Reviews of Putting Our Differences to Work
"The dangers of ‘groupthink’ are painfully apparent across our world. That’s why diversity, broadly understood, is so essential to innovation and progress – as Debbe Kennedy reminds us in this pragmatic and wise guide for leaders."
Mike Wing
Vice President, Strategic Communications, IBM
“Rarely has there been a more relevant, more needed guidebook for leaders of the future than Putting Our Differences to Work. Debbe Kennedy has illuminated diversity, innovation, and leadership in a way that will help leaders across the sectors to redefine the future in our times of massive change.”
Frances Hesselbein , Chairman and Founding President
Leader to Leader Institute; Former CEO, Girl Scouts of America
“Debbe Kennedy flips the paradigm of differences on its ear. Instead of using our differences to divide us or as fodder for gossip and time-wasting judgments about others, she champions the practical advantages to employing our differences for good use. Excellence, creativity, wisdom and - dare I say it - magic become reliable deliverables!”
John Renesch, global futurist, author, Getting to the Better Future,
compiler/editor, Leadership in a New Era, compiler/co-editor, Learning Organizations
"The power of Debbe Kennedy's storytelling helps us all see our own accomplishments in a new light. At the same time, the stories encourage us to take our leadership to a new level. The six steps she offers provide a roadmap to leaders and organizations on how to effectively put differences to work."
Emily J. Duncan
former Vice President, Culture and Diversity, Hewlett Packard
Emily Duncan Consulting
"Personal, reflective, insightful and inspirational. Full of great ideas and a very powerful story that shows how we need to redefine leadership and diversity in order to help make the world a better place. Needs to be widely read – urgently!"
Dr. Bruce Lloyd
Emeritus Professor of Strategic Management
London South Bank University
ABOUT PROFESSOR BRUCE LLOYD
Dr. Lloyd spent over 20 years in industry and finance before joining the academic world a decade ago to help establish the Management Centre at what is now London South Bank University. South Bank (since 1892) is one of London's largest universities known for preparing its 23000+ students to be skilled ready for the workforce.
“Leaders must find new sources of growth more than ever today. After questioning what leadership means while reading Putting Our Differences to Work, I found myself focused on one thing: I, the leader, must first harness our people’s rich and diverse experiences, cultures and perspectives to attract growth.” Debbe Kennedy compels us to see the source of unimagined growth that is locked within the people in our organization. Unlock, innovate and win… together.”
Lane A. Michel
Executive Vice President
Quaero Corporation
Accelerating Marketing Performance
"We know that to create a sustainable, peaceful, and socially just world, we must change our attitudes toward relationships and the ways we conduct business. Debbe Kennedy's "Putting Our Differences to Work" spells this out eloquently. It blazes a trail down the path to this new paradigm, offering us guidelines, solutions, and hope. A book for this amazing time of challenges and opportunities!"
John Perkins
NEW YORK TIMES bestseller author of Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
and The Secret History of the American Empire; www.JohnPerkins.org and www.Dreamchange.org
"Debbe Kennedy has written a book that approaches innovation and leadership in a unique way. It focuses on the power of bringing differences together to create new products, services, and new levels of contribution. It is based on her work of the last fifteen years, and every idea has been tested and proven. In a world in which diversity is becoming more important every day, knowing how to use that diversity for innovation is a huge competitive advantage. That’s what Putting Our Differences to Work offers.
What Debbe has done is create a series of easy-to-follow guidelines, instructions, and suggestions for your organization -- and every leader in it -- on how to utilize diversity to increase innovation. Every one of her ideas has been tested by her in multiple settings. She’s also included a special section referencing key studies, tools, and other resources for you to do your own explorations.
What I like best about Putting Our Differences to Work is that Debbe teaches us how diversity accelerates innovation to everyone’s advantage. This is a win-win-win book in which you and your people win, your organization wins, and the world wins."
Excerpt from FOREWORD by Joel A. Barker
Futurist, filmmaker and bestselling author,
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future
SPECIAL NOTE: Joel Barker also contributed Chapter 10: Innovation at the Verge of Differences, a partner to Chapter 11: Collaboration at the Verge of Differences. Together, these two chapters in Putting Our Differences to Work by Debbe Kennedy chronicle findings and lessons learned from the Barker-Kennedy mutualistic collaboration spanning over a decade.
Customer and Editorial Reviews
Debbe Kennedy's newest book, Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler, Hardcover, May 2008 - Pre-Order at Amazon.com) is a compelling follow-on that takes Kennedy's earlier pioneering work to a new level, offering a practical guide for leaders at all levels.
The customer and editorial reviews below give you a glimpse into the quality and value of her pioneering work in 2000, Diversity Breakthrough! Strategic Action Series. (Berrett-Koehler 2000)
"Debbe Kennedy has given us multiple gifts -- first, the gift of her deep experience with diversity work, and second, her creative gifts of presenting these ideas in a way that makes them intriguing and compelling. We have a great need for her work, because until we learn to work together in all our awesome, disturbing, and intriguing diversity, we will not be able to create organizations that can dance through these turbulent days. Thank you Debbe!"
Margaret J. Wheatley
author, Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time
and Leadership and the New Science
co-author, A Simpler Way
"Totally overwhelmed with the excellence of the materials. I think Diversity Breakthrough! is an enormous contribution."
Frances Hesselbein
Chairman of the Board of Governors
Leader to Leader Institute (formerly Peter F. Drucker Foundation)
author, Hesselbein on Leadership
"The topic of diversity has been an ongoing challenge to every element of modern society. Debbe Kennedy has taken on this challenge and produced, with her new book series, a process which, I think, does the best job of generating action and growth toward understanding diversity and utilizing its extraordinary advantages. Particularly important is the powerful and novel set of activities and exercises that draws in everyone and enables them to climb to a new plateau of understanding and commitment."
Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Five Regions of the Future and
The Business of Paradigms
"Outstanding! In Diversity Breakthrough!, Debbe Kennedy performs a "triage" on the myriad of action management technologies and comes up with the bare essentials that are tried and true. The author reduces years of management experiences to simple common denominators that can be read and appreciated in a short time period.
"I had a sense all the way through the books that the author had been there, herself. This, more than any other one factor, influenced my acceptance of her methods. Her message: individuality, simplicity and diversity are virtues to be treasured because they lead to innovation."
Irving W. DeVoe, Ph.D.,
Chief Scientist and Vice-Chairman
MR3 Systems, Inc.
"Very impressive! Wonderful tools for individuals, teams and organizations. Really like the models and processes. Kennedy has a gift for getting to the heart of things and communicating insights in simple, yet powerful, ways. She has also been able to personalize the tools through stories, and through the meaningful quotations. So many tools are presented as dehumanized abstractions, but Debbe Kennedy's have color and flavor."
Terence Brake, Vice President
TMA-US/London/France and
author, The Global Leader
"Once in a great while, someone comes up with a truly unique approach to human relationships. Debbe Kennedy is that someone. Her approach to diversity is the most innovative, insightful, practical, helpful set of concepts and tools I've seen in a very long time. Diversity Breakthrough is destined to become a 'classic.'"
Barbara "BJ" Hateley
author, Yes Lives in the Land of NO: A Tale of Triumph Over Negativity
Co-Author, Peacock in the Land of Penguins: A Tale of Diversity and Discovery
"I took a tour of Debbe Kennedy's new work one evening, and was immediately (the next day) able to utilize her tools with a client. And, I was a hero! Her package is superb and moves (even the most sophisticated) into deep dialogue. Debbe Kennedy has pulled together the best of the best. Her exercises, ideas, stories, and assessments will add significantly to any effort. She provides both insight and action for any practioner at any size company with the topic of diversity on their plate! A perfect set of interventions for the beginner or the skilled professional."
Bevery Kaye
President, Career Systems International, Inc. and
Beverly Kaye & Associates, Inc.
Co-Author, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay
"An easy read-not too daunting-compact in size and condensed information which doesn't allow the reader any excuse for procrastination. Encourages everyone to follow their dream and take 'Action' as the title suggests. Loved the quote from Mother Theresa...."Don't wait for leaders. Do it alone-person to person."
Catherine DeVrye
Sydney, Australia
"... provides a framework for understanding and planning responsible action for a fundamental yet emotionally charged topic. The books give real insights, examples and inspiration. Our valuing of each other is the secret to success. This series makes it easy for all to accept.
Leslie Yerkes
Cleveland, Ohio
"Our organization has been trying to become inclusive for some time. The stories in this book are inspiring and the ideas for measuring and celebrating helped me see "achievement" with a new perspective. Recommended!"
Kathleen B.
Los Angeles, CA
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