About the Authors

Frederick A. Miller and Judith H. Katz

For more than thirty years, Fred and Judith have been working individually and together to transform organizations and the ways people interact with one another within them.

They started their business partnership in 1985, Judith coming from faculty positions at the University of Oklahoma and San Diego State, and Fred from management positions at Connecticut General Life Insurance Company. It was a major turning point in both their lives.

As, respectively, CEO and executive vice president for The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc.— one of Consulting magazine’s Seven Small Jewels in 2010—they have partnered with Fortune 100 and other companies, universities, governmental agencies, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations to create organizations in which the level of interaction safety elevates the quality of interactions, leverages people’s differences, and transforms workplaces into growth-and-learning environments where people’s talents are unleashed, results are accelerated, and productivity soars. Their partnership is proof that teamwork and collaboration do create breakthroughs.

Through their thought leadership and practical approaches for changing workplaces, they have brought their unique perspectives, passion, and energy to make a difference in organizations that few can match.

In addition to this book and many other writings, together they have also coauthored the following:

   Opening Doors to Teamwork and Collaboration: 4 Keys That Change Everything (2013)

   Be BIG: Step Up, Step Out, Be Bold (2008)

   The Inclusion Breakthrough: Unleashing the Real Power of Diversity (2002)

Judith and Fred have each been honored with several of their field’s most distinguished awards. In 2007, Profiles in Diversity Journal named them two of forty Pioneers of Diversity, and in 2012, they were both honored as Legends of Diversity by the International Society of Diversity and Inclusion Professionals. Among other awards they have received are Fred’s Lifetime Achievement Award and Service to the Network Award, presented by the Organization Development Network (ODN), and the Winds of Change Award from the Forum on Workplace Inclusion. Judith has received ODN’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Outstanding Achievement in Global Work Award, and the award for Communicating OD (Organizational Development) Knowledge, as well as the Cultural Competency Award from Diversity Training University International. Fred has served on Ben and Jerry’s and Day & Zimmermann’s corporate boards. Judith is currently a member of the Fielding Graduate University Board of Trustees and has served on Social Venture Network’s and National Training Laboratories Institute’s boards, as well as on the University of Massachusetts Dean’s Leadership Council.

Their consulting practice, workshops, and conference presentations have impacted clients and groups in the United States, Singapore, India, China, Japan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, and Mexico.

Judith loves fishing and traveling with David, her husband.

Fred is a workaholic who loves being at home with his marriage partner, Pauline, and the fancy guppies that he raises.

Judith’s extraversion and Fred’s introversion often cause them to see the world from different street corners, which has led to many intense conversations, personal and professional revelations—and a lot of laughter and creativity.

Through their work together, they have been able, individually and collectively, to soar—and to inspire and enable other individuals, teams, and organizations to do the same.