Synopses & Reviews
Your 7-step prescription for creating a compassionately competitive work cultureFor centuries, leaders have been operating within a “control and compete” mindset. But times are changing. More and more, at the helm of successful companies, youll find a different sort of leader. Collaborators, not controllers, they are “square apples,” bold men and women who dare to create success by reshaping the workplace in unexpected ways.
In Apples Are Square, innovation consultants and celebrated authors Dr. Susan Smith Kuczmarski and Thomas D. Kuczmarski share with you the secrets of how to become a square apple in your organization. To develop their groundbreaking strategy for success, the authors interviewed dozens of leadership pioneers, including Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist; Mary Ellen Weber, former NASA astronaut; and NFL star Chris Zorich, whose personal story inspired the title of this book. With the tools in Apples Are Square, youll be able to take any bruised environment and reshape it into a positive force. As the authors takeyou through their seven-step process for rejuvenating your workplace, youll learn how to:
Master the six essential qualities of new leadershipCommunicate in innovative ways that inspire people to serve othersBuild strong relationships for a sense of community in your companyCreate loyalty and retain employeesEncourage personal risk-taking, creativity, and flexibilityAnd much more
Reshaping a bad apple or work environment is not easy, but in the end you will hold in your hand the fruits of a more dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative organization.
Review
From the Back Cover
“Apples Are Square presents the model of leadership necessary to move from the information age to the knowledge-based and ultimately, to a wisdom-based culture. The future depends on the survival of the wisest and on leadership that is based on inner values.”
—Deepak Chopra, author of Book of Secrets
“A rare and powerful book that provides a window into the views, thoughts, and soul of exceptional leaders in simple yet compelling language.”
—Dr. Surinder Kumar, Chief Innovation Officer, Wm Wrigley Jr. Company, author of Riding the Blue Train
“Apples Are Square is the key to the next frontier of corporate performance and productivity. The Kuczmarskis challenge us to move past the numbers and quarterly reports to what really matters—the leadership principles that guide our companies and our people.”
—David Palfenier, President, Grocery Foods, ConAgra Foods, Inc.
“Tom Kuczmarski doesnt have a patent on innovation, but he should have.”
—Charles P. Carey, Chairman, Chicago Board of Trade
“A work of great substance and relevance that provides not just an entry point for talking about models of leadership, but real profiles of those who have used these models to transform their own organizations and the people within them.”
—Donald P. Jacobs, Dean Emeritus, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Review
“An effective case for risk-taking within a framework of humanity.” —
Business Week
“The Kuczmarskis, innovation consultants and teachers, provide 25 values-based leaders—mostly fresh faces—to discover a new model of leadership for the 21st century.” —Fast Company
“In this quick but insightful read, the authors outline the six critical values needed to lead and succeed in today's workplace. Their roadmap is based on extensive interviews with 25 pioneering leaders who embody these values… The book also succeeds in terms of its relevancy to today's business environment. Leadership, or the lack thereof, is one of the most pressing issues facing organizations today. …At a time when too many corporate leaders are still reading Sun Tzu's The Art of War, this book offers an important alternative approach to leadership. While it might not be the catalyst that finally sparks the revolution, it should at the very least prompt readers to think about the type of individual they are and the type they want to become.” —John A. Challenger, Chicago Sun-Times
“Apples Are Square, well written in a simple style, presents a new model of leadership that is based on leaders serving their constituents rather than vice versa….To know how the new model works, you need to read about the inspiration behind the books title: an anecdote that Christopher Zorich, a former defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears and the Washington Redskins, loves to narrate.…Just as Chriss mother took rotten apples and literally reshaped them into something edible and appealing, we, as a society, need to take bruised work environments and reshape them into dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative organisations, explain the Kuczmarskis. Persuasive analogy.” —The Hindu Review
Synopsis
Your 7-step prescription for creating a compassionately competitive work culture
For centuries, leaders have been operating within a “control and compete” mindset. But times are changing. More and more, at the helm of successful companies, youll find a different sort of leader. Collaborators, not controllers, they are “square apples,” bold men and women who dare to create success by reshaping the workplace in unexpected ways.
In Apples Are Square, innovation consultants and celebrated authors Dr. Susan Smith Kuczmarski and Thomas D. Kuczmarski share with you the secrets of how to become a square apple in your organization. To develop their groundbreaking strategy for success, the authors interviewed dozens of leadership pioneers, including Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist; Mary Ellen Weber, former NASA astronaut; and NFL star Chris Zorich, whose personal story inspired the title of this book. With the tools in Apples Are Square, youll be able to take any bruised environment and reshape it into a positive force.
About the Author
Susan Smith Kuczmarski, Ed.D., is an educator, lecturer, and authority on values-based leadership. She was recently selected for inclusion in 500 Leaders of World Influence, Outstanding People of the 21st Century, 2000 Outstanding Writers of the 20tth Century, and has been listed in Whos Who in the World for 12 years. Thomas Kuczmarski is founder of Kuczmarski & Associates, a nationally recognized innovation management consulting firm. He has been an adjunct professor at Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management for 27 years, and is regularly quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Newsweek, the Chicago Sun-Times and other leading business publications. They live in Chicago.