communicate with your team about the company's goals, vision and performance. You want them to be your brand ambassadors. It may have been best said by Peter Economy: "For communicative employees, the organizational environment must also be one that supports them by rewarding their efforts and successes and encouraging them to take risks, speak up and be opinionated."
17. Harvey Schachter (January 25, 2015). "Power Points Put big tasks front and centre". Toronto, Canada: Phillip Crawley. The Globe and Mail. Instead of the normal linear format for your to-do list, write each task on a separate sticky note and place the most pressing one in the centre of a piece of paper, surrounded in a circle by the rest. If possible, consultant Peter Economy says, narrow the list to a few items. Inc.com
18. Kinsman, Michael (August 17, 2005). "Hoping to avoid brushoff by fans". Union-Tribune Publishing Co. San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 23 November 2014. Peter Economy of La Jolla, author of the book "Customer Service Secrets" and co-author of "The Management Bible," said the Padres are driving home the importance of retaining their most loyal customers by having Alderson involved in the process.
19. Kinsman, Michael (November 16, 2004). "Work relations motivate California author". San Diego Union Tribune. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Peter Economy, who met Nelson as an eighth-grader in Warner Robins, Ga., agrees that sincerity is important to Nelson's success.
20. "Sencillos pasos para desterrar el estrés de tu vida" (in Spanish). Del. Cuauhtémoc, Mexico DF (Mexico City). Mundo Ejecutivo Management. July 17, 2014. El estrés puede ser un asesino, por lo que Peter Economy nos da algunas simples medidas para desaparecer la tensión de una vez por todas.
21. "Cómo crear una relación exitosa con tus clientes" (in Spanish). Mexico: Alta Novel. IASA Comunicación, S.A. de C.V. August 12, 2014. Para Peter Economy, experto en management y autor de libros como: The Management Bible, Leading Through Uncertainty, asegura que existe un factor diferenciador entre las empresas exitosas y las otras: las relaciones comerciales exitosas.
22. "7 stress killing tips". London: Business Matters. July 14, 2014. While some let themselves get overwhelmed and shut down, others use stress to motivate and push them to greater heights says Peter Economy for Inc. Without the proper stress management tools, it's easy to give in and find ourselves overcome by stress. By following these seven steps, you can banish stress from your life–once and for all.
23. Rice, Matthew (February 1, 2008). "Leadership Ensemble: Lessons in collaborative management from the world's only conductorless orchestra". Harrow. Nursing Management. I was therefore intrigued, not long after this conversation, to rediscover an account, by executive director of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra Harvey Seifter and Peter Economy, of the culture of 'collaborative leadership' developed by this New York based orchestra
24. Glass, John W. (April 3, 2007). "Book touts employee ownership". The Virginian–Pilot. Norfolk – Nearly 40 years ago, Robert Beyster started an employee-owned defense and technology company that has become known as the largest government contractor most people have never heard of.
25. Lorenz, Mary (June 27, 2014). "Is It Okay to Be Friends with My Employees? And Other Questions from This Week". CareerBuilder. Retrieved 25 November 2014. What's one thing I can do better for you this month? According to Peter Economy (a.k.a. The Management Guy), posing this question to your employees is just one of 15 cost-effective ways to "supercharge" their productivity. [Inc.]
26. "Some Say Being the Boss is a Pain". Post-Tribune (IN). February 15, 1998. Workers seeking more control of their lives jump off the management track For years, Peter Economy worked hard to climb the organizational ladder. But when he became a vice president, the ladder was restructured into more of a jungle gym. He had neither the authority nor the perks that once came with a top job.
27. "Fewer Workers want to Manage". St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO). February 12, 1998. For years, Peter Economy worked hard to climb the organizational ladder. But when he became a vice president, the ladder was restructured into more of a jungle gym. He had neither the authority nor the perks that once came with a top job.
28. Caudron, Shari (February 17, 1997). "The fine art of ingratiation. (nurturing business relationships)(includes related article on detecting ingratiating behavior)". Penton Media, Inc. IndustryWeek. No Matter. How High a Person Rises in a Company, They are Always performing for someone, be it the chairman of the board, shareholders, or employees," says Peter Economy, author of Managing for Dummies (1996, IDG Books). The behavior he is talking about is called ingratiation. Done blatantly, it's definitely bad form, but successful leaders know how to use this tactic to subtly influence those to whom they report and those who report to them. As Economy explains: "Ingratiation is really just another form of office politics.
29. Gotcher, Renee (20 Oct 1997). "Combine bonuses with Rewards". Vol. 19, no. 42. InfoWorld Media Group, Inc. InfoWorld. Retrieved 23 November 2014. providing a stimulating work environment that includes the latest tools and necessary resources, says Peter Economy, Pacific Beach, Calif. -based co-author of Consulting for Dummies and Managing for Dummies. "The best companies
30. "Network World". 26 Jan 1998. p. 59. This is one of the most crucial mistakes new managers make, according to Peter Economy, coauthor of the book Managing for Dummies and general manager at Nelson Motivation, Inc., in San Diego. "It's not making the transition from doer to manager.
31. Oanh Ha, K (March 23, 2001). "Web Levels the Playing Field for Los Altos, Calif., One-Man Shop". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. San Jose Mercury News. That's amazing," said small-business author Peter Economy, of Schmidt's low overhead. "That kind of business wasn't possible in the past. Then, you had to hire people at great cost for things you can now get for free.
32. "7 Important To-Dos for Being a Great Boss". Alerus Financial. Alerus Small Business Connect. December 10, 2013. Do this, do that. Read this, read that. When it comes to management advice, the amount available is almost endless. It is certainly overwhelming. Are there essentials, fundamentals, that is, to getting it right? Absolutely, according to Peter Economy, bestselling author of "Managing For Dummies," "The Management Bible," "Leading Through Uncertainty," and more than 60 other books. Specifically, he says, great bosses need to do these seven things every day.
33. "The Art of Science Learning initiative is fortunate to have the support of a wonderful group of partners, funders, staff and committee members". The Art of Science Learning. Retrieved 20 November 2014. National Advisory Council: Peter Economy, business author, Associate Editor, Leader to Leader Magazine *
34. "People". The Art of Science Learning. Retrieved 20 November 2014. National Advisory Council....Peter Economy, business author, Associate Editor, Leader to Leader Magazine
35. McDonald, Jeff (November 16, 2004). "Special Olympics members break away". San Diego Union–Tribune. A large group of San Diego volunteers and coaches is withdrawing from Special Olympics, choosing instead to establish their own nonprofit that will host sporting events for athletes with developmental disabilities...Peter Economy, the father of a Special Olympics athlete who is also helping to form the new agency, said he and the others had no choice but to leave Special Olympics.
36. Economy, Peter, Syllabus MGT 453: Creativity and Innovation Section 01 Fall 2011, Creativity and innovation are integral to an organization's ability to survive and thrive in today's competitive marketplace. This course provides students with an understanding of how creativity and innovation can be facilitated and managed in a work setting. Students will learn about theoretical conceptualizations of creativity and innovation as well as practical applications involved in fostering creativity and innovation in the workplace. Students will be expected to play an active role in learning through class exercises, class discussions, dialogue with guest speakers, and presentations about real (or planned) innovations in organizations.
37. Glass, jon w. (April 3, 2007). "SAIC creator's book touts employee ownership". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved 27 November 2014. Beyster, 82, retired as SAIC's chairman in July 2004. A nuclear physicist by training and a self-described "evangelist" for employee-owned companies, Beyster said he wrote the book to provide entrepreneurs and business executives a model. He wrote it with Peter Economy, an author or co-author of several business books.
38. Bell, Diane (August 12, 2011). "Local woman's ancestor sparked California's love affair with navel orange". U-T San Diego. After a decade of research, she has published a biography of her ancestor's life, "Creating an Orange Utopia," co-authored with La Jollan Peter Economy. While its release date is Sept. 1, it is already selling on Amazon.com.
39. Miller, Bettye (December 21, 2011). "Documents, Photos of Eliza Tibbets Donated to UC Riverside". UCR Today. The University of California, Riverside. Retrieved 14 November 2014. "I am very pleased that the documents will be in the UCR Library," Ortlieb said. "When my co-author, Peter Economy, and I visited the UC Riverside library we thought it was special and her (Eliza Tibbets) natural home."