The Courage Solution

The Power of Truth Telling with Your Boss, Peers, and Team

Mindy Mackenzie

“Original and wise, this masterful book shows you how to build the honesty and authenticity today’s leaders need, and positions you for success.”
- Marshall Goldsmith, author of #1 New York Times bestseller Triggers

Are there things you’d like to change at your company? Have you found yourself wishing your boss would change? Or your peers? What about the team you lead?

Everyone in the corporate world, from the CEO to the security guard out front, wants to change something about their company. That’s the human condition at work. Where you can get stuck, however, is thinking that things will improve when the “other guy” changes—and waiting for that to happen first.

In The Courage Solution, author, speaker, and CEO advisor Mindy Mackenzie shows us that the conventional approach is wrong. You can’t wait for the “other guy” to change. For true change to occur and for companies to perform better, we must all embrace one simple truth: The only thing you can reliably change or control is yourself. With truth telling the commodity in shortest supply in corporate America today, The Courage Solution challenges business professionals of any level to take actions that are deceptively simple yet require vulnerability and courage. The result? Improved impact on the job, and increased happiness and fulfillment. Drawing on 20 years of demanding executive roles at global corporations, Mindy Mackenzie reveals sharply focused, quick-read strategies in four key areas:

• Part 1, You First: Taking ownership and accountability to create a career and life you love.
• Part 2, Lead Your Boss: Transforming your relationship with your boss.
• Part 3, Lead Your Peers: Accelerating positive peer relationships to improve business results.
• Part 4, Lead Your Team: Building the most effective teams and having fun while doing it.

Whether you’re a seasoned leader or just starting out in your career, The Courage Solution will help you create instant, lasting change and achieve the success you desire at work.

Mindy Mackenzie – or the “Velvet Hammer” as she was known during her days at liquor giant Jim Beam – is currently a sought-after speaker and CEO advisor to Fortune 100 companies. Her passion is inspiring business professionals to increase their personal fulfillment through dramatically improving their professional impact.

Mindy served as Chief Performance Officer of Beam, Inc., where she was responsible for a team of 150 and was part of the executive team that led consistent outperformance and created tremendous shareholder value, delivering double-digit earnings growth. It was her ability to lead her executive team colleagues in a refreshing “truth-telling” manner while maintaining her professionalism and grace that earned her the aforementioned nickname. Ultimately, Mindy led the organizational negotiations for the $16 billion dollar buyout of Beam, Inc. by the large Japanese holding company, Suntory. Mindy’s impressive career also includes five years at Campbell Soup Co. and nine years at Wal-Mart, where she advanced through various senior leadership HR and organizational development roles.

Mindy currently serves as a senior advisor for McKinsey, one of the most prestigious management and consulting firms in the world. She is a frequent guest lecturer for the MBA and Executive Education programs at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Mindy holds a Bachelor’s degree from Ambassador University and a Master’s degree from the University of Louisiana. Mindy lives with her son in the Chicagoland area.