The Loudest Duck: Moving Beyond Diversity While Embracing Differences to Achieve Success at Work

In today's modern workplaces with their many different types of people, cultural and personal differences can be challenges-whether you're a team-member or a business leader. Different cultures teach different values and we carry those values throughout adulthood and into the office environment. Understanding the cultural and gender viewpoints of...
More Description

In today's modern workplaces with their many different types of people, cultural and personal differences can be challenges-whether you're a team-member or a business leader. Different cultures teach different values and we carry those values throughout adulthood and into the office environment. Understanding the cultural and gender viewpoints of our colleagues is a major key to healthy, conflict-free work environments.

This fable takes its name from a Chinese children's parable about how "the loudest duck gets shot." It's a parable that contrasts with the American idiom "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." Comparing the two, it's clear that different cultures teach different views, and those views often translate into distinct ways of doing business. In today's global business world, understanding each other-where we come from and what we're taught-is more important than ever.A business fable that points out how the old way of approaching diversity will never work, showing us how to understand and navigate the cultural and gender differences that cause conflict in the officePerfect for managers and executives faced with leadership challenges in a heterogeneous workforce and who want to make sure their organization is a true meritocracy and a level playing field for everyoneIdeal for anyone, at any level, who wants more tools in their toolbox to get ahead in business in a global business culture

Doing business today takes understanding and cultural intelligence. "The Loudest Duck" uses an entertaining story to share important lessons about why diversity efforts are bound to fail unless we really understand how we unconsciously respond to difference and how to move to beyond it.

Praise for "The Loudest Duck"

"Laura Liswood has both great theoretical and practical understanding of diversity--why it is important in organizations and why attempts to create it often fail to deliver. "The Loudest Duck" is essential reading for anyone who wants to maximize the effectiveness of organizations or just wants to understand why things are the way they are."

--Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell

Canada's 19th and first female Prime Minister

"Diversity is a popular buzzword, but too many organizations treat it as window dressing. Laura Liswood explains how successful leaders learn to value diversity for the advantages it brings. This book is clearly written, savvy, and wise."

--Joseph S. Nye Jr.

University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard University;

Author of "The Powers to Lead"

""The Loudest Duck" is a must read for managers and leaders of multinational corporations and international organizations. It provides an insightful look and fresh approach to cultural and gender differences that must be better understood for a more effective workplace."

--Ann M. Veneman

Executive Director, UNICEF

"Laura Liswood brilliantly shows us how to get to Diversity 2.0 and beyond. A workplace of people from different backgrounds can lead to tensions, but this book shows, with great insights and examples, how it can lead to real creativity instead. It's an indispensable guide for managers and leaders--and also for anyone who wants to succeed in any aspect of life."

--Walter Isaacson

President and Chief Executive Officer, The Aspen Institute

"Laura's timing is perfect and her message is spot on. Embracing diversity creates competitive advantage. Her book should be mandatory reading for everyone in business today. In the most engaging, fun, and real way, Laura gets to the heart of the opportunity--enabling Noah's diverse floating Ark to fly to the moon and beyond."

--Beth Brooke

Global Vice Chair of Public Policy, Su