Be BIG: Step Up, Step Out, Be Bold

Too many people have decided that the safest way to get through life is to be small. They try not to attract attention to themselves, just tending their own safe little garden. They’ve decided it’s too dangerous to think big, to speak out, to take risks. They might get shot down. Or look foolish. People will think they’re just not good enough.

But, particularly today, organizations need people to step up and be BIG. We need new ideas, new products, new processes. People have to bring more of themselves to the workplace, to contribute more, and to have a bigger impact on the success of the organization.

This inspiring illustrated book challenges all of us to show up more fully as individuals and in our interactions with others and to find ways to be BIG together. In straightforward, incisive language, Judith Katz and Frederick Miller help us understand all of the many, sometimes subtle ways we make ourselves small. They show how we make others small as well and how these same attitudes can keep us from working together effectively. And they encourage us to nourish new attitudes that will make us, our coworkers, and our organizations bigger.

Be BIG invites us to bring more of ourselves to each situation—whether working independently, with another individual, or with a group—so that we can do our best work together.

Fueled by her passion for addressing systemic barriers and known for her boundless energy and sharp analytical mind, Judith H. Katz brings more than thirty years of experience to her work in strategic culture change. Her work is an extension of her lifelong commitment to championing respect for all people and social justice, and she was recently recognized for this by Profiles in Diversity Journal, which named her one of forty Pioneers of Diversity. As Executive Vice President of
The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc., Dr. Katz assists organizations to create sustainable and highly successful inclusion change efforts that, when integrated with business strategies, can achieve enhanced bottom-line results. She has consulted with many organizations, including Allstate, Dun & Bradstreet; E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company; Eileen Fisher, Inc.; Singapore Tele- communications Ltd.; Toyota Motor Sales; and United Airlines.
Frederick A. Miller is the CEO and Lead Client Strategist of The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc. A pioneer and leading authority on creating cultures of inclusion that are high performing, he was noted in The Age of Heretics (Currency Doubleday, 1996) as one of the forerunners of corporate change and was named by Profiles in Diversity Journal as one of forty Pioneers of Diversity. In his thirty-plus years of experience, he has worked with many senior-level executives from such renowned companies as Mobil, Dupont, Toyota, Foxwoods Casino, Eileen Fisher, Inc., Wild Planet Toys, Northeast Utilities, United Airlines, and Apple Computers. Fred has been involved with many founders as they transition from a “foundercentric” culture to one of a professional management staff. Fred was involved with this transition at Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Holdings, Inc., where he was on the board of directors for eight years. He also is the founder of the Institute for Inclusion, a nonprofit organization that provides a forum for the exploration, definition, and distribution of the principles, values, and best practices of Inclusion in the workplace and in communities. Fred is respected for his ability to examine a system, issue, or organizational culture at multiple levels and quickly translate his observations into a customized, strategic vision and change-oriented action. He is coauthor, with Judith H. Katz, of The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity (Berrett-Koehler, 2002), and managing editor of The Promise of Diversity (McGraw- Hill, 1994). Fred received the Outstanding Service Award from the Organization Development Network (OD Network) in 2000, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the OD Network in 2007, and the Asia-Pacific HRM Congress HR Leadership Award in 2008.