Synopses & Reviews
Fred Rogers is one of the great icons of American culture and the values and philosophy for which he is famous have stood the test of time. Fables and the Art of Leadership brings those same values and philosophy to the workplace, where they're now needed more than ever. This unique and timely work is for everyone who aspires to become and be a better leader. Mister Rogers didn't expound abstract principles to help children face up to the problems they encountered; instead, he created and told countless fables and stories. Ian and Donna Mitroff's book uses those fables to help managers master the most difficult challenges they face: achieving significant change; fostering creativity; curbing rudeness; promoting leadership, managing crises, and many more. It is their new interpretations for the workplace that will make Fables and the Art of Leadership a classic in business studies.
Review
"This is an endearing work that is inspired by Mister Rogers' fables and lessons of leadership. Donna and Ian Mitroff recapture these marvelous children's stories while traveling the seven C's of leadership (Connect, Concern, Creativity, Communication, Consciousness, Courage, and Community). It is insightful and heartwarming. They rejoice in the essence of benevolent leadership and true friendship in each of us." - Kurt Motamedi, professor of Strategy and Leadership, Pepperdine University"Donna and Ian Mitroff's book is destined to transform management and workplaces for generations to come, just as Fred Rogers' imaginative characters and heartwarming stories have deeply shaped multiple generations of children. By seeing how Mister Rogers' lessons on feeling (and not just thinking) and spirituality (and not just materialism) must now become infused into every act of leadership, Fables and the Art of Leadership sets the agenda for how our organizations and nations can successfully address today's mega conflicts and problems." - Ralph H. Kilmann, ceo of Kilmann Diagnostics and co-developer of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI)"Donna and Ian Mitroff have written a marvelous book. In an age where we freely toss words around like 'unique,' they have truly written a unique and inspiring book. Every student of business and practitioner should read it. If this were so, it might just revolutionize business education and practice. What better way to produce healthy organizations than by embracing the philosophy of Fred Rogers. As the authors make clear, you learned from Fred when you were a child. We need to learn from him again as adults." - Warren Bennis, professor, University of Southern California, and author of Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership"The idea of turning our workplaces into neighborhoods is inspirational. It is especially hard to accomplish now that the social compact between organizations and their workers has been broken. Yet it is all the more necessary in these troubled times. Using principles drawn from Mr. Rogers' fables, the authors give us a blueprint that good leaders can use to create a more positive and emotionally healthy workspace." - James Goodrich, dean, College of Business and Economics, CSU Los Angeles
About the Author
Donna Mitroff received her PhD in Education and a Master's in Special Education from the University of Pittsburgh and is currently the president and founder of the children's media consulting group, Mitroff and Associates. She has served as president of Mediascope (an entertainment industry non-profit), senior VP at Fox Family Worldwide, and VP of WQED West. She has served as executive producer for 'Rinko: The Best Bad Thing,' 'You Must Remember This,' and 'The Fixer Uppers.' She was the executive in charge of production for the National Geographic Specials and for 'Conserving America' and spent several years as development manager for 'Wonderworks Family Movies' on PBS. As a specialist in the Children's Television Act, she has helped networks such as The Hub and production companies such as Cookie Jar Entertainment, American Greetings, Studio B, Chorion, Cinar, and SD Entertainment create shows that meet the Act's requirements. She has been a member of numerous advisory committees and children's programming juries such as The American Center for Children and Media, the Children's Television Advisory Committee for Univision, DIC Educational Advisory Committee, NHK's Japan Prize, and the HUMANITAS Prize. She currently serves on the Advisory Board for Hollywood, Health and Society at USC Annenberg's Norman Lear Center. Ian Mitroff is an emeritus professor from the University of Southern California (USC), where he taught for 26 years. While at USC, he was the Harold Quinton Distinguished Professor of Business Policy in the Marshall School of Business; he also held a joint appointment in the Department of Journalism in the Annenberg School for Communication, where he taught Crisis Management and served as associate director of the USC Center for Strategic Public Relations. Currently, he is an adjunct professor in the College of Environmental Design, and a senior research associate at the Center for Catastrophic Risk Management, Haas School of Business, all at the University of California Berkeley. In addition to teaching, he is president of Mitroff Crisis Management, a consulting group that offers an integrated approach to Crisis Management. For 35+ years he has been sought out as an analyst and consultant on human-induced crises, including major incidents such as the Tylenol poisonings, Bhopal, Three Mile Island, the scandal in the Catholic Church, Enron, the war in Iraq, the oil spill in the Gulf, and most recently, the tragic devastation in Japan due to earthquakes and tsunamis. He is widely regarded as one of the 'fathers' of the modern field of Crisis Management. He is the author of several books, including: A Spiritual Audit of Corporate America (1999); Crisis Leadership (2003); Why Some Companies Emerge Stronger and Better from a Crisis (2005); and most recently, Dirty Rotten Strategies: How We Trick Ourselves and Others into Solving the Wrong Problems Precisely (2009). He has an Honorary PhD from the Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Stockholm. He is the recipient of a Gold Medal from the U.K. Systems Society for his life-long contributions to systems thinking. He is a fellow of The American Psychological Association, The American Association for the Advancement of Science, and The Academy of Management. His PhD is in Engineering Science (Industrial Engineering) and the Philosophy of Social Systems Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Table of Contents
Part I: The FablesReader's Guide: How to Read the FablesChapter One: ConnectChapter Two: Concern Chapter Three: CreativityChapter Four: CommunicationChapter Five: ConsciousnessChapter Six: CourageChapter Seven: CommunityPart II: Interpretations of The Fables
Chapter Eight: Planet Purple vs Planet Prism Chapter Nine: Good Friends Chapter Ten: No Bare Hands in This Land Chapter Eleven: The Bass Violin Festival Chapter Twelve: The Reluctant Ring Bearer Chapter Thirteen: Once Upon Each Lovely Day Chapter Fourteen: Daniel Tiger and the Snowstorm Chapter Fifteen: Concluding Remarks on Leadership
Part III: Putting The Seven Cs To WorkChapter Sixteen: Specialized Topics Chapter Seventeen: Planet Purple vs Planet Prism RevisitedChapter Eighteen: Good Friends RevisitedChapter Nineteen: No Bare Hands in This Land RevisitedChapter Twenty: The Bass Violin Festival Revisited Chapter Twenty-One: The Reluctant Ring Bearer RevisitedChapter Twenty-Two: Once Upon Each Lovely Day RevisitedChapter Twenty-Three: Daniel Tiger and the Snowstorm RevisitedChapter Twenty-Four: Leadership RevisitedChapter Twenty-Five: Concluding Topics