A Peacock in the Land of Penguins 4th Edition
A Fable About Creativity and Courage
BJ Gallagher (Author) | Warren Schmidt (Author) | Ken Blanchard (Foreword by)
Publication date: 12/09/2014
Bestseller over 375,000+ copies sold
-Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate
This brand new edition of a classic, international bestseller continues to bring keen insight to an important topic-workforce diversity. Written in a charming, engaging style, it is a contemporary corporate fable-a tale for our times. This special 20th anniversary edition includes many new tips, tools, and strategies for peacocks and penguins alike-as well as an entirely new bonus parable.
Through the story of Perry the Peacock and his fine feathered friends, authors Gallagher and Schmidtbring to life the challenges of birds of different feathers who struggle to be successful in the conformity-minded Land of Penguins. Their travails illuminate the challenges of creating a pluralistic corporate culture in which the talent, energy, and commitment of all employees are fully engaged.
People who have new ideas that differ from business as usual are often ignored or criticized for the very thing that makes them valuable: their originality and creativity. This unique book helps organizations break out of "penguin thinking" in order to tap into and leverage the creativity of diversity. Learn how to cultivate an organizational culture in which new ideas can flourish and innovation can take flight.
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Overview
This is a book for everyone who wishes to contribute their unique gifts to the world."
-Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate
This brand new edition of a classic, international bestseller continues to bring keen insight to an important topic-workforce diversity. Written in a charming, engaging style, it is a contemporary corporate fable-a tale for our times. This special 20th anniversary edition includes many new tips, tools, and strategies for peacocks and penguins alike-as well as an entirely new bonus parable.
Through the story of Perry the Peacock and his fine feathered friends, authors Gallagher and Schmidtbring to life the challenges of birds of different feathers who struggle to be successful in the conformity-minded Land of Penguins. Their travails illuminate the challenges of creating a pluralistic corporate culture in which the talent, energy, and commitment of all employees are fully engaged.
People who have new ideas that differ from business as usual are often ignored or criticized for the very thing that makes them valuable: their originality and creativity. This unique book helps organizations break out of "penguin thinking" in order to tap into and leverage the creativity of diversity. Learn how to cultivate an organizational culture in which new ideas can flourish and innovation can take flight.
Back to Top ↑Table of Contents
Dedication
A Note from the Authors
Foreword by Ken Blanchard
Part One: A Peacock in the Land of Penguins
The Story
Part Two: Tips and Tools for Feathered Friends
Are you a Peacock (or Other Type of Exotic Bird)?
Survival Strategies for Peacocks Who Want to Stay Put
Tips for Peacocks Who Want to Fly the Coop
Strategies for Birds of a Different Feather
Positive Penguinship: What Peacocks Can Learn from Penguins
There’s a Little bit of Penguin in All of Us
Part Three: Ideas and Examples for Teaching Penguins to Fly
How You Can Tell If You Work in the Land of Penguins
Recognizing the ‘Quack’ (Common Phrases from Penguins)
Tips for Penguins Who Want to Change Themselves
Tips for Penguins Who Want to Change Their Organizations
Preventing Penguin Paralysis
The Care and Feeding of Peacocks: A Penguin’s Guide
Reports from the Field
Part Four: Additional Resources for Peacocks and for Penguins
Training Materials
Merchandise
Keynote Speeches, Training, and Consulting Services
The Story Behind the Story
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Excerpt
Foreword
Every once in a while a small book comes along that deals with a profound subject in a simple, elegant way.
A Peacock in the Land of Penguins is such a book. I loved the book when the first edition came out in 1995, and I love this new 20th anniversary edition even more. It’s no surprise that over the past two decades it has become the best-selling diversity book in the world!
A Peacock in the Land of Penguins provides important insights into the issue of creativity and innovation in the workplace — and it does so in a most engaging manner. Through the medium of a fable, this book helps us to see what can happen when we try to express ourselves fully and courageously in an environment created by executives and managers who view the world very differently.
Stories are a great way to convey important messages — they inspire and teach at the same time. People forget facts, figures and theories, but they remember stories. People who know me can tell you how often I use stories in my own conversations, in my speeches, and in my daily life. I love to write great stories, and I love to read great stories.
This is the story of Perry the Peacock — a bright, talented, colorful bird — who comes to live in the Land of Penguins. He soon runs into problems because the penguins have established a chilly organizational climate that is formal, bureaucratic, and governed by a vast array of written and unwritten rules. Although his talent is recognized, his different and unusual style makes the penguins feel uneasy. The very thing Perry was recruited for — his distinctive flair and creativity — is viewed as a problem by the penguins once he is inside the organization.
Perry’s experience reflects that of many “birds of a different feather” in today’s organizations. While executives and managers today say they want new ideas and new thinking from their people, their actions indicate otherwise. New ideas are disruptive, they’re messy, they challenge the status quo, they require taking chances and increased risk, and they push everyone out of their comfort zones. So people who are different — people with new views on how to make the organization successful — are often discouraged from expressing them, much to the detriment of both the individual and the organization.
This delightful corporate fable follows the adventures of Perry and other exotic birds as they try to make their way in the Land of Penguins. Their story is both entertaining and enlightening. This is a tale of the perils and possibilities of being unique and creative in a world that values comfort, safety, and the predictability of conformity.
If you’re interested in new ideas for making yourself and your organization successful, read this classic tale. Creating a workplace where new ideas and innovation can flourish — and where different perspectives are welcome — is a top priority for managers and employees alike. There are important insights for all of us!
Ken Blanchard
Coauthor of The One Minute Manager®
Back to Top ↑Endorsements
"Every once in a while a small book comes along that deals with a profound subject in a very simple, elegant way. A Peacock in the Land of Penguins is such a book."
—Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager and Empowerment Takes More Than a Minute
"Is there anyone among us who has not felt the pain and frustration of not being appreciated for who they really are? A Peacock in the Land of Penguins, a powerful message, simply told, speaks to the spirit in each of us that yearns to fly high and free."
—Laurie Beth Jones, author of Jesus, CEO and The Path