Putting Our Differences to Work by Debbe Kennedy

GANDHI INSIGHTS: A Higher Standard of Leadership

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. His wisdom is unfortunately putting us all to the test at this time in history. What we we took time to re-evaluate our thinking --- re-assessed our freedoms and subjected them to these an affirmative new vision that I think Gandhi believed would benefit everyone? Can you imagine the changes we would see.

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

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

DIVERSITY Drives INNOVATION: History proves it!

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.

 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

 

 

 

 

INNOVATION: The Power of the START

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
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/debbekennedy 
FiledByAuthor:  http://www.filedby.com/author/debbe_kennedy/490939/

The Power of the Global WEBINAR: Focusing on STRENGTHS

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

 

CREATIVITY: The Top Leadership Quality - Are you ready?

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!

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

Revisiting CHARACTER and ETHICS

A few weeks ago, I received a quite remarkable comment about a previous post I had written, Differences, Words, and Deeds. It came in from Steve Nguyen, Diversity Trainer, University of North Texas. What was most meaningful about his commentary is that in its wisdom, we are reminded of the basics of character and ethics that come from the lessons we learned as young children. Interestingly, in a kind of perfect timing -- everything around us, in almost any direction we look, seems to demonstrate that we have strayed away from these values, the absence of which has been the source of our most pressing problems today. Steve's message also speaks to the importance of honoring differences --- and I would add, it restates the universal truths that create an environment where putting our differences to work yields the fastest way to innovation, leadership, and high performance. They are are fundamental to the Five Distinctive Qualities of Leadership for the 21st Century discussed in my book. For these reasons, I share Steve Nguyen's commentary below.

A BACKDROP for Your Thinking
Peter F. Drucker, the well-know father of modern management, established a timeless framework for revisiting the notions of character and business ethics. He poses a question that serves as a backdrop for considering the basic truths that Steve Nguyen brings up for our thinking and questioning:

"The fundamental axiom on which the Western tradition of ethics has always been based is: There is only one code of ethics, that of individual behavior, for prince and pauper, for rich and poor, for the mighty and the meek alike. ...There is only one ethics, one set of rules of morality, one code, that of individual behavior in which the same rules apply to everyone alike. Business ethics assumes that for some reason the ordinary rules of ethics do not apply to business. What is Business Ethics then?" 
--- Peter F. Drucker, The Daily Drucker

Commentary by Steve Nguyen
"I've always believed that many of the things we do as adults can and should be learned from children and the process by which we educate them. When we talk about honoring each other's differences and watching our words and actions, I think that children are our best teachers. For instance, I contend that character education (teaching children how to be better, more honorable world citizens by treating one another with respect) is also a great way to teach adults and business leaders.

Imagine teaching character education as a business ethics course! Here are six qualities/pillars of character that can be taught: http://charactercounts.org/sixpillars.html

Trustworthiness
Be honest • Don’t deceive, cheat or steal • Be reliable — do what you say you’ll do • Have the courage to do the right thing • Build a good reputation • Be loyal — stand by your family, friends and country

Respect
Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule • Be tolerant of differences • Use good manners, not bad language • Be considerate of the feelings of others • Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone • Deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements

Responsibility
Do what you are supposed to do • Persevere: keep on trying! • Always do your best • Use self-control • Be self-disciplined • Think before you act — consider the consequences • Be accountable for your choices

Fairness
Play by the rules • Take turns and share • Be open-minded; listen to others • Don’t take advantage of others • Don’t blame others carelessly

Caring
Be kind • Be compassionate and show you care • Express gratitude • Forgive others • Help people in need

Citizenship
Do your share to make your school and community better • Cooperate • Get involved in community affairs • Stay informed; vote • Be a good neighbor • Obey laws and rules • Respect authority • Protect the environment

Taking any one of these, we can easily apply its lesson to our lives as adults and to our workplaces. For example, under "Respect", we have "Be tolerant of differences • Use good manners, not bad language • Be considerate of the feelings of others" and under "Responsibility", we learn to "Always do your best • Use self-control • Be self-disciplined • Think before you act — consider the consequences."

Somewhere along the way towards adulthood, we have forgotten these valuable lessons taught to us (hopefully) as children. I think it's important that we each reach deep within to learn again (or for the first time) these principles of humanity (compassion, decency, honor, respect, and citizenship)."

Taking a TIME-OUT to Think and Question
On YouTube.com, there are some creative videos illustrating each of the six pillars. I offer this one to listen to as you pause a moment to think through how you demonstrate these character qualities in your day-to-day business, work, and life. It was created by a 2008 Finalist for the Josephson Institute Character Counts Contest,Chipotle Pictures. Great job!  I leave you doing the same.

Warmest regards to all that stop by. I welcome your thoughts.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, President and CEO 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

Downloadable DISCUSSION GUIDE
for teams, training, reading groups

 

Leadership Qualities for Our Multi-Generational Workforce

These are difficult times for leaders at every level in business and society across the world. We are all reinventing our visions of the future as we work to forge the new paths in an environment of crisis, challenge, and opportunity. We are also in need of re-evaluating everything about how we think, operate, and behave as leaders in this new age. We need to be skilled in many things, particularly the human dimensions of leadership. Why? These will be the differentiators that make it possible to efficiently and effectively lead distributed, diverse, multi-generational teams in a global economy. It is clear that sweeping change and many thoughtful refinements are essential for leaders to transcend the problems that brought us to this current reality.

Leaders gathering across time, distance, difference, and culture
What happens when a group of leaders gather by-chance across time, distance, difference, and culture to think together about what's needed most? Every time I have a chance to find out, I'm amazed to discover that the experience is nothing less than REMARKABLE. It's not just about the discussion itself. It's about who and why people show up and the willingness they demonstrate in sharing from their experience, observations, and intellect. Most of all, I find it moving to see just how much can be accomplished in a very short time when we work in collaboration --- and technology and social networking tools continue to broaden the possibilities for us all. The remarkable part is exemplified in the notably richer quality of the RESULTS ACHIEVED --- it proves once again that what we can do together is far greater than one person could accomplish alone in the same period. The first-person accounts in my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, affirm this truth across industries and cultures over and over again. 

Interestingly, there remains substantial doubt that putting differences to work could possibly be the fastest way to innovation, leadership, and high performance or anything else! At one time, I might have sided with the skeptics. Results of many studies call such an idea into question, including some of the findings of the study by Robert D. Putnam on Diversity and Community in the 21st Century. Looking around might be enough. We don't need a study to show we have our problems getting along and working together. However, in the presence of BOLD, visionary leadership, things can be different.

"It always seems impossible until it is done." -- Nelson Mandela

Exploring needs for our multi-generational workforce
One of these remarkable experiences jumped into my path when I least expected it --- at a perfect time. It was a virtual meet-up with seven accomplished leaders on LinkedIN in an online discussion held within the ASTD National Group.The question up for discussion was: 

What LEADERSHIP QUALITIES do YOU think are most needed today to manage the HUMAN DIMENSION of change in a multi-generational, diverse, global workforce?

The aim from the beginning was to explore the question together with the idea it would be shared in the ongoing Economic Conversation Series at the Global Dialogue Center to help leaders around the world at this time of crisis and opportunity. http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/conferencecenter. What I didn't expect was that the conversation itself would enrich all of us in the process in ways we didn't appear to imagine when we started.

The graphic above [2nd paragraph, click on image to see larger size ] depicts a partial summary of the LEADERSHIP qualities, values, intentions, and behaviors we identified, as well as, some of the descriptors of the nature of the environment these qualities would create. What stood out was that each contributor looked at the question from a unique vantage point. We all saw something different. We passed on wisdom from experience, study, and respected mentors and teachers. Each insight added an idea that enhanced the rest or served to draw together the concepts that emerged to paint a vivid picture of this badly needed leader. This was all done in brief independent visits and without seeing each other or hearing a voice. One of the contributors described our discussion this way:

"Collaborative learning is exactly what has happened here, in this discussion thread, some raised a question and a group of people contributed in a reciprocal way." 

A compelling final question was raised as we considered the composite of qualities and what they might mean to changing current realities...a question to leave us thinking about possibilities:

"How different would our corporate cultures be if executives [and leaders at all levels] were hired and retained based on these leadership qualities and performance behaviors, rather than the typical criteria?

During the discussion, although we expressed it using different words, we all described a leader with human qualities and a high regard for others ---- a "servant leadership"nature. Names like Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr were mentioned. 

Interestingly, over 50 years ago, at a time of great change and turmoil, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked about facing the challenge of a new era. His message is profound in how much it is a calling whispering to us today --- calling us to be part of a new generation of leadership that masters putting our differences to work through our thinking, actions, and behavior in public and when no one is watching --- to work to more consciously consider the human dimension of our leadership responsibility and what it asks of us personally. He said...

FACING THE CHALLENGE OF A NEW AGE (excerpt circa 1956)
"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 judgment 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."

What other ideas do you have to add to this discussion to help us all improve our human qualities to better lead in business and society more effectively?

What contribution will you make?

With gratitude for the meaningful discussion with Fred, Donna, Patrica, Steve, Dan, Michele, and Tomi, I leave you pondering these questions with a renewed consciousness myself.

Warm wishes to you all!
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, President and CEO 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

Let's get connected...
Facebook  http://profile.to/debbekennedy/
Twitter @onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy
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BUILDING CAPABILITY: Wisdom from Peter F. Drucker

Regardless of stature and station, we are all standing at the intersection of a different new world. In order to accelerate our pace, reap the benefits, and share the leadership for opening the way, we need to first change our ways---bringing the human dimension of our leadership in new ways. It will involve recharging and refreshing all that you know, while incorporating a constant flow of refinements that allow you to adapt old habits, as well as, establishing new ones that reflect renewal in the way you think and operate. So where do we begin?

 
Personally, I've always found the best advice for new times by learning from those that first forged the  paths of leadership. For example, imagine all the people throughout the world that have been touched and influenced by the leadership and wisdom of Peter F. Drucker, well known as the "godfather of modern management." I am one.

During this time of challenge, crisis, and opportunity, Peter Drucker's wisdom has been very present in my work. His advice and counsel is timeless --- fresh, real, and relevant. When I was writing Putting Our Differences to Work, lessons I learned from Peter Drucker served as valuable bridges needed to link what we know with what we need to learn, to draw together four diverse elements of business and society. Elements that have traditionally been handled separately in our work and our thinking—if not by our words and processes, then certainly by our visible actions and practices. Together they are a powerful foursome that fuels new levels of contribution and business success: innovation, leadership, diversity, and inclusion. 

Below are three Peter Drucker insights I shared in my book that create a framework for building capability for the human dimension of leadership essential to ignite the best in people --- the fastest way to leadership, innovation, and high performance.

Peter Drucker
BUILDING CAPABILITY INSIGHT 1:
The good news about building capability for putting our differences to work is that it doesn't require all new skills. To the contrary, it has much more to do with applying what we already know to this challenge, refocusing our attention and reshaping our habits. I discovered this truth from Peter Drucker.

In his book Post Capitalist Society, Drucker points out that most of us tend to classify what we know into specialized areas of knowledge, instead of applying the strengths of all our knowledge to different problems—looking at the problems we face and asking,“What do I know? What have I learned that I might apply to this task?”In a way, this says that we want to put the differences in all our areas of knowledge to work to solve problems. Drucker’s wisdom has been a central part of my ongoing work in helping individuals, teams, and organizations around the world put differences to work to create diverse, inclusive environments ever since. I have witnessed over and over again that what it takes to draw differences together is mainly utilizing what we already know about leading change, calling upon the strengths of our experience, with a little different twist.

Peter Drucker
BUILDING CAPABILITY INSIGHT 2:
Peter Drucker had a straight way of talking that left you feeling the true weight of responsibility one carries as a leader. If he were here to help you take on this higher calling of leadership required to develop the qualities a leader needs, he would surely get right to the point, stating clearly what he thought in plain talk, as he always did.

"The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say “I.” And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I.” They don’t think “I.” They think “we”; they think “team.” They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” gets the credit. . . . This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done."

Surely, he would also remind you of the competencies he felt would be most essential for you to change your leadership habits: listening, communicating, reengineering your mistakes, and subordinating your ego to the task at hand.

Peter Drucker
BUILDING CAPABILITY INSIGHT 3:
Another time, I was listening to Peter Drucker at one of the conferences put on by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Non-Profit Management (now Leader to Leader Institute). I remember one piece of advice he gave. Make your contribution. Everything else is a diversion. It serves as a reliable "yardstick" to measure your actions and behavior.

I had the honor of meeting Peter Drucker on his 90th birthday. I cherish this meeting and his enduring influences on my leadership and my life. Thanks, Peter, for showing up on my path. May your work live on in each of us as we apply your knowledge to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

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 (Berrett-Koehler 2008)

YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Facebook  http://profile.to/debbekennedy/
Twitter@onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/debbekennedy 
FiledByAuthor:  http://www.filedby.com/author/debbe_kennedy/490939/

DIFFERENCES: We have MORE than you think!

We continue to discover that DIFFERENCES have taken on a new SIGNIFICANCE, have you noticed? I'm not talking about the strife over race, political views, and reactions to change that hit the headlines. I mean the overwhelming number of organizations and individuals that are turning DIFFERENCES into notable achievements and business advantage all over the world. These distinctive leaders and innovators are proving again and again 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. Did you notice these are important "renewable energies" that fuel the engine of growth:  INNOVATION.

What's new? The undeniable RESULTS are helping us learn the importance of SEEING DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY --- to take a fresh look at our previous limiting beliefs about ourselves and others. The traditional labels we paste on one another and sometimes on ourselves, don't begin the tell the complete stories of who we are, where the value lies in what we know, what we've experienced, how we think, the view of our generational perspective, how we solve problems and make decisions, and much more.

While writing my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, even after years of extensive work and practice across cultures with the aim of closing the gap between mainstream business practice and diversity and inclusion, a new picture of our many dimensions of difference became clear. It was different than the traditional side-by-side interlocking puzzle pieces or mosaic motifs we often use to name our various diversities --- or even the interwoven tapestry idea symbolizing our integrated and interdependent realities. 

What came to life was something complementary to these valued traditions --- let's call it a zoom-in view of the individual in the form of a wheel. This idea actually came with a sense of relief. As a business leader, I had always defied being pigeoned-holed into the one label of woman; especially when I knew many of the differences I brought to the table had just as much to do with leadership experience, thinking-style, how I solved problems, and the "culture" from which I was raised. Somehow I'm imagining most of you could tell a similar story of being labeled in some way.

We Are All DIFFERENT
Each of us has many facets to our knowledge and know-how. Frequently, we work to minimize what's different---- "Look at all we have in common." "We are more alike than unalike." "Let's put our differences aside." These remain valuable truths, but when we stop there, we diminish all that makes us unique and different ---- and we often MISS the most important qualities and skills we possess as a whole innovative package -- a whole, wonderfully unique person. It is our broad set of DIFFERENCES that holds the "pot of gold." It is at the intersection of our many dimensions of difference where possibilities are rich, ripe for INNOVATION to emerge. Futurist and filmmaker, Joel Barker affirms this truth in my book and also in his new film, Innovation at the Verge. In both our collaborative and independent research and practical experiments together for over a decade, we've witnessed it and history has recorded it. ...and there are advantages for everyone!

A Global Business Leader's View
Recently, I received an unexpected letter from Wendy Luhabe, Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. She wrote to express what she saw in concept of Dimensions of Difference presented in my book. Because her opinion comes from a unique vantage point, which includes academia, business, corporate, and entrepreneurial global business leadership, I share her impressions with you:

"Putting Our Differences to work illustrates beyond any measure of doubt that the world has completely misunderstood Diversity--- that we are all unique and different for a purpose; that it is not traditional thinking or a particular intelligence or logic that will rescue us from the current morass; that the world needs leaders who both recognise that and who have the ability to tap into these differences --- to bring their own humanity to activate the same in others." 

Case In Point:
Concepts are best understood in practice and through the power of story. Sonia Melara crossed my path some years back. At the time, Sonia was executive director of the City and County of San Francisco, Department on the Status of Women. She had a powerful spirit and deep conviction to her mission. I spent a meaningful afternoon with her learning about her important work. What is most memorable about our time together was what I learned from her experience. She adds to this discussion through her story by putting the spotlight on why it is critical for us to learn to SEE DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY in each other. [Excerpt from Putting Our Differences to Work, Page 145]

"We are such a “melting pot”—and perhaps this is part of the problem of how we view ourselves. While we are a “melting pot” in terms of race, each of us is very unique as individuals, too. Sometimes, I think we forget that each person represents a distinctive part of our individual cultures. We are all different.

When I came here from El Salvador, I came with a belief I owed it to myself to succeed—and the best of all possible worlds here in the United States was where I could do it. In the process of pursuing my goals, other people from my own community would say, 'You don’t really know about prejudice. You don’t really see it.' Maybe I did experience it, and for a time I didn’t look at it. Over time, I have learned prejudice takes many unexpected forms. For example, when I was nineteen, I applied for the Teacher’s Corps to work with farmworkers’ children. I was interviewed and later received a letter that the reason they could not employ me was because I was not of Mexican descent and had no experience of the life of the farmworker. I remember thinking, 'What? I am a role model.' However isolated this example may seem, I think we might all be surprised to find we have common experiences similar to this, where we have been excluded by our own communities, regardless of our race."

KEY TAKE-AWAYS for YOU
1.  Putting our differences to work is the most powerful accelerator for generating the "renewable energies" we need to fuel the engine of growth:  INNOVATION.

2. Perhaps we have long misunderstood diversity. Maybe seeing ourselves as a “melting pot” is part of our problem. When we see ourselves "melting" into sameness, we overlook that each person represents a distinctive part of our individual cultures and everything that makes us individually unique. The change we need today is to take a closer look at one another, valuing both our sameness and common ground, as well as, developing a curiosity that leads us to discover true value in our differences.

3. Mastering how to SEE DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY is the new collaborative advantage for leaders and innovators at all levels in the twenty-first century. Putting Our Differences to Work is both a personal and practical guide for leaders and aspiring leaders at every level. BOOK OVERVIEW [PDF]

Are you ready?
What do you see from your unique vantage point?
What insight or story can you share?

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 (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Buy a Copy of Putting Our Differences to Work

Ways to connect:

Want to join our next ONLINE DIALOGUE?
Sign-up for an INVITE




Other Resources... to support your work:Working Together
audio learning-on-the-go series

Facebook  http://profile.to/debbekennedy/
Twitter@onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/debbekennedy 
FiledByAuthor:  http://www.filedby.com/author/debbe_kennedy/490939/

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

 

THE RISK OF REACH: Be the Hero

The world had an opportunity to witness the power and remarkable results of putting many dimensions of difference to work as we watched the release and emotional return of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling when they arrived home from North Korea. The leadership diplomacy of former President Bill Clinton, former

Vice President Al Gore, the support of the Obama Administration, and all the other prominent contributors we hear on the news deserve our highest praise. But also imagine all the individuals' efforts that executed both the tiny and the significant details that made the negotiations possible --- and the mission of faith to North Korea to obtain the release remarkable. I can't help but imagine countless fingerprints are on this successful risk of reach that ensured this heroic moment of JOY of Euna Lee and Laura Ling being reunited with their families. It was a mutualistic win, win, win for all concerned with many potential positive rippling influences for good. New HOPE.

What about us?
At this time in our history, on every front, there is much important work to do and everyone has an important role in it. We are being called to change our ways, change our habits, change our thinking, change our jobs, change our organizations, change broken systems, and most of all, CHANGE OURSELVES. 

These big shifts in our lives and work that we are reaching for, during a period of deeply felt CRISIS, are bringing out the best in some of us. It is inspiring to watch. At the same time, the UNKNOWN ahead---the RISK of changing the status quo---is terrifying some...and we have our different ways of feeling it and demonstrating it. We also can't diminish the reality that some of us are plagued with terrible circumstances to overcome --- the CRISIS is at the center of their existence.

How can we transcend whatever situation we face to be the hero in our own rights every day regardless of our situations? 

This may seem an unfair question, when our personal circumstances are all so different. However, Viktor Frankl in his classic, Man's Search for Meaning, defined a standard for us in this piece of timeless wisdom: "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to chose one’s attitudes in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way." This message has helped me many times through my own trials and tragedies---I'm imagining many of you may have been touched by his remarkable work. RELATED Viktor Frank online self-learning exhibits:  KNOWLEGE Gallery: Viktor Frankl's life, messages, and principles and at the WOMEN's Gallery: "Light in the Dark" A Tribute to Viktor Frankl [with reflection by Dr. Alex Pattakos author, Prisoners of Our Thoughts], now showing at the Global Dialogue Center.

Risking the Reach to Be More
One of my favorite writings that applies to this discussion came from a book I found in my dad's treasures after he died. It is taken from a sermon written by the famed Scottish minister and former Chaplain of the U.S. Senate, Peter Marshall (circa 1940). He paints a vibrant picture of THE CALLING of our time:

The Risk of Reach by  Peter Marshall 
"You were put here for a purpose, and that purpose is not related to superficial pleasures.
The time for drifting
or sleeping
or wishful thinking
or daydreaming is over.
The state of our world today make that a very dangerous pastime.
This generation and all of you who are sensitive to what is going on around you,
are called to a supreme adventure.
There is a great stirring in society.
The upheavals of life and the revolutions of multitudes across the world in desperate motion are indications that our world can never be the same again.

...So do not ever underestimate what you can do.
You have the courage to cast off your acrophobia [fear of heights] and
to dream big and to aim high...

How can you Be The Hero?
In order for us to do our individual parts, big and small, we have to first claim a new vision of ourselves as individuals during these difficult times, change our thinking, and be willing to take risk the reach.

I would like to suggest a NEW BOOK
from bestselling Berrett-Koehler author,
Noah Blumenthal
It think it has just the uplifting message needed right now. In the tradition of a great storyteller, Noah's book, BE THE HERO: Three Powerful Ways to Overcome Challenges in Work and Life is a great guide for meeting whatever challenge we face during this time of both crisis and opportunity --- the biggest one to overcome ourselves. One reader described it this way:  "Noah Blumenthal's 'Be the Hero' is a perfect read for the tough times we all are experiencing. It is a mental choice to be victim of our situations or to choose a more heroic mental frame. When we choose hope, gratitude and empathy it leads to greater happiness and well being. 'Be the Hero' helps to reminds us of the choices we can make to walk a more power-filled path." BUY A COPY

" My greatest hope for this book --- it changes people's lives. This book helps you answer the question, "How can I be the person I want to be? " --- Noah Blumenthal

Changing ourselves --- renewing our outlook on life --- can change everything. It also expands the value you bring to your work and opens up opportunities for us to more effectively put our differences to work--- which we continue to prove is the fastest way to the innovations, leadership, and exceptional performance and contribution. We've seen it. History records it every day. We need everyone do their part in their own unique ways.

What contribution will you make in thought, word and deed?
How will you risk the reach to be the hero in your own right?

Warm regards to 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)
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Buy a Copy of Putting Our Differences to Work

Other Resources:
Working Together - audio learning-on-the-go series

Ways to connect:
Want to join our next ONLINE DIALOGUE? Sign-up for an INVITE

Facebook  http://profile.to/debbekennedy/
Twitter@onlinedialogues and @debbekennedy
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/debbekennedy 

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

DEBATE on DIFFERENCES and RACE: Learning from Mandela

In recent days, the DEBATE about DIFFERENCES and RACE has been opened again. Dialogue is always good and becomes the first step toward the next level of ACTION, because the answers have a lot to do with US --- you and me. The hope of it all comes down to fundamentally changing how we think, operate, collaborate, and lead at every level of business and society. It's both personal and practical. It is a compelling call to SEE DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY.

There is much to learn from those who have transcended divides, deep hurts and injustice, and led the way for healing to begin by their example. Nelson Mandela serves an exemplary role model for us. What can we learn from his mastery of putting differences to work? How can his lessons be useful to us at this time in our history? How can they inspire us to be part of the next level of innovation in our relationships, in our work, in our lives, in our communities, as neighboring nations in an interdependent world? These are questions we need to consider.

I came across a timely piece of wisdom from Nelson Mandela that adds perspective to consider in our current discussion: "The purpose of studying HISTORY is not to deride human action, not to weep over it, or to hate it, but to LEARN FROM IT as we contemplate our future."  In reflection, President Obama, Professor Gates, Police Sergeant James Crowley, and all involved in the human mistakes and misunderstandings that forced our attention again, agree that learning from these "teachable moments" is the most important action we can take. Nelson Mandela expands our learning experience:

Nelson Mandela turned 90 last year. By chance, I came across a commemorative article by Richard Stengal, MANDELA: His 8 Lessons of Leadership (Time, July 2008). His No.3 Lesson certainly applies:

Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.

Richard Stengal writes: Mandela loved to reminisce about his boyhood and his lazy afternoons herding cattle. "You know," he would say, "you can only lead them from behind." He would then raise his eyebrows to make sure I got the analogy.

As a boy, Mandela was greatly influenced by Jongintaba, the tribal king who raised him. When Jongintaba had meetings of his court, the men gathered in a circle, and only after all had spoken did the king begin to speak. The chief's job, Mandela said, was not to tell people what to do but to form a consensus. "Don't enter the debate too early," he used to say.

Mandela also handled his meetings with others with a quiet leadership, allowing others to express themselves from their unique vantage point. Richard Stengal puts the spotlight on this leadership skills in this story:

During the time I worked with Mandela, he often called meetings of his kitchen cabinet at his home in Houghton, a lovely old suburb of Johannesburg. He would gather half a dozen men, Ramaphosa, Thabo Mbeki (who is now the South African President) and others around the dining-room table or sometimes in a circle in his driveway. Some of his colleagues would shout at him — to move faster, to be more radical — and Mandela would simply listen. When he finally did speak at those meetings, he slowly and methodically summarized everyone's points of view and then unfurled his own thoughts, subtly steering the decision in the direction he wanted without imposing it. The trick of leadership is allowing yourself to be led too. "It is wise," he said, "to persuade people to do things and make them think it was their own idea."  Read the full article.

Imagine what we could do to solve the problems we face if we could apply the learnings from this one leadership lesson --- turning hurt and talk into ACTION:  We would learn to...

• Lead from behind, looking for ways to lift others up by bringing them into the dialogue to explore possibilities; entering at just the right time.
• We would bring people with clear differences together; listen to them; value what they have to say --- allowing them to be who they are.
• We would mix all the goodness in the ideas, learning to listen and articulate the vision that came from the great diverse mix of intellect, experience, culture, and generational insight.
• We would be willing to "be led" by the wisdom emerging from the group.

In my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, the Five Distinctive Qualities of Leadership and the Six Step Action Process provide the value-based intentions and framework to bring Nelson Mandela's lessons to life so they are real and relevant to the challenges and opportunities we face at this time of crisis on many fronts. I wrote, "Being asked to fundamentally change the rules in how we think, act, and operate as leaders may seem to be a tall order for many of us. At the same time, there is something familiar about being called to change ourselves in order to lead the way. In times of both crisis and opportunity, leaders are often asked to reinvent themselves; to redirect their attention in some significant way in order for them to champion a transformation of some kind. This is one of those times we’re being called on to put our differences to work to forge a new path" --- to learn while doing good --- building new levels of trust we need so badly to accelerate solving our most pressing problems --- reaching out beyond our own hurt and disappointments.

"Walk worn paths, only that new routes may be found."
--- Oguchi Nkwocka, M.D., Igbo visionary, Biafra-south-eastern Nigeria.

Our badly needed dialogue needs to be more than talk, exchange of ideas, and resulting conversations, we have to look at ourselves and "make that change" inside out. We continue to prove that the fastest way to do this is to work together across many dimensions of difference. Not so much with a focus on our individual agendas, but by investing ourselves in something greater than any one of us --- to recognize the worn, yet uncharted paths that bear our names; to walk them together; to lead the way for others for the good of all; to create change that endures this time.

Your thoughts? I would love to benefit from your wisdom.

Best...
Debbe

SPECIAL CREDITS:
Oil painting by Sally K. Green www.sallykgreen.com; it is one of seven exemplary leaders she painted above my desk; they look over me as I work with a humbling reminder to keep going.

Nelson Mandela quote taken from the "wisdom collection" of Bruce Lloyd, Professor Emeritus, Strategic Management, London South Bank University.

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)
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Buy a Copy of Putting Our Differences to Work

Other Resources:
Working Together - audio learning-on-the-go series

Want to join our next ONLINE DIALOGUE? Sign-up for an INVITE

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

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

3 LEADERSHIP LESSONS: Tribute to Adam Lambert

We all have to much to learn from one another --- and it is often "the outsider" that brings a fresh perspective that reminds us of what we need to develop in ourselves. Adam Lambert (American Idol) has offered up three leadership lessons by his example. They are lessons that bring hope and possibility for change if we are open enough listen to someone who by his own admission is DIFFERENT. If we all just took a little from him, I know it could be a catalyst for transforming how we believe in ourselves, think, operate, and appreciate each other.

FIrst, the kids in my family got me hooked on American Idol some years back. I love seeing people reach inside themselves to discover their greatness. This year, I know I am not alone in witnessing how Adam Lambert took the possibilities on the AI stage to a whole level with every performance. I loved  watching him; to being surprised by him. I've truly looked forward each week to watching how Adam opened his carefully developed "artist's tool bag" to bring us a new dimension of his talent. Adam set a new standard of excellence for American Idol and for all of us, at a time when we all need to be reminded of the care and commitment that true EXCELLENCE REQUIRES.

Leaders throughout the ages have led by example, leaving their imprint, not so much by their words alone, but through their actions and resolute conviction to what they believed in. Below are the three leadership lessons that I observed as I watched Adam in the distance these past months:

LESSON 1:
BE WHO YOU ARE SOONER
Wouldn't we all like to say we did this? Adam Lambert's resolute belief who he is at 27 is moving. He has defied the weakness in others, who so much want to confine him to their labels. Why are we so quick to want to do this to anyone DIFFERENT? It is a limiting practice that inhibits change and innovation in work and life. This "labeling experience" happens to many of us in our lifetimes for a bunch of reasons, but Adam showed a new example in how to respond to it. From the beginning, regardless of the chatter and mean-spirited complaints and disrespectful questions, Adam Lambert humbly, quietly and resolutely made sure he never allowed anyone to make him "shrink" away from what he knew about himself and his dream. Instead he grew into being leader on HIS stage --- the one that reflects "uncharted path that bears HIS name."

Although very different in circumstances, I wrote in my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, about a first-hand account of a journalist's observation reported in the Boston Daily in 1858. He wrote about how Abraham Lincoln transformed before the eyes of the audience as the crowd watched Lincoln step into his calling. This story seems oddly similar to what we've witnessed as ADAM LAMBERT STAR has been born. The journalist wrote in 1858:  "...he was graceful, bold, and commanding." ...he spoke with a power we have seldom heard equaled." The words have been similar in many articles describing Adam Lambert's work as an artist and entertainer. Leadership in one's field seems to have distinctive qualities in common across time and circumstances.

LESSON 2:
GREATNESS EMERGES FROM DISCIPLINE and a POWERFUL "TOOL BOX"
Interestingly, as I've read "the Adam Lambert's story," listened to his interviews, heard his parents reflect on his life and youth, and watched him, it brought up the wisdom of Peter F. Drucker, the father of modern management. Drucker wrote in The Post Capitalist Society, "Most of us, (perhaps all of us) know many times more than we put to use. We do not mobilize the multiple knowledges we possess. We do not use knowledges as part of one toolbox." The Adam Lambert brand that he shared with all of us is one of the best examples I've seen in a long while of someone who has opened his carefully crafted "toolbox," thoughtfully hand-picking from his well-earned collection of instruments, which were developed through years of passionately pursuing his dream since age 10. It appears Adam Lambert's collection of tools and gifts have been built by hard work, struggle, risk-taking, triumphs, defeats, and resolute conviction to achieving his dream. He showed all of us how to put our whole "toolbox" to use, as he accumulated a masterful collection of performances. Adam described his strategy early on this way: "I don't become a one-trick pony." It gave me a flashback when my boss at IBM years ago coached me in a similar way about distinguishing oneself as a leader and innovator. He said, "You got to demonstrate over and over that you can 'change your spots.'" Adam set a new standard excellence in radiating one's many dimensions of difference. He showed us that the combinations of excellence are nearly endless, if we thoughtful apply what we've learned to every new challenges at hand.

LESSON 3:
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
I think one of the most unexpected lessons learned from the Adam Lambert style is how genuinely and generously interested he is in others. It shows in how he looks into the audience; how he listened and took-in whatever the judges said, always giving a kind of unspoken respect, never discounting their opinions --- never gloating over them --- just listening for what might be good in the advice. The quality of loving your neighbor was also reflected in how Adam related to Allison. His warm way of partnering with her showed all of us what happens when we put your differences to work. As we watched with Kris Allen and others, Adam appeared to build trust and respect one Idol at a time. This is how a leader works, gathering his or her following one respectful deed and investment in others at a time. 

There were other affirming examples of Loving your neighbor: Anoop's mention in a recent article how Adam was  willing to give up a song if he could see it had a better fit with one of the the other idols' voices. It also showed in Adam being willing to share the credit and his accolades with the band and others who helped you, not only in words, but in looks, in nods of appreciation that transcended any words. In his performance, Play that Funky Music, it was touching to see him turn, stopping in mid-song before the finale, to give the band a special thank you gift--- two seconds of Adam's undivided attention and gratitude. I hope I can be more conscious of giving this same kindness to others in my own world.

I look forward to watching in the distance as Adam Lambert claims his well-deserved place in music history. I feel grateful that in my lifetime, I had the opportunity to learn from his example and to witness with millions of others the birth of Adam Lambert stardom. A BIG STAR! Go, Adam! May you be blessed! Congratulations also to Kris Allen!

EPILOGUE - American Idol is Crowned...

In another not-so-surprising show of leadership, Adam Lambert brought real class to Kris Allen's win of the AI Crown. His demonstrated an outlook we all need --- finding joy for our friends' success and helping everyone look to tomorrow with anticipation.

In the words of Adam Lambert:
“For me it’s not really about what happened tonight, it’s about tomorrow. It’s about next. ...I think that Kris won because he’s a great artist and I was happy to be a runner-up to that,” he said, adding that he and Allen had found a lot of common ground despite their very different backgrounds and styles."

“If there’s anything that can come from this experience, and I hope that all the fans out there can pick up on, is that even if you’re really different there’s a way to get along with each other,” Lambert said. “And it’s not about ‘Oh, you beat me because of this,’ or ‘You, you’re different.’ It’s about finding the common stuff that makes it work.” (Reuters Blog)

With respect and admiration,

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center  Twitter@debbekennedy
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work(Berrett-Koehler 2008)
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

OPTIMISM: Getting BUY-IN for Your NEW IDEAS

There is an air of OPTIMISM that keeps revealing itself. I came to Washington D.C. this week and you can feel it here. It started with a "drive-by welcome" outside my hotel window when President Obama returned after the GREAT BURGER lunch via Pennsylvania Avenue. I admit it was a memorable moment I won't forget. The next day, I had the honor of meeting with senior executives from numerous departments of the U.S. Government to talk about Putting Our Differences to Work. I was moved by their passion and commitment to mission --- and to the possibilities they shared. The topic of convincing others to accept new ideas came up. We all seem to be brimming with them. So I write this thinking about their important work in service of all of us...

There is TRUTH in the familiar saying, "it's all in how it's presented" and right now, getting buy-in for our NEW IDEAS has taken on a new significance in these hard times. It seems we are all looking for ways to influence someone or something. Although, most of us acknowledge that getting buy-in for new ideas is essential, our actions frequently demonstrate we don't have a clue about getting it. In fact, the most critical success factor is often discounted, overlooked, avoided, or just ignored---ACCEPTANCE. My long time colleague, futurist Joel Barker affirmed what we need to keep in mind when he said, "It is natural and logical for people to resist change. New ideas upset the balance and change makes things difficult. Only by developing the ability to present your idea from the user's point of view will you be able to achieve success."

Some of us don't want anything to do with "selling" anything, especially if we've had bad experiences with sales people. If selling an idea hasn't been part of our training, it is common to confuse methods of effective speaking or teaching techniques with what is necessary to influence acceptance of a new idea. There is a big difference. Here are some common mistakes we often make because of our misunderstanding of what is required:

• Our explanation of a new idea is too complicated, too long, or lacks focus. 
  
• We present ideas that are "half-baked" - sharing them before we've thought through the details and explored the implications. 
  
• We forget to make sure we have a compelling "business case" to give potential sponsors a reason to say, "Yes!"
  
• We don't invest in our own PREPARATION to introduce what we are most passionate about; Rumi was on to something, when he said, "Attention to small details, makes perfect a large work." 
  

• Our approach to sharing ideas causes more trouble than it is worth (e.g., never, never send your new idea to a large distribution list without sponsorship. :-)

• We've not come up with an easy way to test the idea so the risk, $$$, and personal involvement scares the sponsors we need.

• We ask too many people for ideas and then use them all; instead of trusting our own judgment.

These unintentional MISTAKES create a great "yardstick" for evaluating your approach to sharing new ideas --- even if the new idea happens to be YOU and your organization, REINVENTED for a new time.

If you need help, here are two ideas:

1. See WORKING TOGETHER ... Innovate, Influence, and Win --- my "learning-on-the-go" audio series. It offers lots of great ideas. http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/workingtogether

2, Join me on MAY 19 for an ONLINE DIALOGUE ---- Connecting for SUCCESS in HARD TIMES. We are going to explore how business and social networking can help you introduce yourself and your business in a new way. Learn more and register here: http://tinyurl.com/MAY19INVITATION
No fees. Just register and we'll send you the login. Come learn from others and share your ideas.

Best...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center  Twitter@onlinedialogues
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work(Berrett-Koehler 2008)
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Lessons from the TALENTED: Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle

The Internet has been a buzz over two exceptional talents: Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle. What can we learn from them about how important it is for us to develop an openness to see and experience DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY? What can these two talents teach us about ourselves?

First,  Adam Lambert has taken the American Idol competition by storm amidst an impressive group of this year's AI candidates. Regardless of who you may be rooting for, it is hard to deny that Adam has in fact elevated Season 8 of this popular show to a whole new level with a incredible combo of voice + artistry with his sure-to-dazzle-the-audience performances each week. This doesn't take away from the "talent factor" of other performers. They are all terrific. Adam Lambert is just bringing a unique portfolio of skills and using it...every bit of it. Reportedly, nothing he is doing is left to chance, "My personal strategy with the week to week thing, ...I know I did well this week and so I'm setting the bar higher. How am I going to top that?' (KSFM interview) Ask yourself, When is the last time you asked that question after a long week at work?

His performance of "Mad World" brought Simon Cowell, the audience, and people (including me :-) across the world to their feet to cheer the second-to-none experience of watching "a new star" be born before our eyes, the likes we've not seen recently. It's not just the usual favorite "Idol" fixation either. Adam's many dimensions of DIFFERENCE drive people wild, bringing both the highest praise and not so uncommon controversy. If you've not seen him in action creatively cascading his capacity for artistic interpretation brought to life, check these out performances (Oh, go ahead...brave it; take a peek at something new and different): Black Or White   Play that Funky Music   Mad World  Tracks of My Tears   Born To Be Wild (Easy Rider). 

It's funny to watch us want to put our familiar labels on him in an effort to explain what we are seeing in him, instead of savoring what makes Adam Lambert unique. One's generational perspective seems to shape whether the stretch is to compare him to Zac Efron or Elivs. The Legendary singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka recently commented that he thinks Adam can take it all the way: "Adam is like a young Elvis, isn't he?" What's exciting is his broad appeal --- hmmm! here I am writing about him. The joy many feel about what Adam Lambert is giving us each week is fun to follow and personally experience. I admit, the kids in my life got me hooked on American Idol years ago and Adam has added a whole new element to it.

However, high performance that is resetting the standard rarely comes without some criticism in a world that values sameness. As we experience in day-to-day life, whether you're talking about your workplace, business, organizational life, music or society everywhere, high performing individuals seem to bring out a mean-spiritedness in some people --- maybe it's envy; maybe it's fear; maybe it's about them --- imagine that such brilliance, imagination, determination, raw, passionate talent can result in hate talk. We certainly witnessed it during the U.S. election, as an example and that excellence prevails. YEAH! The old behavior, still very present, begs the question, "what are we so afraid of when someone isn't just like us?"  Now, there's a question worthy of our self-examination!

A similar reaction to DIFFERENCE in age and look with a kind of expected preconceived prejudice came out when Susan Boyle hit the stage on Britain's Got Talent. Simon Cowell, the other judges, and the audience seemed to find subtle (and not so subtle ways) to heckle Susan Boyle as she dared to share her dream to be an aspiring singing star at nearly 50 and saw "the door opening." With her far-too-long hidden talent, she has blown away millions of people around the world with her gift of VOICE. She showed us!!! Drove us to tears. ...and did you notice that once we're personally touched by someone DIFFERENT, all the barriers fall away? Nice!

LESSONS to LEARN from TOP TALENT
Perhaps this leads us to question our own REACTIONS to DIFFERENCE and take in what we might learn from Adam Lambert, Susan Boyle, and others who have believed in their dreams enough to risk it all... Here are two compelling lessons to take away and apply to your own life, work, and organizations:

Lesson 1: INNOVATION IS FUELED WHEN YOU USE YOUR WHOLE "TOOLBOX"
Interestingly, as I've read Adam Lambert's story, listened to his interviews, heard his parents reflect on his life, and watched him, it brought up the wisdom of Peter F. Drucker, the father of modern management. He wrote in The Post Capitalist Society, "Most of us, (perhaps all of us) know many times more than we put to use. We do not mobilize the multiple knowledges we possess. We do not use knowledges as part of one toolbox." Adam Lambert is one of the best examples I've seen in a long while of someone who has opened his carefully crafted "toolbox" at American Idol --- a collection which has been developed through years of passionately pursuing his dream since he was 10 years old --- built by hard work, struggle, risk-taking, triumphs, defeats, and resolute belief. He is showing all of us how to put our whole "toolbox" to use as he accumulates his masterful collection of performances. He describes his strategy this way: "I don't become a one-trick pony." My boss at IBM years ago coached me in a similar way about distinguishing oneself as a leader and innovator. He said, "You got to demonstrate over and over that you can 'change your spots.'"

Lesson 2: DIFFERENCES ARE ESSENTIAL TO INNOVATION
Unless things change; they stay the same. There is a truism I learned along the way. Both Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle prove this one. If you keep listening to the same ol' people, singing the same ol' songs, in the same ol' way, having taken the same ol' route to get there, you'll get something similar to what you already have. If you want to discover something new and different, you have to be open to someone emerging that breaks up the sameness. Once in a while, someone shows up to share their many dimensions of difference, and when we are open to it, they lift us up to see the things from a new perspective.

In my book, Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance, there is a compelling case for us to learn to see and experience DIFFERENCES DIFFERENTLY, because it is at the intersection of differences where you'll find a rich source of INNOVATION. I also define Five Distinctive Qualities of Leadership to add to your personal portfolio if you want to develop a mastery for recognizing, appreciating, developing, engaging, and utilizing TOP TALENT. These aren't TRAITS. QUALITIES are different; they ask more from us. They don't come from worldly rules; instead they emerge from a resolute mix of VALUES and INTENTION. 

The graphic above is the DIMENSIONS of DIFFERENCE wheel from my book. It helped me see how many differences each of us brings to any situation and it creates a mirror of what happens when all the DIFFERENCES are consciously made part of our distinctive "toolbox." We've all got lots of great stuff we overlooked and under-valued for a long time. We need to begin seeing ourselves and others with a powerful wide-angle lens without diminishing what makes us unique and different. 

At this critical time in history, the world would benefit if we could: 1) develop a genuine curiosity about others;  2) elevate the importance of not just what we have in common, but also what we bring that is unique and different; 3). strive for mastery for putting our differences to work. We need to break old habits of hatefulness and envy --- and replace these detractors with an openness for what's new and maybe never seen before, even when it means we have to clear the way for others to walk ahead in the spotlight to lead the way. We have to see the good in others, so we can bring out the best in ourselves from what they teach us. Imagine the difference we could make in creating a better world than we know today.

So to Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle, I am grateful you showed up on my path. You've been in my thoughts and I am so happy to have learned from your example. May your individual journeys be blessed!

Welcome the unexpected...
Watch for the uncharted path that bears your name.
Lead the way!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

MAY 19 - ONLINE DIALOGUE - You're Invited!
CONNECTING for Success in Hard Times
How can Business and Social Networking help you deliver a renewed PERSONAL BRAND, REINVENT how you present your work to others, and open up opportunities for COLLABORATION and INNOVATION? Join us to learn how. REGISTER at http://tinyurl.com/MAY19dialogue  (NOTE: Allow a few seconds for the URL to open). No fees, but registration is required, so we can send the login information.

VIRTUAL SPACE: The POWER of CONNECTING

I admit it, I am still coming down from our across-the-world INNOVATING in HARD TIMES online dialogue last week with futurist Joel Barker and the well over 425 innovators and leaders that showed up. IMAGINE all those differences coming together to explore one another's NEW IDEAS. Most of all, it was truly an example of seizing the power of the Internet. Every time I host one of our online gatherings, I am mesmerized once again by what takes place in virtual space when we meet somewhere between YOU and ME. If you've not done much of it, I encourage you to reserve your judgment. If you've only done it in the typical "login and mute" approach, you haven't truly experienced what can happen in a meaningful, interactive conversation. We keep trying to perfect this possibility. So many people seem quick to say, "I'm just not into it --- face-to-face is the only way for me." I agree it's not a replacement for direct human contact, but in meeting in virtual space for over a decade, I continue to realize how powerful it is in creating a unique form of communication that in some ways breaks down barriers that commonly separate us in a physical space. Consider these...

1. What you look like doesn't matter. All those judgments we commonly pass about one another at first meetings in physical space ---the ones that result in us perhaps never saying hello --- just don't exist. You have a choice of being heard and not seen. Being included is a great feeling. You can hear it, sense it, and experience it in virtual space amazingly faster, better, and sometimes in a most meaningful way that would never happen in a conference room.

2. Who you are becomes what you contribute. Everyone meets on a virtual common ground and there seems to be a natural curiosity about whose with you and what they think. Everyone has a chance to share their points of view in some unique way, spoken and unspoken. Nice!

3. Where you are can be anywhere. ...and discovering all the different places in the process becomes our first group connection. There are no borders, no socio-economic classes, no airline tickets, no timezone to keep away if you want to be there, no preconceived notions and beliefs or fears to separate us. In some ways, these unknown DIFFERENCES are somewhat titillating to uncover or just imagine. 

REFLECTIONS from OTHERS

At the end of our online gathering, we provided several ways for people to share their reflections on what they gained from the experience. Some wrote on a "writing wall." It was touching seeing not only English, but that people felt welcome write in their own languages --- including Spanish, French, Hindi, German, Chichewa-African language. 

It was particularly moving to hear how and what others experienced. A man named PETER from Mexico shared this personal experience that seemed to speak for us all:

LISTEN IN... [2:45 | mp3]
http://www.globaldialoguecenter.com/MAR31-Peter-Mexico.mp3

Some took time to take a REFLECTIONS survey that gave each participant their own personal canvas to paint a word picture of what they saw and experienced by showing up. We all left with a promise to meet again.

Want to join us next time? You're invited! Go here and sign up... We welcome you!
http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com/dialogues

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work(Berrett-Koehler 2008)
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

Learn more about Joel Barker's new 2009 film release, INNOVATION at the VERGE at
www.innovationattheverge.com .

HARD TIMES: Claiming Your WINGS

There are so many reasons to be bummed at the current state of things. Each day, even with signs of HOPE and RECOVERY peeking through, there is also the corresponding news of lay-offs and businesses on the fence struggling earnestly to make it...and the individual toll is heart-breaking. It came to me that there might be some value in calling upon collective wisdom from others who have survived "HARD TIMES". What could we learn from them? How could what they did, somehow free us? Perhaps, it would help us change our perspective a bit, rev up our courage to a new level so we could  "claim our wings," and help lead the way out of this mess. Here are three inspiring perspectives to consider...

IN ANOTHER HARD TIME
When I worked at IBM, I remember when the idea of layoffs was first introduced. It was the first time since the great depression that the the word had ever been mentioned as a possibility at IBM. So none of us had ever known the experience in our lifetimes. It was the beginning of what would become a trend in many businesses. I remember it carrying with it a similar sadness to what is with us today. Before the change was over, thousands were caught in the layoffs as IBM struggled to reinvent itself. Our company coffee shops were filled with grumpy, scared people; morale was low. I remember one of my most admired mentors asking a compelling question one day that gave me a jolt, "How do we 'jump this curve' and lead the way." He reminded us that we had an opportunity to shape a new and different future. At the same time, futurist Joel Barker shared a great thought in one of his films that pushed me out of "the coffee shop" to take a big leap of faith --- He said, "You can and should shape your own future, because if you don't someone else surely will." This is wisdom that can be applied not only to our jobs, our businesses and our lives --- but also our nations and the world. The future rests in our hands. I want to add that I remain grateful to IBM for being the catalyst for "claiming my wings" and for all I learned in my rewarding leadership career with them that prepared me to fly. It was that extra courage that emerged when the fear was deep that turned the perceived "closed doors" into "open pathways" where I could "claim my wings" for an unexpected period of growth and renewal. I've never been sorry I took the chance.

LEARNING FROM SURVIVORS
Interestingly, just before I left IBM, we used one of Joel Barker's films called, the POWER OF VISION. In it, he had a segment filmed at Auschwitz. He shared the story told by Viktor Frankl in his classic, Man's Search for Meaning. Among the wisdom and account of Dr. Frankl's "lessons learned" were the qualities of those individuals who survived the Holocaust. He shared that the people who survived had a positive vision of the future and believed they had something significant left to do. I remember how this perspective helped many of us work our way through the changes at IBM and its implications on our own work and lives. A few years back, I included this film segment in a Viktor Frankl exhibit at the Global Dialogue Center KNOWLEDGE GALLERY. I encourage you to take few minutes to get inspired. (Scroll down when you get there. NOTE: The film link is right under the visual self-learning exhibit.

One of the important messages Viktor Frankl left for us is an invitation for all of us. He wrote:

"Everything can be taken from a man but...the last of human freedoms
---to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's way."

CLAIMING YOUR WINGS
I have a cherished book that I've read over and over again by Emmet Fox. One of my favorite writings in it is "Claiming Your Wings." I wonder if in both an individual and collective way, we are being called to do just this at this time in history. Imagine this possibility and its positive implications if we all dared to do it in our own ways. Imagine what we could do together powered by personal leadership at every level of business and society to create the change we so badly need. See what you think...

Emmet Fox told this story...
"To me the butterfly teaches the most important lesson that we human beings ever have to learn. You all know his story. He lived what seemed to him a very long time as a worm---what we call the humble caterpillar. Now the life of a caterpillar could be taken as the very type and symbol of restriction. He lives on a green leaf in the forest, and that is about all he knows.

Then one day the little caterpillar finds certain strange stirrings going on within himself. The old green leaf, for some reason, no longer seems sufficient. He becomes moody and discontent. He feels the need for a bigger, finer, and more interesting life. His instinct tells him that where there is true desire there must be fulfillment.

And so the wonderful thing happens: the butterfly emerges beautiful, graceful, now endowed with wings, and instead of crawling about on a restricted leaf, he soars above the trees, above the forest itself---free, unrestricted, his own True Self."

What about you?
What do you think?
Do you have an inspiring story or insight to share?

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy

founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work(Berrett-Koehler 2008)
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker

ONLINE EVENT: You're Invited!
MARCH 31
"INNOVATING in HARD TIMES"
...a global conversation with futurist and filmmaker Joel A. Barker
1:00 pm ET - 2:30 pm ET (10:00 am PT - 11:30 PT)
No fees. Registration required. Login/audio sent via email.
We expect it to be widely attended based on registration.
Hope you can join us!
INVITATION and REGISTRATION

 

INNOVATING in HARD TIMES with Joel Barker, Futurist

MARCH 31 Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker, and bestselling author will join me for an ONLINE dialogue to explore INNOVATING in Hard Times at the Global Dialogue Center ONLINE Conference Center. You're invited! No FEES. Details below.

Economic Conversation Series 
"A Conversation with Futurist, Joel A. Barker:
INNOVATING in Hard Times"

As we continue to experience this time of CHANGE, CRISIS, and OPPORTUNITY, Joel Barker affirms that INNOVATION is essential to create a better future. On March 31, Joel is joining me for a personal conversation with YOU about a new way to find INNOVATIONS at a special place he calls "the verge."
Learn how innovating at the verge opens new opportunity.

• Learn what others are doing to forge new frontiers.  
• Share your thinking; ask questions; explore new ideas.
• Learn what you can do be become a better leader of verge innovations. 
• Learn about a rich place for INNOVATION that can be a source for transforming  
  your work, business, community, and our world. 
• In preparation for our conversation, watch the video trailer online of Joel's new 2009 film... http://www.innovationattheverge.com

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. PT  (1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET) 
 Informal "Virtual Break" follows for personal conversation

SEE ONLINE INVITATION for more information

How to REGISTER to attend: click here or below:

https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/0000011799/Registration.aspx?pageName=4spz7z4fxhkjbpcj 

Allow a few seconds for link to come up.
No Fees. Registration required, so we can send you login information.

Hope you can join us!

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work(Berrett-Koehler 2008)
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker 

HARD TIMES: Gifts of INSIGHT

As we all debate the this and that about the "economic stimulus," it is stimulating us. Some notable benefits of this time of crisis seem to be blossoming. Perhaps, in our worry and fret, we are beginning to see one another in more meaningful ways. We are listening more. Learning from what we already know. Perhaps, we are beginning to see the possibilities in exercising the dominion we've been granted over our existence. One example is there continues to be signs that show the resiliency and power of our human spirit to reach out and help someone else. I see this in the monthly online gatherings I've been holding. Last week, 57 people from across the U.S. and from eight countries showed up to share their "gifts of insight." (Recorded program here).

Some people want to attend, but with work and other conflicts have to wait to listen in to the recording. So it was for Bill Tipton, author of the blog, Dialogues with Bill: Life and Work with a Disability. First, it seems important to share that Bill comes to our Economic Conversation Series with a special outlook. He has seen hard times. Real hard times. He has reinvented himself against the worst odds, so there is much to learn from his insight about how to adjust one's life at the threshold of both crisis and opportunity. 

Just a few years back, Bill went to the emergency room with a pain in his stomach and came out of the hospital months later completely blind and not being able to walk. Through sheer determination and grit, today he walks and also contributes on a whole new level both inside and outside his work as a Project Manager at Hewlett Packard. He wears the badge of honor for being "Employee of the Year in 2007" on a national scale and is one of our most admired contributing bloggers at the Global Dialogue Center.

Bill wrote me yesterday after listening to the recorded session of our dialogue this week. I wanted to share what he heard --- his take-aways --- his gifts of insight:

Learnings and Renewal of My Beliefs
from the Tuesday DIALOGUE
by Bill Tipton

• Find new meaning in your life and work.

•Try to learn something from your difficulties (Victor Frankl Story).

• Discover what you really want, do the research, and go after it!

• Focus on what you can do well when going after new opportunities; go to your "tool kit" to create your new opportunities ... what do I know that I can apply to this new opportunity.

• When in crisis, try something new.

• Remember, crisis is an  opportunity.

• It is fine to ask for help.

Bill's main take-away...
Never ever give up. Accept crisis as another new beginning and opportunity, no matter how painful, challenging and emotionally hurtful and taxing the challenge is on your body and soul.

Wanna listen in?  http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com/dialogues-library.html
Learn more about attending... http://www.puttingourdifferencestowork.com/dialogues.html

NEXT DIALOGUE: March 31 with Joel Barker, Futurist and Filmmaker joins me to teach us how to discover the new innovations at a new place he calls "the verge." Learn more about his new film at www.innovationattheverge.com

Thanks, Bill... You said it all. The experience again shows what happens when we put our differences to work for the good of all.

With gratitude...

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
YouTube Book Review by futurist Joel A. Barker 

TAKING NOTE of OURSELVES

Most of us don't know the impact of our contributions. We are so busy living our lives; trying to overcome; perhaps, just surviving --- striving to achieve ---that we forget to take notice of our influence. What seems even further from our consciousness is taking note of what we are capable of doing together. Technology continues to put the spotlight on the powerful possibilities that emerge when we combine our talents. Bay Area Artist, Sally K. Green helps us see this in her moving "Life and Work" collection. She introduces the many dimensions of diversity that make up our human story---sharing some of the little known truths that have shaped our destinies. One of my favorites in the collection is her painting, "Street Music," inspired by a 1935 black and white photo of a blind street musician by Ben Shahn.

Sally shares the story of her painting and also tells how she happened to hear Bill Moyers' interview with Mark Johnson, the producer of a documentary about the power of music. The documentary, to be released in 2009, entitled Playing for Change: Peace through Music, is an global example of what we can do when we put our differences to work for the good of all. Here is one of the samples she shares, Lean on Me.

As we find ways to express ourselves, seizing new opportunities for collaboration on many fronts, it is clear that Gandhi's wisdom was right:

"It may be long before the law of love will be recognized in internal affairs. The machineries of governments stand between and hide the hearts of one people from those of another."

This said, it appears for the first time in many years, even amidst the deepening economic crisis and other overwhelming global challenges of our time, that the GREAT OPPORTUNITIES of our generation rest at our feet. Change is up to us. I witness the remarkable in every dialogue we hold. People do amazing things together.

What contribution will you make? It's a great question to be asking ourselves everyday.

RELATED Articles and Dialogues:

• Online Virtual DIALOGUES: Come practice in these monthly opportunities for conversation and exchange of IDEAS. We are offering an "Economic Conversation Series" to help people get ready for the next great opportunity. Sign-up at Putting Our Differences to Work CENTER for DIALOGUE.
• "Dimensions of Difference" by Debbe Kennedy, Diversity Executive Magazine, 11/08
• "The Virtual Gathering Experience," ASTD Learning Circuits

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 2008 – Hardcover

ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Putting Our Differences to Work was selected as as among
"the very top business books" by BUSINESS BOOK REVIEW 

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

DECEMBER 9 Online Virtual Dialogue

Economy Series: "Reinventing YOURSELF: Taking a Closer Look"
CHANGE, UNCERTAINTY, HOPE and OPPORTUNITY rest at our feet. By popular demand and the continued economic crisis touching all of us, we are continuing our "what you can do" series, taking our ideas right down to specifics. Join me on December 9 as we take a closer look in our dialogue focused on YOU. Our global conversation will be seeded by an executive guest interview with Lane A. Michel...read on...

By putting our differences to work, the goal will be expand our exploration of the key questions below. In the process we'll be looking for "actionable specifics" and inspiration that you can take home and apply.

• How can you make UNCERTAINTY an opportunity for personal and professional reinvention?

• How can you make sure you use this time to ensure you are ready to bring your best VALUE to your organization, community, and the world?

• What specific actions can you take to reinvent yourself?

My guest thought-leader interview will be with Lane A. Michel... 
Lane is a role model of work and life transformation. He is a devoted husband, father, and former policeman turned corporate Hewlett Packard executive, turned EVP for Quaero Corporation, turned entrepreneur. ...and there is much more to his story of reinvention to inspire you. I look forward to introducing him to you and know we will all learn from his insight and genuine way of being with others. 
 
No fees, but registration is required, so we can send login information to you.

You're welcome to invite a friend(s) that might benefit!  

WHEN:  
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time (1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET - NewYork) 
 Informal "Virtual Break" follows.
 
To register to attend, click on link below
Note: Allow a few seconds for the registration to come up. 

https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/0000011799/Registration.aspx?pageName=lfkj0hbjwkqvdd3t 
 
Hope you can join in this global conversation...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work 

TWO VISIONARIES: The Time for Change has Come!

What is it about some people that have the distinctive ability to reach into the future to not only see the VIEW for themselves, but to help us see it too?  Throughout history leaders with this gift have helped us put our differences to work to achieve greatness in the face of significant difficulties. I've learned from many and written about them. I admit at the moment I'm dazzled by two visionaries that have boldly taken center stage with their new thinking and new ideas for INNOVATION. Coming to us with unique vantage points, each of them invites us to see the PROMISE in tomorrow in ways that ignite the human spirit... in ways that influence a COMMON PURPOSE that we've needed so badly. They both call for fundamental changes in approach and how we think, behave, and operate:

POLITICAL VISIONARY:
Barack Obama, President-Elect of the United States of America
It would be hard to deny that this month has been anything less than filled with great promise for the United States and the world. For one clear reason...we were engaged in a shared experience of electing a new President with the whole world watching and cheering with us--- a new President for all of us with a family that mirrors our diverse and inclusive ideals in the US --- and reaches out to greet the world with a new philosophy. Even with all the uncertainty and harsh realities of our economic meltdown, wars, and many avenues of crisis, having a new President-elect Barack Obama, with a mandate and a vision of a new direction for our country, has left many of us elated in its PROMISE --- a relief from years of what seemed at times to be overcome with the utter darkness of war, greed, division, injustice, disrespect of our neighbors and neglect of people, needs, science, technology, the environment, and infrastructure. Millions of people demanded a fresh new approach and through the millions of votes by United States citizens, we boldly opened the way for a new beginning. This happening is meaning a new sense of unity we've long lost. See it for yourself. Now the hard work begins and we need to put all those differences to work on solving our most critical problems.     

BUSINESS VISIONARY:
Sam Palmisano, IBM's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
At the same time, Sam Palmisano invited all of us across the world, into a new bold vision of "A SMARTER PLANET: The Next Leadership Agenda" in his address to the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC on November 6. "...a period of discontinuity is, for those with courage and vision, a period of opportunity." He defined current realities for leaders. He painted a vivid picture of a SMARTER PLANET. He called for new leadership qualities. "Together, we have to consciously infuse intelligence into our decision-making and management systems...not just infuse our processes with more speed and capacity. ...I believe  we will see new leaders emerge who win not by surviving the storm, but by changing the game," he told us. Related SMARTER PLANET Videos: Share in the history of progress and the vision: Watch these videos!

My greatest hope is that these two visionaries, Barack Obama and Sam Palmisano, become strategic partners --- and are joined by other visionaries and innovators worldwide to take us into the better future than we can even imagine today. Hold that thought!

LEADERSHIP IDEAS TO GUIDE THE WAY
As I wrote in my book, Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance, the word leader has a Germanic origin meaning to "find a new path. We are seeing constant stream of promising achievements rising up from individuals and organizations across the world finding the new paths we need. Our part, as both Barack Obama and Sam Palmisano suggest, is recognizing that we have to fundamentally change the way each one of us thinks, behaves, and operates as leaders and innovators to reap the benefits of the globally integrated, interconnected world. We have to get to work together!

The next great opportunity is ours to own.

Are you ready?

I would like to be one of those "game changers," wouldn't you? 

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

 Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 2008 – Hardcover
ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Putting Our Differences to Work was selected as as among
"the very top business books" for review in August, 2008.
Read it!

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler 

Ready to Reinvent YOURSELF?

The time for change has come! With economic crisis and the unknown looming, have you thought about reinventing yourself to be ready for your next great opportunity? With this question in mind, my NOV 11 ONLINE DIALOGUE (free and open to the public) we will focus on Change, Gratitude & Reinventing YOURSELF.

Think of the major shifts in the world as we've know it that have happened just in the last month or so --- and all that is still ahead. Uncertainty is a fact of our existence at the moment, but there is something exciting about moving beyond the status quo, yes? Join me and others for our NOV 11 ONLINE DIALOGUE focused on YOU. The plan is to put our differences to work to explore possibilities, learn from each other, and answer these questions...

How can you make CHANGE an opportunity for personal reinvention?
What role does gratitude play?
What can you do to begin? 

WHEN:  
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. PT  (1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. ET)
Note: We are adding a little extra time for this topic.
Informal "Virtual Break" follows. Check Global Time Clock

No fees, but registration is required, so we can send login information to you. 
To register to attend, click on link below
Note: Allow a few seconds for the registration to come up.

https://www.livemeeting.com/lrs/0000011799/Registration.aspx?pageName=srm9ns958dmdc260

This month's Putting Our Differences to Work Online Dialogue is sponsored by our Women in the Leadprogram(WIL) at the Global Dialogue Center. Maureen Simon of Maureen Simon Consulting and contributing author from our Women in the Lead Inspiration BLOG, will be joining me. Our special guest interview is Gloria Young, President of Young & Lamay Associates. She will help us seed our conversation with her insight and inspiring journey.

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 2008 – Hardcover
ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Putting Our Differences to Work was selected as as among
"the very top business books" for review in August, 2008.
Read it!

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

ECONOMY: The Great Next Opportunity-WHAT TO DO

If you're low on $$$, business is down, people are worried, and the future uncertain... What do you do? Economic crisis is relative. I remember a number of years ago, the exact day our budding business lost all its work, because a key client's stock plummeted when the Asian Market went into crisis and all consulting contracts were canceled. It was SCARY. We were all in a tizzy! Our reserves were scarce and payroll and survival were on our minds. We watched a few friends, also impacted by the crisis, charge big vacations to escape what seemed a doomed reality --- a kind "dying man's last feast." We decided instead to take what perhaps was "the road less traveled."

I would like to take credit for the idea that inspired our journey, but I actually learned the concept in "new employee orientation" when I went to work for IBM many years ago. Why I remembered it at that moment, I'm not sure, but putting its wisdom into action, changed the whole direction of our company. It also paid our salaries and took care of our families. More importantly, it put our company on the map. The inspiration came from a story about IBM's big break. It went like this:

During the Great Depression while most businesses were shutting down, Thomas Watson, founder of IBM, kept his workers busy producing machines even while demand was slack. Thanks largely to the resulting inventory of equipment, IBM was ready when opportunity knocked. They landed the "biggest accounting operation of all time" when the Social Security Act of 1935 was passed.

Are you ... and/or your organization ready for that next great opportunity?

For us, the decision was to skip the big vacation, roll up our sleeves, and reinvent everything about our business. We were unsure, but something inside told us that our investment would payoff. Just mobilizing into ACTION, helped us ignite a new kind of passion and fire about the future. It meant being willing to rethink our core business, recognize old stagnant ways, and re-evaluate what we could do. It also meant "growing some new brain cells" to upgrade our skills without money. We got technical and built our first website. The best part about it that by the time we we were putting the finishing touches on our reinvented business, we received a phone call from one of our best customers. They had a new and very different need and called to see if we could handle it. The changes we made put us in a position to be ready for this next great opportunity. The rest is history!

REINVENTING YOUR BUSINESS
Putting Your Differences to Work
Over the years, we've helped individuals and organizations renew their businesses in the worst of times. Many of the ideas came from going through our own meltdown. Here are a few ideas to consider as we all prepare ourselves to deal with the unfolding economic crisis being felt across the world:

Strengthen relationships. Phone, email, meet with other business partners and other alliances. Use the time to explore creative possibilities of new ventures, joint contributions, shared resources. Work toward opportunities where "mutualism is the final arbiter" --- everyone benefits; no one is harmed --- a new standard for all decision-making that could change the world.

Re-Package Yourselves. Take a deep look at your organization together while you have a chance. Imagine what ways you might be able to re-position how you present your products or services. People want to do business with organizations that remain fully alive --- always working an idea and innovation a head of the rest.

Upgrade skills. Use self-pace in-house materials or the wealth of information on the Internet to build everyone's skills for future work. Keep everyone focused on increasing the value they bring to the organization. Check on free webinars and podcasts for learning on-the-go. TIP: Visit our Global Dialogue Center, a virtual gathering place with a focus on professional, leadership and personal development open and free to everyone. www.globaldialoguecenter.com 

Become masters of putting differences to work. Read my book and follow its road map to prepare yourself, your team, and your business for the next great opportunity. Our world has changed. The landscape for leadership is as close as each individual sitting at their desk and as far-reaching as time, distance, and technology will take us. It is a diverse marketplace, workplace, and community --- and it is at the intersection of our differences that the new innovation resides. Make sure you know how to tap into it as a business advantage. Upgrade your perspective and the possibilities you hold in your hands.

Renew your organization -- make things better. Re-organize your work area. Re-evaluate and streamline processes and procedures to make it easy for others to do business with you. Review promotional and other informational materials to get them ready for updates. Update mailing lists, web site, and organization charts. Clean out file cabinets. Clear out the clutter. If your workspace is stuffed up with the past, there is little room for the new to come in. This takes the wisdom of a "beginner's mind" to the physical plane. Ensure your environment is set up to welcome the next great opportunity.

Design a new product or service. Anticipate the future. Knowing the existing situation, imagine what will be needed and begin to make preparations to deliver it. Use your own initiative, creativity, and experience as a replacement for R&D dollars.

REMEMBER...
Great achievers of the future are those who can ride the waves of change...not those who sit on the beach waiting for the tide to change. Welcome the unexpected. Look for that uncharted path that bears your name. Prepare yourselves and your organization to respond to new opportunities---perhaps ones you can't imagine right now. Action ignities passion. Passion helps us envision our success. There is a magic in believing! Lead the way!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 2008 – Hardcover
ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Putting Our Differences to Work was selected as as among
"the very top business books" for review in August, 2008.
Read it!

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

ECONOMY: "When the going gets tough..."

Join me on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14 for Our Monthly Online Conversation
10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. PT (1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. ET) - Informal Virtual Break follows. Held online the Putting Our Differences to Work CENTER FOR DIALOGUE (No fees - Use your USB headset and login). What's happening in your workplace? What's keeping you awake at night?  How are you doing? What can WE DO ensure we are ready for the next opportunity?

The economic meltdown and great uncertainty are having a sweeping influence in the marketplaces, our workplaces, and on our lives. Whether you work for a company, own your own business, or are caught in transition, what could we learn from those who have made it through difficult times?  How can you begin to see the possibilities. Join me to put our differences to work with others from around the world to explore current realities, learn from those that have "weathered big storms," look at WHAT YOU CAN DO to make sure you are ready for the next opportunity and ready to lead the way.

No fees, but you need to register to attend to get login info...
click here Note: Allow a few seconds for the registration to come up. 
Login and audio info to attend will be sent to you via email.

Learn from others' perspectives.
Share best practices.
Friends welcome. 
Discuss issues.
No fees.

Hope you can join us!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 2008 – Hardcover
ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Putting Our Differences to Work was selected as as among
"the very top business books" for review in August, 2008.
Read it!

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

OLYMPIC GOLD

The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games have taken on a deeper meaning to me. First, the year I spent writing my new book, Putting Our Differences to Work, made looking in on Olympians' journey still another affirmation of "the fastest way" to innovation is through people. Also, it started with a young Masters Student that showed up on my path earlier this year --- in English, her name is "Shiny." She lives in Shanghai and is studying in Munich. She returned home to China for the summer. In a message she wrote to me as the Games were unfolding, she offered new meaning and a moving perspective on what Olympic GOLD is when it comes to friendship and what we can take away and apply to our lives. She wrote:

"The Olympic Games are very exciting. I think the most exciting thing is that people get to know each other (as well as others' culture and spirit) through the games and work their best to cheer their people. I love all the nice moments endowed by excellence around the world!!

Somehow we are doing the same thing in a different way, to know each other, to listen, to share, to grow and pass the torch of knowledge throughout nations. Let us enjoy the Olympics and pass on the friendship and peace with our hearts and souls!"

Another friend and colleague, Dr. Alex Pattakos, author of Prisoners of Our Thoughts helped others learn about "The Original Meaning of the Olympics," in an article he wrote in his new "Living with Meaning" column on the Huffington Post. He reminds us that we have Baron Pierre de Coubertin to thank for bringing back the ideals of Olympic Charter..

"...Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example, and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles."

I see now that with all its joys, tragic disappointments, new levels of excellence, and even a few imperfections, for a couple of weeks, we've had an opportunity to come together and witness the best of what the human spirit can produce by reaching inside ourselves. Along with my friend, Shiny, I invite you to join us and others to let the Summer Games soak into your soul and ripple outward through your heart and conscience as we move back into the routines of our lives and work.

It was good to share it with you all in distance!

What touched you about the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games?
What will you take away?

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 2008 – Hardcover
ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

Join me for themed monthly thought-leader ONLINE Dialogues
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future

Collaboration and the Brave Heart

If we only knew the significance of our own influence on others, it would be easy to tap into the "brave heart" we all have inside --- the one that is capable of performing miracles, big and small, when it operates without being a prisoner of its own thoughts. I have a hunch if we were more aware how our important work and contributions could influence others, it would bring out a greater sense of personal responsibility in all of us to do our best work and to look for opportunities to work together. Once in a while, someone or something shows up on our path to teach us about this universal truth.

COLLABORATION and the BRAVE HEART
When I was writing my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, two friends in the distance, "popped out of the pavement" to help me when I least expected it. They showed up to teach me what it meant to have a "brave heart." Dr. Alex Pattakos, bestselling author of Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl's Principles for Life and Work and Jeff Pasternak, song writer and artist contacted me. They had a great story to tell about their unlikely meeting and connection.

They also shared the news that Jeff had written a song called Brave Heart on his album which was inspired by the meaning Jeff discovered when he read Alex's book. With a little creative brainstorming, we decided to collaborate to create a multi-media visual self-learning exhibit around the theme of Jeff's, "Brave Heart" at our virtual online KNOWLEDGE Gallery at the Global Dialogue Center. The idea we came up with was to chronicle their unique story of putting differences to work. In the process, I fell in love with the Brave Heart message and song. It stayed with me.
Take a self-guided tour of the Brave Heart EXHIBIT (includes digital gallery, story, music and lyrics)
Buy a copy of Double Cover with Brave Heart

Months later, I was up against looming deadlines for my book, my customers, and running two businesses all at the same time. I was stressed out! Overwhelmed! You could almost hear my unintended doubting thoughts in the background screaming on some days, "Can I? Will I make it." Ever been there? Interestingly, it was Jeff Pasternak's Brave Heart that became a meaningful antidote. I threw on my headset..."Hey, brave heart, what's inside your heart today? Where are you going? I think I'll go along your way... Every time, the happy spirited song helped to lift me out of my momentary doubts and reminded me I was in charge of my attitude. "You are the 'I' for the dot..You take no prisoners for your thoughts..." 

Full Circle of MUTUALISM
"Establishing mutualism as the final arbiter" is the fifth of the Five Distinctive Qualities of Leadership in my book. It's key message introduces a new "yardstick" for all actions, behaviors, collaborations, products, services, and yes, and even profit-making. Everyone benefits; no one is harmed. When my book was published, I had the opportunity to once again experience the full circle of mutualism that emerged from the unlikely collaboration in the distance with my two friends. Jeff found value in reading Putting Our Differences to Work and posted a review on his website and sent his picture as a gift back to me. Dr. Alex Pattakos has been a contributor and supporter for our Global Dialogue Center since it was founded. He has faithfully cheered me on at every turn. He again showed up to share his impressions and promise of the new work.

I guess what is most extraordinary about our collaborative threesome is that I've never personally met either of Alex and Jeff in person. We've talked. Shared. Looked for the best in our differences. Honored one another's work. Supported. Trusted. Created. We all benefited in different ways. These actions are at the heart of "putting our differences to work" --- brave hearts coming together taking "no prisoners for their thoughts" for the good of all.

What lessons have you learned about great collaborations, virtual friends, and the meaning of having a Brave Heart? Would love to hear from you.

Best...
Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 2008 – Hardcover
ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

Join me for themed monthly thought-leader ONLINE Dialogues
Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future

LEADING: The Power of Vision

Imagine a world where our collective vision would manifest the great changes we so badly need in our organizations, society, and communities everywhere. This past week watching people gather in Berlin -- an estimated 200,000 people -- when Barack Obama spoke was moving. Something magical happened there in that crowd. Way beyond any political party, it was so heartwarming for a few moments to imagine what would be possible if we could come together across the world, believing in good for all people, ready to roll-up our sleeves to change what we know today. We've been seeing signs for a long time that demonstrate we are ready for the hard work it will take. In Putting Our Differences to Work, the first story about the Habitat Jam is a terrific example. Check out this commemorative exhibit at our Global Dialogue Center KNOWLEDGE GALLERY to see for yourself.

History proves it is possible. Oguchi Nkwocha, M.D., an Igbo visionary from Biafra in southeastern Nigeria, has been instrumental in teaching me about what we can do together with the power of a dream. At the beginning of a new year, a time of renewal and more action for each of us and our businesses and organizations, Oguchi wrote to me about his perspective on the power of vision in propelling people to put their differences to work. He helped me see a familiar story from the perspective of a global citizen. I shared it in its entirety in Chapter 9 of Putting Our Differences to Work. Here is an excerpt:

First, Dr. Nkwocha described President John F. Kennedy's vision to go to the moon. I'd heard the story many times, but not with the specificity and refinements Oguchi's global perspective put on it.  He started:

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy articulated a powerful vision and described this dream in his special message before a joint session of Congress on the "Urgent National Needs" of the United States. It was a vision that proves the power of our dreams put into action: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth."

On July 24, 1969, when Apollo 11 returned with its crew safely to Earth, following its earlier launch on July 16, 1969, and subsequent successful landing at the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon on July 20, 1969, that dream was fully manifested.

It is important to note that in 1961, this was a truly “Impossible Dream.”

Dr. Oguchi taught me that putting our differences to work in this case to achieve what was impossible  took "just one sentence with thirty-one words—two or three lines—he articulated and claimed the goal for the nation and its people."

As we look out from our own unique vantage points, wouldn't you like to be part of manifesting "the impossible" at a new time in history. I heard a pundit put this idea of the power of positive vision down today --- cynics and skeptics can be plentiful at times of change --- this one made fun of the notion as a method for change. I don't believe it for a minute! :-)

What about you? What do you think?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

INCLUSION: The Power in an Hour

From the time I started writing my new book, I wanted to create the opportunity for readers and believers in this mission to have a place to tell stories, to share experiences, to problem-solve, and most of all, to experience and practice the art of putting our differences to work --- consciously --- first-hand.

Today, I held my first in an ongoing series of Putting Our Differences to Work DIALOGUES. These one-hour conversations, held at my online Center for Dialogue at the Global Dialogue Center Conference Center, are designed for sharing your perspectives and discussing your issues, in a small, intimate virtual setting. Learn more and sign-up.

It was a small gathering, representing many differences. With just five of us, we represented different geographic perspectives: Canada, Germany, China, East Coast and West Coast United States. We also reflected the lives of corporate project manager, graduate student, writer, entrepreneur, and consultant --- and many other dimensions of difference.

In just one hour, we got a glimpse into who we are, where we had lived and worked, and shared thoughtful perspectives with one another on the topic of INCLUSION --- giving each of us something to take home. Here is a summary of some of the themes:

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE INCLUDED?

• Having a sense of belonging.
• Having access to all of the "gifts" of life.
• Belonging in a way that taps into the soul of who you are.
• Inclusion is both an environment you create and an attitude you carry with you.

WHAT CAN WE DO TO CREATE A "CULTURE OF INCLUSION" WHEREVER WE GO?
Two themes from the group about their personal practices... (paraphrased)

1. Cultivate non-judgmental listening. "I found this worked as I transitioned from a Corporate career to my own business. The big challenge was learning self-management. Learning to listen has helped invite customers in the process. I discovered I didn't have to be the one talking all the time."
2. Purposeful listening and also broadening your awareness of the diversity of others. "I ask myself how can you lend a voice to help bring others into the process."
3. Listening and showing respect are important --- but involvement matters too. "We need to go beyond listening and respect. We have take time to learn enough about each other, so we can see the value and help each other get involved."

LEADERSHIP FOR INCLUSION IS EVERYONE's JOB
As we continue to realize the implications of the changes in the landscape of leadership being as local as sitting at our desks and as collaborative as time, distance, difference and technology can take us, we all recognized that INCLUSION is not optional. Diversity is the reality of our world today and INCLUSION is the essential ingredient that "fuels" the best in all of us. It enables and accelerates the generation of new ideas, innovation, change, and growth. You can have all the diversity you want, but without a welcoming culture of inclusion for us all to grow and contribute, diversity can create chaos as we witness all around the world.

We agreed that we can't afford to have anyone opt-out from assuming the role of being leader of inclusion. With all the change that is needed in our organizations, corporations, communities, and the world, we have to recognize what Nelson Mandela reminded us in his book, Long Walk to Freedom: "With freedom comes responsibility." We all own making INCLUSION on every level part of our collective consciousness.

REFLECTIONS ON AN HOUR WELL-SPENT
Before we left our time together, we all shared one thought in reflection about the value of showing up for a conversation with new found friends different than us.

• I am leaving with a sense of possibility...
• I have conversations like this in my day-to-day work, but it was inspiring to learn from others from diverse places and careers, outside my work, discovering they too have passion about the idea of inclusion and putting our differences to work. I feel hopeful.
• Fabulous conference. ...I am very uplifted with the like minds who attended. One by one we will make differences work.
• I learned a lot from listening to others; I like to share stories and find it very inspiring to hear others.

What thoughts do you have on the topic of INCLUSION to add to these?

The next Putting Our Differences to Work Dialogue is Tuesday, August 12. Learn more...

Hope you can join us!

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 2008 – Hardcover
ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Also available in DIGITAL DOWNLOAD at Berrett-Koehler

Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future

Mutualism: Learning from an Unusual Teacher

I ran across a story I wrote down a while back. At the time, my heart was heavy over the loss of life in the Iraq War. "We don't talk about much with friends anymore --- it's a pretty dark and shameful reality most people want to ignore," I wrote.

"It is interesting how the we so easily point our fingers at others who kill, but the major collateral deaths we cause are not even acknowledged."  I went on to tell a moving story that came out of Nairobi, Kenya --- a story about mutualistic love. In my book, Putting Our Differences to Work, one of the qualities of leadership I discuss is "Making Mutualism the final arbiter." Imagine a dog being a role model:

NAIROBI, Kenya - Witnesses say a dog with puppies saved the life of an abandoned newborn baby in Kenya. They say the dog found the child wrapped in a plastic bag in the forest near the capital of Nairobi. It then carried her across a busy road and through a barbed wire fence before dropping the baby among its litter of puppies. The baby is now in good condition in the hospital. Doctors say the dog didn't hurt the baby because it used the plastic bag to carry her. Associated Press.
Click on the picture to see bigger image.

WAS THIS MUTUALISM?
When I forwarded the story to a friend who has studied mutualism, he wrote: "It's a beautiful story, but I am not sure it is mutualism. We know the baby benefited, but how did the dog benefit? This could be pure altruism instead." Hmmmm! This made me think. Then I responded:

I wonder if mutualism is more of a complex system of goodness? The baby provided body heat to help keep the dog's puppies warm while it searched for food and also helped the dog fulfill its Divine Purpose of saving the life, which provided us all with a valuable lesson and example with which to examine our own behavior. The dog was the bridge that connected the baby to life and the world. Everyone benefited from this interconnection and no one was harmed. This is mutualism at it's best, yes?

What do you think?
What lessons do you see in this story that we could take away?

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ June 1, 2008 – Hardcover
PRE-ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future

YOU'RE INVITED...
Join me for online live conversation to discuss your organizational issues at my
Putting Our Differences to Work CENTER FOR DIALOGUE

WISDOM: Connecting Across Time and Difference

Sometimes I think we all take so much for granted. Our busy lives keep us from recognizing one another in any real meaningful way -- and from taking time to learn from one another's wisdom. Sages and thought-leaders, past and present, give us clues that all of life across time is connected -- there is a different bent to our pressing problems in different eras of time, but there is also a sameness about our struggles and also our potential. Wisdom comes from unique perspectives and many dimensions of difference. It challenges us to see our important call to contribute to our organizations, community, and our world for the good of all.

I was again reminded of this today. Among my father's treasures after he died, I found a book of sermons from Peter Marshall, former Chaplain to the U.S. Senate back in the 1940s. Peter Marshall's wisdom reads with an amazing familiarity to where we are today:

"...The time for drifting or sleeping or wishful thinking or daydreaming is over. The state of our world today makes this pastime. This generation of young people and all of you who are sensitive to what is going on around you, are called to a supreme adventure.

There is a great stirring in society. The upheavals of life and the revolutions of multitudes across the world in desperate motion are indications that our world can never be the same again. So don't ever underestimate what you can do. You have the courage to cast off your acrophobia [fear of open space] and to dream big and to aim high..."

How do we tap into the wisdom that connects us across time and distance?
How do we begin a meaningful conversation and allow it to move us into action?

Dr. Alex Pattakos, author of Prisoners of Our Thoughts, shared this perspective in a recent writing on his blog: "...authentic dialogue enables individuals to acknowledge that they each are part of a greater whole, that they naturally resonate with others within this whole, and that the whole is, indeed, greater than the sum of its various parts. ...One must be open and willing to entertain a diversity of thought and discover a common ground by going to a higher ground.  And, to be sure, this is extremely difficult, if not seemingly impossible, for most of us to do, especially when the “stakes” are high."

What messages do you hear across time and difference calling us from your perspective in the world?

Best...

Debbe

Debbe Kennedy
Founder, Global Dialogue Center
author, Putting Our Differences to Work

new book!
Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership and High Performance
by Debbe Kennedy ▪ Berrett-Koehler ▪ May 2008 – Hardcover
PRE-ORDER a copy at AMAZON.COM

Foreword by Joel A. Barker, futurist, filmmaker and author
Paradigms: The Business of Discovering the Future

YOU'RE INVITED...
Join me for online live conversation to discuss your organizational issues at my
Putting Our Differences to Work CENTER FOR DIALOGUE