Putting Our Differences to Work : The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance

Do you ever feel like the whole world is looking to you for leadership - even if it's just your own world? Today we find ourselves in similar places regardless of our business or organization. The pressures are on. Demands for new ideas and new talent are real. Growth seems to be on everyone's mind, whether it is to grow your business, expand your influence, multiply your supporters, increase your diverse talent pool, or gain market share. And, by the way, make it fast. A respected leader once shared with me that the word leadership has a Germanic origin meaning to ''find a new path.'' What is encouraging amid all the chaos today is there is a constant stream of achievements rising up from individuals and organizations across the world finding new paths that are creatively addressing the problems we face with new thinking and a resurgence of our pioneering spirit as people. I wrote this book for you to experience walking on some of those new paths and, at the same time, take away everything you need to forge your own. The idea for this book arose out of observation, experience, participation, and inspiration from what seems a lifetime of study and practice that has involved putting our differences to work. The most meaningful part of the journey has come from those I met and learned from and with along the way.