Product Description

Visionary leadership in action. These stories reveal the often elusive qualities critical to leaders of any organization and will inspire readers to release the dream makers within themselves.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #495833 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 224 pages

Book Info
Thirteen inspiring stories of eminent leaders who have led grand-scale organizational transformations in the face of resistance, fear, and adversity. DLC: Social values.

From the Publisher
A selection of the Doubleday Executive Program Book Club. Features a Foreword by Max De Pree, author of Leading Without Power and Leaderhip Is an Art, and former Chairman and CEO of Herman Miller, Inc.

"Michele Hunt has served in as diverse an array of work settings as most of us can imagine. She has been doing one job--seeing people. Read this book and see what Michele sees: the commitment that energizes our work, the love that unifies our actions, the dream that lives within us."--Peter N. Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline

"Michele Hunt opens doors to lives that illuminate and inspire. DreamMakers is a book about hope, values, and the human spirit with stories that move and stir. A book to be read many times, always with a grateful heart--grateful to the individuals who make our dreams."--Frances Hesselbein, President and CEO, The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management

"Michele Hunt, a DreamMaker herself, touches us with some profoundly beautiful tales of wonder at the workplace. Her book is as instructive as it is motivational."--Warren Bennis, Distinguished Profesor, University of Southern California, and author of Organizing Genius

"Michele Hunt is a people person, and in this book she helps us understand the potential there is in the people we work with and the people we live with--extraordinary people who provide a hope for the future."--C. William Pollard, Chairman of the Board, The ServiceMaster Company

"DreamMakers should be read by every manager who thinks the road to success is paved with only analysis and execution. DreamMakers shows that the analysis and execution are meaningful only when they support the vision and values of the leader of the organization."--C. William Crain, President, London Fog

From the Inside Flap
Inspiring both for who they are and for what they have accomplished, the extraordinary leaders, organizations, and communities profiled in DreamMakers offer new insights into achieving change with integrity and compassion. Here in their own inspiring words are thirteen stories of eminent leaders who have led grand-scale organizational transformations in the face of resistance, fear, and adversity. Sharing the underlying strengths that contributed to their success--passion, courage, resilience, dedication to close personal relationships, commitment to community, the ability to focus on people's talents, and belief in a vision linked to a broader cause--these remarkable men and women offer inspiration, help, and support for meeting the challenges of leadership.

In addition to the stories of such outstanding individuals as Joe Brodecki, fundraiser for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Marilyn King, former Olympian and founder of Beyond Sports, and David Cole, former president of America Online, DreamMakers profiles communities and organizations that have realized impossible dreams:

* The county of Surry, Virginia, with its model community * The tiny island nation of Aruba, with its transformative Aruba Quality Foundation * Detroit's Youth on the Edge of Greatness program, which has given more than 600 "at-risk" teenagers new lives.

The stories in this book demonstrate what all of us can accomplish once we unleash the DreamMaker within--a capacity for visionary leadership that can promote profound change in organizations, the community, and the world.

Customer Reviews

Inspiring, Thought Provoking
Several things grabbed my attention as I picked up this book. First was the author's photo on the front cover-rather unusual. But, if you're a Black woman in today's world, achieving at a high level, there's something to say here. Flipping over to the back cover, I saw testimonials from Peter Senge, Frances Hesselbein (President and CEO of the Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management), Warren Bennis, Jack Kemp, the chairman of ServiceMaster, the president of London Fog, and more. OK, this woman is connected, obviously valued by some people who are careful about where their names appear. Foreword by Max De Pree, former chairman and CEO of Herman Miller, Inc.

Checking her biography, I learned that she served for two years as executive director of the Federal Quality Institute, appointed by President Clinton. Prior to that she was vice president for people and quality for Herman Miller. The impressive list goes on. This is a woman who knows what makes the difference between high achieving organizations and also-rans.

In her first chapter, Hunt talks about visioning-imagining the world we want to create. Her emphasis is on leading and living on purpose. She talks about change and how we need good foundations to thrive when everything is changing around us at a frightening pace. "I believe vision fuels our passion and lifts us above our fear." The redesign, realignment, reinvention must be done with a deliberate urgency, engaging the hearts and minds of the people who comprise organizations and communities. Dream makers inspire their people-all their stakeholders-to move consciously and purposefully into the future. We can all learn from their examples.

The next twelve chapters consist of twelve stories of people who make a difference. At the end of each chapter is a summary of lessons learned. Each one of these stories could be a valuable book all by itself, so this collection has a lot to offer. The book concludes with some personal philosophy from the author, putting the frosting on the cake. Recommended for leaders and aspiring leaders who want to gain greater insights into the kinds of things that make life and organizations work a lot better.

Honest, and real stories of DreamMakers.
"DreamMakers are people who make dreams happen. They have the deep insight and long foresight necessary to perceive the consequences their actions will have...This book tells twelve different stories that could not have happened without the DreamMakers involved. These DreamMakers come from all sectors of society all over the world -corporations, local and national goverments, nonprofit organizations, and voluntary community groups. They also come from different economic and social backgrounds. They come from different national, cultural, ethnic, and racial backgrounds.What they share, however, is far more powerful and important than how they differ...This is a book about hope, intended for anyone who is seeking to create a better future. It is especially for those who choose to accept leadership roles, who sense on an intuitive level that we are living in an unprecedented time in which to make a difference, and who are looking for inspiration, insights, and ideas to reshape our institutions, communities, and lives. The people I call DreamMakers are not those we read about in the headlines every day. They are not necessarily, nor would they identify themselves as, heroines, heroes, or geniuses. They have, however, discovered and tapped in to the extraordinary nature and power we all have within us. It is my hope that, from hearing these personal stories, others may discover that ability as well" (from the Preface).

In this context, Michele Hunt firstly tells the theories underlying this book, and formulates:

1. 'The Power of Shared Vision' by defining vision as our deepest expression of what we want to create. And she argues that " I believe vision fuels our passion and lifts us above our fear. It is our North Star for exploring and charting our future".

2. 'Shared Values of DreamMakers' by asking some questions as follows:

* How they see the world, how they treat people, how they take in information, how they make decisions, how they build teams, how they use creativity, how they act, how they respond to 'failure', how they learn and grow, and how they are anchored (more detailed discussion and answers of these questions see Chapter 1).

In the following Chapters, she tells the stories of different individuals/DreamMakers. And she summarizes these stories, as 'lessons we learned', end of the each chapter. These lessons learned from all stories told in the book can be summarized as follows:

* DreamMakers express vision and values.

* DreamMakers engage others in their vision.

* DreamMakers work with others to build a shared vision.

* DreamMakers understand that we are all connected and interdependent.

* DreamMakers support diversity and honor the integrity and contributions of all people.

* DreamMakers question and challenge the status quo.

* DreamMakers value and nurture interpersonal relationships.

* DreamMakers tap in to the extraordinary potential in all of us.

* DreamMakers find unprecedented opportunities for transformation and renewal in the current climate of rapid change.

* DreamMakers collaboratively transform and renew themselves and others.

* DreamMakers make their dreams a reality.

* DreamMakers are both passionate and compassionate.

* DreamMakers focus on education and continual learning.

* DreamMakers trust feelings, emotions, and intuition.

* DreamMakers learn from their mistakes.

* DreamMakers foster creativity and hope.

* DreamMakers follow a moral compass.

* DreamMakers believe in a higher power and purpose.

* DreamMakers demonstrate responsibility toward a large community.

* DreamMakers are committed to making the world a better place.

As written by Max De Pree, "Stories about people tell us both who we are and who we might become. Stories map the paths toward potential and unity. The stories in DreamMakers are honest, real stories. Not everythig works. Not everything is easy. Ann Denison writes, 'We had to call the police, and they arrested him'. Leadership and service are demanding".

I highly recommend.

Insights into the power of vision and values.
The author profiles leaders and organizations in business and at the community and international levels that have achieved change through vision and values as the primary drivers. Interesting reading. Reviewed by Gerry Stern, author of Stern's Sourcefinder: The Master Directory to HR and Business Management Information & Resources and Stern's CyberSpace SourceFinder.