Table of Contents

Foreword by Ken Blanchard

Part I: A Peacock in the Land of Penguins
The Story

Part II: Tips and Tools for Feathered Friends
Are You a Peacock, or Other Type of Exotic Bird?
Do You Identify with Any of the Birds in This Story?
Strategies for Birds of a Different Feather
Positive Penguinship: What Peacocks Can Learn from Them
There’s a Little Bit of Penguin in All of Us
Diversity Includes Everyone

Part III: Teaching Penguins to Fly
How You Can Tell If You Work in the Land of Penguins
Recognizing the “Quack” (common penguin phrases)
Who Cares About Diversity … and Why?
Tips for Penguins Who Decide to Change Themselves
Tips for Enlightened Penguins Who Seek to Transform
Their Organizations
Avoiding Penguin Paralysis
The Care and Feeding of Peacocks: A Guide for Penguins

Part IV: From Parable to Practice
The Story Behind the Story
Perry the Peacock’s Legacy
Peacocks and Kids
Bonus Section: “The Penguins Ate Your Cheese!”
Acknowledgments
About the Authors

About the Author

BJ Gallagher is an accomplished management consultant, a popular speaker, and the prolific author of thirty books, including Being Buddha at Work and Yes Lives in the Land of No. She spent five years as the manager of training and development for the Los Angeles Times prior to founding her own human resources consulting company. Warren H. Schmidt is a professor emeritus at the University of Southern California and the co-author of The Race without a Finish Line and TQManager. He has also written many educational and management films, including the Academy Award-winning animated short Is It Always Right to Be Right?

Reviews

“Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another. Birds of different feathers can, and should, flock together—for it is in bringing our diverse talents, skills, and creativity together that we create a true Land of Opportunity. To paraphrase the words of this lovely book, Our shared knowledge makes us wise. And our wisdom makes us successful.”
—Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate

“The beauty of metaphor is that it communicates meaning, not just information, which is why I learned so much from this book about diversity, corporate culture, and organizational transformation—lessons I will never forget.”
—Warren Bennis, author of On Becoming a Leader

“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, coauthor of The One Minute Manager

“A lighthearted treatment of a difficult problem, this story reminds us of what we are really after in our diversity efforts.”
—Ann M. Morrison, coauthor of Breaking the Glass Ceiling

“Insightful and witty . . . Gallagher and Schmidt have captured an essential truth about navigating the stormy seas of the contemporary workplace—from the strength of differences we can truly make a difference.”
—Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge