Kennedy identifies five leadership practices that recognize differences generate new ideas and breakthrough thinking, and reframes how innovation, leadership, diversity, and inclusion connect to accelerate problem solving, team building, and decision making. Examples from both small and large companies illustrate a six step process for creating a diverse, inclusive environment that thrives on putting differences to work. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Differences have traditionally been considered a potential source of tension and conflict. But Debbe Kennedy insists that differences are actually a rich source of creativity, innovation and energybut only if your organization has the right processes and priorities in place. Kennedy shows how to leverage all the dimensions of difference things like thinking styles, competencies, work habits, culture, and management style, as well as more traditional diversity considerations such as gender, race, ethnicity, physical abilities, sexual orientation, and age. She describes five qualities leaders must have, and encourage in others, in order for diversity to become an engine for success, and lays out six action steps any organization can take to make the most of differences in the workforce. Everyone charged with leading diverse, often global teams and organizations will learn strategies and skills to help their organizations reach new levels of success in Putting Our Differences to Work.

Putting our differences to work means creating an environment where people, naturally unique and different, can work more effectively in ways that drive new levels of creativity, innovation, problem solving, leadership, and performance in the marketplaces, workplaces, and communities of the world. Debbe Kennedy shows how to make all the dimensions of difference tremendous sources of strength.

Kennedy draws on the latest research and a wealth of real-world examples to offer compelling evidence showing exactly how putting our differences to work accelerates innovation and contribution. She identifies five distinctive qualities of leadership that leaders must add to their portfolio of skills to make differences an engine of success. And she provides a detailed six-stage process for making the most of differences in the workforce, combining first-person best-practice stories and strategic with tactical ideas to help you put each step into action.