Apples and . . . Apples

I must really like the title and cover of this book, Apples Are Square: Thinking Differently About Leadership by Susan Smith Kuczmarski and Thomas D. Kuczmarski. The font is attractive, but it's the photograph that really grabs my attention. It's an apple that's been cut into a square. What does that mean? According to the press material that accompanied my copy of the book, "square apples" symbolically stand for a new way to lead and measure success. Okay, how new? Everything that comes out is new, right? Here's more: "Just as former NFL star Chris Zorich's mother took rotten apples and reshaped them into something edible and appealing, we need to take bruised work environments, cut off the bad spots, and reshape them into dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative organizations.
In the book the author relay conversations they've had with 25 of America's most respect leaders—people like Henry Givray, chairman and CEO of SmithBucklin, Dean Kamen of Segway, Dipak Jain, dean of Northwestern University's Kellogg School, and Carol Bernick, CEO of Alberto Culver—to learn firsthand what makes them so effective in their lives.
It goes on to say, "In a time when the news is littered with stories of fallen leaders and the organizations they destroyed, Apples Are Square is a book that focuses on success.
The authors apply model that is guided by six critical values: humility, compassion, transparency, inclusiveness, collaboration, and values-based decisiveness. I'm wondering, though, if these are values are ones that employees are trained in as well. If not, then these leaders can seem to god-like, not something that is particularly appealing to some.
One way to help reshape the bruised work environment might be to take this particular piece of wisdom from the authors: "value progress over results." The authors write, "Results—everyone in business wants them. They measure, benchmark, and set deadlines. However, with this focus on the end result, the journey along the way is often forgotten." I understand this to a point, but when a client is paying us, it's usually not for the journey but, indeed, the results. The trick, of course, is to leverage the momentum of progress so that it leads to success.