Thirteen/WNET New York President Emeritus Bill Baker Featured on Today Show to Discuss New Book LEADING WITH KINDNESS

Thirteen/WNET New York President Emeritus Bill Baker Featured on Today Show to Discuss New Book LEADING WITH KINDNESS

Leading With Kindness: How Good People Consistently Get Superior Results Encourages Executives To Lead With Kindness For Superior Results

One-Hour Program Of The Same Name To Premiere On Public Television In October

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bob Lane, CEO of John Deere and Company, places a priority on always being honest with customers, investors, and employees. Time Warner Chairman Richard Parsons instills confidence in others by treating them in a way that shows he has confidence in them. While admirable, these business leaders are not exceptional - as Bill Baker, Ph.D. has learned through his comprehensive survey, 75 percent of managers regard their supervisors as "kind" and there is a strong association between kind executives and productive employees.

That's the good news that Bill Baker experienced firsthand during his 20 years at the helm of public television stations Thirteen/WNET New York and WLIW21 New York. It inspired him to affirm and refine his notion of what honorable bosses can accomplish. With his friend Michael O'Malley, Ph.D., Baker did extensive research and interviewed executives of diverse organizations including Pitney Bowes, Tupperware, The Blackstone Group, Eileen Fisher Clothing, GE, Smucker's, Walt Disney, the Julliard School, John Deere, and Time Warner. They share their insights into strong, effective leadership in LEADING WITH KINDNESS: How Good People Consistently Get Superior Results (AMACOM; August 14, 2008).

What does "kindness" mean in workplace terms? As Baker and O'Malley stress, kindness is not synonymous with being a sweetheart or a pushover. Instead, kindness is the key to nurturing and reinforcing connections among people engaged in meaningful, reciprocal, and productive working relationships. LEADING WITH KINDNESS defines the attributes and behaviors of this virtue and uses engaging stories featuring leaders from a range of U.S. companies to detail how they repeatedly ensure success from their employees.

This October, public television will premiere a one-hour program based on Baker's book. LEADING WITH KINDNESS will profile companies - large and small - and interview executives to offer viewers greater insight into what makes these businesses successful and their leaders great.

LEADING WITH KINDNESS premieres Sunday, October 19 at 10 p.m. on WLIW21 New York and Sunday, November 23 at 10 p.m. on Thirteen/WNET.

For more information about LEADING WITH KINDNESS and to watch profile clips visit: http://www.thirteen.org/leadingwithkindness/

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

William F. Baker, Ph.D., is Executive in Residence at Columbia University Business School, as well as president emeritus of Educational Broadcasting Corp. He lives in New York City. Michael O'Malley, Ph.D., is Senior Editor for Business, Economics, and Law at Yale University Press and adjunct professor at Columbia University Business School. He lives in Hamden, Connecticut.

Thirteen/WNET is one of the key program providers for public television, bringing such acclaimed series as Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, Wide Angle and Charlie Rose to audiences nationwide, and serving the entire New York City metro area with unique local productions and broadcasts, cutting-edge Web sites, and innovative educational and cultural projects. More info at: www.thirteen.org .

Source: Thirteen WNET New York

CONTACT: Gloria Park of Thirteen, +1-212-560-2063, parkg@thirteen.org;
or Kama Timbrell of AMACOM, +1-212-903-8315, KTimbrell@amanet.org

Web Site: http://www.thirteen.org/

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