The Beekeeper: Pollinating Your Organization for Transformative Growth

by Katie P. Desiderio, Michael G. Frino

Overview

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

Put yourself at the center of your team’s learning and growth 

In The Beekeeper, a team of renowned management and leadership professionals deliver an insightful and engaging exploration of what it means to place oneself at the core of learning and growth for the members of your organization. 

The story is told through the eyes of Catherine, the 43-year-old founder and owner of a rapidly growing business. You’ll follow her as she transforms the way she leads and inspires others, revolutionizing the culture at her company by learning from the people around her. The authors lead you through practical strategies and techniques you can implement immediately to achieve extraordinary results in your life and in your business. You’ll learn about: 

• Taking a central and active role in the growth and maturation of your employees and leadership team members 
• The author’s “Art of Learning to Be Proximal,” a strategy for placing yourself at the core of your company’s growth 
• Methods for ensuring your team is putting people first and living your company’s mission and values 

An indispensable guide for founders, entrepreneurs, managers, and executives at growing companies, The Beekeeper will also earn a place on the bookshelves of company board members looking for ways to best contribute to their firm’s ongoing success. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781394165278
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	04/26/2023
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	773,650
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Katie P. Desiderio, MBA, PhD, is a Wiley DiSC Partner and Partner in Learning at Proximal Development, LLC, her leadership development consultancy. She is also Professor of Management at Moravian University's School of Business and Economics.

Michael G. Frino, MBA, PhD, is a Wiley DiSC Partner and oversees Human Capital Development for a division of a Fortune 500 MedTech Company. He also leads DE&I program management and leadership development.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Before 1

Chapter 2 Be Fulfilled 9

Chapter 3 Be Transformational 15

Chapter 4 Be Present 21

Chapter 5 Be Curious 27

Chapter 6 Be Nourished 37

Chapter 7 Be Vulnerable 47

Chapter 8 Be Messy 57

Chapter 9 Be Patient 63

Chapter 10 Be Calm 71

Chapter 11 Be Challenging 79

Chapter 12 Be Energizing 87

Chapter 13 Be Growth- Minded 95

Chapter 14 Be Appreciative 105

Chapter 15 Be Proximal 113

Chapter 16 Becoming a Be Keeper 121

A Leadership Guide to Creating a Thriving Hive 125

Acknowledgments 147

Author Bios 149

Index 153

Editorial Reviews

2023-01-12
A fictional work highlights leadership principles.

In the tradition of the blockbuster book Who Moved My Cheese?(1998) by Spencer Johnson, corporate veterans Desiderio and Frino have crafted a business fable that metaphorically compares beekeeping with leading a business. The story centers on Catherine, now a successful organizational consultant, who narrates a flashback story of how she evolved from her role as owner of a rapidly growing essential-oils business. While vacationing with her family on a tourist farm, she crosses paths with the place’s owner and beekeeper, Henry Ives, the former CEO of a marketing firm. Her chance meeting with Henry and subsequent conversations with him about how bees function inspire her to send motivational emails to her managers while she is away. For example, when Henry explains the nature of the honeybees’ hive, Catherine sends her leadership team an email that reads: “The hive is at the core of learning and growth and bees provide the nourishment for all things to grow. Bees work together and are focused on the same mission.” As the story unfolds, a number of leadership principles derived from what Catherine learns about bees are revealed. Of course, all these principles begin with the word Be—“Be Transformational,” “Be Curious,” “Be Growth-Minded,” and so on. The authors keep readers engaged by adding other characters and depicting various educational and sometimes amusing farm scenes, as when Catherine’s family feeds the pigs. Particularly enlightening is the last part of the book, which steps away from the farm narrative to expose how staffers back at the office are reacting to the emails sent by Catherine, who is not fully aware of the transformational impact she is having on her organization’s culture. The similarities of the beehive, worker bees, and even the queen bee to a well-oiled company run by humans are not only relevant, but at times startlingly accurate as well. The authors very effectively make the connection, although some readers may roll their eyes at the overabundance of bee-related puns. Still, as business fables go, this one largely succeeds.

Creatively written, cleverly packaged advice for organizational leaders.

Kirkus Reviews