Ryan Quinn's Page

Inclusive Conversations

"What is impressive is not only how Winters builds a case for the urgency and need for bold, inclusive conversations but ...

Subtle Acts of Exclusion

This practical, accessible, nonjudgmental handbook is the first to help individuals and organizations recognize and preve...

The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety

This book is the first practical, hands-on guide that shows how leaders can build psychological safety in their organizat...

Diversity Beyond Lip Service

"La’Wana Harris has opened this coach’s eyes to the power of coaching practices to create new paths for diversity and inc...

7 Rules for Positive, Productive Change

Change is difficult but essential—Esther Derby offers seven guidelines for change by attraction, an approach that draws p...

Dig Your Heels In

Sought-after speaker and consultant Joan Kuhl arms young women with the tools they need to transform male-dominated corpo...

Compassionate Counterterrorism

Islamist terrorism is not about religion, says Leena Al Olaimy, an Arab Muslim, Dalai Lama Fellow, and social entrepreneu...

Networking for People Who Hate Networking

Most books for people who would rather get a root canal than face a roomful of strangers tell readers how to fight agains...

The Unwritten Rules of Managing Up

“This is a must-read for bosses and subordinates alike, as it exposes our flaws but teaches us how we can work together t...

Bedtime Stories for Managers

In forty-two succinct, surprising essays, legendary scholar Henry Mintzberg brings management down from the clouds and on...

The Critical Few

Without a deep understanding of your company’s culture, any change effort you undertake will fail. Bestselling author Jon...

The Law of Small Things

We are living in a time when dishonesty and duplicity are becoming commonplace. Each of us can fight this cultural corrup...

The Future of Packaging

Tom Szaky sets out to do the impossible – eliminate all waste. This book paints a future of a “circular economy” that rel...

Citizen Capitalism

Top Cornell law professor Lynn Stout and her coauthors Tamara Belinfanti and Sergio Gramitto offer a visionary but practi...

The Eight Essential People Skills for Project Management

Veteran project manager and University of California professor Zachary Wong identifies the eight most common people probl...

Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go

The new edition of a bestselling classic, Help Them or Grow Watch Them Grow offers advice on talent retention for the mod...

  • How to Transform the Collective Mindset: Cultural Change and Moral Power

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    How to Transform the Collective Mindset: Cultural Change and Moral Power

    By Robert E. Quinn Sometimes I will ask a group, “Did you know that organizations are political?”  This always brings a knowing laugh.  The laugh suggests a question, Why would I ever ask about something so obvious?  The laugh also demonstrates a fact.  People have a natural understanding of hier...

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    March 6, 2015

  • “Make This the Best Day of Your Life”: Robert Quinn Speaks at TEDxUofM

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    “Make This the Best Day of Your Life”: Robert Quinn Speaks at TEDxUofM

    By Amy Lemley “When we tap potential that is untapped, we see things in new ways, and a whole new world of possibility opens up to us,” says Lift blog cofounder Robert E. Quinn. How do we tap that potential? Bob answers that question in a 13-minute talk at a conference modeled after the famed TED...

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    March 6, 2015

  • The Generosity Family Project: Do Good and Feel Good

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    The Generosity Family Project: Do Good and Feel Good

    By Ryan W. Quinn I posted a review of Adam Grant’s new book, Give and Take, a few weeks ago on this blog. The timing of this book’s release was fortuitous for me on a personal level. It was good timing. Just when the book came out, my wife approached me to let me know that we needed to help our c...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Empathy versus Perspective-Taking and Personal Change

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    Empathy versus Perspective-Taking and Personal Change

    Ryan W. Quinn One of the stories that Adam Grant tells in his book, Give and Take, which I have been discussing in recent blog entries, is the story of a businessman from Australia named Peter Audet. Peter had built up his business with the help of his partner, Rich. The two men worked well toget...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Solving the Authenticity Puzzle: What Many CEOs Cannot Do

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    Solving the Authenticity Puzzle: What Many CEOs Cannot Do

    By Robert E. Quinn I met a consultant from another part of the world who works with senior business leaders.  In their country’s culture, he said, there is an extreme emphasis on hierarchy and seniority, with strong norms to defer to.  Because of that, someone such as a CEO may get little honest ...

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    March 6, 2015

  • From Manager to Leader: Accelerating the Process

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    From Manager to Leader: Accelerating the Process

    By Robert E. Quinn A former executive MBA student came to see me.  He was scheduled to be in another part of Michigan, but said he wanteto make a special trip to Ann Arbor because he had something important to share it with me. He is an executive in his early forties.  Prior to attending our prog...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Discovering What You Love To Do: Overcoming the First Barrier to Success

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    Discovering What You Love To Do: Overcoming the First Barrier to Success

    By Robert E. Quinn During the graduation season, National Public Radio aired a highly provocative broadcast.  It began with short clips from three graduation speeches in which well-known speakers told students the key to their future success was for them to go forward doing what they loved.  Then...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Engaging Again and Again

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    Engaging Again and Again

    By Ryan W. Quinn My common refrain when talking about teaching and working with teachers is “to love the people you teach.” I believe that’s what we, as teachers, should do. And I also believe that expression can be a platitude: It is so true that we ignore it or take it for granted. As a result,...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Pollyanna and the Prisoner’s Penetrating Question: A Reflection on the Positive Perspective

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    Pollyanna and the Prisoner’s Penetrating Question: A Reflection on the Positive Perspective

    By Robert E. Quinn Despite a demanding professional schedule, a friend of mine volunteers to work with prisoners. He has a surprisingly high rate of success in helping them turn their lives around.  How does he achieve this? Through authentic conversation. We often talk about his unusual voluntee...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Becoming a Leader: A Positive Lesson from Failing CEOs

    Ryan Quinn posted a blog post

    Becoming a Leader: A Positive Lesson from Failing CEOs

    By Robert E. Quinn Some CEOs become so focused on profit that they cannot generate it. This fact is of great importance to you because it means you can acquire capacities unavailable to many executives. It means you can lead more effectively than the people above you. It means you can assure your...

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    March 6, 2015

  • ryanquinn

    Ryan Quinn is now a member of Berrett-Koehler Community

Leadership and Self-Deception

How does your life change when you move beyond self-justification to self-discovery?

Positive Organizational Scholarship

Would you like your organization to reflect the best of the human condition?

The End of Diversity As We Know It

How can you actively leverage the differences between your employees to advance business practices?

Hello, My Name Is Awesome

Naming a business or product has always been challenging—and sometimes costly—for entrepreneurs and inventors, but it’s o...

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