Putting Our Differences to Work by Debbe Kennedy

DIVERSITY Drives INNOVATION: History proves it!

2012-05-04T14:15:00-07:00

Every once in a while, something or someone pops up on our path to affirm that we are headed in the right direction, by pointing us to WISDOM that affirms what we all need to know, documented long ago --- perhaps in a different way. When we least expect it, a supporting "proof point" shows up to cheer us on as we are making our important contributions to advancing business and society. Nice! Interestingly, these bits of WISDOM most often are simply stated bringing a next level of clarity to a concept or idea that we've worked hard to express and many times, it comes from places you never looked. I had one of those discoveries a few days ago. Profound, absolutely. Validating, yes!

This time, the unexpected WISDOM popped up on an app on my iPhone from the Spring and Autumn Period of China (722–481 BC) from an ancient Chinese military general, strategist, and philosopher --- Sun Tzu -- who is traditionally believed to have been the author of The Art of War. This was not exactly a source that I would have researched to validate that diversity drives innovation, but I learned differently.

Consider Sun Tzu's examples. He expresses each with simplicity and clarity of language, using three well-known universal teachers ---- music, taste, and color. They demonstrate that diversity is a key driver of innovation. In its presence, you broaden your inventory of possibilities for innovation.

SUN TZU Insights

MUSICAL NOTES:
There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.

CARDINAL TASTES:
There are not more than five cardinal tastes (sour, acrid, salt, sweet, bitter), yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.

PRIMARY COLORS:
There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

What was most exciting about this find was its validation of years of the independent work, collaborative research with my long-time colleague, futurist Joel Barker and also lessons learned as a leader and working with customers. It feels good to discover something so clear and true and universal to explain what we need to know about one another and about life and work itself --- that when we put our differences to work, we can create innovations we never imagined. In my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, I wrote:

Organizations and individuals all over the world are discovering that putting our differences to work is the most powerful accelerator for generating new ideas, creating innovative solutions, executing organizational strategies, and engaging everyone in the process. The breakthrough is the essential ingredient of diversity, in its broadest sense. ...The magic begins when we come together. The secret is learning how, when, and where to tap into all the wealth of insight, wisdom, and new thinking to solve problems, create new products and services, and build stronger communities with benefits for everyone.

Sun Tzu seemed to see this about diversity in all that life offers us. Diversity not only is the key ingredient to generate a wealth of new ideas for innovation, diversity also is the key ingredient that expands the wealth of beautiful music and vibrant art, the wealth of delicious tastes, the wealth of new products, services --- and the unlimited possibilities that all our collective differences can create.

Accordingly to an IBM Global CEO Study released in May, 2010, CEOs, general managers and senior leaders in public sector named CREATIVITY as the #1 leadership quality in demand--- not just being creative as a leader yourself, but knowing where, when and how to tape into the creative force in others to drive innovation. Sun Tzu's wisdom validates a powerful lesson to put in our tool bags: Diversity drives innovation. Joel Barker affirmed why this is significant in his film, Wealth, Innovation & Diversity: “societies and organizations that most creatively incorporate diversity will reap the rewards of innovation, growth, wealth, and progress.”

ACTIONABLE IDEAS:
I've always been drawn to wisdom as a source of insight for my work and life. I share three ideas with you:

1. Read outside your boundaries.
This was the advice of one of my mentors long ago. It will open up your mind.

2. Develop a practice of thinking, questioning, and applying. When you try on what you've learned, you build skill, refine practice, boost confidence, and perfect your own knowledge.

3. Integrate diversity of thought into your practices.
Tap into cross-cultural wisdom and philosophy on life and work. A friend told me why this was important. "WISDOM is knowledge with a long shelf-life." (Dr. Bruce Lloyd, Professor of Strategic Management Emeritus, London South Bank University)

Warm regards,

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy, founder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

Book: Putting Our Differences to Work Buy a Copy
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more: http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com
** 2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner - Bronze **
for Human Resources and Employee Training

GANDHI INSIGHTS: A Higher Standard of Leadership

2012-02-14T11:03:00-08:00

This is a difficult time with many crushing things happening to people. Yet, a new world begins with each of us. We have to lift ourselves up to revitalize and renew what we know is good. It is up to us to change the standards for leadership that will shape a new era. Even with all the problems we face in so many directions, there continues to be many signs of NEW HOPE emerging --- a new sense of OPTIMISM taking over little by little. Some days it seems we've stepped backwards and then another glimpse emerges to prove we are on our way.

We are realizing on many fronts how much we can do together to reshape the businesses, communities, and the world we long to have. It will ask more from us. We will have to change our ways. Cure our hatefulness toward others in a big way. Doing this isn't complex --- not really. Behavior and personal conduct at its root is individual, yes? It takes a simple conviction to a new mindset and a resolute belief that we can in fact recast our value and intentions as the final "yardstick" of all we do. How do we do this?

As I mention in my book and as its pages reflect, I have always received strength, knowledge and know-how from those who traveled before. The leaders, innovators, and sages seem to be whispering the answers to us from their lessons learned, if we stop long enough to listen. Gandhi, for example, helped us remember that each one of us has a responsibility to use our lives of a beacon of all we want for our world to be by our actions and behavior in day-to-day life. I re-read a passage from another timeless and beautiful book: A Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi by Keshavan Nair (Berrett-Koehler 1997) that offered Gandhi's sage advice in these words:

"We are all leaders. Each one of us is setting an example for someone else, and each one of us has a responsibility to shape the future as we wish it to be. But we must have ideals to guide our conduct if we are to make a positive difference."

The five distinctive qualities of leadership introduced in Putting Our Differences to Work reflect Gandhi's wisdom and offer a current day roadmap for leadership behavior and actions. Together, the five QUALITIES are a timely "yardstick" to help all of us --- leaders and innovators everywhere as we work to make our important contributions to a new kind of CHANGE, INNOVATION and prosperity based on reversing the human perils Gandhi warned us about. Here is the affirmative new vision that I think Gandhi believed for us all:

Wealth with Hard Work | Pleasure withConscience | Science with Humanity
Knowledge with Character | Politics with Principle | Commerce with Morality
Worship with Sacrifice

THE EXAMPLE WE SET FOR OURSELVES:
I also keep thinking of Barack Obama's Inauguration Day and how it became a moment of collective change and possibility for all of us as we proved we can be in peace and harmony. We do know how. Still there is more than just showing up for one day, here and there, as Gandhi's message reflects.

QUESTIONS to PONDER...
How can we multiply that same kind of reality in our day-to-day living and working? What does it mean to put our differences to work?

What does it mean to you? What advice would you share with others to make it possible?

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work (Berrett-Koehler)
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
**2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner**
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Twitter @onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy

CHANGING Against the ODDS: The Power of HUMAN WILL

2012-02-01T10:37:00-08:00

We seem to want change. We say we do, but it is obvious that many of us, fear DOING IT. So we talk. We complain. We give excuses. We want all risks to be removed. We want no sacrifices. We want guarantees. I learned in an early leadership class, "UNLESS THINGS CHANGE, they stay the same...or get worse."

What can we learn from others who have CHANGED against all odds?

In my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, there are many stories demonstrate this idea in action. However, in recent days, there is one story of a leader that touched my life that keeps coming into my mind. I don’t know where he is now or even recall his last name, but he has had profound influence on many over the years, when I’ve shared his discovery of his personal GREATNESS. It serves as a compelling invitation to all of us at this time in history.

Bob
He was twenty-four years old with a promising future. Then, unexpectedly, life changed. Bob was in a motorcycle accident that left him a paraplegic. We met when he had been in his wheelchair only about eighteen months. He was nominated for a computer programming training program at the Resource Center for the Handicapped (RCH) in Seattle. At the time, I worked for IBM, one of the sponsoring companies, and I was actively involved in this program. Bob was one of our brightest students, but his growing anguish over his new reality was turning him into an embittered, belligerent, disrespectful non-contributor in the program. The whole class was impacted by his acting out. After exhaustive counseling and coaching efforts, I was given the duty to inform him of his impending expulsion from the program. The moment—and his face—remain vivid in my memory. “You have until Monday, Bob,” I told him. “You have until Monday to decide if changing and staying here is worth it to you.” He left in a screaming fury.

None of us knew what Monday would bring. I hoped. About five minutes before class started, I looked up and there he was. No words were spoken. We just looked at each other. We both heard in the silence, “Please give me a chance.”

Bob went on to graduate number two in his class. He went to work for a major company as a programmer. He was promoted several times the first two years. More importantly, he volunteered his time, going back into the hospitals to become a role model for others. He brought hope to those searching to make sense of the new rules brought about with one of life’s paradigm shifts. Soon he was named Washington State Volunteer of the Year.

That year, there was a picture of Bob on the back of the RCH Annual Report. It remains imprinted on my mind. He was climbing the University of Washington Climbing Rock (I understand he was the first paraplegic to have this achievement). The sweat was pouring down his face, showing the might, passion, and grit that had taken over, reflecting the strength of all he had become. His hands clutched around the rope, pulling energy from within. The caption read...

“The biggest engineering feat is that of human will.”

This is the challenge we all have as leaders—to harness our own human will to change ourselves, so we can lead the way for others, so we can put our differences to work to really get things done.

How would you rate HUMAN WILL?
Does it need re-engineering?

I leave you self-assessing my own.

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership,
and High Performance
** 2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winnter **
Bronze for HR/Employee Training | Berrett-Koehler
YouTube Book Overview by futurist Joel A. Barker

Buy a Copy of Putting Our Differences to Work

Facebook http://profile.to/debbekennedy/
Twitter @onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy

INNOVATION: The Power of the START

2012-01-23T11:05:00-08:00

The START is the primary action that opens the way for NEW IDEAS to take root. How do we begin making the big, sweeping changes needed in our organizations, in health care, with the environment, with energy, in education, in our communities and cities, or other places throughout the world that need our CREATIVITY and INNOVATIONS to solve our most pressing problems?

We know more about how-to-do-it than we give ourselves credit for---we prove it all the time. Think about the changes you've headed up or participated in. They all have the same beginning. You get up in the morning and you START. You believe in something bigger than yourself. You look UP and out with resolute FAITH. You PLAN a first important STEP in the right direction. You take a LEAP. You RISK. The START is a new beginning. Any IMPERFECTIONS will be stepping stones. You learn as you go, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, the way will be OPENED for other steps to follow.

"The things we need to learn, before we can do them, we learn by doing." -- Aristotle

The START is also the first bold action that unleashes IDEA POWER of individuals. Great things are rarely done alone. They are dependent on others. By the time we take the first leap forward, many fingerprints are all over our new ideas. This truth was highlighted for me in a personal way when my book was published by miracle artisans and the production team at Berrett-Koehler Publishers. It was my goal that the idea of putting differences to work would be reflected in everything about the book. One day, I counted and discovered that there were 1200 fingerprints reflected in the creation of just front cover of my book. They came from distant places, including the contribution from Australia from a women named Barbara that I didn't know, who submitted the winning subtitle for the book. Today, organizations and individuals across industries and the world are discovering and recognizing the power and value that people and their many dimensions of difference coming together have --- they are catalysts for generating new ideas --- they create the spark and generate the fuel for CREATIVITY and INNOVATION.

Ed Catmull, cofounder of Pixar and the president of Pixar and Disney Animation Studios, described it this way last year (HBR September 2008):

"The view that good ideas are rarer and more valuable than good people is rooted in a misconception of creativity. People tend to think of creativity as a mysterious solo act, and they typically reduce products to a single idea: This is a movie about toys, or dinosaurs, or love, they'll say. However, in filmmaking and many other kinds of complex product development, creativity involves a large number of people from different disciplines working effectively together to solve a great many problems."

THE START:
What It Means
What holds us back?
In my book, Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance, I introduce a six-step action process. There is a whole chapter on each step with best practice stories and strategies ideas, including a chapter on ACTION: Moving Forward. As I shared, it is a power step, because it mobilizes. It moves us from talk into ACTION, which challenges the best of us, because action itself is a paradox. On one hand, it is the hallmark that has preceded every innovation, act of leadership, and accomplishment since the beginning of time. Think about one of your own achievements, great or small. Remember that first important step forward. It was freeing, wasn’t it? It felt good to be in motion. Heading in the right direction. Doing, at last!

On the other hand, at times even the most action-oriented find themselves temporarily paralyzed by the thought of taking action. Even very talented leaders sometimes get stuck. This happens many times after they have made a personal investment in taking a deep dive into the organization to assess where they are. It happens even after these skilled leaders miraculously pull off getting full sponsorship to proceed. Things come to a halt. A hesitation. A panic over the feeling of vulnerability and risk of actually moving out, knowing you are holding the accountability for results. At this common occurrence, the excuses we come up with are often wild and many. This might not be a reality we openly discuss with others—or admit even to ourselves out loud—but I’m sure you’ve felt it yourself. It’s that moment when your screen goes blank. The courage you bolstered up last week, convincing all your sponsors, disappears. The brilliance of the new people-focused strategy you designed and all those great ideas suddenly become suspect. The risk of mobilizing has great power over us and often helps us find a detour

What is it that keeps us at the threshold of doing --- hesitating to put our personal power behind THE START --- when it has so many benefits? All indicators point to one answer:Taking action requires more of us. It often requires paving a new path. Risking. Doing something we know little about or that maybe has never been done. So we often shelter ourselves with talk and task forces. Because the longer we talk, analyze, work to crystallize the perfect words to describe our unique issues (the bigger sounding and more complex, the better!), the longer we avoid having to act—having to figure out what to do, whom to trust—and then risk doing it.

THE START: How to do it!
Albert Einstein described three of the most valuable tools leaders at all levels have to “cut the brush” for new INNOVATIONS. They are the tools to put into practice to propel your first LEAP --- your BOLD START. Leaders at all levels possess them:

“The only real valuable thing is intuition.”
“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
“The only source of knowledge is experience.”

It is easy to procrastinate. I, too, have mastered the art of it. However, right now, we are being called to do more. We have to be courageous to reach beyond the traditional—take the best with us from all we have learned. We need to develop a new sense of curiosity and openness about what lies in the potential of people putting their differences to work to change the course of history in the marketplaces, workplaces, and communities across the world. We're all needed. We hold the responsibility to build a future---one where meaningful innovation in our respective products, services, and means of collaboration is governed by mutualism being the final arbiter --- the yardstick: Everyone benefits; no one is harmed. Imagine what we could do if leaders at all levels, in thousands of organizations, across the world, put their intuitions, imaginations, and experience to work at their full potential.
Now, there is a vision!

I welcome your perspective and look forward to hearing from you here, or on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. See below!

Warm wishes to you all!
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies

author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership,
and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
Buy a Copy at Amazon.com

YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Make a CONNECTION:
Facebook
http://profile.to/debbekennedy/Twitter@onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy
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The Power of the Global WEBINAR: Focusing on STRENGTHS

2011-02-17T11:14:33-08:00

Each time we host a ONLINE global gathering of leaders and innovators at the Global Dialogue Center, I am always moved by what happens. Putting Your STRENGTHS to Work with Jane Scandurra, our inaugural 2011 Global Dialogue Center ONLINE Dialogue, was no exception. The event attracted 200+ leaders and innovators representing 18 countries and 30+ states across the U.S.

Jane Scandurra, founder of True Potential Branding (formerly, IBM Senior Marketing Manager) joined me to see the dialogue as our guest thought-leader. Below are few of the INSIGHTS that came from PARTICIPANTS from around the world. They seem to capture the key themes that emerged: (slightly paraphrased...)

1) There is no greater PRIVILEGE than to present your AUTHENTIC self. CANADA

2) Use your knowledge of others' STRENGTHS to complement your own. It creates a collective win/win. U.S. (Arizona)

3) BREAKTHROUGH: Change your MINDSET to focus on yours and others' STRENGTHS vs. weaknesses. It opens up the field of OPPORTUNITY. ARGENTINA

4) Focusing on one's STRENGTHS is really radical, when most of us so easily focus on the "weak spot;" it's a real SHIFT. Toward the positive! U.S. (New York)

5) Focusing on STRENGTHS is a habit...We need to PRACTICE it! GERMANY|CHINA.

Good things come when we learn from one another...putting our differences and strengths to work. ...and in "virtual space," I'm always reminded that RUMI was on to something very important, when he pointed out: "There is a place between voice and presence where information flows." It always happens. It was a positive message and a chance to take a closer look at ourselves!

SPECIAL NOTES:
**** FEB 16 RECORDING: We posted the FEB 16 SLIDE SUMMARY and HANDOUTS yesterday at http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/strengths0216. The RECORDED REPLAY will be added shortly.

**** JOIN US NEXT TIME? Three UPCOMING ONLINE events...

FEB 24 - Innovation TIPS Dialogue with futurist Joel Barker and Debbe KennedyInspired from our Innovation Tips Newsletter Subscribers. Learn more and register: http://tinyurl.com/4gpht76

MARCH 9 - WOMEN in the LEAD: Our Significant Roles in a Global Economywith Frances Hesselbein; a global gathering commemorating International Women's Day Centenary CelebrationLearn more and register: http://tinyurl.com/6eu7rc8

MARCH 23 - COURAGEOUS LEADERSHIP with Bill Treasurer
Learn more and register: http://tinyurl.com/4ow67ql

See our Global Dialogue Center Webinars - Winter/Spring Schedule:
http://tinyurl.com/4s4m93z

We invite you to JOIN us to share in the experience we create together.

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy, author and founder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

Book: Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more: http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com/about.html

** 2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner** - Bronze
for Human Resources and Employee Training

Dr. King's Wisdom: The LEADERS We Need to Be

2011-01-17T16:59:39-08:00

In every direction, it seems we need, more than ever, to learn and listen to the wisdom of great leaders with enduring influence. Dr. Martin Luther King is one that always comes to my mind. He called us to a new greatness. He influenced me. Let me start with a story...

As I was finishing my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, I heard someone mention that there was one book everyone should have in their library. It is entitled, A Testament of HOPE: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. (edited by James M. Washington, HarperOne 1990). I found it!

When the book arrived, I opened it at random to a timely topic: FACING THE CHALLENGE OF A NEW AGE, an address he gave at the First Annual Institute on Non-Violence and Social Change, which was held in Montgomery, Alabama in December 1956. I wanted to share it with you making just one minor modification by changing the century. It is profound how much it is a calling, whispering to us from another time --- calling us to be part of a new generation of leadership that masters putting our differences to work through our thinking, actions, and behavior when no one is watching.

FACING THE CHALLENGE OF A NEW AGE
"Those of us who live in the twenty-first century are privileged to live in one of the most momentous periods of human history. It is an exciting age filled with hope. It is an age in which a new social order is being born. We stand today between two worlds---the dying old and the emerging new.

...another thing that we must do in speeding up the coming of the new age is to develop intelligent, courageous and dedicated leadership. This is one of the pressing needs of the hour. In this period of transition and growing social change, there is a dire need for leaders who calm and yet positive leaders who avoid the extremes of "hot-headedness"... The urgency of the hour calls for leaders of wise judgement and sound integrity---leaders not in love with money, but in love with justice; leaders not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity; leaders who can subject their particular egos to the greatness of the cause."

Then Dr. King goes on to paraphrase Holland, which was Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819-1881), a poet and novelist, this way:

God give us leaders!
A time like this demands strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands;
Leaders whom the lust of office does not kill;
Leaders whom the spoils of life cannot buy;
Leaders who possess opinions and a will;
Leader who have honor; leaders who will not lie;
Leadersho who can stand before a demagogue
and damn his treacherous flatteries without winking!
Tall leaders, sun crowned, who live above the fog
in public duty and private thinking.

As I wrote in Putting Our Difference to Work, all we that we already know about leadership is valuable. However, it is clear, we need to re-evaluate --- to strengthen our portfolio of skills to live up to the call of this new age, I introduced five distinctive qualities of leadership. They fundamentally change the rules in how we think and act. They reframe old notions that no longer work to our advantage in our organizations or wherever we find ourselves having an opportunity to have a positive influence on others. These qualities are needed at all levels of leadership, including individual contributors and aspiring leaders who may not see themselves as leaders. Our distributed workplaces and communities mean that we all step in and out of leadership roles that require new skills to understand, interact, and relate with others different than we are.

My Five Distinctive Qualities of Leadership SELF-ASSESSMENT (PDF) includes a summary of these qualities that I share in my book. (Click on the link to download PDF).

What other ideas do you have to help us all improve our human qualities of LEADERSHIP at all levels?

REMEMBERING: It's COOL to be DIFFERENT!

2010-10-03T19:04:58-07:00

Do you ever feel like you are different? I admit it. I do. I think I always knew that I was just not from a normal lot. I do have my quirks. I wonder if most of us feel this way for our own reasons. What qualities make you uniquely DIFFERENT? Have you thought about it lately?

These are interesting questions to ponder now and then. I am a thinker. A dreamer. A doer. I can play or be very serious. I can really get into almost anything giving it 150%. However, my optimism on occasion gets me in trouble. :-) I've also learned I'm adaptable --- life has had its inherent twists and turns, missteps, milestones and miracles. I'm noticing that it gets easier to see and admit my IMPERFECTIONS. It's a constant tuning and re-tooling effort. Through it all, I've never felt light and carefree, as much as driven to make a contribution. Sometimes, I long for the easy time. ...and when I am just burned out on it all, I wonder why and how I got this way. How about you?

As I have contemplated the art of putting our differences to work, it has helped me recognize how important it is for each of us to own and accept our differences --- our quirks and unique qualities. In doing so, we learn to be more welcoming and appreciative of the differences in others.

Once in a while, I run across the well-known writing of Steve Jobs, [beloved co-founder of APPLE]. He seemed to be cheering each of us on --- especially those of us who know we've come from a self-defined odd lot. Reading his wisdom agains always makes me feel so accepted and understood. It feels good! It seems from his perspective it is cool to be just a little different. See if you agree...

Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes. Yes!
The ones who see things differently. Yes! Yes!

They're not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward. Yes! This is what I want to do!

Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough to think
they can change the world, are the ones who do."

—Steve Jobs, Apple C.E.O.

What makes you unique?
What distinctive qualities do you bring to your personal style of leadership?

Warm regards to all...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy, author and founder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

IN COMMEMORATION: "After a storm, the birds sing."

2010-09-11T10:44:55-07:00

With time, the memory of September 11 seems to have become a blended set of etchings on my mind --- the surprise of its reality coming down, the experience of horrifying loss --- both close and yet distant --- the exemplary courage of many, the comforting sense of global unity wrapped up tragedy, and the resiliency of the human spirit to lift itself up again.

For me, the commemoration of this day now embraces the tragedies of others with a more compassionate heart, because it made the pain of man-made tragedies, of human struggle, injustice, and loss and the other calamities of nature and man that have followed, much more real, relevant, and present.

Much has happened since September 11 and with it came sweeping violence and damage that has had far-reaching implications on people and families here and all over the world. 9/11 for me has become a compelling symbol of all that has gone wrong in our world --- and all that remains so broken today --- and all that can be right in it, when we heed our Higher Calling. Today there is an urgency about mending our ways --- a call to take a good, close look at ourselves, to set aside our self-interests, thinking more about a global collaboration for good, asking of us to do our parts to stop the hatred, to love our neighbors, and to strive every day to put our differences to work to create a better world than we know today for everyone.

So, I write in commemoration of the lives lost in the tragedy of 9/11, as well as with a sense of acknowledgment also for the heartbreak and heartache around the world --- from natural and human disasters like Katrina, Indonesia, Haiti, and Pakistan, for families suffering with soldiers and family members lost in the IRAQ WAR and in the AFGHANISTAN WAR, for the "collateral damage" --- the innocents caught in our wars -- we often forget to admit and recognize, for the millions displaced from their homes because of the ravages of the longest wars in history, for the genocide in places like south-eastern Nigeria and other places where our global family suffers from hunger, poverty, violence, greed, inaction, and indifference.

In this commemoration, there also resides an eternal HOPE. I've continued to revisit one of the truths in life each year as the memories stack up and again tug at my consciousness:

Some time after 9/11, I heard Ethel Kennedy, wife of Bobbie Kennedy, capture the essence of it in an interview. Referring to how their family had recovered from so much tragedy, she said with a courageous smile..."After a storm, the birds sing."

I later wrote an article, After a Storm, the Birds Sing, as a 9/11 commemorative contribution that incorporated stories about the strength in all life to begin again. Below is an excerpt from the collection I shared. It exemplifies this strength that resides in each of us in story close to home. May it inspire YOU. I am posting it again, because it speaks the words that reside my heart:

"Some years back, Sally, my best friend of 43 years, and I teamed up with our close friend, Emily, to start hiking. Together, we set out eagerly to explore the outdoors. In a relatively short time, we had climbed most of the notable peaks in our area and began new, more challenging climbs in more exotic places. The hikes soon became more than exercise and experiencing the outdoors. We used them to learn about ourselves and spent time at the top, and later over coffee, talking about the lessons we had learned. Soon, we invited new friends, daughters and sisters to join us. Over time, we helped each other solve life problems, think through work challenges, build new dreams and celebrate many victories in our lives, including those of making it to the top of those glorious mountains, where all things seem possible.

Just before Christmas, a few years later, Emily received word from her sister, Celeste, that her husband was gravely ill. The worst possible news was soon confirmed: he had perhaps a few days — or maybe a few weeks — to live. There was a helplessness as one looked on to see the torrent of grief sweep through all their lives. I watched big sister, Emily, mobilize, garnering all the human strengths she possessed to share her sister’s burden: intellect, commanding presence, know-how, influence, clout, and deep love of family. The other sisters and brothers came together across the distance to support her. Reports came that close-by friends were surrounding Celeste with their goodness.

Across the country, we all knew Celeste from her visits with Emily — devoted wife and stay-at-home mom with three young children. Her husband had provided well for his family and took care of everything in Celeste’s life for her. This gift of love soon became a terrifying reality of unknowns. With the sudden loss and the weight of many responsibilities, it was inconceivable to me to imagine the level of strength and courage it would take for Celeste to put her shattered life back together, get through Christmas with three young children, take on the leadership of the family, and go on to start anew. With a lot of love around her, she made it through.

Shortly after her husband's passing, Emily gifted Celeste with a week of renewal with the children. Plans for the week included a hike up one of our favorite mountains. Our little hiking group agreed to take the journey with Celeste, which was our first time to personally connect with her as a group of friends since her husband died. Not long into the hike, I realized that the experience of walking with her, listening to her, and watching her would be a lesson about courage that would stay with me. Now and then, I come across her picture at the top of that lofty peak and reflect on the nurturing experience of that day we all spent together. Seeing her boldly standing on top of the world in itself is a monument to the human spirit that lies within all of us: The choice we make to go on when life deals us an unexpected defining moment — a choice to give up or begin again.

Closing Thoughts... So, in commemoration of the gift of life demonstrated in all the tragedies and joys throughout the world— life in all its forms so precious, so fleeting — may we all reflect on the defining moments we are given — the ones that have called us to have faith in the power we have within to make the choice to go on.

This year, with all the hate and vitriol that has surfaced, may 9/11 be a day where we each examine our hearts and think of how we might contribute to healing the world around us by more consciously loving, respecting, and caring more about one another.

Gandhi's wisdom reminds us the HOPE in our healing actions: "When in despair I remember that all through history the way of TRUTH and LOVE has always won..."

May you be blessed...

Warm regards to all...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy, author and founder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

Book: Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more: http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com/about.html
** 2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner** - Bronze
for Human Resources and Employee Training

DIVERSITY: The Art of GETTING ALONG

2010-07-30T14:24:04-07:00

With so much turmoil, war, bickering, disrespect, and disregard all around us, it's sometimes hard to envision how things would be DIFFERENT if we could get along --- LOVE and RESPECT one another. Once in a while, if we stop long enough to see it, we can learn from "unexpected teachers." Perhaps, its only a moment in time --- but that one moment can become a mirror with which to see possibilities for ourselves. This was one of those times...

Today a friend shared some photographs from Michel Denis-Huot that someone had shared with him. The story goes like this:Photographer, Michel Denis-Huot was on safari in Kenya's Masai Mara in October last year and said he was astounded by what he saw:

"These three brothers (cheetahs) have been living together since they left their mother at about 18 months old," he said. "On the morning, we saw them; they seemed not to be hungry, walking quickly but stopping sometimes to play together. At one point, they met a group of impala who ran away. But one youngster was not quick enough and the brothers caught it easily."

These extraordinary scenes followed... See article and FULL size photos from Michel Denis-Huot
MailOnline - DailyMail.com | UK | 30 July 2010

Funny, as I was wishing for moments like this for all of us -- a putting of our differences to work at its best --- I instantly, thought of Desmond Tutu's WISDOM that explains why...

"In my part of the world, we have something called ubuntu. It is the essence of being human. We say a person is a person through other persons. I can’t be human in isolation. I need you to be all you can be, so that I can become me and all that I can be. It is not "I think therefore I am." It says rather: "I am human because I belong. I participate. I share."

-- Desmond Tutu
   Nobel Peace Prize, 1984

Imagine how things would be if we could get along. Love and respect one another.
Hold that thought!



INVITATION for YOU from Me... VIDEO
Over 450+ leaders at all levels from 21+ countries are joining me ONLINE August 10 at 1:00 pm (Eastern Time - New York) for a global conversation. LEADERSHIP by Example with Frances Hesselbein. Join us? No Fees. Learn more and register
to attend.

Warm regards,

Debbe

Debbe Kennedyfounder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

Book: Putting Our Differences to Work Buy a Copy
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more: http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com/about.html
2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner - Bronze
for Human Resources and Employee Training

LEADERSHIP and The Art of Catching the WIND

2010-07-18T07:01:00-07:00

Challenging times provide opportunities to re-evaluate. Take stock. Rethink. Reinvigorate. Renew. Dream BIGGER! ...and put all that we have into catching the wind toward that future we long to create for ourselves and our organizations.

Over the years, I've learned a great deal about this artful process from the leadership example, the management philosophy and writings of Kazuo Inamori, just by following his story. He has been named Japan's most outstanding entrepreneur on multiple occasions and is founder of Kyocera Corporation and KDDI Corporation. Dr. Inamori's management philosophy is deeply rooted in values and has been influential when I've found myself unexpectedly at a leadership crossroads, because his simple timeless principles always bring you back to center...to what truly matters. Many of his teachings are integrated into my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, because over time I have adopted them as day-to-day practices and enjoyed sharing them with others --- and seeing the results.

In his newest book, Compass to Fulfillment: Passion and Spirituality in Life and Business (McGraw Hill 2009), he talks extensively about what I call catching the wind. Here are four take-aways:

1. What you EXPECT matters.
Dr. Inamori affirms that it is easy to take a narrow view of what seems real and relevant at the moment. You know those times when the a doubting voice whispers in your ear, "This will never work. It never does for me."

"It is precisely because we expect that life will not work out
according to our wishes that life doesn't...
In a sense, our lives fulfill our expectations."

2. What you THINK manifests.

Dr. Inamori affirms that we attract only the outcomes on which we focus; only those things we strongly desire are within the realm of our realization.

"It is impossible to draw a specific result toward us without
holding it firmly in our minds."

3. Envision what you want.
Dr. Inamori tells us that if we want to achieve a particular outcome, the first step is to create the image of who you want to become...or the situation you want to come to pass.

"You must hold that thought with greater determination than anyone else
and desire it with passionate intensity."

4. You have to be filled with DESIRE.
To bring his points to life, he tells a grand story of a lesson he learned from Konosuke Matsushita (1894-1989), founder of Panasonic --- admired around the world and regarded by many Japanese people as the "god of management." He learned the lesson during a lecture many years before Matsushita was so highly regarded. The topic of his lecture was his famous "dam management" theory. I wish I could recount it here in full as Dr. Inamori tells it, but I won't spoil the story, except to say that a profound truth was revealed...

"DESIRE is the beginning of everything.
A vague half-hearted desire will never lead to results."

With all the negativity swirling around us day-to-day in these turbulent times, there is an art to catching the wind. Here is the secret...

Expect it.
Think about it

Envision it.

Desire it.

This powerful foursome positions you to move with the wind at your back.

PERSONAL INVITATION to inspire you to catch the wind: Learn from another extraordinary leader ONLINE on AUGUST 10 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm Eastern Time (New York). Join me for LEADERSHIP by Example: A Conversation with Frances Hesselbein, an interactive webinar and global leadership gathering with the founding president and CEO of Leader to Leader Institute in New York (formerly the DRUCKER Foundation for Nonprofit Management). Meet her and learn why Peter F. Drucker hailed her "as the world's best leader." (The Economic Times - January 2010). No fees. Registration required; confirmation provides login info/audio options to attend.

*** Learn more and SEE INVITATION: http://tinyurl.com/29n4sam
*** 1-Page Brochure to share (PDF)
*** Visit related online visual self-learning exhibit at the KNOWLEDGE GALLERY

Warm wishes as you work to catch the WIND for that future you have in mind!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedyfounder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

Book: Putting Our Differences to Work Buy a Copy
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more: http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com/about.html
2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner - Bronze
for Human Resources and Employee Training

LEADERSHIP LESSON: General McChrystal Hands Us a MIRROR

2010-07-01T00:12:00-07:00

There continue to be opinions are all over the place about President Obama's firing of Afghanistan commander General Stanley McChrystal last week. As a leader, it is not difficult to feel a great sense of compassion for General McChrystal; his own description demonstrating he knew that his behavior and poor judgment brought on his day of reckoning. My reason for describing it as I have is based on an early leadership lesson in my career. In my first management job at IBM, my boss told me, while I watched this happen to a "highly decorated" leader friend, that when someone resigns under such circumstances, it is being FIRED; the resignation is a courtesy to help preserve the person's dignity. This message stayed with me. I remember never wanting to know this experience first-hand. :-)

Some years back, I had the opportunity to visit the Pentagon. The Deputy Chief of Staff of Personnel for the Army at the time, General David H. Ohle spent significant time teaching me about Army Values; how they were taught and ingrained into a soldier's being. I remember relating to them instantly, because they weren't so very different from IBM's Basic Beliefs and Business Conduct Guidelines that I grew up on in my first career. General Ohle gave me an Army Values Card, which I've cherished. I took it out first thing last week when the news broke about General McChrystal. The values --- Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless-Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage ---together with the"Soldier's Code" on the back of the card, provide a clear set of standards for behavior at all levels. At the Commanding General level, I can only imagine that the Rolling Stone interview with all its associated activities, behavior, actions, and far-reaching implications did not fall within these standards and perhaps a few others.

One observation I've had over the years in my own leadership career and working with senior leaders in many organizations is that most leaders fired are not fired for incompetence, but sadly, some truly BRILLIANT ones are taken out of their jobs for poor judgment and behavior unbecoming a respected leader. It is often when you least expect it --- and it always comes as shock for everyone. It rattles the best of us if it's close, because no matter how perfect we all like to think we are, with just a little lapse of judgment --- a little thoughtless behavior --- a little twist of fate, it could have been us.

LEADERSHIP TOOL: "The SUNSHINE TEST"
When I was a young leader at IBM, I always appreciated how we were coached and counseled with personalized briefing letters from our CEOs on all kinds of management topics. When the General McChrystal incident came to light last week, I flashed on one briefing in particular I've never forgotten. It defined the expectations for manager's personal conduct and also provided an excellent "leadership tool" for your personal decision-making that has been in my consciousness ever since --- and generously used. I've summarized the two key parts below. At IBM, I am quite certain that these clearly defined expectations saved the "bacon" of many leaders. The summary is taken from the original briefing published by IBM in a book we were given as a gift; it remains a ready reference for thinking and questioning today:

*** EXPECTATION of IBM's Managers:The company respects the individual's right to privacy, but managers have responsibilities that do not always end at the close of business. Managers often travel on business or are away on temporary assignment, alone or with peers and subordinates. Whatever the circumstance, if their behavior on their own time adversely affects IBM's reputation or their own ability to manage, it's a business problem.

*** The SUNSHINE TEST: If you have any doubt whether certain behavior is acceptable, apply the "sunshine test." Ask yourself how you would feel if the conduct were exposed to the full light of day and the examination of colleagues you respect. If you are uncomfortable with the answer, you won't need a rule book or formal business review to tell you what's right.

TAKE A GOOD LOOK IN THE MIRROR
General McChrystal's story is perhaps a leadership wake-up call for us all. I read once that the world is a mirror and gives back to each of us the reflection of our own face. Maybe this incident can be the mirror in which we each take a good look at our own behavior and actions, recommitting ourselves to be LEADERS by example.

How could we use this example to challenge ourselves to be more thoughtful in our leadership and conscious of the implications of our behavior and actions on others and the organizations and communities we serve?

What are your thoughts?

Warm regards,

Debbe

Debbe Kennedyfounder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

Book: Putting Our Differences to Work Buy a Copy
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more: http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com
2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner - Bronze
for Human Resources and Employee Training

ONLINE Professional Development at the Global Dialogue Center...

** TACTICS OF INNOVATION WEBINAR **
How to Get Buy-In for NEW IDEAS
Thursday, September 16 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET (New York)
A 30-minute informal group exchange follows
Learn more and register...
http://www.howtogetbuyinfornewideas.com/program-overview.shtml
Joel Barker and Debbe Kennedy, executive instructors

at the Global Dialogue Center CONFERENCE CENTER

CREATIVITY: The Top Leadership Quality - Are you ready?

2010-06-10T17:11:49-07:00

IBM has published another outstanding Global CEO Study. Besides the elegant presentation of the results, who participated and how it was conducted gives it a special significance. Between September 2009 and January 2010, the
IBM Global CEO Study collected the perspectives across
these dimensions of business difference:

***1541 CEOs, general managers, and senior public sector
leaders were interviewed face-to-face
*** different sizes of organizations
*** from 60 countries
*** representing 33 industries

In 2010, the conversations identified a new primary challenge: COMPLEXITY.CEOs described it this way: "They operate in a world that is substantially more volatile, uncertain, and complex." They also identified that incremental changes are no longer sufficient as the world continues to be operating in fundamentally different ways.

One of the key findings in the IBM Global CEO Study stood out. CEOs, general managers, and senior public sector leaders identified creativity as the single most important leadership quality for organizations forging a path through the complexity of today's marketplace, workplace, and community.

KEY QUESTION to consider...
Are all CEOs, general managers, and senior public sector leaders prepared to connect with, listen to, and welcome new thinking and new ideas from the CREATIVE LEADERS and INNOVATORS in their organizations?

What 2000+ Leaders Told Us About Their Roadblocks to CREATIVITY
Last year, futurist Joel A. Barker and I worked with over 2000 leaders and innovators from all over the United States and over ten countries when the economy went south in a series of online dialogues, INNOVATING in HARD TIMES. We asked leaders and innovators what their greatest challenge was in introducing their new thinking and new ideas within their organizations and with their customers?
Their responses was striking:

23% said breaking thru the noise of information overload was increasingly difficult
84% named resistance to change in all its forms
   (e.g., invested in status quo, cynicism to anything new and different, willingness to
   listen, knowledge, know-how, and confidence to deal with these realities.)

In response to this need, in 2010, Joel and I developed a professional development webinar called Tactics of Innovation: How to Get Buy-In for New Ideas. Our goal has been to help leaders and innovators change this dynamic by better understanding resistance, its advantages, and to arm leaders with time-tested tools to engage sponsors and others in their innovative ideas. Interestingly, with each class we've held, participants report that the "resistance to change" challenges have been on the rise during the economic recovery. Our last two sessions, showed a 10% + increase with over 94% reporting noise and resistance to change as roadblocks to introducing innovative new thinking and ideas.

CLOSING THE GAP
Why do smart people say No! to your CREATIVE IDEAS?
A global study and a webinar that broaden your perspective and put new tools in your hands to answer this question.

** TACTICS OF INNOVATION WEBINAR **
How to Get Buy-In for NEW IDEAS
Thursday, September 16 1:00 - 2:30 pm ET (New York)
A 30-minute informal group exchange follows
Learn more and register...
http://www.howtogetbuyinfornewideas.com/program-overview.shtml
Joel Barker and Debbe Kennedy, executive instructors
at the Global Dialogue Center CONFERENCE CENTER

** Check out IBM's Global CEO Study ** Three reasons: 1) It provides a global view senior leaders perspectives across sectors. 2) It will convince you how much we have to learn from one another's perspectives across disciplines, industries, and sectors. 3) It asks compelling questions of us about leading creatively and provides insights about what it means. Learn more and get your own copy.

Warm wishes to all who stop by...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedyfounder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

Book: Putting Our Differences to Work Buy a Copy
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more: www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com
2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner - Bronze
for Human Resources and Employee Training

EXCELLENCE: Differences Create It!

2010-05-31T00:06:38-07:00

Putting our differences to work has unlimited possibilities. It is at the intersection of all that distinguishes us that we find new levels of innovation, excellence, and contribution. You've been there, haven't you? Do you remember the grand experiences when collaboration really WORKED? When we intertwine the best of the best in each of us, we see how much we can accomplish together --- achievements not possible without our individual differences become possible.

Consider this example...
I learned a long time ago that a story is something we can revisit over and over again for inspiration. I came across the bookmark for this video today and it is so extraordinary, I had to share it. When something is so done well, one need only soak it in and enjoy pure excellence. One need not know anything about the art form, because the performance transcends knowledge. In this collaboration we clearly see the greatness and the joy of dancing your best dance with your favorite partner! Amazing! (Andreas Helgstrand on Blue Hors Matine). We have to learn to regularly look outside ourselves and beyond the ususal examples we routinely turn to in order to raise the bar of what we consider EXCELLENT. Then think and question how we might apply what we learn to new levels of excellence in our own right.

LEARNING TO COLLABORATE AT A NEW LEVEL...
The evidence has been mounting for some years and it is convincing. Organizations and individuals all over the world are discovering that putting our differences to work is the most powerful accelerator for generating new ideas, creating innovative solutions, executing organizational strategies, and engaging everyone in the process. I wrote my book to help people make their own discovery of this truth and filled it with everything you need to get started right where you are.

"It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed." - Charles Darwin

What distinguishing qualities about you might be matched with qualities of others to achieve new levels of excellence?

Watch for the opportunities!

Debbe

Debbe

Debbe Kennedyfounder, president, and CEO
Global Dialogue Center and Leadership Solutions Companies

Twitter: @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

Book: Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
Learn more: www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com   Buy a Copy
2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner - Bronze
for Human Resources and Employee Training

Putting Our Differences to Work | 2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner - Human Resources & Employee Training

2010-05-20T22:09:45-07:00

What I loved most about learning that my book, Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance is a ** 2010 Axiom Business Book Award Winner ** is that the news came in the middle of the night, when I couldn't sleep, in an unexpected Google Alert. I immediately flashed on a lesson I learned when my first published work arrived via UPS many years ago. I was alone. I sat down in the garage, opened the box and there it was --- my name in print for the very first time --- as I dreamed. There was no band playing. No cheering crowd. Just a nice, warm feeling inside that a small dream had come true. There was a similarity in this experience.

I thought the time for winning had passed. No notification had arrived in late March. However, it did arrive on a perfect night in May about 2:00 AM. And what do most of us do in the wee hours of the morning when we can't sleep? Check email. The top item was my Google Alert. The first listing on the alert was from a blogger. It read: "Business Book Awards of the World - Winners..." and my name -- Debbe Kennedy --- was among the winners. This time, there seemed to be a band playing inside of me. It was exciting. Hope was alive! Again, I was alone. The whole house was asleep. No cheering crowd, but my fingers flew over the keys, finding my way to the discovery that yes!, my book, indeed had received the honor --- a Bronze 2010 Axiom Business Book Award for Human Resources and Employee Training. List of award winners.

The Axiom Business Book Awards - "Success through Knowledge" - celebrate excellence in business book writing with the understanding that business people are an information-hungry segment of the population, eager to learn about great new books that will inspire them and help them improve their careers and businesses.

I admit it, I'm deeply grateful for the acknowledgment and I hope it will be a catalyst to help others around the world get a chance to read my book. In some ways, I think periodically small blessings like this arrive to keep you focused on continuing the work you start when you write a book. This award is one of those Gifts. The book holds the wisdom of many thought leaders, mentors, sages, and teachers crossing all segments of society. I've had the good fortune to know many of them. Some I've never met, but they are very present in the book. When all the differences are put together, it is a virtual gathering of great minds and pioneering spirits coming together across time and distance to share knowledge and know-how with you.

ANOTHER UNEXPECTED GIFT
Interestingly, following day, I also received the message below in an unexpected email. It is from a young professional, who I've never met, but who had read my book. It also serves as still another affirmation. I share it with you because I think each reader adds a perspective from their unique vantage point that goes way beyond what I can say...

"I thoroughly enjoyed reading your book. It really did give me a brand new perspective on my career progression and current professional environment. As unoriginal as this may sound to you, it helped me define who I was in the work place which in turn helped me mold my professional goals.The inspiration and motivation I received from reading your book was the final push I needed to pursue a personal goal of mine, which has been to get an Executive MBA.

I feel very fortunate to have read this book at a relatively early age. I have been recommending your book to all of my friends, who are just now finishing up their degrees, as I earnestly believe the perspective you provide on leadership is important for recent graduates and rookie employees to read. I thoroughly enjoyed your insightful perspective on leadership in an ever changing environment and the importance of innovation in an organization, and truly appreciated the personal challenges and objectives that your book laid out."
Other reader reviews

As I wrote in the preface of my book, my greatest hope for Putting Our Differences to Workis that it will be one of those books that you read, internalize, put into practice, and keep as a ready reference and guide for using your passions, intellect, knowledge, and skills to pioneer a new era---one that puts your signature on the twenty-first century---opening the way for the human dimension of leadership to reign.

May the the returns for your efforts leave an enduring imprint wherever you are called to lead the way. I welcome you on this journey.

Warmest regards to all,

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, President and CEO Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership,
and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
Buy a Copy at Amazon.com

Reader Reviews

Downloadable DISCUSSION GUIDE
for teams, training, reading groups

Leadership | INNOVATION | Diversity | Inclusion at work...
Join me and futurist Joel Barker ONLINE for Tactics of Innovation:
How to Get Buy-In for NEW IDEAS Webinar - JUNE 3 or SEPT 19.
It's a professional development webinar to. Learn more...
WEBSITE: www.howtogetbuyinfornewideas.com

Our DREAMS in ACTION: A POEM with a Personal Story

2010-05-10T21:16:47-07:00

It seems we all eventually land at a decision point---an intersection that tugs at the heart of the leader to make a conscious choice. I wrote about this moment in my book...Do you choose to turn back, remaining the same, ignoring the compelling call at this point in history? Or do you choose to be one of the new breed of leaders, taking all you know together with your vision and pioneering spirit to forge a new path—one where putting our differences to work is the driver and differentiator of our successes collectively? A new path where we consciously choose to lead by example. The decision is yours. I admit mine is fueled by an earlier experience...and ignited by the challenges and opportunities so badly needing our attention.

One time, having reached a similar intersection, I sat at my dining room table tracing how “dreams had come true” for me as a leader during the previous twenty years at IBM. My aim was to bolster up my courage to make the right decision to blaze a new trail. The tracing resulted in my writing a simple poem. Flowing from my memory, the reflection filled me with confidence enough to say, “Yes!” to a new calling. The rest is history.

Since then, the poem has been used by many trailblazers over the years and has since been translated into sixteen languages, which validates that its message is universal. Futurist Joel Barker has used it for many years to close his presentations about vision and encouraged me to rename it “Our Dreams in Action.”

A HIDDEN MESSAGE IN THE POEM
For many years, when I displayed the poem, I shared it, justifying it on the left. Interestingly, I discovered when I wrote my book and decided to include the poem in that when the words of the poem are centered on the page, the lines create an equidistant cross. According to Angeles Arrien, a cultural anthropologist, in her beautiful book Signs of Life, the equidistant cross shape—the plus sign—universally symbolizes the process of relationship, integration, and balanced connection. How perfect! For those hearing the call to innovate, lead, and reach for new levels of peak performance and contribution, the poem also demonstrates once again that putting our differences to work is a powerful practice familiar to us all. May it inspire a “Yes!” in you as you move into action on your own intended path. (Below: graphic of the poem, page 55, Putting Our Differences to Work by Debbe Kennedy).

"Make your contribution. Everything is a diversion."
--- Peter F. Drucker, Father of Modern Management

Warm regards to all that stop by...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, President and CEO Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter @debbekennedy @onlinedialogues

author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership,
and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
Buy a Copy at Amazon.com

Reader Reviews

Downloadable DISCUSSION GUIDE
for teams, training, reading groups

View and share VIDEO Overview