.....And Dignity for All

This book outlines the story of a floor sweeper who became a corporate vice president at Caterpillar. It depicts his own personal transformation from a command-and-control boss to a leader with a vision and respect for his staff. And Dignity for All presents an account of how managers can make significant and enduring changes in an organization while enabling them to take their own journeys as leaders. James (Jim) Despain became General Manager of Track-Type Tractors Division in East Peoria, Illinois, USA, one of the country’s largest manufacturing facilities. The co-author, Jane Bodman Converse, was the communications player on Jim’s culture-change team. Together, they are now partners in a consulting company that helps others create cultures of achievement.A major thesis of the book is to be authentic to oneself as a leader. It is reminiscent of Joseph Jaworski’s Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1996), in that the lessons of leadership are often found in one’s own honest efforts to add value to the workforce and the business. The authors devote a lot of energy to setting the scene on the formation of Despain’s values in childhood and his early working life.  The influence of his father who was a coal-miner is significant. When Jim Despain annoyed the family dog and it then bit a friend, his father shot the dog. The lessons were: break the rules, pay the price; protect and defend your family, no matter what the sacrifice.