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Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance (Bk Business)

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This is just a wonderful book. The topic of diversity is one fraught with land mines, but Debbe Kennedy has figured out a way to discuss the issue without stepping on any of them. She makes it clear, for the first time I think, that it's not just about skin color but about how people see things in different ways and how others can profit by looking from various angles. The stories in this book are particularly rich and should resonate with both managers and employees in every size company. But don't think it's just for the workplace; I think it can also be valuable for everyday interactions at home and in the community as well.

The author, Debbe Kennedy has written an excellent book in an area where modern industries and services need a tremendous amount of help. As a corporate director of human resources, I can attest to the strengths that an organization will acquire by following the edicts in this book. The book's goal is to create an environment and culture where naturally different people work together more effectively as they attain - and surpass - the organizational goals in leadership and performance.

Debbe Kennedy shows how differences can mean much more than just the solidified categories such as race and sex. Her use of real-world examples of varying experiences and styles of management drive home the point that the area of diversity should never be shunned or viewed as a mere consequence but rather as the source of strength for future growth and excellence. In addition, I greatly appreciated the amount of research that went into this tome. This research lends an authorative tone to the work and makes it a compelling study in diversity.

In today's age of hyper-blending of cultures, this book will be a great asset to those who approach the subject with an open mind and implement the ideas generated in this book. Diversity is the current situation and will grow by leaps and bounds as time progresses. For us to progress, we must learn to tap into this growing well of strength. Those who don't are sadly doomed to fail.

I would also like to recommend Don't Bring It to Work: Breaking the Family Patterns That Limit Success and High Altitude Leadership: What the World's Most Forbidding Peaks Teach Us About Success (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership). Both are excellent managerial material.

I hope you find this review helpful.

Michael L. Gooch, SPHR

Too often diversity programs are seen as extraneous to the core business of the organization. In this powerful book, Debbe Kennedy offers convincing evidence that managing diversity is key to an organization's ability to innovate and adapt to a rapidly changing world. Using diversity as a strategic advantage requires that we know how to "put our differences to work" --how to align our different ways of thinking and seeing the world to create breakthrough products and solutions. The "Putting our Difference to Work Model" that Debbe describes and illustrates in this book can be applied by any leader in any organization. The examples and case studies she sites ground the model in the real world. She offers tools and techniques that help people with different ways of thinking come together to get things done. The "how to" information in this book is useful and easy to apply, but it is the explanation of why diversity matters that makes this book so compelling. Debbe makes it clear that putting differences to work is the key task of today's leader.

Debbe Kennedy is one of those rare business book writers who "gets it." She understands that the true value of a business book is the degree to which the book can actually be applied. "Putting Our Differences to Work" is valuable precisely because it can be applied by organizations of any size, starting TODAY.

Debbe uses a clear, welcoming writing style to communicate real-life stories of change agents across the for-profit and non-profit spectrum who have employed the principles outlined in this book not only to transform their organizations, but literally to change the world for the better.

The good news, as Debbe shows us, is that whether you are an owner, C-level executive, manager or "rank and file" employee, we ALL have the resources necessary to transform our own organizations. That's because "diversity" goes beyond the traditional notions of gender, ethnicity and cultural diversity to include the myriad of as-yet untapped skills and talents of our co-workers, suppliers and customers. And these diverse talents, skills and resources are available to every one of us, every day. Debbe shows you how to identify and harness the power of these resources to transform your organization (or at least your piece of it).

Read this book for the wealth of information it contains. More important, learn from this book and APPLY IT. Debbe shows you how. Follow her lead and you'll enjoy watching your organization - and the world - change for the better.

"Siemens chief says its managers are too German, white and male" by Richard Milne in London, Financial Times, USA, Wednesday June 25 2008, p.1, col.3.

The article above is a report ready-made for "Putting Our Differences to Work," underscoring the pertinence of the subject matter of Debbe Kennedy's book: Siemens is not alone.

However, this book goes beyond the trite "'Diversity' solution" parroted by many industrial leaders; in fact, in so many ways, it is not quite about diversity. Nor does the book apply to Industries and Businesses alone: from self-help / personal growth to family to management of Nations and States, there is use for, and value in, this book.

And, do not expect the kind of pedantic presentation of material typically seen in Industrial and Business white papers, executive summaries, consulting reports and the sort. The story-telling style used for this type of material is entirely refreshing (especially coming from an author steeped, as it were, in the tradition of Business and Industry): it makes for easy reading and mass appeal.

Often, one reads a book quite mindful of the title and generally oblivious of the subtitle: not this book. The title is married to the subtitle: keep this tight couple in mind in order to reap the most benefit from "Putting Our Differences to Work...the fastest way to innovation, leadership, and high performance."

If there's only one book to read this year, make it "Putting Our Differences to Work..." You will be richer for that. Of course, considering what its chief is quoted as saying as above, Siemens could sure use the book, and there is Siemens everywhere!

Oguchi Nkwocha, MD.
California USA.
June 25 2008

Debbe Kennedy flips the paradigm of differences on its ear. Instead of using our differences to divide us or as fodder for gossip and time-wasting judgments about others, she champions the practical advantages to employing our differences for good use. Excellence, creativity, wisdom and - dare I say it - magic become reliable deliverables!

Putting Our Differences to Work is a must read for all professionals in the work place today. Debbe Kennedy offers invaluable insight in to the ever changing work environment, and emphasizes the importance of innovation to the success of an organization.

This book presents fresh ideas with diction that flows very naturally. At its core, it truly is a motivational book; but it also presents a personal challenge to its reader and provides step-by-step action items that can be directly and immediately applied to your current profession, regardless of position or industry.

For experienced professionals- how have you driven innovation in your company? How do you differentiate yourself from those that you lead? What defines you as a business professional?

For new professionals entering the workforce for the first time- how do you define your goals? What defines you as a future leader? How will you prepare for a work place that is full of different ideas, cultures, and beliefs?

As a young business professional myself, Putting Our Differences to Work has truly given me the ability to understand the inevitable relationships that exist between diversity, innovation, and leadership.

Understand diversity. Drive innovation. Lead the way!

I definitely recommend this book.

In her beautifully-written and thought-provoking book, "Putting Our Differences to Work," Debbe Kennedy creatively and impactfully puts a human face on innovation. Drawing on her own personal experiences as an executive, Debbe creatively weaves together effective storytelling, a variety of useful models, and a collection of inspirational quotes to frame innovation not around technology, but around people.

Leaders at all levels and in all industries will gain a new awareness, and new insights, into how to leverage the diversity of their people and their teams to foster a culture of innovation within their organizations...and within themselves. And if Debbe's sole contributions were not enough, as an added bonus this book features additional insights on innovation from futurist, Joel Barker -- the writer of one of my all-time favorite business books: "Paradigms." So this book is definitely a must-read, a tremendous resource, and a valuable addition to any business library...

From Xuan Feng, Master Graduate, Researcher, and Practitioner: This book is an amazing manifold of cutting-edge research and real-world examples, inspiring quotes and beautiful poems, engaging life stories and practical business cases, those old virtues and new technologies. Debbe Kennedy invites you into a whole new world of diversity at work.

There you learn new concepts, knowledge, and many innovative products; you meet leaders with Five Distinctive Qualities and people from different backgrounds; you watch, you listen, you learn, you take your time to reflect, and most importantly you ACT! Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership, and High Performance is worthy of the name.

Apart from its form, the core ideas of Putting our difference to work are of profound significance. Seldom you find a book that draws together so visionary elements of our time and for our future-innovation, leadership, diversity and inclusion, companied with a mass of wisdom, insight, know-how and human spirits.

For me personally, this book is a big treasure, where I discover the fascination of diversity, stretching myself and see the world in a big picture. This book is a guide, with which I practice leadership and experiment innovation in this globalized world. Debbe Kennedy's book is a great inspiration, for me, and I believe, for our young generation, and for people who live in other parts of the world - because DIVERSITY is beyond boundaries!

I highly recommend Putting our difference to work and I hope more people in non-English speaking countries could also learn this beautiful piece of wisdom and together we are making a better world!

XUAN FENG, M.A. Master graduate, researcher and practitioner
Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany
Shanghai, China

Review received by the Global Dialogue Center, September 10, 2009, shared with permission.

'Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership & High Performance', by Debbe Kennedy

"Diversity accelerates innovation to everyone's advantage..."

The foregoing more or less sums up the gist of the book.

In fact, it has been extracted from the 'Foreword' by futurist/strategist Joel Arthur Barker to the book, 'Putting Our Differences to Work: The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership & High Performance', by Debbe Kennedy. [Both consultants/authors have been relatively long-time collaborators.]

Frankly speaking, it's Joel Arthur Barker's particular contribution of 'Chapter 10: Innovation at the Verge of Differences' & 'Chapter 11: Collaborating at the Verge of Differences' that has initially attracted me to read the book.

On the other hand, I am also familiar with the author (Debbe Kennedy)'s previous work, namely, 'Breakthrough! The Problem Solving Advantage' (1998) & 'Action Dialogues: Meaningful Conversations to Accelerate Change, (2000), as well as her complete 'Strategic Action Series' (2000) of short & snappy booklets, total six of them, comprising:

- 'Assessment: Defining Current Realities';
- 'Acceptance: Developing Support for Change';
- 'Action: Moving Forward';
- 'Accountability: Establishing Shared Ownership';
- 'Achievement: measuring Progress/Celebrating Success';
- 'Diversity Breakthrough with More Action: Keeping Momentum Alive';

As a matter of fact, while running my own small retail outlet, aptly called 'The Brain Resource', in the Central Business District during the nineties, the nifty toolkit - 'Breakthrough!', in the form of a book/card deck/CD-ROM package - was included in my store repertoire.

I would add that the practicality & the utility of her earlier thoughtwares in the workplace actually earned her the reputation as a master problem solver.

For me, reading 'Putting Our Differences to Work' is like doing a partial refresher, because the book is almost an intellectual amalgam of all her previous works, particularly the entire section of Part 2, which replicates the 6-step iterative framework for putting diversity to work in fostering organisational change.

Before I move on further, I like to recap the preamble on the inside front flap of the book, which I thought has captured the essence of the book beautifully:

"Putting our differences to work means creating an environment where people, naturally unique & different - diverse by nature & experience - can work more effectively in ways that drive new levels of creativity, innovation, problem solving, leadership, & performance in the marketplaces, workplaces, & communities of the world."

In addition to the six-step model, with each step elaborated in a given chapter, combined with best practice stories, the rest of the book identifies the five distinctive qualities of leadership, that leaders must add to their skills portfolio - & the 16 dimensions of differences that leaders must understand - in order to make diversity an engine of success.

The book closes with a presentation on virtual gathering, involving web 2.0 technologies & other social media, which open up ever-expanding possibilities for putting diversity to work. These are included in Part 3 of the book, which also includes Joel Arthur Barker's contribution (Chapter 10 & 11), as mentioned earlier.

If readers are already familiar with the intersection of ideas, concepts & cultures, as embodied in the 'Medici Effect', proposed & authored by Frans Johansson, then readers will readily notice a relatively similar, but still interesting spin, given by Joel Arthur Barker in the two chapters.

Both authors have brilliantly asserted, with numerous illuminating examples, that by exploring the 'intersections' or 'verges', we may discover the next breakthrough ideas.

As Joel Arthur Barker puts it, to dovetail with Debbe Kennedy's principal premise of the book:

"...Without diversity, there can be no verges. Celebrate the differences. Enlarge the differences. It creates more options for innovation."

Overall, I must say that the book is a great road-map on harnessing people's rich & diverse experiences, cultures, & perspectives to attract growth & sustain innovation.

Best of all, the author is a superb tale blazer, & her writing is clear, succinct & concise, with a key-point summary at the end of each chapter, which makes reading & recap a breeze.

Highly recommended.

[Reviewed by Lee Say Keng, Knowledge Adventurer & Technology Explorer, Optimum Performance Technologies, September 2009]