All the Difference: Six Leadership Actions to Bridge Perspectives, Strengthen Teams and Create Value (Harvard Business Review Press, 7/14/26)
NEW YORK, July 15, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today's workplace has never been more complex, as leaders need to navigate contrasting work styles and cultural norms among team members, along with a wide range of experiences and perspectives, fundamentally different relationships with technology, and five generations often working side by side. Yet most leaders still work around the difference instead of mining the value it holds.
In ALL THE DIFFERENCE: Six Leadership Actions to Bridge Perspectives, Strengthen Teams, and Create Value, bestselling author and head of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership Susan MacKenty Brady joins business negotiation expert Stuart D. Kliman and U.S. Army lieutenant general (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith to explore the power of human difference at work, providing an actionable framework designed to harness its hidden value. With compelling research and 22 contributing examples from leaders at Disney, Nintendo, Toyota, and the U.S. Army, this leadership playbook empowers teams to thrive in a world of difference. The book identifies four "landmines" – universal thinking patterns that derail even the most capable leaders, offering a field-tested framework of six leadership actions to leverage the power of difference.
The book arrives as artificial intelligence reshapes how people work, with the ability to generate ideas, analyze information, and more. Yet it cannot build trust between people who disagree or turn tension into progress. As machines take on more analytical work, competitive advantage increasingly depends on a distinctly human skill - leading through difference, the authors contend.
Practical and Timely for the AI workplace
"Artificial intelligence can analyze, summarize, and predict, but it cannot build trust between people who see the world differently," remarks co-author Susan MacKenty Brady, "As machines take on more of the analytical work, the leaders who thrive will be the ones who know how to turn human difference into strength. That is the work only people can do."
As the authors have collaborated directly with leaders applying these ideas, one theme has surfaced repeatedly: the ability to lead through difference, or "Difference Intelligence," is a critical skill. "Difference isn't a problem to manage. It's a significant yet largely untapped source of value," said co-author Stuart Kliman. "The real work of leadership is learning to mine that value instead of just avoiding friction. That's a decisive competitive advantage."
That capability is seen in the authors themselves, whose different backgrounds in leadership education, negotiation, and military command shape the book's unique insight. "Perspective-taking requires curiosity, empathy, humility, and the discipline to challenge our own assumptions," said co-author Leslie C. Smith, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army retired. "The future of leadership will require people who can integrate different viewpoints and create environments where better understanding leads to better outcomes."
About the Book
All the Difference: Six Leadership Actions to Bridge Perspectives, Strengthen Teams and Create Value, published by Harvard Business Review Press, is available now at leadingallthedifference.com and wherever books are sold.
MEDIA INQUIRIES AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Norbert Beatty, Fortier Public Relations, 917.886.8119, [email protected].
LinkedIn profile links:
Susan MacKenty Brady: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-mackenty-brady/
Stuart D. Kliman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-kliman/
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-c-smith-ltg/
Media Contact
Norbert Beatty, Fortier Public Relations, 1 9178868119, [email protected], www.fortierpr.com
SOURCE Fortier Public Relations
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