Apples Are Square: Thinking Differently About Leadership

by Susan Kuczmarski, Thomas D. Kuczmarski

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, you'll 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 , you'll be able to take any bruised environment and reshape it into a positive force.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership

256 pages, Hardcover

First published July 3, 2007

Reviews

[Sambasivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors call these qualities uncommon. But in my view these leadership qualities are increasingly becoming relevant and even imperative at times for the organisation to be successful in the long run. The words are quite simple : humility, compassion, transparency, inclusiveness, collaboration and values- based decisiveness.

The peopleship model : new term coined which means a new form of leadership that lifts people up having six qualities and seven culture changing steps (which are : reach out to serve others, ask who am I, ask who are you, find common ground, don't take the pleats out, root for others and leave some money on the table).

Together, these steps could transform any organisation to perform better.

[Eric Webster]

Schmaltzy, cheesy, should stick more with the real-life examples

[John Kooz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an AMAZING well-written superb book. I loved the part about "Normalizing Excellence". I loved all the diverse interviews, too. I loved all the Characteristics of Success (like Compassion, Humility, Transparency, Values-based Decisiveness, and more). The Seven Steps to Change were really insightful too. Loved this book! The part about letting creativity reign: "They must give their employees the freedom to take risks and play with ideas" was awesome too. I underlined quite a bit and could spend a lot of time reviewing the book. I really also liked what Weber said about success: "People often talk about success as something that happens to you, but it is a decision". That's awesome.

[Su · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Goodreads rating system sums up how I feel about this book: It was okay. It has good suggestions and I enjoyed reading about the people the authors used as examples.

However, it's kind of dry and didn't keep my attention for long-- I had to read it in bits. That's a rare thing for me, and is the reason for the 2-star rating. It just wasn't very interesting, and there are other leadership books that are which I'd prefer to read.

On a very surface level, it seemed like the editing got more sloppy as the book went along. The prose got looser and there were more unclear sentences and a typo or two. And throughout the book (and this drove me crazy!), they used "affect change" instead of "effect change." That in itself is bad enough, but the problem is that in most cases, the context could have gone either way on "affect" or "effect." I'm pretty sure "effect change" is what was meant, but that dash of ambiguity in the wording really made me crazy about the fourth or fifth time it came up.

Overall, meh. I won't be re-reading this one.

[Mark Fallon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a good book focusing on the importance of values in leadership. The authors identify 6 critical traits:
- humility
- compassion
- transparency
- inclusiveness
- collaboration
- values-based decisiveness

They then use profiles of 25 leaders to share the 7 steps to implement those values. While I could identify with many of the people interviewed, there were some people profiled that should have been left out.

And the last chapter needs a rewrite. Almost dropped the review to 3 stars.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is certainly worth a read. I gave it five stars even though it is obvious to me that I do not share quite the same values as the authors. Still, the points made about leadership should be heeded as business in the U.S. is in a transitional period. Old authoritarian methods of leadership need to be replaced and this book lays out a blueprint for the alternative.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed reading the book I can't there are really any impressions that stuck with me. Perhaps it will be eye opening for the old-school, command-and-control type leaders, but it served more as a confirmation of many of the thoughts I already have on leadership.

[Don Wadewitz II · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read about values-based leadership. The authors talk to 25 values-based leaders and discuss their leadership philosophies. They key in on values like humility and service to help change the culture of a company.

[Nader Hajj Shehadeh · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just another leadership book, with a distinctive cover, and an out of the box context.
Nothing more.